[jlcustomz]

I had the old 2pcseal crate motor in a work truck for about 8 years ( now in a friends impala). Was a good deal , a good engine internally, but damn those 2 pc seals. Definitely spend more for the later 1pc main, roller cam model.They're not hot rod motors, but are factory reliable.
As others have touched on, it,s an unaccessorized long block, so figure a budget for all the misc parts that should be swapped while it's apart. And on those parts, try to get the best ones you can. In 8 years of running the baseline crate 350 in a 9,000 pound work truck , it was items like the chinesequality rebuilt distributor, water pump, STARTERS, & edelbrock carbs that gave trouble, not engine internals.
Another note here,Jegs was out of stock on that engine, Ended up going through Pace Performance.

 

[jlcustomz]

Anyone got decent life span from their crate engine.
I super skeptical of complete engines for $1500..heard too many horror stories.
They have to cut costs somewhere.

Did you note where I posted my base crate engine lived over 8 years in a 9,000 lb worktruck? pushed far beyond it,s intended application. Ran over 3,000 rpm on interstate a few hours a week, Caught in fire from tranny line breaking & sucked in half the burnt air filter & didn,t realize it for a few months, Overheated dozens of times,pulled overloaded 16' trailers, etc. Now a friend is enjoying it in his car.
Part of the reason for a low cost new gm engine is it's the most common engine ever made. Solid, but nothing high end, nothing special, cost effective assembly line built which eliminates many common rebuilt problems such as some doof denting the head gasket causing to fail after rebuilt warranty expires.
The old gasket & oil seal technology is probably the worst aspect of these crate engines.You do to some degree get wnat you pay for. I would be cautious or any rebuilt engine that sounds to good to be true, especially a high output one.:stern: