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Anyone ever buy an autozone engine? I called em up and they sell long block 350's for about 1,200.... I figure that would be an easy swap, a good engine, and then allow me to work on my stock engine for a while.
Anyone think it would be worth it? Because Right now I need a second engine because my stock one is dying, buring oil, lumpy/warn out cam, bad distributor and about 200,000 rough miles on it.
I'd rather have a used motor with 60,000 miles on it, out of the junk yrd. for 600.00 than a mass produced rebuilt one for 1200.00Quote:
Originally posted by weylinthedirty
Anyone ever buy an autozone engine? I called em up and they sell long block 350's for about 1,200.... I figure that would be an easy swap, a good engine, and then allow me to work on my stock engine for a while.
Anyone think it would be worth it? Because Right now I need a second engine because my stock one is dying, buring oil, lumpy/warn out cam, bad distributor and about 200,000 rough miles on it.
i'm new here so forgive my boldness. couldnt help but notice your question. has no one suggested a NEW 350. i just installed one in my nova. cost about $1500 or so. call your local chevy parts dept.
That's what I'm asking; is a NEW chevy 350 worth paying 1,200.00 for from autozone.
They are called "New rebuilt" old block, crankshaft, rods and heads. The motor is only as good as "how good they stand behind their warranty".Quote:
Originally posted by weylinthedirty
That's what I'm asking; is a NEW chevy 350 worth paying 1,200.00 for from autozone.
...brand NEW GM crate motor 350, part # 10067353, 249 HP, 304 Tq, $1359.95 {Scoggin-Dickey Chevrolet, 1-800-456-021, www.sdp2000.com} complete less carb, intake, distrigutor. 3 year/ 36,000 mile warranty... Bill
I have a friend who rebuilds motors for a living. He uses name brand parts and his 350s are about $1,400 with an exchange. More if he has to replace the heads or other components. The work is done right. He sells to individuals and to shops. And he offers some performance options, like cams, compression, at reasonable cost.
Most mechanics will not use Autozone or other discount rebuilt motors because even if they come with a replacement warranty, they still have to stand behind the installation. So, they prefer to pay a little more and go with a trusted rebuilder.
The Autozone price is based on exchanging a rebuildable core. If you don't turn in a core, or if your core is not rebuildable, you pay more. I think you have to pay the core charge up front and you won't get your deposit back in full or in part until your core has been taken apart and inspected. This is a common practice. When your motor is rebuilt locally you know in a few days. When your motor is trucked to an out of country location it can take longer.
The base GM crate motor is a slug. Plan on swapping out the cam if you want some zip. Or upgrading to a higher rated and more expensive motor.
Look in your phone book or ask around. See if you can find a local rebuilder with a good reputation.
The GM crate motors referenced is NEW, (absolutely every part is new, not rebuilt, just like an engine put in a new car at the factory). They also come with a very good warranty, which chances are you will never have to use. "Rebuilt/remanufactured" engines on the other hand are reconditioned used engines, and in many cases put together using the lowest cost (quality) parts available. Don't get me wrong, there are several rebuilders out there that produce VERY high quality rebuilt assemblies. I've have personally seen several AutoZone engines that were junk.
"......Most mechanics will not use Autozone or other discount rebuilt motors........"
You are absolutely correct. Of all the suppliers of rebuilt parts I have dealt with my personal experience is that the ones from AutoZone were of the lowest quality and I would not sell them through the shop.
On the very rare occasions that a customers would ask about using any autozone part (such as bringing me the car and telling me that it has "life time warranty" on an AutoZone part already installed, or would want me to install one of their rebuilt engines) I would tell them my policy:
1. The customer would be responsible for picking up and paying/exchanging for the parts directly from AutoZone.
2. The customer would be responsible for delivering the part to my shop.
3. If the part installed was bad, the customer would be responsible full labor rate to remove and reinstall the part (however many times it took to get a good one).
4. The customer would be responsible for transporting the part back to autozone and returning a good part to the shop.
5. If the replacement part could not be delivered in a timely fashion (i.e. a special order that would take a "few days" to get in), storage charges would be charged on the car.
6. Absolutely no warranty on parts or labor would be given on rebuilt AutoZone parts, and that would be written on the receipt and the customer would sign it. (My normal warranty was a minimum of 90 days warranty on parts and labor, and possibly longer depending on the warranty given with the parts).
Note: I would always apply this to Auto Zone rebuilds, I could not afford to tie the shop up doing free labor over and over because the customer wanted the cheapest parts possible. The old adage about getting what you pay for applies to rebuilt parts, spend a little more and only do it once.
Well what I'm looking for is a complete replacement engine with some okay power, like 250hp and around 300lbs/torque... My stock engine is dying and I still need to be able to drive the El Camino to school, work, and around town... So I want to swap the engines out, and take some time in rebuilding my stock engine, so that I can get what I want out of it and learn all the stuff I need about rebuilding engines...
i would then reccomend the GM crate motor, you cant go wrong there... well accept GM is having a lot of problems right now... one thing i've already noticed... is a lot of BRAND NEW from the dealer GM cars i've been running into... have oil leaks.... might have to do with laying off a lot of people, some of which inspected for such errors
Napa sells rebuilt/ reman'd engines too, some even build them up right there at the store, using there off the shelf parts. My teachers son bought a 302 from them and this is exzactly what they did, they ordered the block from NAPA then put it on the stand, took a week building it then when it was done, called him and rolled it out to the loading dock and on the back of his truck, then when the bill came up, everything was seperate with own part#'s on the receipt, and somthing like 100 bucks labor, all in all he said it came to like 1,350. GM probably has the best deal for what you want tho.
hello.
I wouldn't go with an autozone engine if I were you. if you have never delt with the purchase of an engine before, then you most def will run into alot of un expected expences.
my example is fact . just call you'r local autozone they will tell you, and if they say they don't know anything about the warrenty details then hang up the phone.
in my experience with engines, in order for them to honer any warrenty claims.
1st you must show you have replaced all cooling system with NEW /not used components.
plus belts and hoses.
2nd if for some reason the reconditioned engine you bought ever laid down on you and you had to get it pulled out for autozone to stand good on the warrenty. it doesn't cover ANY amount of money you paid for labor or other install parts. thats you'r loss
3rd 99% of the time if you were to take a defected engine back to them they will tell you that it was you'r falt it went bad.
like I said .it will be your loss, not mine or anyone on this web site.s just you and your money, make a choice but think first.
I used to work for them back in 1996 . I worked with autozone here in my town for 4 years. and every single person that bought an engine from us in some way or some how got the shaft. that was one of the many reasons why I had quit working there. I couldnt face the people on the streets knowing that I was partly responsible.
do all the research you can , call all the local shops and ask who do they buy from.
my suggestion would be to go with a NEW GM engine. call you'r local gm parts dept. and ask for the crate engines.
if you can spend a little extra cash you could get a performance crate engine . most if not all are ballanced and dyno'd with a 3 yr 36k mile warrenty.
good luck I hope you make a wise choise.
what jack said... for under $2000 you can get a new 350 from chebbie...
Not sure what the others said but here is my oppinion and a story that will get you to NOT buy one. What autozone basically does is use whatever parts they find. I hear that they dont even use all the same brand parts, etc and just THROW them together. A buddy of mine put a 350 in a truck for his friend and for some reason the truck didn't run right and had internal problems, etc. They couldn't fix it and tried replacing TONS of things. Well long story short, they found out that Autozone put TWO different heads on the thing!!! If I were you I'd find a 350 block, get machine work done and get the plain 350 Federal Mogul pistons, rings, etc and start from there. Maybe you can find a nice block with a crank and rods that dont need replacing and do it that way. For 300 bucks too you can get Vortec heads on it if wanted (600 total). IMO that is worth it and the heads are fully assembled. You can get out much cheaper that way and actually LEARN and KNOW what is in your engine. People have told me crates are cheaper, etc and some said no but I have been doing my own pricing and actually in the END building your own is cheaper and you can put better parts in it for the bottom end if wanted and come out at the same price as a crate or cheaper.
This is a no brainer - buy a GM crate motor.
Another Sad Story:
Had a friend buy one of the AutoZone "rebuilt" engines. He installed it over a weekend. When he fired it up, it had an engine knock. Went to the 'Zone and showed them....."no problem, just pull the engine and bring it back." He did so the following weekend and Zone gave him another motor.....put that in and it had a fatal problem......"no problem, just pull the engine and bring it back!!!!"
Duh, it didnt sound like the inexpensive solution to me.
Lolz, thanks for all the advice guys. I did a little looking around and I found a store that specialized only in engines. They make completely brand new (even the block) engines that are made stock. The associate I spoke with will get a brand new long block 350 to my house for about $1,500. He said their long blocks come with everything on the engine already. All I gotta do is take my old one out, drop my new on in and bolt her on.
Guy I'm gonna get on ya a little bit here,just don't take it wrong because I have nothing but the best intentions...
Man youv'e been given nothing but the best answers and advice and thats why I didn't post on this subject. BuTTTT then you come back and tell us your gonna make a stupid mistake and buy your motor from this specialty house,did you investigate this joint ???? what is their warranty policy ??? I do not believe they make their own blocks (ever heard of patents) and I positively do not believe they come with everything as a drop in unit ( But I could be wrong ) Man what happens if you put this thing in and it knocks or blows up do they pull it and fix it for you ???? I'm tellin you this for your own good, Go to any G.M. parts counter and buy yourself a universal goodwrench 350,I'm sure they are under 1500 bucks it has a 3 year 36,000 mile warranty and if any thing goes wrong (except stuff that is your fault) you can take the whole vehicle to the dealer and they will pull and replace or repair it for you under warranty. I'm telling you this with 37 years of experiance turning wrenches for a living. But then again it's your vehicle,your money,and your time wasted if you go the other way and things go bad.....Believe me when I say I have had experiance with companys that have promised the world,and then weaseled out with me holding the bill
when things go wrong.....G.M. will stand behind the Goodwrench engine.
I'm going with Hworrell on this. The new block is possible but not feasable for 1,500 and a non GM company. Dart and a few other companies sell new blocks but there well over 2k, which would be far more than the 1,500 quoted when done, there probably just tanked old 1's or GM blocks that can be got from GM dealers. If you want cheap, some junkyards will put 20k mile warranty's on some compleate motors if you replace gaskets and seals, but they won't give you a new motor, just another 1 from the yard, and to retain the warranty, you have to replace gaskets and seals. Just does not make sense even that way, about the only logical way I would go ( if you are not going to the dealer for the best deal which has arleady been mentioned ) is go to a reputable engine rebuilding shop and have them build a stocker long block, they probably have a block sitting around that someone never got, and they might be able to get you somthing for 1,500 or less, and normally they will supply a warranty ( there not too good if they don't ). GM did have some problems with the goodwrench 350 at 1 time, because they were defect blocks that were sent to Mexico to be built and they were thrown togther, much like the Autozone engines, and the company your looking at most likely.
there is nothing wrong with a used block, some people says a block sitting out in the weather makes for a better race motor than a new block. "thats what some say, i dont know". :rolleyes:
Matt the Goodwrench never had any problems and all the parts are new,the one your thinking about was the G.M. Targetmaster.Quote:
Originally posted by Matt167
I'm going with Hworrell on this. The new block is possible but not feasable for 1,500 and a non GM company. Dart and a few other companies sell new blocks but there well over 2k, which would be far more than the 1,500 quoted when done, there probably just tanked old 1's or GM blocks that can be got from GM dealers. If you want cheap, some junkyards will put 20k mile warranty's on some compleate motors if you replace gaskets and seals, but they won't give you a new motor, just another 1 from the yard, and to retain the warranty, you have to replace gaskets and seals. Just does not make sense even that way, about the only logical way I would go ( if you are not going to the dealer for the best deal which has arleady been mentioned ) is go to a reputable engine rebuilding shop and have them build a stocker long block, they probably have a block sitting around that someone never got, and they might be able to get you somthing for 1,500 or less, and normally they will supply a warranty ( there not too good if they don't ). GM did have some problems with the goodwrench 350 at 1 time, because they were defect blocks that were sent to Mexico to be built and they were thrown togther, much like the Autozone engines, and the company your looking at most likely.
Lol I didn't call a G.M. shop, I called a performance shop. They just do most of their work on building stock engines for the year and vehicle model. The long block model has varrious parts such as: the oil pan, water pump, heater core, a/c core, and various other parts. The warranty is 3year 36,000 mile. And if anything is wrong I take my vehicle to their shop and they will service it free of charge.
.....ps, If there not out of business, sold to another owner, changed there shop policy, sobered up or whatever.......Quote:
Originally posted by weylinthedirty
Lol I didn't call a G.M. shop, I called a performance shop. They just do most of their work on building stock engines for the year and vehicle model. The long block model has varrious parts such as: the oil pan, water pump, heater core, a/c core, and various other parts. The warranty is 3year 36,000 mile. And if anything is wrong I take my vehicle to their shop and they will service it free of charge.
I also don't want to sound to 'harsh' but this should be what's called a 'NO BRAINER'...... A good example is; I live close to a big time, quality engine builder. I had him build a motor for me once and used to stop by and talk to him often. You know what he says about 'where to get a motor'??? THE GM PARTS COUNTER!!! {he does mostly specialty stuff}. Why??? The warrenttee and quality. Bill
You can get a new 4 bolt main block from GM for $700. If you are a manufacturer who buys in volume, you could probably get them as cheaply as $450-$500 a piece. Not much more than a normal core and considerably less if it doesn't need much or any machining at all. So, $1500 is a reasonable price for a fully assembled motor using a new block. That is what you'll pay if you guy the new GM motor and include shipping. Now, some of these builders offer better warranties than GM, even on their reman motors.
After reading this thread, to someone that don't know any better you would think the only place in the world you can buy a good motor is from the dealer and thats a bunch of crap. I've installed a lot of motors over the yrs. and never bought a dealer motor and I survived somehow. I rather find a good local indenpendent motor shop and deal with him. With the dealers its always been them and us, so i didn't deal with "them" unless i had to.**) :cool:
I couldn't find one for less than $2,300 -ISH. That was on a stock 350 with the basic 250hp, 315lbs/torque. Thats why I went to this performance shop, and not GM... I'm poor lol and I need a new engine soon.Quote:
Originally posted by 76GMC1500
You can get a new 4 bolt main block from GM for $700. If you are a manufacturer who buys in volume, you could probably get them as cheaply as $450-$500 a piece. Not much more than a normal core and considerably less if it doesn't need much or any machining at all. So, $1500 is a reasonable price for a fully assembled motor using a new block. That is what you'll pay if you guy the new GM motor and include shipping. Now, some of these builders offer better warranties than GM, even on their reman motors.
if the people does good work and stand behind their warrenty, it dont make no dif. where you get it. :cool:Quote:
Originally posted by weylinthedirty
I couldn't find one for less than $2,300 -ISH. That was on a stock 350 with the basic 250hp, 315lbs/torque. Thats why I went to this performance shop, and not GM... I'm poor lol and I need a new engine soon.
That is the 1 I was thinking of. My Auto Shop told us about themQuote:
Originally posted by HWORRELL
Matt the Goodwrench never had any problems and all the parts are new,the one your thinking about was the G.M. Targetmaster.
Quote:
Originally posted by lt1s10
if the people does good work and stand behind their warrenty, it dont make no dif. where you get it. :cool:
Ya but my main problem is price, I need something thats less than $1,500. I get all my taxes back in Feburary because I'm a full time student. That will leave me with about $1,200 and my part-time job can supply another couple hundred as long as I don't have to buy groceries.
then I'd find me one out of the salvage yard with 50 to 60,000 miles on it, and put that in. I 've had better luck with low miles salvage than i have with mass produce ones. I've done a lot of both. **)Quote:
Originally posted by weylinthedirty
Ya but my main problem is price, I need something thats less than $1,500. I get all my taxes back in Feburary because I'm a full time student. That will leave me with about $1,200 and my part-time job can supply another couple hundred as long as I don't have to buy groceries.
If you are looking for something too get you buy while you build you "stock" one ,do what S-10 said . Go to your local junk yards and look for a running 350 that you can buy.S-10 said they could be had for around 600.This will keep you car running for school at 600 dollars instead of 1200 that you were going to spend for a Autozone engine with parts that have been thrown together.
Also ,THERES NOTHING WRONG WITH A SEASONED BLOCK!:D
yes I agree. you could save cash by going to a salvage yard. but there are a few things to look for in a good block.Quote:
Originally posted by lt1s10
then I'd find me one out of the salvage yard with 50 to 60,000 miles on it, and put that in. I 've had better luck with low miles salvage than i have with mass produce ones. I've done a lot of both. **)
if it can run is a plus. remove the oil pan pull a couple of the main caps check the bearings and look to see if they are standard
you can find alot of things about an engine if you can drop the oil pan.
and also pulling the heads would be a good idea. look at both the cylinder walls and the valves for wear.
dont trust block castings when it comes to salvage yard engines the truth is inside the engine.
if you go with a local engine shop . before you pay ,ask for specs, warranty details. and lots of questions. if they don't or cant answer any then you should think twice about doing bussiness with them. good luck
If you buy a NAPA, Autozone, or other autoparts motor, you better be saving the cost of labor of removing it and reinstalling over the cost of a GM crate motor.
If you are strapped for cash, buy a junk yard car from a rollover or from a rearend collision. You can save money by buying a low cost engine that has been broken in. You do have to consider the condition of the seals and such and how the engine was stored since it was taken out of service.
There are over a 100 rebuilt engine factories in the US. They sort out old internals to specifiation and rebuild engines from the core parts. Most of the time you get what you pay for, but some of the time the engines have a problem and you get to remove and reinstall and pay freight a second time. I have not heard any thing bad about a GM crate motor and they don't cost that much more.
If you have some mechanical ability, you can build your own, but it is pretty doubtful that on the first one you will be ahead of the game vs a crate motor.