Im going to look at a 409 w motor today. From what I understand, the heads are off but the bottom-end is complete. The guys says he thinks its out of a 1965 truck. What things do I need to look for to determine the condition of the engine such as: wear and tear, proper maintenance, and possibly mileage? Im only 20 so I dont have the necessary funds to do a complete rebuild. Also what would be a price range for that motor. Thanks in advanced
What you really need is an experienced friend who can point to things and have you feel things to get a sense of condition. If you had more time I'd suggest looking in the library for pictures of engine wear and damage so you would know what you're looking at. A 409 is not going to be cheap to rebuild when compared to something like a 350 Chevy. The parts just aren't that cheap to come by. Call someone local who knows motors. That's your best bet.
before you even consider the engine get the numbers off the block and find out exactly what it is,like someone else said,it didn"t come in truck unless special ordered!and as OLDSUB said,parts ain"t cheap!
The first thing I'd look at are the sides of the block just below the deck surface, the most common places to find cracks.
Since the heads are already off the engine, determining that it is in fact a 409 and not a 348 can be accomplished with a dollar store tape measure.
Not trying to be funny .Your user name is Kaboom ..And you want to buy an engine .And thats scary .My only advise is Do the research and make sure it is a 409 ,Make sure its complete and price a full rebuild .Those motors are not cheap .My 2 cents ........Another question what is this motor gonna be used in .
The guy never called me back. My concern was that it was a truck motor and was the LOW compression 250 HP. Crazycarjohn- It is going in a 31 Model A Sedan
Don't give up on the motor. If it is a truck block, you will know since the heads are off. A truck block has TWO valve reliefs in each chamber as a car only has one valve relief per cylinder. Do not worry about this, you will build (buy pistons, etc.) the motor accordingly some day. Even if the motor does have the low performance heads, I would not let the motor get away, you don't find 409's laying all over now. Guys are asking crazy prices out there such as $2,500 plus for a truck block and $3,500 plus for a car block......Just my opinion, way over priced, however; it will give you an idea...... You need the oil pan, timing chain cover, distributor, etc. as these items are unique to a 'W' motor..... As mentioned above, check out the 348-409 site......
muscle car review did a clone build of a 409 425 HP. They used a 409 truck block and had a photo of the extra machining in the bore to reduce compression. This was only done on truck blocks. As most engines were made in the millions, 348's 409's were only made in the 100,000's not alot in mass production. hope you can get the engine, no matter what others say, it's a cool engine.
That's only applicable to 348s; see below. Earlier 348 big truck blocks: 2 notches 348 passenger car blocks: 1 notch 409 big truck blocks: 1 notch 409 passenger car blocks: 0 notches The truck w-engines were only installed in the large chassis trucks. They were not installed in C10s and the like.
The Jalopy Journal
