"Overhaulin" and crate engines

[Mongonius]

I noticed on the episode of Overhaulin' where they restored an EB, that they used a Roush 327 crate motor. Does anyone on here have a Roush motor for their rig? Who on here put a crate motor in their Bronco? If you put one in, tell us about it and where you got it from. Thanks. Mongo.

 

[bfoldy]

About 5 years ago when I was looking to replace the tired 6 cylinder in my Bronco, I purchased the Ford Racing 5.0 crate motor with the X303 aluminum heads and the E303 cam. At the time it was a little over $3,000 and to me seemed like, hands down, the best option over rebuilding a junkyard engine or buying a remanufactured engine. By the time I added everything up for a rebuild or reman, the brand new crate motor was a little more and considering it was made on a Ford assembly line with a brand new block and components seemed like the clear choice. Reliability and good power were my two priorities and I have not been disappointed. I purchased it directly from the Ford dealer and you can also buy them from Summit Racing or Jegs.

I've noticed the prices have come up considerably on them now and I'm not sure what the Rousch crate engines cost. Basically, I think what it comes down to on shows like Overhaulin' is the builds are put together with donated parts and the manufacturers do this in exchange for free advertising and exposure. If the Overhaulin' builds were done on an actual budget like most of us face, I think we'd see much different choices in parts.

 

[croft75]

I had heard in conversation around the time of the Overhaulin build that the motor was way overkill and that the shot where they floored it at the end sucked the oil pan dry of oil because it didn't have enough oil. I'm not a motor guy so I don't know if this is right or possible.
But I will probably buy one of the Ford crate motors when I need one because when I priced out local machine shops to do an engine the price was more than a crate motor. New is new , remans can either be perfectly fine or from friends exp. a total nightmare.

 

[broncnaz]

Crate motors are ok but are usually better suited for lightweight cars. Many times the camshafts in crate motors are to big for use in broncos. Oh they will run just not as good as they should. To me the choice of camshaft is key. Also if going with a crate engine I'd go with a 351W vs a stroked 302.

 

[tcb42]

About 5 years ago when I was looking to replace the tired 6 cylinder in my Bronco, I purchased the Ford Racing 5.0 crate motor with the X303 aluminum heads and the E303 cam. At the time it was a little over $3,000 and to me seemed like, hands down, the best option over rebuilding a junkyard engine or buying a remanufactured engine. By the time I added everything up for a rebuild or reman, the brand new crate motor was a little more and considering it was made on a Ford assembly line with a brand new block and components seemed like the clear choice. Reliability and good power were my two priorities and I have not been disappointed. I purchased it directly from the Ford dealer and you can also buy them from Summit Racing or Jegs.

I've noticed the prices have come up considerably on them now and I'm not sure what the Rousch crate engines cost. Basically, I think what it comes down to on shows like Overhaulin' is the builds are put together with donated parts and the manufacturers do this in exchange for free advertising and exposure. If the Overhaulin' builds were done on an actual budget like most of us face, I think we'd see much different choices in parts.

I did the same thing. Same exact motor for exactly the same reasons. So far it has been a great engine with enough power for me. I bought it about 3.5 years ago from summit for $3,400

 

[trailpsycho]

I believe there were a couple of threads on here a year or two ago where a couple of people were interested in the Roush crate engines. I believe they were in the $8-9K range--for I believe just the long-block. I think you can build comparable much cheaper....but I am sure the Roush motor is sweet. If you do a search for Roush crate motors, then you should get some hits. Good luck wiht your choices.

 

[weasel]

I did the same thing as tcb42 & bfoldy did about 8 years ago. Purchased 5.0 from summit, it was a ford racing motor with SVO GT40 aluminum heads, E 303 cam 9.0:1 compression rated at 345 hp. haven't had any issues yet.

 

[fordguy]

just for the record, when I say crate engine, I mean new, not remanufactured. But that is just me. Building an engine at the local machine shop can be anything from cheapo to as much as a ford crate engine. new parts built on a ford assembly line have a proven record. I found a new 5.0 block and built from there, with balance and small parts, i could have had a ford 351. 327 would be different and sweet but def look at the ford 351. think i will go look right now.;D

 

[Mongonius]

Fordguy, is this what you looked at?

http://www.fordracingparts.com/parts/part_details.asp?PartKeyField=10757

 

[trailpsycho]

Looks like FRPP just re-released the 5.0 similar to what many of you bought. Its under "complete engines" rather than crate engines. http://www.fordracingparts.com/parts/part_details.asp?PartKeyField=11752

A pretty good deal for $3500. They werent producing these for a while...but they are back.

If the original poster really wants the HP of the Roush engine. The 347 longblock with intake is on sale for $7900 right now...according to the site. Alot of money...but it would still be cheaper than the Roush. Good luck.

The supercharged modular engines would be the bomb...but $20K for a powerplant, wiring and computer plus the additional fab work is probably excessive and unnecessary.

 

[tcb42]

Looks like FRPP just re-released the 5.0 similar to what many of you bought. Its under "complete engines" rather than crate engines. http://www.fordracingparts.com/parts/part_details.asp?PartKeyField=11752

A pretty good deal for $3500. They werent producing these for a while...but they are back.

If the original poster really wants the HP of the Roush engine. The 347 longblock with intake is on sale for $7900 right now...according to the site. Alot of money...but it would still be cheaper than the Roush. Good luck.

The supercharged modular engines would be the bomb...but $20K for a powerplant, wiring and computer plus the additional fab work is probably excessive and unnecessary.

It is different in that its a rebuilt motor where bfoly and mine were new. It is also missing the water pump and flywheel both I switched out anyway. Still a good engine for the Bronco.

 

[fordguy]

Fordguy, is this what you looked at?

http://www.fordracingparts.com/parts/part_details.asp?PartKeyField=10757

no i was looking at a truck 351, not a stroker. i do have a bare 351 block, but i want to build a roller 351, so at some point i will let the 351 flat tappet block go.

 

[Mongonius]

tcb42, Do you like your 302? If you had to put in a new motor, would you get a 302 again?

 

[broncnaz]

Even most of the FRPP crate engines are rebuilt but they usually do start with fresh blocks, cranks and rods.. These are not assembly line engines.

 

[tcb42]

tcb42, Do you like your 302? If you had to put in a new motor, would you get a 302 again?

I like the motor. True its not the most powerful engine you can buy but it works for me. I think an efi conversion will definitely improve things a bit. But to answer your question If I had to do it over again, the result would be the same. For the money and what you get or got in my case versus a rebuilt or a crate 351 I could not beat the price.