If you want to race it, "Crate" it!

A lot of us enthusiasts want to race our musclecars, but don't want to take the chance of throwing a rod out the side of a numbers-matching block. And I'm not just talking ultra rare stuff like a Boss 429. Even if you have an "Entry Level" musclecar-i.e.- a 396 Chevelle, 383 Road Runner or 400 GTO or Firebird, finding a replacement engine can be hard. Your local "U-pull-it" junkyard is not going to have a 1969 date-coded 383 Chrysler or 1967 coded 396 Chevy. Even if your not concerned about numbers-matching, and are going to "Restify"-aftermarket aluminum heads,etc, raw material can be hard to find. The last 400 Pontiac rolled off the assembly line in 1979. That's 32 years ago. The last 396/402 Chevy was built in 1972. The last 340 Mopar in 1973, 440 in 1978, and the last 390 Ford ( which can be bored and stroked to 428 ) was made in 1976, the last 351 "Cleveland" in 1974. What to do? GM, Ford and Chrysler all offer high-performance crate motors at reasonable prices. GMPP has small-block Chevy crate engines in 350 and 383 cubic inch models with horsepower ratings from 290 to 425.  They offer Big blocks from 454 to 572 cubes with horsepower ratings from 425 to 720! Those'll get you down the quarter quick, and most have a 2 year unlimited mileage warranty! Mopar Performance offers 360s with 380 hp-more than even the 340 Six-Pack. They also offer 500 inch wedge ( 440 style ) engines with 505 hp, and Hemis from 426 to 528 inches with horsepower ratings from 465 to 610. Ford Racing offers 302 and 347 inch small-blocks that look like a 289, but have horsepower ratings from 285 to 450. They have 351Ws with 385 hp, as well as 392 and 427 inch strokers based on the 351W. They offer big-blocks from 460 to 514 cubes with hp ratings from 486 to 650.  Put your numbers-matching engine in a plastic bag in your garage, install one of these badass crate engines and race to your hearts content. If it blows up, you have a warranty. Even if you grenade it after the warranty has expired, replacement parts or even another engine might be a little spendy, but not like trying to find say- a running or at least rebuildable 1970 440 Mopar "core."  Mastermind