Georgia Flash Posted March 30, 2002 Share Posted March 30, 2002 Hi all, I went to my local Advance Auto Parts store tonight and picked up some pamphlets on their crate motors and trannys. Here is my questions: The motor is a "Recon" remanufactured engine and the tranny is made by "Accurate." I guess my question is, are these things reliable and can I run the edelbrock rpm manifold and carb set up and get decent performance? Thanks in advance guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denny411 Posted March 30, 2002 Share Posted March 30, 2002 The advance Recon engines are good engines for a cruizer or everyday driver. But if you want to get some serious HP#`s I wouldn`t recomend it.None of there engines are balanced and They are all bored to .040 over and they will grind the rod and main journals as much as .040 under. Also you will have no idea what heads you are getting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted March 30, 2002 Share Posted March 30, 2002 Have you considered any of the Vortech truck engines (regular SBC, not the LS1 type)? They're relaitively inexpensive, and Edelbrock makes intakes for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted March 30, 2002 Share Posted March 30, 2002 .040 under? Holy crap that seems like a lot, I've seen a light car with slicks and a spooled olds rear end (59 anglia with a 327 4sp, it was a hoot) totally break the crank at .010 under. (grenaded things bad enough where they found lifters in the pan, must have been a bad crank, most handle .010 pretty easily IMHO!) Regards, Lone Ps: Don't discount Chevy's crate motors either, which engine and what was the price on the one you were looking at? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumpyvette Posted March 30, 2002 Share Posted March 30, 2002 most of those engines are for replacement of daily driver low performance engines,they are basic cheap rebuilds the cheapest parts available are used at all times,and as many reused parts as possiable are used in their construction, thats not to say they are not a reasonable engine for the money spent but your not getting a high performance engine in any way, the engines are normally built with reused rod bolts, cast reground cranks,used valve springs, resurfaced/rebuilt lifters, and in some cases reground cams., they are NOT BALLANCED and the clearances are(IF IT CAN BE BOLTED IN OR PRESSED IN IT FITS)in some cases, figure your buying a block and a cast crank, and rebuildable cylinder heads for the price. they will get your car running and they normally come with a 1 to 3 year warranty that basically says (if it blows up and we can,t convince you it was your fault we will give you a second rebuilt engine,) I think you would be much better off buying an engine core from a salvage yard and rebuilding it yourself! we used to buy 400 chevys when they were hard to find in salvage yards from DISCOUNT AUTO, strip them down, replace the rods,rod bolts and pistons, and rebuild them correctly but the quality of even the blocks we got varied from great to total trash, you will not know what your getting and the store in most cases will at best just swap it for another just like it if you complain long enough! the G.M. target master engines are far better average quality and brand new and can be purchased for, http://www.sdpc2000.com/cart.asp?action=prod_detail&catid=128&pid=110 http://www.sdpc2000.com/cart.asp?action=prod_detail&catid=130&pid=383 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted March 30, 2002 Share Posted March 30, 2002 Dude!!!! Advance Auto Parts would be the last person I would buy an engine from. Do I really need to explain why? Your better off getting an engine custom built to your needs. If you plan to use an "Autoadvance formally known as Western Auto" then be prepared to handle all 150 horsepower. Those engines are rated "conservatively" so you don't blow them. In all reality it would be either the same amount or a little more to get new internal parts in example a straight crank, and any other part that can be "recycled". Do the right thing and "advance" right over to http://summitracing.com/ there you will find inexpensive and expensive parts, but you will not find "cut 10/10 cranks" That crap is for the birds! Oh and if your thinking of going to Autozone...same story, just different name. If you want to buy a good block, then the key things to look for is: 1. Core shift- Most blocks that have a massive amount of core shift will show when you look at the nut bosses and lifter bores, notice it is not entirely a perfect circle...those you want to avoid. 2. Piston skirt line chips, which is the bottem of the cylinder wall. If it looks rather rough..think twice (Most look rough, but way too rough is way too much) 3. Casting flash- Some blocks have an unusual amout of casting flash where the factory did not completely cut out the oil galley..If you do get a bare block, be sure to remove all the casting flash from the oil ports and anywhere else, while your at it, smooth the edges of the blocks to prevent or minimize cracked blocks under hi heat or stress. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgia Flash Posted March 31, 2002 Author Share Posted March 31, 2002 Thanks to all of you who gave input. I will probably not go with the recon now and just find a used camaro or something with a V-8 in it so that I have all the stuff for it. Then I will just have it rebuilt. Again thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgia Flash Posted March 31, 2002 Author Share Posted March 31, 2002 I have a pamphlet for the Recon engine and it says: "All crank shafts are supplied at no greater than .030" undersize and all are accurately balanced. Every crankshaft is polished to a mirror smoothness." So I don't know where the .040" came from but that's not what they advertise. Grumpy are you listening to all this? If so HELP! I'm just trying to figure out the best way to go for a guy on a broken shoe string budget that doesn't care to race his Z-8 and just wants it to look and sound good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgia Flash Posted March 31, 2002 Author Share Posted March 31, 2002 Almost forgot Lone, the price was around the $800 range for a 79 Chevy 4 bolt main engine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denny411 Posted March 31, 2002 Share Posted March 31, 2002 a few years ago a friend of mine bought a recon engine and later found out that the mains were .040 under. they could have changed that since then but .030 is still quite a bit. but as I said before if it`s for a cruizer or daily driver,they are good engines.His was in an 85 monte carlo with a shift kit. he never had any crank related problems. If your not going for a high performance engine,the 4 bolt block will be overkill.IMO a 4 bolt isn`t needed under 400 hp. A 2 bolt block should outlast a cast crank with no problem. Especialy if that crank has been turned quite a bit. In your situation I would go for it.They have a good warranty, so if it pull it and exchange it. you can always build another engine later and sell this one if your not happy with the hp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denny411 Posted April 13, 2002 Share Posted April 13, 2002 I just saw an ad in summit. They are also selling the Recon brand crate engines. I have a hard time believing Summit would put their name behind a poor quality engine builder. Just my opinion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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