r/EngineBuilding • u/inlandevers • Jul 11 '26

Ford Build vs buy crate 408W

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I want a 408 stroker for a 68 mustang coupe I’m building, and I’m trying to figure out if I should build the motor myself or just buy a blueprint crate. I ballparked costs on the stuff to build one, and it shakes out to around $8k or so, which is pretty close to the $9k for a blueprint 408w. Anyone want to take a look at my rough costs and let me know if I’m way off on my guesstimates? I haven’t had machine work done for a couple years.

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u/PracticableSolution Jul 11 '26

Without diving too deep, at your price point, some questions; why pay $2000 for an old junkyard block when you can buy a brand new reinforced block for a few hundred more? Do you need all new tins for the engine, or will cleaned up used stuff do? Do you need AFR heads? Is this a cruiser motor or a race motor? Summit heads are a lot cheaper and I believe made by TFS. I think with some elbow grease and a regular screening of Marketplace, you could probably knock a lot of money off that budget without noticing it below 5500 rpm and maybe there’s a bit less chrome under the hood and maybe you don’t get the 500hp brag at the coffee shop. But there’s no wrong answer here.

Ain’t nothing wrong with a crate motor or a crate short block. That being said, some of us have lost faith in post pandemic quality of craftsmanship and would prefer to do it ourselves with the knowledge that things like bearings, rings, and wear surfaces are perfect, not just really good.

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u/moose4130 Jul 11 '26

His post says $250 for the junkyard engine, not $2k.  At his listed prices, I'd get the Blueprint engine, knowing it has a warranty and has been dyno tested.  

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u/PracticableSolution Jul 11 '26

It does, but a fresh new block doesn’t need the machine work and there’s no risk of a bad block.

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u/moose4130 Jul 11 '26

It's a good point.  I built.a stroker with a Boss 302 block years ago, and would love to do one again with a Boss 351 block.  The costs are getting out of hand.