Building or restoring any classic car is a daunting task. Before you can turn a single wrench, though, you have some important decisions to make. Namely, what to power it with in the first place? There are a myriad of crate engines these days. Some are fully built, race-ready setups with turbochargers or nitrous kits, featuring compact Japanese engines that should fit in any classic engine bay. In this article, we list ten of the best crate engines for your next classic car build. We decided to break up the list into sections by application, with some for General Motors, some for Ford, Mopar, and a few at the end, specifically for racing and foreign classics.
Crate Engines for Classic GM Platforms
If you’re planning to restore a classic General Motors product, like a Chevy Camaro or Nova, these engines are for you. We’ve chosen three new crate engines to fit almost any build – one all-arounder, one small-block option, and a huge engine for those with a spirit for racing.
Chevrolet LS
| Engine | 6.2-liter Naturally-Aspirated V8 |
| Horsepower | 430 hp 5,900 rpm |
| Torque | 425 lb-ft 4,600 rpm |
| Price | 5000 |
Most people have probably heard the fun stories of somebody shoving an LS engine into a Mazda Miata, but this engine would feel right at home in your classic Chevy. The LS engine is relatively affordable, widely common, and relatively easy to plug into any GM application with minimal customization or fabrication. The glory of an LS is its support system after installation. There are aftermarket sites everywhere with affordable parts, or you can get them straight from General Motors. The chart above highlights one of the most basic versions of the current LS crate engine that you can buy from Chevy, but there are five more versions of the LS3, and a handful of even more powerful LSX variants to choose from
| Engine | 5.7-liter Naturally-Aspirated V8 |
| Horsepower | 333 hp 5,100 rpm |
| Torque | 381 lb-ft 3,100 rpm |
| Price | ~$3,500 |
These crate engines were chosen based on fitment and physical size, compatibility for each platform (GM, Ford, Mopar, etc.), and purpose. The list is broken up by platform and function for better readability.
Crate Engines for Classic GM Platforms
If you’re planning to restore a classic General Motors product, like a Chevy Camaro or Nova, these engines are for you. We’ve chosen three new crate engines to fit almost any build – one all-arounder, one small-block option, and a huge engine for those with a spirit for racing.
Chevrolet LS
| Engine | 6.2-liter Naturally-Aspirated V8 |
| Horsepower | 430 hp 5,900 rpm |
| Torque | 425 lb-ft 4,600 rpm |
| Price | ~$7,200 |
Chevrolet Small Block 350 HO
| Engine | 5.7-liter Naturally-Aspirated V8 |
| Horsepower | 333 hp 5,100 rpm |
| Torque | 381 lb-ft 3,100 rpm |
| Price | ~$4,500 |
If you’d prefer to stay closer to your classic car’s roots than a new LS, Chevrolet offers a range of small-block 350s that would look perfect with their wide air cleaners and shiny polished valve covers. The most basic version of the 350 you can buy new is the 350 HO Turnkey, which makes a reasonable 333 horsepower – perfect for daily driving or cruising to car shows. If you prefer a little more power, the 350 lineup extends to the ZZ6 EFI Turnkey setup that makes 420 horsepower and 208 lb-ft of torque. The ZZ6 EFI uses electronic fuel injection, which requires less tuning, but you may have to do some extra wiring to fit it into your classic build.
Chevrolet Big Block 572
| Engine | 9.4-liter Naturally-Aspirated V8 |
| Horsepower | 727 hp 6,300 rpm |
| Torque | 680 lb-ft 4,900 rpm |
| Price | ~$12,000 |
We couldn’t possibly forget Chevy’s 572-cubic-inch monster of an engine. If you plan on drag racing your classic Camaro, and you have a sizable budget to do so, this is the way to go. It’s a 9.4-liter V8 with two options: the ZZ572/620 Deluxe, making 621 horsepower at 5,400 rpm and 645 lb-ft of torque at 4,200 rpm, or the even more powerful ZZ572/720R Deluxe, which is showcased in the chart above. The less potent version touts huge displacement, so it naturally has equivalent power. The more powerful variant, on the other hand, comes fully equipped for drag racing and Chevy recommends using race fuel only, as opposed to premium pump fuel, in the 620 Deluxe.
Crate Engines for Classic Fords
Classic Fords, such as the first-generation Mustang or some older F-Series trucks, make for sweet restomods and garage projects. There might be smaller, cheaper options out there, but these two crate engines will take your classic car to the next level.
Ford 5.0-Liter Coyote
| Engine | 5.0-liter Naturally-Aspirated V8 |
| Horsepower | 480 hp 7,150 rpm |
| Torque | 415 lb-ft 4,900 rpm |
| Price | $12,650 |
Ford’s 5.0-liter Coyote V8 is one of the most recognizable engines out there, known for its high-revving characteristics and the perfect amount of power for street use with the occasional track day. It’s fairly large compared to some other V8s, so you might have to prepare for custom fabrication to fit it in. However, you can buy a fourth-gen Mustang Coyote crate engine straight from Ford for $12,650. Choosing this setup means you also get aftermarket parts support from your local Ford dealer or online. This would make for a very usable street car engine.
Roush 588 R
| Engine | 9.6-liter Naturally-Aspirated V8 |
| Horsepower | 630 hp |
| Torque | 690 lb-ft |
| Price | N/A |
Roush is a performance tuning company that mainly makes engines and parts for Ford vehicles. One such engine is the 588 R, for when all other Ford engines just feel too small. We mentioned how big the 5.0-liter Coyote engine is, and how you should plan ahead for fabrication and fitment, but that applies almost doubly so to the 588 R with its 9.6 liters of glory in a naturally-aspirated package. You can buy the 588 R directly from Roush or go through one of its dealers for aftermarket support and fresh parts for when you break it while racing. It might make 630 horsepower, but Roush says it’s still designed for street use
Crate Engines for Classic Mopar Platforms
Dodge has been fitting supercharged Hellcat engines into so many vehicles these days that it’s hard to imagine choosing anything else. Although the Hellcat engine is a fun option, it might be a bit difficult to fit into some classic projects. Here are a couple of simpler Mopar crate engines that still make more than enough power.
Hemi 345 / 5.7-Liter
| Engine | 5.7-liter Naturally-Aspirated V8 |
| Horsepower | 383 hp |
| Torque | 417 lb-ft |
| Price | $4,495 |
Mopar Direct Connections is an excellent place to source essentially any new or discontinued part you can think of, but to keep your project simpler, go with a new Hemi 345 crate engine. You can buy the entire package in one place, which comes with the water pump, flywheel, clutch, front sump oil pan, intake manifold with throttle body, fuel injectors, and coil packs. This is the same engine as found in 2015 or newer Challengers, so it’s possible to find a junkyard car and pull the motor for a cheaper price. If we were building a classic car, though, we’d opt for this complete engine assembly because everything comes factory fresh, meaning you don’t need to worry about poor maintenance from a previous owner.
Hemi 392 / 6.4L
| Engine | 6.4-liter Naturally-Aspirated V8 |
| Horsepower | 485 hp |
| Torque | 475 lb-ft |
| Price | $7,600 |
Let’s be honest, the 5.7-liter is nice and all, but sometimes we just want a little more power and a deeper exhaust note. That’s where the 6.4-liter (392-cubic-inch) crate engine comes in. No, it’s not the supercharged variant that makes over 800 horsepower, but we feel as though the Hemi 392 crate engine setup is better for regular street use in your classic project anyway. You can buy the entire assembly with all the parts we mentioned in the 5.7-liter section, but it’s important to note that for both engines, customers must purchase the crate engine with the controller kit in order to achieve the listed power levels
Crate Engines for Classics and Racing Use
Above are some of the most common, accessible, and relatively plug-and-play options for your classic GMs, Fords, and Mopars, but what about the rest? Not all classics are American, and some builds are intended for more extreme scenarios. The last three crate engines should cover those categories
Honda K Series (K20C1)
| Engine | 2.0-liter Turbocharged Inline-4 |
| Horsepower | 306 hp 6,500 rpm |
| Torque | 295 lb-ft 2,500 rpm |
| Price | $7,550 |
We went over some of the more common crate engines for what people usually assume are classic cars, but we didn’t want to leave out foreign models in America. If you’re planning on rebuilding a classic Honda, you should consider this Civic Type R crate engine. The K Series engines are a dime a dozen, and they can easily be pulled from a variety of Honda and Acura models in junkyards and donor cars across the country. For a brand-new and more powerful option, though, the K20C1 is a turbocharged four-cylinder unit that makes more power than a typical K Series. There’s plenty of aftermarket support, too.
Chevrolet ZZ632/1000
| Engine | 10.3-liter Naturally-Aspirated V8 |
| Horsepower | 1,004 hp 6,600 rpm |
| Torque | 876 lb-ft 5,600 rpm |
| Price | $19,935 |
The largest crate engine you can buy in 2025 at the time of writing is Chevrolet’s ZZ632/1000. It’s a massive 10.3-liter naturally aspirated V8 that produces 1,004 horsepower and 876 lb-ft of torque with ease. It looks fairly simple on the outside and is good for drag racing applications, where racers might tear it down between runs for inspection and repairs. Chevy designed this powerplant with Pro Stock competition in mind.
The internals include an all-forged rotating assembly that has a billet steel hydraulic roller camshaft and high-flow spread-port cylinder heads. Plus, there are roller-style forged aluminum rocker arms, forged aluminum 2618 alloy pistons, and an aluminum high-rise single-plane intake manifold.
NRE Blown Injected Roots 572
| Engine | 9.4-liter Supercharged V8 |
| Horsepower | 1,150 hp 6,500 rpm |
| Torque | N/A |
| Price | $32,000 |
There’s not much cooler than a massive blower hat sticking out from the hood of a classic race car. Nelson Racing Engines offers a wide variety of turnkey engine packages, but the NRE Blown Injected Roots is one of the best-looking units that makes tons of power. Unlike other blown engines that surge at idle and may feel more difficult to control, NRE engineered this one to smoothly idle at 1,400 rpm before accelerating at your leisure. While it has four-digit horsepower, it’s designed with street use in mind. This blown 572 even uses 91-octane pump gas, making it the perfect engine for drag and drive events or car shows.
