Maybe he should have Somehow putting a Ford in a Chevy makes some of us happy,warm and fuzzy.Seriously I hope the seller will come through and make it right.
How far away is this joker from you? If it were me and he was within a days drive (round trip) I'd load it up and be sitting on his doorstep in the morning. Show him what his virgin engine REALLY looks like from the inside and politely as for your money back. If he man's up and returns your $$$$'s your only out the time and gas money. If things get ugly it's up to you to size him up and kick his ass or (if you brought a 270# 6'8" friend with you step aside and let him earn the dinner your going to take him out to after you return home. Frank
Mine, as well as countless others, have held up just fine. Don't spin them to the moon, it's pointless anyway, and they'll outlast most engines.
My '63 Grumman has the 292, and as best I can tell, the original block. Head was replaced at some point. 79K miles, 179, 279, impossible to tell... a tough motor, underpowered for its application.
To the OP: Now that you have a parts engine, watch Craigslist for cheap ones. I picked up two last summer for $100. I got to hear one of them run. I know where there's another early 60s one sitting that I could have for $50. It ran when pulled, another case of someone that had to have a small block. They really aren't terribly difficult to find, it just takes time to find a deal on them.
Not knocking the 292 always wanted to build one but if you know then you know what I am talking about. I had collected parts to build one for a 65 chevelle that had a 194 but it got a small block. Had a blast in that car.
this 292 thing is looking more and more expensive but i would sure rather have a straight 6. maybe these cracks won't inhibit the motor from running well? I'll take it to the engine shop and see what he says.
Too funny! I've bought three engines that I can remember from a junk yard here in Ga. . Weird, they all had 76 K on them. Must be a universal screwing statement
Ask him about stitch pinning it. Looks like it could be done. If there are any cracks to cylinder, stitch pin crack then bore cylinder and sleeve the cylinder. See what he says about stitch pinning? Have done it on non pressurized Model A engine I'm running. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
A six cylinder CHEVY with 50 K on it from that era is probably worn out...hell it was set up with enough clearance new to be considered worn out by todays standards..... A new style engine now will have a tighter piston to wall clearance at 200,000 miles than your ol 292 did when it was new....
If those cracks were on a flathead Ford, no one would pay any attention to them. Are all the cracks to the water jacket?
on the 292 chevy they like to crack in the lifter valley, to i bought one last summer guy told me it ran good but the water pump was out, i got it home and draind out a quart of water out of the pan, took the head off and had it checked out had to have it planed .050 cause it was warped so bad, i endedup selling on ebay for 400.00
good jokes but just an aside I would like find some sort of solution and not just be the punch line to some limericks. is pinning an option on the crack locations? and yes I presented him with the question of milage vs age. he had documentation of a rebuild. but with that said it comes down to faith in humanity. and a sucker was born at that minute.
There's not much more we can say. Either take it too a machine shop and have them look at it, or drop it in and take your chances.
If you're a gambling man, heli-coil the bolt hole, load the head stud {I wouldn't use a head bolt in that hole] with a quality sealer like non-hardening permatex and use a good head gasket like a fel-pro blue. bolt it up, fill it up with coolant and see if that hole weeps when running. If not, great! If so, score another block.
Like has already been said, take it to a machine shop. If that is't possible, bring the machinist home with you, and buy the guy lunch for his trouble. Any late style, 194, 215, 230, 250, 292 head will swap, so don't worry about the head. You are aware these late style sixes won't just swap right in without trans adapters, that are hard to find anymore? It is possible to re-drill a late bell housing for the early standard trans, but if you have a Powerglide, you're sunk. Or do you plan on an open drive line/later rear end swap also? New motor mounts/frame mounts will be needed to swap the engine, and a whole bunch of other little things. Butch/56sedandelivery.
had a friend that circle track raced 292 inliners-said there were 2 different blocks,the cracked ones and the ones where the cracks hadn't been found yet.
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