Rebuilt inline 250 on craigslist, Should I??

[Scottcoda]

I love my inline 250, I have been dreaming of getting it rebuilt to a performance standard for some time but the cost is just way too much and have told friends,family that the day my beloved 250 dies it would be a new 350 from Jegs that replaces it just based on cost.
But I found this rebuilt 250 on craigslist.. and I am thinking about it, Just curious as to see what opinions I get so here is the story:
It is a inline 250 from a 72 c10 project that fell apart, the motor was rebuilt top to bottom but rebuilt to stock, no performance mods, stock cam, no lump ports, just a full stock rebuild, The rebuild was done EIGHT OR NINE YEARS AGO It was stored full of oil and in a heated basement since, It has never been run since rebuild! The owner recently took the head off for pictures and to inspect it (see pictures) He claims it turns freely and has no rust, He put on a new head gasket when he put the head back on after inspection.
He is asking $800 or best offer,
My thoughts are to try to get the motor for a good price then add the upgrades that I want to it (cam, lump ports etc.)and still be able to use my truck or just throw the rebuilt in the truck and call it the day..
Should the time since rebuilt scare me?? Anything I should look for?? And if you were in my shoes would you buy the motor and what would you do with it if you did?, I always love the opinions and ideas I hear on this site.. Thanks in advance for any input!!

[hugger6933]

If you where to buy that motor, you could do the upgrades you have always wanted then put that into your truck over a couple of weekends then not have near the down time of having your motor rebuilt. Did the motor have any machine work done or was it a re-ring [nothing wrong with that IF that was all that was needed]. Most of those 6 holers are so tuff that fresh rings and bearings could make them good for another couple hundred thousand miles but if your may need machine work during a rebuild that price for the other motor won't get you out of the machine shop, not counting thew newer parts.
Also another point to consider a LOT of guys WANT to do the rebuild themselves so they can either say they did it or they can know for sure what they have. That fact in itself would make the motor that much harder to sell helping you with your possible purchase. Jim

[hugger6933]

A couple points to consider, The Jeg's 350 you mentioned is often on sale for about $1200or so but to use that motor your gonna have to have a intake and a 4 bbl carb, headers, [but you want to buy those for the 250 6cyl too]and they are way more expensive than regular V-8 stuff]. But also front acc and brackets for the V-8.
Point two to consider the performance aspect if you change cam and head and intake and headers for the 6 cyl you will have spent a ton yet may only be getting close to that of a stock [bigger] V-8.
If you were to add cam and intake and headers to the V8 it is gonna run pretty hard. now that I have confused you real well I'll quit, but first, I spent a ton of money in the late 80's to hop up a S-10 motor[ keep in mind it was a S-10 motor] and I put cam headers and 4 bbl intake and stuff on it when i built it and when putting it back in thinking of what I had spent I was like the TV commercial, I slapped my self on the forehead, I coulda had a V-8!!

[WIDESIDE72]

I have to wonder why anyone e would pull the head to inspect but not leave it for potential buyers to see... seems fishy...also, as mentioned above, imo too close to the cost of a v8 of known quality and with a warranty...

[leddzepp]

A non running engine from a private party seller is a boat anchor IMO.

[CST10]

All depends on what your looking for. I have a 68 with the lil 250......love it! I also have a 70 with a lil 462......love it! Actually I love them both for different reasons. One is for originality and the other for tire smoking.

Tough choice, I'm thinking of hopping my 250 up some in the future. Actually bought a running 250 with 3 speed tanny to limit my downtime.

[TJ's Chevy]

Take a good look through the engine. Make sure if will crank over by hand and be sure there's no rust inside it. $800 is Not a bad price for a rebuilt engine. Though I'd offer him $500 and go from there. I say DO IT. There's so many Stinkin 350's in these trucks its NUTS. An already apart engine will make the mods you want to do easier as well. That 250 cam make 320 hp and 285 torque Naturally Aspirated and still have room for a turbo. I saw a fuel injected 250 with 13 pounds of boost make 380 horse power and 412 foot pounds of torque. That's pretty good. lol And it doesn't take much modification to do so either.

[jessemthompson]

Everyone can give you an opinion, but it's all in what YOU want. If you're looking for performance, you can work the 250 and it will be improved, but I believe you'll be disappointed that you didn't go with the small block. If you wanna be different then I would stick with the 250. Like I said, it's all a matter of opinion and what you are looking for. Good luck with your decision.

[Hubscrub]

I agree if you love the 250 keep it, I love them too. Being happy is more than whats cheaper. All you see now is v8s i like being different. I had a 71 lwb 3 speed on the column 250, and thought I wanted something else in it. So I made the truck a short bed, I build a 350 and installed an overdrive. What a mistake I wish so much I could take it back to what I had, I've not even tagged it in couple years just sitting behind the garage.

[swamp rat]

Does he have recipts for the parts and machine work? of he only has recipts for parts he peobably did it himself with no machine work.

[TJ's Chevy]

I agree with Hubsrub. If ya love it keep it. Couple years ago I was sitting looking at my 292 in my 66 and I had no idea about the mods and upgrades I could do...so....like Everyone else..I started looking for a 350 even though my gut said "Keep the 292...there's more available then you think." In my search for a 350 somehow on ebay I ran across the "Inliner's Power Manual" naturally I Had to have it. lol Read through it and was hooked. Now after 2 years of fine thinking and experimenting(and saving for half of that) I came up with this. Mild built 292 making estimated 320 hp and 340 torque. I'm happy that I went with what my gut said. If I had asked for opinions I woulda had a 350 in there. lol My point...do the research and make the ultimate decision for yourself. Other wise you'll get people like me telling you one thing and others telling you other things. I did my own research and made my own decisions and found out for myself.

[beautimus]

ok here's my 2 cents. if I were going to install the six, and then run it, as is, I might buy it. if I were going to pay 800 for it the add 600 bucks or more to modify it, I probably would pass on it.
if you shop for the internals on flea bay you can rebuild yours cheaper.
a lot of sellers are letting parts for these things go pretty cheap.
new old stock pistons, rings and bearings, oil pumps, gasket sets, all of these are still plentifull on the shelves, but are not in high demand. so its buyers market on there if you shop carefully. maybe you can save enough to buy some of those upgrades. good luck to you!!

[Scottcoda]

Wow!! All fantastic responses!!! Thanks all for all the input.. I thought I would add a little more info to the conversation.. The owner does have receipts of the rebuild from a machine shop that is still in business, The motor was machined and is pretty much a brand new motor from 1972 (other than sitting for 9 years) I also know that the motor has been craigslist for sometime and feel pretty strongly I can pick it up between $500-600
I have been able to hunt Amazon and ebay to find some decent buys for my current 6 banger so I already have a Clifford intake, Holley 390, Headers, pertronix conversion, installed on my current plant.
I think I might pull the trigger, I really do love the the six bangers, Still apprehensive about the time it has been sitting but I guess sometimes things in life are a gamble..
I wonder since the motor was rebuilt if my performance upgrades would cost less money at the machine shop, I was thinking about doing a Performance valve job (194/1.6) replacing the pistons with 307 flat tops +.30 and having the lump ports installed, would having a clean head be cheaper to work on then one that has been running in a truck for 20 years??