94 LT1 engine rebuild or crate motor

[rg951]

My 94 has 180,000 miles & the head gasket seemed to let go.

is it worth rebuilding (how much?)

or just go with a crate motor?

How much does a crate motor generally go for & where would I look for one.

Thanks

[jmccloud]

I'd definitely go for the crate motor unless you have personal knowledge of a really good motor shop near your location.
Google for 350 crate motor (perhaps add LT1 later) and you'll get a ton of hits.
Don't recall LT1 prices but a 350 roller cam complete with HEI and carb goes for under $4000. And does way over 300HP on pump gas.
If you know someone (really well - like he owes you big) who works at a GM dealer, they get tremendous discounts.
Good luck.

[Vis Croceus]

My 94 has 180,000 miles & the head gasket seemed to let go.

is it worth rebuilding (how much?)

or just go with a crate motor?

How much does a crate motor generally go for & where would I look for one.

Thanks

In general you'll get a lot more bang for your buck from your local rebuilder, but since you are in CA, you might do better to buy a motor from one of the known rebuilders in a location with lower costs of doing business. Only way to know is to get prices.

But this also might be jumping the gun. You know a head gasket failing usually doesn't mean you need a new engine, right?

[rg951]

In egn

In general you'll get a lot more bang for your buck from your local rebuilder, but since you are in CA, you might do better to buy a motor from one of the known rebuilders in a location with lower costs of doing business. Only way to know is to get prices.

But this also might be jumping the gun. You know a head gasket failing usually doesn't mean you need a new engine, right?

I hear ya.....the lower end I'm sure is ok.....but with 180,000 miles....I don't really want to spend $$$ in the upper end for another 20,000-30,000 miles (or less) for it to go bad.

[John Robinson]

Check out Jasper for an engine. I have a friend who has replaced engines in several of his vans with Jasper and they ran over 200K

[rg951]

Check out Jasper for an engine. I have a friend who has replaced engines in several of his vans with Jasper and they ran over 200K

Their prices look good.

I wonder how close the HP is compared to stock