302 crate engines

They're pretty stout, and should last longer than the rest of the car. They are just about the best bang for the buck going.

On Sun, 10 Sep 2006 18:26:08 -0400, "Johnny" wrote something wonderfully witty:

The crate engines are great and probably the best bang for the buck.

This really is a serious question. How does an engine become "tired". If compression is OK and air/fuel/ignition parameters are nominal shouldn't it put out about the same power as a "new" 302?

Howard

On Mon, 11 Sep 2006 15:43:06 GMT, "Howard Nelson" wrote something wonderfully witty:

Who knows what he meant by it? I focused on his question about the crate motors. Although there are other issues then just the compression & air/fuel/ignition which are major factors to be sure. You can have your cam/crank/valve train/rods etc, all of which can be dealt with on a one by one basis, but if you have a high mileage & worn engine and are looking for the best bang for the buck, an engine swap is probably the quickest, easiest & cheapest.

are you interested at all or comfortable with doing the rebuild yourself? freshening up a tired engine at best could be inexpensive assuming the crank, block and cylinder bores are serviceable and not in need of major machine work. tear down the block and see where it's at before you make a decision.

"freshening up" are you talking about rebuilding the engine? That term "freshening up" grates like fingernails on a chalk board.

It kinda denotes a less than professional, or sub-standard attempt at rebuilding an engine, without the required machine work or new parts.... generally also entails everything under the hood having a new matching coat of rattle can paint.

the care taken at a good rebuilder, along with the fact that most upgrade stock components with better than factory stuff, even when rebuilding to "stock" specs, allows the rebuilt engine to develop horsepower closer to the "theoretical" factory numbers. 5.0 parts and performance have come a long long way since the 1990 car in question, then if you "spec" the motor with different cam, rocker ratios, and so forth it is possible to build a very streetable reliable motor in the 325HP to 400 hp range, for very close to the cost of a "stock" rebuild. even local supplier like pep boys and advance auto can order motors that are warmer than stock. Here in south west FL, AER rebuilders, Fred Jones, and Jasper have good reputations as far as reliability and power.

i'm thinking you dont have a clue and are looking for an arguement.

Oh, I have a clue, and plenty of years REBUILDING engines correctly. The term "freshening up" when used in conjunction with an internal combustion engine is half-assed and inappropriate.

i stand by my statement. you find all kinds in (nutjobs) the newsgroups

I wonder what brand of douche he uses to "freshen up" his engines. ;-)

you guys crack me up.

That what comes to mind every time I hear a wanna-be mechanic say he is going to "freshen up" an engine...