How much woulod you sell this for?

[sam's 72]

350 4 bolt main, 40 over. This is a friend of mine selling this and this is what happened. He built the engine, all new bearings, ( Rods, main and cam bearings ) New rings, new oil pump, had the heads completly redone, new valves, news seats, springs retainers, new performer intake, new oil pan. he got the engine all together, put it in his sons truck, fired it up, oil pressure came up to 80 psi, every thing was going good, while breaking in the cam, the oil presure started dropping off slowly, once it got down to 30 psi, ( 15 min run time max he said ) and still falling, he shut it down. long story short, he thinks that one of the cam bearing spun on him. now he wants to sell the engine, just like it is, it has a new starter that goes with it, and another set of heads that are bare, they are 2.02 and 1.60, he wants to know how much he should sell this for? All he has done was pulled it back out, bought a crate engine and put it in, and this engine has been sitting now for about 5 months, so how much do you guys think it would be worth. I looked at it and pulled one of the valve covers off of it, and there is metal shavings in the oil and laying in top of the head. I am thinking that it might not be hurt that much. What do you guys think?
Sam

[Shane]

I'm thinking the metal shavings are BAD! A cam bearing spinning is one thing ... but to have shavings that far up, I would be concerned ... very concerned.

I wouldn't offer very much ... sounds like the ol' gal is gonna have to be torn completely back down to find the damage the shavings did to the internals.

[tommie]

its probally not worth much, unless it is torn down, and you know exactly what is wrong with it.

a cam bearing failure shouldn't have metal up in the cylinder head, i would think it was something more.

if it is someone you know, will he let you tear the engine down first to see what failed, then set a price for the engine???

if you can tear it down, you can see exactly what happened, and then figure out what it is worth.

tommie
70 swb

[sam's 72]

I am not interested in buying, due to the fact that I have one sitting on a stand right now that I am doing. ( 383 6 inch rod motor ) You guys are right, I told him it will have to be tore down, I also told him to tear it down inspect the rod and main bearings if they look good, that he could use them again as long as he keeps every thing seperated, have the block cleaned, new cam bearings reinstalled, ( if that is what is wrong ) then go back with it. he told me that he would sell me everything for $350.00, I don't have no use for it, so he ask me if I thought he could get more. due to the new intake, oil pan, starter, and the heads being fresh. I told him I don't know, and that he would be lucky to get 50 cent on a dollar for that new stuff, specially it being small block chevy parts. So this is why I posted it here, to try and give him some ideal of what he can get for it. He also has another cam, it's new, and lifters, they are new also.
Sam

[Shane]

If he is only interested in re-couping SOME of his money .... his best bet is to part everything out. Ebay ... parts board ... etc...

Highly unlikely that anyone will give $350 bucks for an engine that they know will have to be torn down ... at least I know I wouldnt.

[sam's 72]

Shane,
Your right! I ask him to sell me the 2.02 heads. and new oil pan, and he wouldn't do it. So I don't know what he is thinking! I wouldn't pay that much either, just due to the fact that it has been bored and now tore up. Hell, the cylinder walls could be hurt bad, to where they can not go any more, and I am not a big fan on a sleaved engine.
Sam

[COBALT]

Did he install his own cam bearings, or did he have the machine shop do it? Sounds like hoever did the valve guide work, or installed the bearings didn't do a good job. Either way I bet the thing is trashed. Oil journals filled with shavings, and...you can imagine the rest.

Your buddy is still probably convinced it's still a good engine because it runs. REGARDLESS of what he thinks now he needs to tear it down to inspect what's wrong before he expects someone to gamble and buy it out-right. If he does sell it he needs to be prepared for the guy to come back to pay him a visit. Therefore, he might as well part it out, and start looking for a new deck and heads.

[mikep]

The bearings , crank journals, lifters and cam are probably all toast. More than likely it'll need new rings as well although I'd be really surprised if the bores were bad and I am sure they can be cleaned up with a ball hone unless he got the motor hot which doesnt sound like the case. It'll need new bearings, cam, lifters , oil pump and the crank will need to be turned and you'll want new rings and a new oil pump. Probably what happened is a lifter went south during break in and gummed up the filter with metal sludge . Once that happpens your'e screwed. Then the filter by pass dumps the oil into the galleries and your bearings go to hell in a new york second. Might want to find out if he went with really stiff springs in the heads. Double springs will kill lifters during break in if your not real careful. Best to remove the inner set for break in if thats the case. In either event it would cost you about $350 to get it all back together using summit parts on top of the $350 for the motor . For a complete 2.02 head 4 bolt main motor built your way thats not really a bad price. Around $700 total.