Crate Engines & Long Blocks

How to choose a crate engine

Start with three questions before horsepower: what the engine has to bolt to (block family, mounts and bellhousing pattern), how much of it you want already assembled, and what it needs to run. An engine that does not fit your chassis or controls costs more to make work than a bigger dyno number is worth.

Short block, long block, or dressed and turnkey

A short block is the bottom end: block, crankshaft, rods and pistons, with heads and valvetrain left to you. A long block adds the cylinder heads, camshaft and valvetrain. Base, mid-dress, dressed, deluxe and turnkey versions add progressively more of the intake, fuel system, ignition, water pump and accessories, and the exact list varies by builder. Read the included-parts list line by line. Ford Performance, for example, notes that its X2302E crate engine does not include an intake manifold or distributor, and warns on its Z460 page that a different timing cover, water pump, oil pan and pickup may be required depending on the application.

Carbureted or fuel-injected

A carbureted small block or big block runs with a distributor and a conventional fuel pump. A modern fuel-injected engine needs its own control system. Chevrolet Performance describes its LS control system as a stand-alone kit for LS crate engines with electronic throttle control, and says the fuel system must hold a constant 400 kPa (60 psi). Ford Performance lists a specific control pack as a requirement for its Coyote crate engines. Put the controller, harness, fuel pump and lines on your parts list before you compare engines.

Street, race or marine

Many performance crate engines are sold for off-highway use only, and Ford Performance labels several of its engines that way. Federal policy treats installing a different engine in a road vehicle as tampering unless the result matches a certified configuration of the same or newer model year as the chassis, or there is a reasonable basis for knowing emissions are not adversely affected, and in California every engine change must pass an initial inspection at a Smog Check Referee Center. Emissions-packaged engines exist: Chevrolet Performance E-ROD kits come with emissions hardware such as an evaporative emissions canister. Sealed racing engines, such as Chevrolet's circle track engines and Ford's sealed 347, are built for racing series that require a sealed crate engine, so check your class rules first.

Marine engines are their own category. BluePrint Engines, for example, recommends a flame arrestor on its marine engines and a closed cooling system in salt water for versions with aluminum heads and intake. Buy an engine built for the job it will do.

New, remanufactured or used

This department mixes new crate engines from Chevrolet Performance, Ford Performance, BluePrint, ATK, Edelbrock and Roush with remanufactured long blocks and used factory engines pulled from vehicles. For a new engine, ask for the build or dyno sheet; BluePrint states a dyno printout ships with its engines. For a used engine, ask for the compression readings taken before shipping and confirm what comes with it: harness, computer, flexplate and accessories.

Break-in

Follow the maker's break-in procedure, not a generic one. Chevrolet Performance's procedure for LS crate engines calls for varied loads with no wide-open throttle for the first 30 miles, an oil and filter change, and then 500 miles of normal driving before another oil and filter change.

Shop by make

Browse Chevrolet crate engines for small block, LS, LT and big block options, or Ford crate engines for Boss Windsor small blocks and Coyote V8s. Pairing an engine with a gearbox? See transmissions. Questions about a specific listing can go through contact.