LJS30
Well-Known Member
How many of you guys run Mopar Performance crate motors in your rides? If so, how have they worked out for you? Are they truly better than putting one together yourself?
Crate Motors
- Thread starter LJS30
- Start date
-
3
340srule
Guest
Would i buy one..no,are they better then having one built..no way,i know exactely what went into my engine and who did the work,invest your money wisely and find a good shop to build you one,crate engines are a crapshoot you might get a good one you might not,of the guys i know running a crate motor,only one has not had a problem with it.....
69Chrgr
Charger/Cuda
I had excellent luck out of my 360/380 crate. However, everything I've heard of strokers, I just had to try to stroke mine and see what happens!
Keith Mopar
Mopar Nut
I have a 380 360 crate and have had no problems with it. My friends has a 435 402 crate, in a Mirada and has no problems. It replaced a 300 360 with 3 years trouble free.
The only nice thing is everything is brand new and costs about the same as a rebuilt block with new pistons and nice roller cam. But like 340srule said you don't know how it was put together, and if you do it yourself you know how it was done.
The only nice thing is everything is brand new and costs about the same as a rebuilt block with new pistons and nice roller cam. But like 340srule said you don't know how it was put together, and if you do it yourself you know how it was done.
sublimeswinger
SUBLIME Senior Member
My buddy just put the "390hp" 360 create in his 70 charger. Demon 750 carb, Dougs headers, and a bunch of other stuff.
After 3 months of tweeking he thinks its finally dialed in.
He went from a stock 318 to this engine.
Did it make a difference......HELL ya it did. The moter is nice.
He did have concerns on the way it was put together though. Valve covers leaked, Water poured out of the headder bolts and a few other things i cant remember.
He spent a little over $8-$9000. and is finally enjoying his ride.
The moter is NICE and is everything of 390hp ( i thick his setup is pushing 435) But the quality control is the biggest issue he had.
After 3 months of tweeking he thinks its finally dialed in.
He went from a stock 318 to this engine.
Did it make a difference......HELL ya it did. The moter is nice.
He did have concerns on the way it was put together though. Valve covers leaked, Water poured out of the headder bolts and a few other things i cant remember.
He spent a little over $8-$9000. and is finally enjoying his ride.
The moter is NICE and is everything of 390hp ( i thick his setup is pushing 435) But the quality control is the biggest issue he had.
I thought about salvaging a used 360 to replace my 273 (I have yet to see a 340 in the local junkyard) but thats a lot of work. MP also now sells 340 blocks, but the crate motor made more sense to me. I did noticed that the Crate Motor I have ate a lot of oil during break in and one of the guys on another board lost his motor because he didnt check it (didnt expect that level of consumption). Others posted that they also had oil consumption issues too. I have no leaks or other issues with the motor but did find MP and Cummings less than helpful during installation.
340mopar
Sorgermotorsports
340srule said:
You talk about not trusting a crate motor because you don't know who built it yet you say find a shop and have someone build it for you. It is the same thing. Finding a "good" shop is a crap shoot too and no difference than buying a "crate" motor. Sure I have a shop machine my motors and was a crap shoot finding the right one at first but I can double check the machining before assembly to make sure they are "good". Now if you know the person that built your motor personally then that is a different animal.
Chuck
65Val
Average Length Member
Anyone have any experience with the 440 small block crate from Ma Mopar?
3
340srule
Guest
340mopar said:
Oh there sure is a difference,you should always ask others who's doing their machine work and check out several shops before making a decision ,a good place to ask is at the track.That way there your not spending money wastefully,when you buy a crate motor your stuck with it...i have seen/read far more problems with crate motors then no problems with them,And yes my builder is a friend who i only let build my engines.....
moper
Well-Known Member
I can sympathize with both 340s' points. If I had no local shop I could trust, and/or no access to usable cores, the crate engine would be a viable alternative. That would be an option. Not one I consider very good, for the reasons stated above. Crate engnies are assembled by factory line personnel. They do it for a paycheck, and maybe 'cause they like engines. They are not trained very well in measuring everything, or given enough time to truely carefully assemble a performance engine. They take part a, mount to part b, install in block. Move on. They dont file fit rings, they dont check rod big ends for size or shape. They take a rod from a box, and stick a piston on it. So, you can get decent ones, you can get poor ones, and you can get really good ones all mixed together. I dont want to gamble. In using a local or refered shop, you can "inspect" your machinist. If he passes, you can trust him. If not. move on. I dont like blowhards, and I dont like guys that can tell me what without tellign me why. If they cant defend their choices with anything more than "'cause I done it a bunch of times" then I'll look elsewhere. Interestingly enough, I am in process of changing shops due to circumstances beyond my/our control. It's not easy, and I've been to the place I'll be using twice just to talk and look things over. It's a two hour round trip not including talking time. But it's the only way to really know who you are placing your money and trust in. It is impossible to interveiw or "check out" the guys building crate engines. The only results you have are what experiences are. 360 crates tend to be ok. Hemis are a mess, and I wouldnt trust the small block 440s until there is some feedback. I have heard good things of the guy building them, they should be killer. But last time MP had a good builder for the Hemis, they tossed them for one who wont return so many iffy components. Instead, they go into the product...yuck. So time will tell.
66dartgt
Well-Known Member
I put an early 90's 360 360 hp commando crate motor in my 73 dart. I pulled it apart and checked everything - deck heights, rings, bearing clearances, cam timing, valve guides etc. It was spot on. I changed the internals to meet my needs, porting, compression ratio (shaved heads) roller hyd cam etc. That was before the roller cam crate motors were available so I was basically making my own version of what later became the 400 hp crate motors that mopar sells. If you have doubts in buying one - pull it apart and check it prior to installation. I would do this anyway in the case of a hot rod crate motor. I know this kind of defeats the purpose of a crate motor but I want to know what I have when I buy something like this. I cant speak to the current production so the choice is yours.
-
