New engine
Thread Starter
|
Give me coffee - Or beer!
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 746
Likes: 7
From: Who cares?
New engine
I have been shopping for a new 351W. I can get a short block for $750 from Thunderbolt Motors, but they kind of screwed me on a repair and I'm not too impressed with them. Inet searches have popped up several people with $1800 to $3000 remans. Autozone has a "Remanufactured Performance" for $1300. Supposed to be drop in but it sounds too cheap. Does anyone know about these?
Elder User
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 769
Likes: 0
From: Cary/Rocky Mount NC
dont know anything about them... but i will say dont buy anything you aren't 100% confident about - i mean this thing is the heart of your truck... you wouldn't have your barber crack your chest and do open heart surgery just because he gives a good shave and cut... 700 is a deal but not if the engine is crap
Posting Guru
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 2,223
Likes: 2
From: Billings Montana
I agree with CaptGuz, if you don't feel right about a shop or engine source, don't do it. Why not find a machine shop in your area and have them do some work on your current block and rebuild what you have instead of finding a new block?
Thread Starter
|
Give me coffee - Or beer!
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 746
Likes: 7
From: Who cares?
I wouldn't mind finding a machine shop that can do the work. Just isn't one near by. Thunderbolt is the closest at about 60 miles. They screwed up twice with me. Besides, don't you think over 230K miles is enough or is there still life in it? Don't know what the water jacket looks like inside. I could get it bored. Wouldn't mind putting a performance cam and a well balanced crank shaft in. And I need a place where the timng chain cover bolts on welded. Right now there is JB Weld holding it together, but if it cracks again it will leak water.
Posting Guru
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 2,223
Likes: 2
From: Billings Montana
If the engine hasn't been honed out more than .060, then it doesn't matter how many miles the block has on it, it can still be bored out and oversized pistons can be put in. Anything past .060 is considered un-rebuildable. My 460 had 180,000+ miles on the stock bore and I took it to a machine shop where they bored it out .030 over and sent me on my way with a big smile.
One of the steps the machine shops do is hot-tanking the block. That cleans all the crap out of the block and makes it look like new, so if there's any rust in the water jackets, it'll be gone. But I understand what your'e saying about availability and trust in a shop. I'd rather look for a new block from a parts house then go to a shop I don't trust. And remember, if you do get a short block from Autozone, that doesn't mean you have to use the cam they supply. You can always take it out and put in a hi-po cam and timing chain.
One of the steps the machine shops do is hot-tanking the block. That cleans all the crap out of the block and makes it look like new, so if there's any rust in the water jackets, it'll be gone. But I understand what your'e saying about availability and trust in a shop. I'd rather look for a new block from a parts house then go to a shop I don't trust. And remember, if you do get a short block from Autozone, that doesn't mean you have to use the cam they supply. You can always take it out and put in a hi-po cam and timing chain.
You could also check out P.A.W. out of Chatsworth Ca.They have some engine kits that are good quality at a reasonable cost.
