I was wondering if anyone has one, or is familier with the Edelbrock Crate Engines. They are pretty pricey, the 435 HP one being about $6,500. But they seem to be all quality Edelbrock parts. Any thoughts on these?

Chris, don't have any experience, although I built a 435 hp 427 WITH 3X2 for ALOT less than that.

Around here, $6500 gets you a "iron head" 540, 650 HP guaranteed.

NICE DEAL ON THE CAR!!!! Sure it has the ever present trunk rust, but what a great starter!

What is your vision for the car? Race, street? You can find 400 hp for much less IMHO, even in a crate.

A 435 HP small block for $6500 is graemlins/sad.gif

Thanks - Right now I'm researching all I can on possible engine combinations... they're endless I'm finding out.

Currently I'm practicing my welding and am going to fix the trunk, floor pans, and some of the other rust spots. Overall the car is pretty solid. I've already gotten a bunch of the small parts on ebay for next to nothing. Last night I scored a nice rear bumper off Ebay for $20.

Once I get the car safe and sound, I'm going to rebuild the front end with all new bushings, change the shocks, upgrade the brakes, and think about some new wheels. Then over the winter hopefully the engine, tranny, and whatever odds and ends I've missed.

The engine is what I'm stuck on. I don't have the time (or the knowledge all though I could learn) to build my own engine so I'm going to go the crate route, or have someone local build it. I'd like to spend no more than $5,000 on the engine. Ironic since that 17 times what I paid the car!

Any engine/tranny advice is always greatly appreciated.

Chris,
If you're leaning toward the crate motor option, why not a GM performance crate?
A ZZ4 can be had for a lot less...good warranty...and a great platform to expand from later when the "more HP" bug hits.
Just built up a mild 383...Comp hyd cam, Bowtie heads, 4 bolt main, balanced hyper piston assembly, ARP fasteners throughout.
Probably got $2500 into it, intake to pan.

Small block/Automatic? I would suggest a 350/383 700R4 combo with 3.42 rear gears. Nice setup, and can be had for $5000 TOTAL.

Yeah, the car looks pretty good except for the trunk.

You may consider a front disc swap while you're at it. I didn't. Thought I was going to sell the car, so I kept it real close to original. It took $250 shoes to get it to stop right.

You don't need a $900 conversion kit, run a search here and see which years of A-body stuff will fit your 65. I believe you could do the swap for the same $250 I spent on brake shoes.

Those 6 cyls are die hards. Does it run? You might want work around a running motor and get all your other things squared away, and then finally drop a engine/tranny in.

I was actually looking at the GM crate motors as well. They definately seem like a worthwhile consideration. What would be the real world difference (besides price -for a street car that will never see the dragstrip) between the GM 350/383 crate motor, and the GM 454 crate motor?

Also can you tell me the difference between the TH-400 and the 700R4 combo you recommend?

Thanks!

The Edelbrock motors use a ZZ4 short block with the Edelbrock heads. You could build one of these youself for way less than what Edelbrock charges. The cam has 296º of intake duration and the engine has only 9.5:1 compression. It is seriously overcammed. I suggest lookng elsewhere.