Buy or Build Your Engine - Car Craft Magazine

Scored a no-motor street machine from the classifieds? We've done it a million times. It's good, but now you're gonna need something to stick between the fenders because sitting behind the wheel making engine noises gets old quick. Or maybe the stocker in your ride is on its way out. Either way, you need a new motor, and the choice is yours: Buy one or build one. Here's the deal: We checked out some popular crate engines and compared the parts and horsepower with a homebuilt mill to answer some nagging questions. Which is cheaper? Does it come with an oil pan? How 'bout a warranty? Will my scrap-yard carb be as cool as a GM Performance Parts Holley? Can I even find a useable core in the local tabloid? We've also included a list of popular crate jobs with specs on what they come with, plus a few enlightening anecdotes on engine-building fun. We will tell all, but in the end, it's up to you to develop a plan to hide your new score from the lady in charge.

Price Comparo: Buy Or Build?
To really understand what a bargain a factory crate motor can be, it's illuminating to compare the price of the crate motor to the cost of building it yourself from scratch. The Ford Racing guys have crate jobs ranging from the 600-horse monster 514 bracket motor to a 1.9L Escort motor. (Blecch!) But you want real power, don't you? We'll show you the 345hp GT-40 302 you can buy from Ford and compare it to the cost of building an equivalent engine with parts from Motorsports Moe, the parts guy and local Ford Racing specialist at Colley Ford in Glendora, California.

Buy The GT-40 Crate 302?
Block casting: A 302 block built at Ford's Cleveland engine plant with a 4.00-inch bore. These brand-new blocks are plucked from the Ford Explorer assembly line.
Crank: Production 302 nodular cast-iron with a 3.00-inch stroke
Rods: Production 5.09-inch
Pistons: Standard-bore hypereutectic pistons making a 9.0:1 compression ratio with 64cc GT-40 heads
Heads: Late-model aluminum GT-40X (for extra) cylinder heads with 1.94-inch intake and 1.54-inch exhaust valves
Camshaft: Standard-trans guys get the B303 hydraulic-roller cam with 0.480 valve lift on the intake and exhaust and 224 degrees of duration at 0.050. Automatics get the E303 with 0.498 lift and 220 degrees at 0.050. Both cams are designed to be used with post-'85 blocks and use a 1.6:1 rocker ratio.
Flywheel/Flexplate: Yup, the flywheel included is the 157-tooth manual tranny model. If you must run an automatic, order the automatic cam and get the post-'81 157-tooth flexplate instead; the price is the same.
Shipping Weight: Approximately 425 pounds including the crate and oil
Crate price: $3,495.00 plus tax
Power: 345 hp
Warranty? None on a Ford Motorsports crate engine

Or Build It?
Block: To be strictly fair, we would print prices for a new block with a new crank and rods. In the real world, however, gearheads would be better served to buy a core from the classifieds or junkyard and go through it. We found a post-'85 302 roller-cam short-block assembly with a standard bore, flywheel, balancer, crank, rods, and pistons (which we tossed) for $350 using the online classifieds. We then called the Taylor Engine machine shop in Whittier, California, for labor prices and sourced Ford Motorsports parts through Colley Ford.