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260 HP vs 290 HP GM Crate Motors

7K views 9 replies 8 participants last post by  moose866 
#1 ·
My '76 El Camino SS needs a new motor. Her 350 (w/ 305 heads) has a dead hole (bad comp rings) & is overpressurizing the crankcase (very messy). She currently has a rebuilt TH350 and a non-posi 2:73 rear end. I have a new exhaust system w/ a new set of Hedman Elite Hedders, "H" pipe, 2 1/2 " pipe w/ Flowmasters. I also have a new Weiand Action+ intake and a new Edelbrock 600 cfm performer carb already on my sick motor. Because of these parts I don't want to switch over to Vortec heads, but I still want the best bang for the buck. Our local Chevy dealer has Goodwrench 260 hp crate motors for $1365 (+ core) and GM Performance 290 hp crate motors for $1745 (no core). The 260 hp motor comes with a 3 yr warranty and the 290 comes with only 1 yr. Is the 290 hp motor worth the extra bucks? My big 2 ton girl sure needs the extra grunt to move her large behind w/ those high gears. Thoughts? I really don't want to throw big bucks into a rig that is my daily driver (sport utility) and barely worth the price of a new Edelbrock crate motor.
 
#2 ·
Horsepower doesn't mean much ---look at the torque numbers----torque moves vehicles -----unless there is a significant difference save the 400 bucks to use more effectively..........Dan
 
#7 ·
yes, but remember, this is a 17 yr old thread. what was the cost back then? additional to consider, do you have any good machine shops near by that know what they are doing? in my area of 1million+ people, there are few machine shops and only one I've heard of that knows what they are doing.
 
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