The best crate motor for the job

[Moody Blues]

I am asking everyone's opinion on what the best crate motor for my truck would be. I have been bouncing between an EFI 572, or the 502 ram jet. My goal is to build the ultimate work truck. It will have to be a daily driver. I have 2 front dana 60 axles that after rebuilding will be going on the truck. The frame will be boxed by the time the motor is purchased. I plan on installing the biggest alternator I can find (amps not girth). I would like it to be fuel injected and gas powered. As soon as I find a 700r4 to rebuild to handle the power that is my tranny of choice, but open to suggestion. The truck will remain looking mostly stock. I will be getting a fisher V-plow to replace the old set up.

[bigarmzz]

if your just going to use it as a work truck, and plow with it, why not just buy a gm performance parts 454 w/4l80e trans? save your money, that efi 572 aint cheap

[Moody Blues]

I think in the summer time I would like to go to some of the truck pulls. That and I just wanna go big, you know.

[ironroad9c1]

build your own, Its cheaper And it won't be made in Mexico.

[smashingchuck]

even still, have you seen the price tag on a 572? You could build a 454, and have enough money left over to buy a whole pulling truck.

[Moody Blues]

The 572 I am looking at costs 16,000. The 502 Ram Jet costs 11,000. I have a budget of 30,000 to work with. I know I could go out and a brand new truck but if everyone did that forums like this would loose there place. I am going to wait until next year to start most of the work. I will have more money saved up by then to do the other stuff. I will take a look at the 454 but I really want something with 450 to 500 hp.

[bigarmzz]

Originally Posted by Moody Blues

The 572 I am looking at costs 16,000. The 502 Ram Jet costs 11,000. I have a budget of 30,000 to work with.

did i read that right? you got a $30k budget?

[68 TT]

Originally Posted by Moody Blues

The 572 I am looking at costs 16,000. The 502 Ram Jet costs 11,000. I have a budget of 30,000 to work with. I know I could go out and a brand new truck but if everyone did that forums like this would loose there place. I am going to wait until next year to start most of the work. I will have more money saved up by then to do the other stuff. I will take a look at the 454 but I really want something with 450 to 500 hp.

The street version of the 572 is 620 hp. For much less money you can get a Merlin 540 complete engine.

http://www.jegs.com/i/World-Products...oductId=758097

Spend the $5000 you save over the 572 crate motor and put it elsewhere in the truck.

[swb85]

$30k? With a budget like that, if you wanna get stupid with the motor (I saw "ultimate truck" in there somewhere) then forget about crate motors.....step up to the plate and do a big boy dart block and build a 632".

[gchemist]

You can install a stock 145 amp alternator. I have one on my truck from a 08 truck.
Wow, daily driver with a BB. HMMMM, take a look at the RAM Jet 350. Power and FI dependability. You can build a 383 and add FI. Ram Jet FI works great with a 383. Really consider fuel costs of a daily driver. Don't discount diesel either!!

[SCOTI]

A 30K budget? Do a 540 w/a turbo if you must have a big block. Much more power than a 572.

[Restrorob]

With a 5 spd and about 475 ponies mine only gets 13 mpg mixed, Just not good enough for me to drive daily.....

[dishow]

Originally Posted by Restrorob

With a 5 spd and about 475 ponies mine only gets 13 mpg mixed, Just not good enough for me to drive daily.....

my five speed with 190 horse stock 350 only gets 12mpg! and is my daily for the winter.ok i have made up my mind...............im gettin a 502 today!

[Pyrotechnic]

Honestly a Duramax/Allison would do the job much better and get you further down the road for your money. Turbo diesels maintain mileage while pulling, gas engines lose mileage exponentially as you add weight.

Not only that, you just aren't going to get that much life out of a gas engine running it hard all the time. Diesels are designed to be run hard all the time.

If you just have to have a gas engine, try a Vortec 8100. 496 cubic inches and with a cam swap and tune it'll put out massive torque numbers. You can get a low mileage motor for little money.

For this power level, you can forget about a 700R4. Even if you spent a ton of money on it, it just wont last at this power and weight level.

[Moody Blues]

I would go with a duramax allison combo but I have heard it is very complicated, and hard to find. The newer efi crate motors are an easy install. I am getting between 10 to 12 mpg right now and 6 to 8 with the plow on and ballast in the back. It will probable get worst when I install the dana 60's because they are 4:56 and the ones I have now are 4:10 I have also got to find a transfer case with a PTO provision. I think I need to slow down and tackle one project at a time. I just like to have a plan so I can make it easier in the future.

[BossHogg69]

Originally Posted by SCOTI

A 30K budget? Do a 540 w/a turbo if you must have a big block. Much more power than a 572.

I was thinking that same exact thing when I read the OP. You could get two reasonably sized turbos that would spool quick and have a beasty motor from idle to redline. You could throw down 800 or 900 lb-ft all day long.

[68 TT]

How about an LS7?

http://www.sdpc2000.com/details/gm-p...parts/17802397

Less money than the 572 and way cooler. Can you say titanium connecting rods?

Or an LS3 with a pair of turbos would cost even less and build more power.

http://www.sdpc2000.com/catalog/ls-g...-crate-engines

[clinebarger]

Cummins 6BT with a NV5600. Not complicated, there not computer controlled,
easier to work on than a duramax. For a plow truck with todays fuel prices diesel is the way to go.

[Moody Blues]

Yes you read right but that was a lot of ramen noodle dinner, 12 hour work day, not going to the bar, snow plowing, penny pinching, and not spending foolishly. So I can spend foolishly on my truck. I am not a rich kid, I wasn't born with a silver spoon up my but, and there is no trust fund with my name on it.

[Jim85IROC]

With the budget you've got, why not build a pulling truck and buy some POS for a daily driver & plow truck? It seems foolish to piss that kind of money into a daily driver that's going to get wasted by all that road salt.

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by Jim85IROC

With the budget you've got, why not build a pulling truck and buy some POS for a daily driver & plow truck? It seems foolish to piss that kind of money into a daily driver that's going to get wasted by all that road salt.

Not sure why what I said was rude. Regardless of budget, sometimes it makes sense to take a step back and look at the whole picture in order to decide what will really work best for a particular application. When a person starts talking about a $30k engine budget in a plow truck, you can't help but wonder if there isn't a better over-all solution. At the very least, simply making sure that the person has considered some of these options can help the rest of us offer better suggesions.

Reading your 1st reponse sounds harsh compared to your 2nd. Your intent may not have been to be rude or harsh, but intent is hard to establish sometimes when reading text. No harm, no foul. Msgross typed that faster than I could hit submit .

[J_PEPIN87]

What about a 454 lsx?

[BusinessProfessor]

WOWeee!!!!

...and I thought my GM 350 stock crate engine was the Cat's Meow!!!

[Moody Blues]

Thank you guys. I pulled my head out of my rear and realized that diesel is the way to go. Unfortunately my bad knee prevents me from driving stick so I am going to do some research on dodge automatics and also look for some adapter to gm tranny's. I might be better off going with a dodge tranny and transfer case. I have heard on other forums that Painless Wiring makes a custom harness for this swap.

[68 TT]

Originally Posted by Moody Blues

Thank you guys. I pulled my head out of my rear and realized that diesel is the way to go. Unfortunately my bad knee prevents me from driving stick so I am going to do some research on dodge automatics and also look for some adapter to gm tranny's. I might be better off going with a dodge tranny and transfer case. I have heard on other forums that Painless Wiring makes a custom harness for this swap.

I hear you on the bad knees issue. My heavy clutch, the 5.13 gears and the fact that I have to drive 20 miles though town in heavy traffic every day makes it really tough on my worn out knees. The automatic conversion is high on my priorities list.

There is an automatic that came with the dodge diesel. My grandpa had one. Don't know how common it is though.