Engine Vendors?

[Mslone]

Question,

Where is everyone getting their Engines? I know there are a few listed on the Vendor page... But they all want 9k-10k Seems a bit high to me... But my history is all Chevrolet... This is all new to me.

I Ordered my Kit for a 351W Carb setup ( hopefully around 425-450HP ) but the few vendors I checked to get a 408 making around 400HP is 9K-10K....

Surely there must be some quality Engine vendors that are a bit more reasonalble...

I may have to swith my build to 347 to save 2k.

Anyway, If you are comfortable Sharing your Engine size / Vendor (Web Link) / HP / Price - only if you are comforable sharing if not no worries.

or if anyone knows a good Engine builder/source in the Houston Area?

Thanks,

Michael

[68GT500MAN]

That is what 351 based strokers are selling for these days, Fords tend to cost more than their Chevy peers. I have a 427w (351w stroker) in my roadster that I assembled using available parts and still have around 8K in the engine. I would give Mike Forte or Gordon Levy a call and discuss your plans with them, they both have many pleased customers.
Doug

[DaleG]

You might try asking the guys in the Gulf region of this forum or the other one.

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/forumdisplay.php?14-Gulf-Region-Discussions

But you cannot go wrong with Gordon or Mike.

[Tom Mauldin]

I have built 3 cars with engine factory engines. Two were the 351w/400hp and one is the 427w/700hp. I haven't had any issues with any of them. I just looked and it looks like prices have gone up some. I have used USA Racing Engines near Hobby Airport for machine work and I have a friend who assembles the engines for me in Deer Park for the engines that I have built.

[Bren]

PM sent.

[Gilmore]

Has anyone found engine, trans, & rear end vendors the caliber of Forte or Levy near Los Angeles, CA.?

[Mslone]

Found this ATK 408 w.430HP $6,199 on Summit Racing.


http://www.summitracing.com/parts/hpe-hp21c/overview/ (http://www.summitracing.com/parts/hpe-hp21c/overview/)

And this BluePrint Engines 408 425HP $5,395

http://www.blueprintengines.com

these seems to be comparable to some of these others and a little more reasonably priced.

anyone running one of these? If so what's your experience?

Thanks

[Gordon Levy]

Gilmore, I am less that 400 miles away from LA.

My 408's start at around 550hp and my 351's start at 450hp.

[BrentM]

I bought mine from Mike Forte. Ford racing offers free shipping on most of their crate engines, even to Hawaii. It's just a 306, but mike got me free shipping on my T-5 too through ford racing. Going that route makes distance is a non-issue.

Just fired mine up this past weekend for the first time, started right up.

[hrosenthal]

I used Engine Factory. They were very easy to work with before and after the delivery.

[edwardb]

You will likely be challenged to find an engine builder/crate engine like you described for the target price you cited. Especially if you add up everything, including all the accessories, etc. Be very careful about shopping only for price. There are a lot of cheap parts out there. Plus (unfortunately) shops that will make promises that they can't deliver or stand behind. I can tell you a story about my Mk3 engine that proves I know all this first hand. It's been resolved, but cost me more than if I had just done it right in the first place. That's why my Mk4 engine started life from a well known and reputable builder and is using very high quality parts. But it wasn't cheap. These cars are lively and a blast even with a pretty simple 300hp engine. So don't feel like you have to get into a HP bidding war to start. Do what you can afford with a known reputable dealer or builder using quality parts, and upgrade down the road. That's the beauty of these Windsor small blocks. They are easy to work on and tons of options for upgrades. BTW, a 347 would not be a compromise IMO. Just about the perfect combination of size, balance, cost, power, etc. But check my sig line for my Mk4 build and I'm probably not exactly impartial. Good luck with whatever you choose to do.

[Pylons]

These cars are lively and a blast even with a pretty simple 300hp engine. So don't feel like you have to get into a HP bidding war to start.
I'll echo this.

Big power numbers are cool, but you have to remember how light these cars are. At 2300lbs, you only need about 360hp to be in C6Z06 hp/lbs territory.

I had a C6 with an LS3...I'm not quite sure what I'd do with more power/weight than that, other than get in trouble

(at least for the street...if you're building to race, that's another story)

[Mslone]

I'll echo this.

Big power numbers are cool, but you have to remember how light these cars are. At 2300lbs, you only need about 360hp to be in C6Z06 hp/lbs territory.

I had a C6 with an LS3...I'm not quite sure what I'd do with more power/weight than that, other than get in trouble

(at least for the street...if you're building to race, that's another story)

I hear ya, I actaully was on the phone this morning with the FF tech and he said thier Flyer has a performance comparison with several super cars that they either beat or are comparable with, and the test car was the cheapest Ford racing 302 with 325HP motor.

28029

He told me that with the weight/power ratio of the car that you hit a power threshold of useable power on the street and 400-450 is about all he would recommend at max, more than that is just wasted HP bragging rights for the street, unless you are are building a race car.

[Gilmore]

Hi Gordon, I'm looking at a 302 340hp turn key with clutch & bellhousing.
T5 or T5z trans? (Recommendation with 3.55 rear?)
Can you give me a rough estimate on this package plus shipping to So Cal.?
Thanks in advance.

[Gordon Levy]

Please send me a request to my e-mail, gordon@levyracing.com and I will give you a proper quote.

[4.6 litre]

Gentlemen,

Has anyone considered purchasing engine and transmission combos from Summit?

[carlewms]

Here is my two pennies..
After coming up with what I felt were my requirements, lots of forum searches and even a poll, I got bids from five vendors some on and not on the forums.

After all that I purchased a 347 Stroker plus a Super Alloy T5 transmission with bell housing and clutch from Gordon Levy.

There were several reasons for his selection but chief among then was his responsiveness to the "RFP" and afte a boat load of my stupid questions he still pops up and responds quickly.

[Mslone]

FYI - I just noticed this on a Facebook post I get for the SEMA Stuff...

http://paceperformance.com/i-16739639-bpf4084ct-p7-pace-sbf-408-425hp-with-blue-trim-crate-engine.html

Never heard of Pace Performance before, but looks like a decent deal and good warranty...

[CraigS]

Another route for you is a 351 and a local recommended machine shop/builder. My EF 400hp 351 from back in 05 is just a stock shortblock w/ some slightly higher compression pistons and Edelbrock Performer RPM heads and intake. Mild cam too. Nothing special here. The stock 351 internal stuff is plenty strong as is (much stronger than the 302 internals), so all you need is a little more compression from the pistons and some decent breathing from the heads and intake. I strongly recommend this as a base engine. The intake and exhausts are different from 302 to 351 so, if you start w/ a mild 351, any upgrades in the future you will be able to re-use the intake and exhaust. If you find a 351 that needs a complete rebuild, the 393 and 408 kits are available for + or - $1500 depending on your goals.

[Natzacemm]

I have a Levy racing 347, clutch, brakes, super alloy trans, suspension, etc. Like others, great support anytime I call.