Crate Engine Builder Kits

Pontiac V8 Crate Engine Builder Kits

A Butler Engine, Shipped in Boxes — Crate Engine Builder Kits for Pontiac V8s

A Crate Engine Builder Kit is a complete Butler engine shipped in pieces. Everything a full KIT carries is there — prepped block, balanced rotating assembly, cylinder heads, camshaft and lifters, timing set, oil system, intake, gaskets and fasteners — but it is boxed unassembled for you or your shop to put together.

Butler sorts these by the block underneath: 389, 400, 428, 455 and the aftermarket IAII. Blocks run through the Butler Process, and every kit ordered online is reviewed by an engine tech who sends a formal itemized build sheet before any machining starts.

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389
Pontiac V8 389 Stock Appearance, Modern Insides — 389 for Pontiac V8s A 389 Crate Engine Builder Kit is a complete Butler engine built on the GTO-era block and shipped unassembled....More Details »
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400
Pontiac V8 400 The Whole Range on One Casting — 400 for Pontiac V8s The 400 is the block most Butler crate engines are built on, and the builder kits here span the widest range in...More Details »
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428
Pontiac V8 428 Ship It in Pieces, Build It Right — 428 for Pontiac V8s A Crate Engine Builder Kit is a complete Butler engine shipped unassembled: machined block, balanced rotating...More Details »
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455
Pontiac V8 455 Big Block, Bigger Plan — 455 for Pontiac V8s Starting a build on a 455 means you already have the bore and the 3.25" mains, so a Crate Engine Builder Kit is mostly...More Details »
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Aftermarket Block
Pontiac V8 Aftermarket Block Where Pump Gas Meets 700 Horsepower — Aftermarket Block for Pontiac V8s When the target is 600 horsepower or more on pump gas , a forty-year-old factory...More Details »

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More About Crate Engine Builder Kits

1. What a builder kit actually contains

This is the most complete package Butler ships that you still assemble yourself. The exact parts vary by kit, but the pattern holds.

Bottom enda Butler Process block with main studs and dipstick tube, cast or forged crank, forged rods, forged pistons and pins, Total Seal rings and race bearings, balanced as an assembly.
Valvetraina Butler and COMP hydraulic roller camshaft, roller lifters, Butler custom pushrods, roller rockers and a billet gear and chain timing set.
Top endEdelbrock heads out of the box or Butler built, a port matched intake and your choice of carburetor or EFI.
Everything around itoil pump, oil pan and pickup, valley pan, water pump, timing cover with plates and sleeves, ignition, starter, damper, and a full set of gaskets with stainless accessory and ARP fasteners.
Assemblybuilder kits ship unassembled and must be assembled by you or your shop.

2. Choosing by block

Pick the subcategory by the casting you want under the engine, because that is what sets displacement and what the kit is built around.

389the period-correct choice, built at 3.75" or 4.250" stroke with bore determined by core availability.
400the broadest range, from a stock-appearing 406-412 build up to 4.500" stroke combinations, plus a top end and rotating assembly package for a block you already have.
428 and 455the 3.25" main castings, used in the 4.250" and 4.500" stroke kits.
Aftermarket blockIAII based kits in the 505 to 535 cubic inch range with CNC ported or wide port Edelbrock heads and EFI.

3. How the order is handled

Nothing is machined off a shopping cart. An engine tech reviews every kit ordered online and sends a formal itemized build sheet first, so changes, upgrades and final details are settled before a cutter touches the block. Butler also stays on the phone with you or your builder through assembly — these kits are never just parts in a crate.

389 400 428 455

Not sure what your Pontiac needs?

Call our tech team at 866-762-7527. Tell us your engine, heads, car, and power goal, and we will put the parts together as one combination that works.