Engine Rebuild w/ Upgrades or Crate Motor?

Question

I have a 2001 Chevrolet Silverado that I absolutely love even though the current condition of the truck does not provide evidence of it. I bought it in 09 with 67k miles in almost perfect condition. Well being th young, immature kid I was I just didn't treat it all to well. Well I have just earned a pretty good raise so I am going to start rebuilding the truck. I'm going to start with the body but I've ready got that arranged. Then I'm going to go on with some smaller things aftermarket upgrades, lights, new carpet, etc. Well December of this year I will be taking 30 days leave and would like to get some engine work done during that time. This is where my question comes in. Should I, and how much would it cost, to get the engine rebuilt with upgrades such as getting it bored out, a camshaft, aluminum heads and headers, cold air intake, performance chip and some other smaller or should I just buy a crate motor? I'm not very mechanically inclined. I mean I can change the oil and replace what's broken but I'm oblivious when it comes to performance so all advice will help. Also, I just had the tranny rebuild February of this year at Firestones expense because they didn't add fluid when the were to change out the fluid. Needless to say the tranny was shot. Thank you.

Answer 1

would probably go with the crate motor.but keep in mind if the tranny can handle it.witch probably can't either way you go.but either way do not go with a chip.do it right and get a performance tune on the ecu.chips are unreliable and so easy to screw up your ecu by not putting it in right not to mention not durable.and if you screw up your ecu its a expensive fix.and if you ever want to tune it for more power you would have to replace the ecu.so do it right and get a actuall computer tune.might be a little more expensive but in the long run you'll thank me.can't tell you how many times I've seen people make this mistake and ruin the ecu or even worse get a bad chip and wreak everything.were as getting a tune if some settings go astray you can return it to stock settings and have it retuned with all the bugs fixed and it is much more reliable.can not stress the huge no no with chips

Answer 2

well firestone did not do you any favors you probably got a basic rebuild for a stock motor if you plan to punch out the motor and add a bunch of upgrades the tranny will not hold up all that long anyway so plan on rebuilding it next.

Find a local shop that does good work you can build a fun motor by buying a short block and adding some aluminum heads with a nice cam and an upgraded fuel injection. Money wise you will get a good bang for your buck boring out an engine is not always necessary you can also buy a new crate motor from edelbrack its a turn key motor for about 6 grand 330 hp I believe and will work fine with the stuff you have now with the upgrades already installed. Find a good shop that knows their dtuff and work with them they may let you participate in the installation which gives you some experience.

here is a link to edelbrock http://www.edelbrock.com/automotive_new/mc/crate_engines/crate_engines_main.shtml

Answer 3

The very first thing you have to do is rebuild the brakes entrance to rear, when you consider that none of the esisting wheel cylinders and the front calipers are any good, I endorse you buy new and go from there, brake hoses are going to be brittle they have to go, and new master cylinder and vigor booster, once you have brakes, then begin looking into the relaxation of the stuff, being within the storage helps quite a bit with the body but there are numerous different mechanical features that just dry and get hard, primarily rubber, and although it appears to be good enough, you cant take a chance on a 20 plus 12 months old master cylinder working underneath heavy braking.

Answer 4

CRATE ENGINE AND you can order it the way that you wont it and still get the wty.thats the only way to go now days ,You cant build one for what you can buy one 4 .