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What to expect from a motor with "less than 15,000 mile


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This is a bad scene from all angles.Mind if I ask what you paid for this engine? Judging from the amount of oil caking/buildup,and the bearing wear,its got many,many more miles than stated.Sitting for a long priod or not. 60 thousandths overbore with ridges pretty much makes it a boat anchor as you stated.I also agree with the shiney new stuff and spark plugs observation.That being said,if you buy a used engine,especially any high performance engine,oil pan and heads must come off day one!! No exceptions!! If you choose not to do this,that is your choice,but YOU at this point have chosen to take that risk.The price of a set of gaskets is a non issue when compared to the potential loss of money you endure when you have to buy something twice.I hope indeed the seller is a respected member of this site,cause that means you two should be able work something out.Knowing up front that both parties are at least a little at fault (he for masking engine condition,and you for not immediately checking out what you bought),hopefully will make this bitter pill a little easier to swallow.Whatever you paid for this engine,you paid for the reuseable parts,and honestly,that is what you should be charged for.We should all learn from this.

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You obvious;y haven't seen some of the builds I've torn appart. I've seen 5000 mile motors look worse than a lot of 150K + motors...

 

Just depends on the skills of the builder... This motor is a good example of a lower mileage motor that obviously had internal fitment and component issues... Although, I'd bet the previous owner was clueless that the motor was in the condition it has been discovered to be in...

 

Let's face it guys, you buy a used motor, and unless you drop the pan on site and inspect the bearings, you have just as good a chance at vegas. No one knows what is going on if there are no visible signs of engine trouble.

 

Mike 8)

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Well, I'm not going into details about the deal itself because I'm trying to make every effort to work with the seller, but what I can say now is that it wasn't cheap, and it was advertised as being a .020 bore as opposed to a .060 bore. I was always looking for the last glimmer of hope until I pulled the head and noticed it was .060. I can't even have that rebuilt. It's not a simple fix, it's not a hard fix........it's unfixable!

 

On a side note, doesn anybody know what 8.350" convert to on a measuring tape????

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Marcus, that really sucks. I hate to see a deal go bad for anybody. Hopefully you and the seller can get it worked out.

 

The TW heads work great when properly set up, but they are susceptible to valve guide wear if the wrong lenght pushrods are used. If you wind up keeping them, have the guides checked before you run them. I ran a set for a couple of years and have a good bit of experience with them, so let me know if I can help out.

 

John

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Thanks for the offer John, I'm pulling the heads again today and taking them to a local (45 minute drive) machine shop to get them checked today as they seem to have become a seperate issue.

 

I'm still trying to work with the seller, but we're coming fast to a dead end. It doesn't seem like nobody will be happy until we're standing in a courtroom.

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More pics guys of the most recent findings.....

 

Note the gouges on the cylinder wall

normal_bore.JPG

 

Leaking head gasket maybe.....?????? Ya think!

normal_rust.JPG

 

Couple shots of the heads, note the closeup on the same combustion chamber that is matched to the previous mentioned cylinder

normal_DSCN0809.JPG

 

normal_DSCN0807.JPG

 

Oh yeah, and it did have stock length pushrods in it also, good call guys.

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I feel for you pound, I went through a similar experience with the 327 i purchased. I removed the tinware and everything looked ok so i bought the engine.

Ended up the valves were worn, had to rebuild the heads. On removal of the heads i see .060 on the pistons with similar scored bores.

This is stuff you cant pick unless you remove the heads.

I have been driving it for about 1500kms and now a large knock has started so its new motor for me.

good luck

Graedat

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Hey Mike KZ,

You wouldn't happen to remember the push rod length that you used would ya?? I'm just curious becasue trickflow told me 8.350", the ones I pulled from the motor were 7 3/4", and I know that if the block or heads have been surfaced that makes a difference also. But I also know that it's a difference of thousandths and not over a 1/4 inch.

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Hey Mike KZ' date='

You wouldn't happen to remember the push rod length that you used would ya?? I'm just curious becasue trickflow told me 8.350", the ones I pulled from the motor were 7 3/4", and I know that if the block or heads have been surfaced that makes a difference also. But I also know that it's a difference of thousandths and not over a 1/4 inch.[/quote']

 

I'll have to check my build sheet when I get home if it's on there. I had the engine built for me. You can buy one of those adjustable checking pushrods just to measure what you need.

 

Like this: http://www.jegs.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ProductDisplay?prrfnbr=2678&prmenbr=361

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Yeah, I was going to order a set of those when I got to that point. After dropping all the money on the lemon, it might be a while before I can get the block squared away.

I was just curious, I wanted to see if the guy at trickflow just shot a number off to get me off of the phone (seemed bored with my questions), or if he gave me good info.

I knew I'd have to use the adjustable pushrods before I committed to a definate length because of the possibility of the block I end up with or the heads, being surfaced at all.

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  • 1 year later...

Well get this.........

 

The "race prepped" tranny that was included on this deal just went south as well (I put 1,800 miles on it). Left me stranded about an hour away from home after the Branson Z fest. Luckily, Vince (Vintage tech Z) was gracious enough to bail me out and let me leave the car at his place. Also, got a beer for me and the wife as well while we waited for my ride to come pick us up!! Thanks again Vince!!!

 

Either way, got the T56 en'route. I'm hoping to have it here sometime next week and hopefully I'll have all the parts and time to install it within a couple months. :)

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Guest ON3GO

awesome dude, get that 6 speed going!

and ya Vince is a great guy, glad to see he is still kicking around.

last i talked to him he was still way busy.

 

mike

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Yeah superbusy!!!! He's been trying to get things settled down at work enough to where he can get back to the Z world. I just figure .... good things come to those who wait, ya know?

 

T56, scheduled delivery, 11 May 06!!! Woot Woot..... Hopefully, it'll go as smooth as I'd like on the tranny swap.

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