I just bought a 65. And the 289 is not in the car. I havent taken it apart yet but it probably isnt going to be easy to rebuild and i dont care about it being original. Now my question: Would it be cheaper to buy a rebuilt motor or rebuild the current one?

 

If you're doing the assembly yourself - it will be much cheaper.

If you're farming everything out - It would be cheaper to get a crate motor.

Hope that helps.

 

Depends on what you're looking for. A full roller cam setup with be north of $1k by itself. Add the heads and intake, and you'll be looking at another $1.5k easily. Add machine work, pistons, oil pump, water pump, new/rebuilt dizzy,[sm=icon_blah.gif] Well, you get the idea. If this seems daunting, buy a crate. Otherwise, enjoy yourself and just take your time. Engines are simple, as long as you don't get in a hurry.

If you're going for a mild build with heads/cam/intake and keeping it flat tappet, you can get 'er done for about $2.5k...give or take.