They say true perfection is unobtainable. Yet, we feel that perfection is solely in the eye of the beholder. And to our eyes this crate motor is close to perfect. It's a stout offering from Joe Sherman Racing Engines meant to provide rock-solid performance at a ground-pounding price.
What Sherman set out to do when he began his crate engine project was to build a very streetable small-block Chevy using the affordable GM short-block as its base and adding some choice aftermarket goodies that he's found to really make power. Then he assembles it into a package that gets dyno-tuned and tested before shipping to his customers for a better than reasonable price. Ironically, this was all going on at the same time that we had been testing our own mule motor, Danger Mouse, every single month in search of the perfect combination of parts, price, and power. Sherman's has shown us that he may have already found it.
After spending a solid week with Sherman at PHR's 2002 Engine Master's Challenge and watching him walk away with the $75,000 first prize, we knew this guy had a bit more than a just few tricks up his sleeve. Then, after talking to him at length about building real street engines for both durability and power, and factoring cost in as the final denominator, he told us about a crate motor he puts together and sells complete for under $5,000. One of the steps Sherman took towards building such a powerful and reliable package so affordably was to start with a solid base.
Every one of The Shermanator...
Every one of The Shermanator crate engines is built using a GM Goodwrench short-block. This is one of the originals that Sherman used to test his combinations.
He uses a GM short-block that comes to his shop pre-assembled, which means he's got much less time in the overall assembly keeping labor costs down. To that he adds various parts, all of which he's spent many hours sorting out on his Superflow dyno to make sure you're buying a very reliable pump gas pounder that'll fit you needs exactly. Each one of the engines Sherman builds also gets bolted to his dyno for testing and tuning before going out the door. That's quite a bit more for your money than just buying a "dyno-proven" package.
The Shermanator Spec SheetSize: 350-cidPrice: $4,999GM Goodwrench short-block9.0 to 9.75:1 compression depending on need (D.O.N.)Pro Topline "906 replacement" iron cylinder headsNew harmonic balancer and hardwareHigh perf cam and lifters, (specs may change D.O.N.)Roller-tip rocker armsNew HEI ignition with hi-perf curveNew spark plugsDemon carbGM "E.O.S." break-in oil and new oil filterMild cylinder head portingAll hardware and tin, fully assembled and tested
What arrives at your door is a ready-to-install engine that only needs an exhaust system, plug wires, a water pump, and an electric fuel pump to run. And some peace of mind comes with this package as well, since Sherman does not modify the GM short-block, it should still be covered under the factory warranty, as long as you don't race with it, because racing pretty much voids any warranty. And, although Sherman has worked out a fine-tuned package he's ready to deliver to you, he's also willing to customize any engine if it better suits your wants and desires.
Sherman likes the out of the...
Sherman likes the out of the box performance of the Pro Topline iron cylinder heads. He's found some improvements in flow and power with mild porting, which is included with every engine.
Maybe you'll want a much more radical cam for that Saturday night bruiser sound. Or maybe you've got a 4x4 and torque is the only thing that matters in your life. Either way, Sherman will equip the engine you buy with the parts it needs to do what you ask of it. And he'll do all of this for about as much as it would cost for you to buy the parts yourself. How can you go wrong with that?
The Shermanator Options ListFor a little more cash, you can get the following:Different Camshaft optionsIntake manifold-single or dual planeFull roller rocker aluminum armsHigh performance mechanical fuel pumpCarb spacerAluminum water pumpCylinder head milling for more compression
 Some of the things that set...  Some of the things that set the Pro Topline "906 replacement" heads apart from the rest is that it can take a cam with more than .470 lift right out of the box and comes with screw-in studs standard. |  Sherman's mild porting job...  Sherman's mild porting job on these iron heads yields as much as a 28.5-percent exhaust flow gain and an overall exhaust to intake flow average of 80 percent. |  The Goodwrench short-block...  The Goodwrench short-block Sherman uses comes with cast pistons that feature four-valve reliefs and a small dish. Sherman can set your engine up with 9.0 to 9.75:1 compression. |