Ford Crate Engines... Your thoughts ?

[turnpike boy]

Originally Posted by Speedysnake

Hey guys,

Have we lost track of the question?

That is a prerequisite for these posts.

I've never seen ANY data stipulating actual failure rate of the Ford 392; so far as I can discern, the ONLY crate engine that has ever had any kind of as-issued trouble. And Ford was fast - very fast - to make corrections there. One guy we have run with in the past (with the 392) had some grumbles about their response, but he was ultimately very satisfied with Ford's corrections.

I have yet to see or hear any issues since, and have never heard any discontent with the 302's.

[Bill Wells]

i have a ford crate 392 stroker, 8,000 + miles on it. no problems except for a distributor gear shear pin letting go, on an accel distrib,which was std when i bought my crate . they have now changed their distributors to msd which i did also. the crates for the budget concious and ease of availability is a good value, plus they now have a warranty i understand - mine did not when i bought it. early on, several years ago, there were some failures, but i can't remember what the cause was and while those affected spoke out very loudly, there were many many more of that same era that reported no problems so my guess is the reported 20% failure rate someone quoted a ford dealer as stating is a guesstimate without statistical support. my next one , when that day comes, will be another ford crate, great bang for the buck in my book. bill

[saps]

I should have said that mine (the one that came up with a cracked block) was one of the "newer" ones with a warranty (12 month / 12,000 miles...I think). That's why they fixed it. Also, Reg offered to do the removal / reinstallation for free but I had to get the car to him.

Overall, not a bad outcome. If I'd have had more room in my garage I would have done the engine removal / reinstallation myself and it wouldn't have cost me anything...except a little time.

[DavidNJ]

There are many old FE blocks around. And can be used in 'crate motor', although not from Ford. I believe Keith Craft, Genesis, and Shelby used new aftermarket blocks.

The block is probably the old 'Ford' part used by many builders. Aftermarket blocks tend to compete on the higher end of the market...$2+k for the block.

As for me, I think I would like to use the CHI 185 3v heads. Sort of a new Boss 302 (347?).

[Northwood Cobra]

Where can you find information on Keith Craft motors?

Terry

[tpiini]

Originally Posted by Northwood Cobra

Where can you find information on Keith Craft motors?

Terry

www.keithcraft.com