Hot Rods Anybody ever bought a used motor?

I’ve been seeing some good deals pop up on engines while looking on the web. All have the “see it run” and ads sound good..right parts, good price, etc...and honestly it’s the $ some of the engines would be as much to build if you rounded up the parts yourself. I have friends that have gotten lucky doing this and I’ve had freinds get burned by so called “engine Builders”..looking to see what others have experienced.
As an example there’s a 302 roller motor on racing junk. Has some good parts on it, makes good hp, and he’s got some good info on it for 1500 bucks..a used stocker will run about 800 from somebody like LKQ. If I bought that and the parts I’d have more money into it than this 1500 motor

 

Yes, but it was from a trusted friend who knew the history of the engine. If the intake is off and I can see if it's clean or not, and it's cheap enough, I'd go for it. A buddy bought a rebuilt 350 off craigslist for $400 and it's been a great engine for him.

I think I might be more worried about 'fresh' built engines than slightly used.

 

The engine in my Comet I bought used. Actually bought it just to have an engine for mock up really. It was cheap enough and I planned on replacing it, but it runs good so I'm going with it. I kinda wonder about the not so cheap ones, that "have never been run" or not started yet.

 

I think Dan has it right. If you know the builder of the engine or can personally see it run and then decide if it will work for you or not that would be the way to go. I know there are way to many out there that think some new gaskets and a splash of paint equals a rebuild! And even on engine companies rebuilds I want proof they ran it and broke it in before I would buy it. Been down that ugly road before...

 

i have bought engines 3 different ways. (i have also collected parts and built myself)
1. bought it out of the car it was in and i heard it run and even "Yard" drove it around. Two of those times i ended up having to buy the entire rust bucket car to get the engine.
2. bought an engine from and engine builder... someone failed to pay for a rebuild. it was on the break in stand and I heard it run.
3. basically bought a "runner" like you describe without hearing it run. i bought it assuming it was just a pile of parts. took it home, put it on the engine stand and took it down to the long block and checked everything i could. cost me the price of a quality gasket set for the piece of mind. (did valve seals while i had the heads off, probably didn't need it but...)
looking back...they all basically "cost" the same....lol
Chappy

 

Truth be told, I don't buy engines very often, but when i do, it will be more than likely a used one. New stuff is above my budget usually.

 

My Ford guru Ed Prout used to go to junkyards (when we still had them) buy a used engine keep the short block throw his good heads on them and run them in his DRAGSTER. quite often he would make a whole season with them LOL.

 

When I first started build hot rods back in the early 70's I always used a Junk Yard motor and trans and had great luck. I continued to do that into the late 80's when crate motors became available. Some times I think I had less problems with the salvage motors than I've had with the crate motors?

 

Here’s an example...

 

I just bought a 5.0 roller motor for the wifes 55 from a local yard for $450. 130K miles. It came out of a 2000 Explorer. I am hoping to get 250K out of it. I'll be tired of it by then.

 

If you can hear it run, I'd say it's not a bad way to go. I picked up a 289 off Craigslist years ago that the guy pulled in favor of a 347. I tore it down, reamed the ridge, reassembled with new gaskets and an oil filter, and ran it in my OT Mustang until one of the press-in valve studs started pulling out. Probably got 20-25,000 miles out of it. Never was a screamer, but it rolled down the highway just fine.

 

302's are short stroke engines ..... notorious to be near to none ridge wear on short blocks. As @loudbang has said .... and likely @Roothawg as well ... if you can find a 302, that externally appears clean .... as in no long term oil leaks, and the like ... you've likely found a great heart to your next SBF engine.

We used to pull police 5.0's with hard, high miles .... and bolt our upper ends on, with cam and lifter sets and run them ... on NOS and etcs .... all season long. Blow 'em up, salvage heads, and YES, cam and lifter sets, and repeat. Hell ... more often then not, the only thing new was timing chain sets, and gaskets.

I love 302's. My OT 1995 has 207k miles on it, still running and lifter ticking .... after an 80k mile over rev on NOS in 2002. Need to fix that one day. Nahhh !!!

 

I buy used engines assuming they are cores that need complete rebuilds and pay accordingly. A running engine can need just as much or in some cases more work then a non-running engine. It is all about managing expectations.

 

I got the engine in my DD used. I could get a probably-OK 1781 for the same price as rebuilding the smoky 1272: no-brainer, really. When the 1781 needed a top-end rebuild a few years later, that was the signal to get the gas-flowed head and 272H cam. I follow the theme of always replacing with an upgrade, if I can.

 

hah.
funny story?
or cautionary tale?
A friend bought a swap meet 302, supposedly fresh rebuilt.
When he asked me to help him get it ready to drop in his pickup, I found so many goofy things to correct, that we had to go chasing for parts all over the place.
Not being a Ford guy, I had to look up and research so much it ate up a lot of time.
The oil pan had no dipstick provisions. The timing cover the guy used didn't have a dipstick access either.
We had to chase down parts.
After we decided it needed a rear sump pan, not a front sump pan, we had to look for a timing cover with dipstick provisions, or wait, we need a dipstick at the rear, right?... One cover that used a different water pump from the other...get a different pump.. correct that...
Then the accessory brackets were made for a different engine or maybe heads. Nothing was drilled quite right to match.
I was never comfortable with the idea of buying someone else's stuf because so many ppl sell because of their failed efforts.
We finally got the correct parts and pieces after a lot of time spent.
I was still sceptical of whether he paid for a good engine or not.
Not very long before fire-up and test day, someone offered him money for the truck, and the project vanished.
All that detective work and wrench work, and I never got to find out if it was even a good engine he paid good dollars for.
In general I'm a cautious sceptic because I've seen so many goof ups from "reputable" shops.
I still procede with extreme cautiousness and suspicion.
that's just me I guess.


WHY BE ORDINARY ?

 

I bought an 87 Firebird for the motor and trans. I drove it before purchase. as it turned out the guy never change the oil. couple gaskets and a timing chain and cam later it was OK.

bought a Datsun 4 cylinder with 20K from a guy who put in a V6 in his truck. my truck was faster when I got it done. drove that truck for another 10 years.

 

Bought the 5.0 roller from a guy off CL a few years ago. Buy one of those cheapo Chinese Iphone bore scopes ($20 and really a decent picture) and check out the bores on prospective purchases with it. Mine had good crosshatch, no ridges and the plugs looked good. Won't tell you about the bearings, but if you have the opportunity to pull a couple caps and they're good you eliminated a lot of potential issues. If the pan's off you can also check for crosshatch and scoring from the bottom of the bores.

 

One of the best engines I ever had I bought out of a junked F100. It was a 390 4v and I assumed it was wore slap out, so I set it aside for future rebuilding. A couple of years later, I'm hunting a good, running 390 (still assuming this one was core status) and wasn't getting anywhere. I decide to go pull a valve cover and see how gunked up that 390 was, only to find the valvetrain clean as a whistle. So, I pulled the heads.... it had been recently rebuilt and still had perfect cross-hatching in the bores. The bearings were new, the oil pump was new.... it's probably still in the '59 Galaxie I put it in, and then sold, rumbling around Summerville somewhere

 

Several times, always met my expectations.
If I considered them as just a "core" they were, and I used them as such.
If I considered them to be a runner (after hearing them run, checking oil pressure, compression test, no smoke, etc.) they turned out to be exactly that, a decent runner.
Be realistic, don't assume too much more than what information you can gather at the time.

 

The question is................ Rebuilt how long ago?

 

Thanks for the reply’s...crazy thing is these motors go quick. 3 came up today..all gone by 4:00 pm. Think I’m gonna hunt for a stock 2000 Explorer 5.0 motor and throw some parts I have on it, get it close to 325 hp and drive it. I’m not looking to make passes at the track on a regular basis, just want a fun vehicle to drive and have a little fun with getting on the freeway. With the limited time I actually get to enjoy my cars, if it Wasnt a total turd it could last longer than me!

 

Bought a few.If they were out a vehicle I just planned on rebuilding because I trust nobodies word.
Most have been in vehicles that were getting a upgrade and I could drive them.
Rebuilt those as well as most were tired old stockers that needed it anyway.
Never bought a race engine.

 

As a kid 60's in the beginning I bought used engines from my local speed shop (junkyard) never got burned as our local guy was an honest man, helped us kids out, treated us fairly. I have been burned buying a car with a rebuilt engine I was told to find out later it was a re-gasket spray can rebuild, myself would only buy a fresh motor from someone I know and trust, have built many myself in past and now in my old age just buy new crate engines without any problems so far. It's a crap shoot IMO, I like to think everyone is honest, but life's experience's tell me a different story, So...........Buyer Beware applies.

 

The last one I bought was a 327-300. Actually, I'd driven the car recently and it ran great and had pretty good oil pressure at hot idle.

I helped him pull it out and I put into my '55 Chevy project. About 9,000 miles on the engine and it still runs fine.

 

I've bought a couple used engines for $200 or less, removed them from the cars, put them in another vehicle and run them for years. I didn't so much as take off a valve cover.
I have also bought cores from a scrap yard, to rebuild myself.

I would not buy someone's rebuild, there's too many morons out there.

 

In the last 10 years, I have been incredibly lucky. I bought a '51 Merc engine that had been pulled out of a car some local idiots were trying to put the body on a late model Lincoln frame. I bought the engine mainly to make sure I had a 4" crank laying around. Two years ago, the engine in my '51 Ford started making a funny noise. I pulled the Merc out from under the stairs in my shop and mounted it on my test stand to see what I had. Took a compression test and was astounded to see over 100 lbs on all eight. I cleaned it up a little, freshened the ignition, put on a good carb and it fired right off. Ran it for a while and it had excellent oil pressure and didn't overheat. That engine, cleaned up and with the requisite flathead speed goodies has been in my car for almost two years and I couldn't be happier with it.

About five years ago, I had a chance to buy a supposedly rebuilt 331 hemi out of a dump truck. The price was right, so I "pulled the trigger". I mounted it on my test stand and it started right up, and ran great with good oil pressure and no overheating. It's now under the stairs where the Merc was, but I'm gonna pull it out (probably next year), clean it up and paint it. Luckily for me, I have all of the ancillary engine parts from a car (water pump housing and pump, and 4 bbl manifold off of the '55 New Yorker in my vintage dirt modified), so I don't have to worry about the problematic truck parts. The trucks did have the desirable 4 bolt exhaust manifolds though.

Next up for the test stand is a rebuilt '51 Olds Rocket I scored off of a guy who thought that SBC's are the end-all, be-all of hot rodding. This was a complete rebuilt that came with a '40 sedan delivery the guy bought. I pulled the rockers and timing cover off the engine, and I am absolutely sure it is a fresh rebuild. It also has adjustable rockers and an Isky cam, and an Offenhauser dual quad manifold.
I'm going to change to a single carb manifold and get this one running as well. I expect this one will be good as well.

I think the common thread here is having an engine test stand. Mine is quite complete, with a radiator, and full instrumentation (including an A/F meter), so I can run an engine and thoroughly check it out. This allows me to properly evaluate an engine and is the real reason I have "gotten lucky" these last two (and probably a third) times.

 

It's always a crap shoot, just don't pay more than you're willing to lose on the gamble. I currently have 2 engines I bought and didn't build or have built, one came from a deceased fellow racer and the other was built by a reputable engine builder.
Luckily both run great but when I see photos like this extremely clean and fresh painted block, that is total garbage on the inside makes a guy scared to death.

 

The 5lt in my 35 came with 700R and was from a buddy who was parting out an IROC-Z Camaro. The remanufactured GM decal was still on the auto and it's been in the car for 15yrs now without issue. The engine was clean inside when intake was pulled and oil pan was drained, likewise when the pan came off the auto it was squeaky clean inside. Neither the engine or trans have let me down.
The 350 and 700R for my 46 Olds came from a wrecked 90 Corvette. They were bought as cores knowing that both would be rebuilt. I could have taken the chance and run them 'As Is'; however when I stripped the engine down I discovered that a piston skirt was cracked.

 

I buy em used
sometime they are free
sometimes I trade labor for em
picked up a 500 caddy a couple months ago
21k miles, runs great, great compression and oil pressure
$500with the trans, and got a running 472 with trans for $300 pulled and delivered
I see a few SBCs show up on FB regularly where folks are going LS
our local pick a part has had several 302 explorer engines for $150