EnderWiggin

I'm a reasonably smart guy who tends to get things pretty quickly. I don't know a whole lot about cars, but I've always loved them and I'm starting to learn. I want to put a new 351w in my 69 coupe. Should I try my hand at building it? Or would I be better off just buying a decent crate? Pros and cons? Please weigh in...

rst08tierney

I built my first one.....hahaha....never again. IMO I think everyone needs to build one, honestly. On the other hand, now that im almost finished, I will buy my next one.

zmetalmilitia

Buy it. Since you don't have a lot of patience. Get one in and drivable, then build one on the side to learn how. Keep it or sell it, but it won't bog you down.

Tony R

buy one to get on the road and build one on the side. It might be cheaper for you to just buy a new one as well depending on what you are wanting.

4reboy

as for a car build it, but for my engine I had mine rebuilt professionally, got it back in like a week or less. For an engine I would probably want to build one on the side like everyone else is saying, lots of stuff I do NOT want to mess up in there... haha

Goauburn50

I'd buy a good crate engine. I've never rebuilt one, but I'd like to try and build one on the side. I'm just glad I finally got mine running. Good luck with whatever you decide.

fakesnakes

The alternative is to by a built short block and source your own parts and bolt it together. The key tolerances are already machined and worked out for you and you get the satisfaction of doing a lot of the work yourself.

For me, the whole car building experience is 2/3 the fun. The other 1/3 is driving it and I only say that because I'm old enough now, have enough money, and live in a cold enough climate for 4 months of the year that as much as I love my Mustangs, I couldn't have one as a DD for the entire year.