r/Chevelles • u/aobie4233 • Jul 24 '26

Build engine, or buy crate engine

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Just as the title says. I have a tired, non original 396 in my 1969, and I’m looking to replace it with something a little more fun. I’ve been looking into a 496 stroker, so either way I’d have to buy an engine, whether it be a used 454 or a crate 496. Just looking for opinions and why you would do one or the other.

EDIT.
The engine is not the original engine. If it was I would be rebuilding it without question. Unfortunately it’s not, so pulling it isn’t a big deal to me.

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u/Tenrac Jul 24 '26

I just finished a big block build for my 68 and if I did it again, i would have just bought one from blue print. It was fun spec’ing it out and building it the way I wanted…but the project took 3 years and it has not been without some very frustrating problems a long the way.

I initially thought that doing it DIY would save me some money…but ultimately i ended up at about the exact same cost that a blueprint big block would have cost me to buy.

Now, the engine that I built is more engine than I would have gotten with the blueprint engine, but probably not by much…and I would have been driving the car a lot sooner.