I need Advice.
 

As most of you no, I bought my 67 less engine & tranny. I have a small that I could build, but I'm wanting to clone a 67 SS. The problem is I haven't been able to find a 396 for a reasonable price & the ones I have found range from $1500-$2500 & I'm sure they'll still need to be rebuilt or gone thru. For those of you that have rebuilt your own motors, would it be more cost efficient to go with a crate motor or find a engine to rebuild. Thanks for your advice in advance.

Welcome to the fun of building a car. If you are trying to clone a 67 SS and want a 396 they are out there. If you are looking for a 396 that is a 67 motor you may pay a higher price for it. If you put a small block in just build a nice car. Last year I had a 396 out of a 68 that I could not even give away it seemed. Alot of motors start to show up in the spring with swap meets going on and people start to sell thing for there project cars. If you want a good deal you need to be patient. The last motor I did for my car was about $2500 in parts and the machince shop charged me a $1000 for all the work, plus a $1000 for the motor. Not to mention all the misc stuff I purchased, so I'm into my motor for about $5500. I have seen rebuilt big blocks around here go for $2500 complete.

Ray

I've saw several 454 big blocks for sale Ray & they claimed to be rebuilt but Im not sure I trust them. A lot of guys will throw on abgasket kit & paint it & say it's rebuilt with no machine shop or anything.I knew the risk & expense involved when I got into this project but I can't afford to blow $2500 & a few months later be kicking my own butt. I'll take your advice & be patient til the right opportunity comes along. You always give a straight forward answer ray & I appreciate it. Thanks

The only way that you are going to know for sure if the motor was rebuilt is to do it yourself. There are reputable people out there, and going thru friends, or car buddies you can find them.

I have the small block and after having the problems, I am into it for a lot of cash. But it was over time that we did it, so it wasn't a huge chunk of cash at once.

Like Ray said, be patient...your motor is out there.

Exactly Ms Grumpy, that's y I was looking for engine to rebuild myself. I have rebuilt an engine before but it was all stock. I plan on the machine shop doing all the math & doing the assembly myself. Although I'll be going with aftermarket cam, intake & carb, & depending on the heads I come across while bargain shopping will determine if i'll have them reworked or go with aftermarket heads. I'm just debating if the cost to build will exceed a crate motor's cost. I'll be patient & keep watching Craigslist & wait til swap meets get going. I'll just have to start hitting the web hard for parts prices & compare the complete cost to crate motors. I will say this, it would put a huge amount of pride into myself & my project if I built my own.

Joe, crate motor like a 383 strocker are nice motors and I think the go in the range of $3500 for one. But like Nancy said a buddy may know of an good engine someone rebuilt and wreck the car for example, or maybe your area has a Chevelle club. Get the word out there and you will be surprise what might show up. I put an add on craigslist for a rearend and ended up being best buddies with a guy from the local club here and we go to all the swap meets together and I got a great deal on a rearend for my car in the process. You never know. No matter which direction you go I'm a fan of all cars whether someone is building a concours car or just a driver. I have the upmost respect for someone building their own car, rather then those who claim they did the work and really had someone else do it for them. Good luck on your search

Ray

I agree with u both & I'm all about doing the most part I can myself. I'll be patient & see what pops up. I love the small blocks n the 68-70's but for the 64's-67's I love the big block look under the hood so that's what I wana go with & I've never owned a big block is another reason I want one

Have you been searching craigslist? I wasn't sure of your exact zip code, but I went with 63114 and this is what I found...

http://stlouis.craigslist.org/pts/2861417216.html

http://stlouis.craigslist.org/pts/2842361468.html

http://stlouis.craigslist.org/pts/2867457390.html

All under $1000, might be worth a look. HTH

Funny you posted those links because I've looked @ 2 of the 3. The one for $275 is bored .40 over & has rust in the cylinders & the the one for 800 is bored .60 over. Both the guys claimed they were virgin Blocks & didn't expect me to pull out a Caliper. I'm supposed to look @ the last one this weekend & hopefully it's in descent shape. If not I'll be stuffing a 454 in it. There's plenty of those on Craigslist & there's a few 427's. Thanks for looking out though.

Check your local machine shops ,they may have one that they are owed money on and not picked up by the owner .Or they may just have a good core laying about.