Was wondering if everyone could share which engine, rated HP, the builder (and cost) they went with. Also interested in comments such as whether the purchase was good value, etc.

Fred

 

if you want the learning experience, rebuild it yourself. think eagle specialties, coast high, summit racing for the kits. for a crate engine, theres a guy on here that works for t and l engine and from what i can tell and reviews, go there. ford racing has decent packages too.

http://www.tandlengines.com/
http://summitracing.com/

 

Go with ford racing....check out fordracing.com huge amount of crate engines to choose from depending on budget, and what you want from it. Min is Ford Racing, and could not be happier.

 

I built my own 289 hipo.... build you own mild to wild..

 

I am the one that works for T and L engines, one thing we have over other crate builders is ours are pretty much custom built engine the engines and prices on the website are the basic built engines whithout upgrades and as for upgrades you can get just about anything you want.

 

mine i bought a short block from world its a 460 small block and built it up my way. talk to mustanglover66 hes a great guy knows what hes talking about.fordracing is nice but pricey for the same thing you can pick up else where cheaper.

 

personally, i'd build my own, planning a 347, but my current stock 289 runs too good. you don't have to go with a complete crate, consider trying a balanced short block to save money, and then you take it from there, example, AFR or world heads, 1.7 roller rockers, maybe an airgap intake, nice holley, MSD. The critical part is getting the is the bottom end and getting it put together correctly.

 

I agree. It's amazing how many people start with the heads and go up from there to achieve tons of horsepower without considering the lower end of the engine which is the real workhorse and the most vulnerable to breaking.

 

Ford Racing crate motor 5.0/345hp from Summit Racing. It was delivered two days after placing the order. Cost was about $4100 delivered with no sales tax since purchased out of state. If I were building a race car I'd probably look elsewhere. For the rest of us, I think it the best available option out there. It is all new, assembled by those who build our cars and is backed by Ford Motor Company. Peak power numbers aside (is that really that important once you get above 300hp in an early Mustang?), it has a roller cam and rockers, and a one-piece rear main seal. Considering that I had an issue with a leaky rear on a previous crate motor, that was important to me.

On top of all that, it is a very streetable motor. My advice is to base your decision on your needs and not to be enamored purely with HP numbers like I did. That lesson cost me more dollars than I'd like to admit to.

Good luck!
Jeff