Topic: rebuilt motor on ebay

[73Formula]

Hey guys, has anyone dealt with or bought a motor from this company? Price seems to good to be true. Here is item number, they have the same price for most of the 2nd gen years. They also have a good warranty?  Item number 250415231324

[Flounder55]

That does sound like a good deal. Especially if you can get the 6x-4 heads even though they are not that specific.

[tbirdscott]

I would definitely be giving them a call, ask for a reference too and check with them. Get an engine built with a decent compression ratio and since they grind cams you could get a great engine for a decent price by the sounds of it. Worth looking in to.

[72blackbird]

GENO'S FIRST REMANNED ENGINE

The engine in question is a re-manufactured long block and the price doesn't include the core charge (add another $400 to the price)- you'll need to supply and install your own timing cover, oil pan, oil filter bracket, oil pump, shaft, and pan, intake, brackets and engine accessories. The builder of this engine may or may not give you the option of which block and heads you can choose, as they are a production engine builder and have engines in stock for immediate purchase- they will not pull apart an assembled engine just to give you the block or heads you want. It is fully machined, but you're getting the crappy 8-valve relief cast pistons with the chamfer around the circumference and basic cast iron rings- most likely you're looking at 7.2-7.6:1 SCR depending on the heads that come with it. This engine also has resized cast rods with stock replacement rod bolts, unless you opt for ARP's.

How do I know so much about these engines? I bought one 25 years ago (not from the same company) when I didn't know how to rebuild engines yet and had sucked a valve on the original 350P that came in my 72 Esprit. The company I bought my 400 from was more than happy to take my 350P for a core, because they had no 350P's in stock and my 350P had somehow managed to survive despite dropping a valve into the engine (remarkably the only damage was one cracked head and a hole in the piston the size of a silver dollar). The 400 I bought was also capped with no.48 heads (are those any good? ), so I reluctantly accepted their offer to buy their engine for the same price as what they would have sold a remanned 350P for- $1000.

The "deal of a lifetime" 400 lived for about two and and a half years before developing a rod knock. Of course I wasn't happy about it, but like all young guys with a quick Firebird I took the engine failure as an opportunity to actually learn how rebuild an engine, and took the wounded engine to Pierce College and rebuilt it there...AGAIN.

There's a lesson there somewhere in my story- LOL.

Geno

[73Formula]

So would it be worth it to get a motor like this and swap out any weak points like the ones you mentioned? My motor is pretty worn and I was thinking I could just use the stuff on my existing motor on the new motor since most of it (accessories,intake, and whatnot ) is not even two years old. THEN I could set my good 73 block aside for a beastly 461 in the future. Right now I just want reliability  don't care too much for speed or burnouts or other general lawlessness!

[tbirdscott]

If you dont return your old engine you eat the $399 core charge which at that point probably makes a local engine builders price competitive.

[73Formula]

Well, I live in Miami- I don't know of anywhere that I can get a "long block" for about 2k. To have mine rebuilt or bored out would cost a lot more, at least down here. A little more research- the company website is hiperformer.com. It looks like you can get a motor for just about anything from them. I can get a 455 for about 2500. I guess that's good and bad. Its worth a phone call- I am looking to get this done in the summer. I also want to ask about their warranty-

[72blackbird]

So would it be worth it to get a motor like this and swap out any weak points like the ones you mentioned? My motor is pretty worn and I was thinking I could just use the stuff on my existing motor on the new motor since most of it (accessories,intake, and whatnot ) is not even two years old. THEN I could set my good 73 block aside for a beastly 461 in the future. Right now I just want reliability  don't care too much for speed or burnouts or other general lawlessness!

IMO it isn't worth buying this remanufactured engine because you'll have to replace the pistons, rods,etc. tear the engine down and then have to rebuild it again. anytime you replace pistons and rods you have to rebalance the whole rotating assembly as well-an additional expense.it makes more sense to me to build engine right the first time- you'll save a lot more time and money in the process.

Everyone also wants a reliable engine, but that doesn't mean that they are not going to step on it hard when that feeling strikes. You might as well built an engine that can handle high pkerformance use, since no one builds these cars to baby them or drive them slow.

Geno

[Grand73Am]

Also don't forget the $175 shipping plus $75 forklift fee, so it would cost another $250 just to get it to you.

[73Formula]

I was quoted a 2400 dollar price to get it me. This included a cam and ignition upgrade  9:2:1 . Also there is a 70000 mile 10 year warranty  . The guy I spoke to said he could put the "earlier" heads on too. Will keep this as an option come the spring. I asked about 455 s but they had no cores left. Geno I respect your opinion, I wish u could build my motor! If the motor is OEM spec, I done mind if its not that fast. Like I said, if I went this route, I would still have a great base to build a 455 off of with my current motor. Right now I want reliability   and air conditioning. Will look at other options around March or April. Thanks for replies

[72blackbird]

I was quoted a 2400 dollar price to get it me. This included a cam and ignition upgrade  9:2:1 . Also there is a 70000 mile 10 year warranty  . The guy I spoke to said he could put the "earlier" heads on too. Will keep this as an option come the spring. I asked about 455 s but they had no cores left. Geno I respect your opinion, I wish u could build my motor! If the motor is OEM spec, I done mind if its not that fast. Like I said, if I went this route, I would still have a great base to build a 455 off of with my current motor. Right now I want reliability   and air conditioning. Will look at other options around March or April. Thanks for replies

I understand the same company you're considering buying an engine from will install better pistons (forged Sealed Power pressed pin units) if you opt for them. I would recommend paying extra for that, as a forged piston will withstand pinging and detonation far better than any cast piston. And if you think it doesn't happen, I had a customer who unfortunately learned the hard way- he got a bad tank of gas that cracked his hypereutectics, and the debris cracked a cylinder wall.

Geno

[73Formula]

Will do if i go that route. Thanks