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What are good questions when buying a engine


Z0wner

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You can ask anything. The only question that really matters is are they going to be truthful. Do they have a viable reputation or is it some fella clearing his garage of parts? Are they willing to back up their word and refund you $$$ if it isn't what it's claimed to be? Is it in the car? Does it run, smoke, knock? Can you see what the oil pressure holds at? Can you run a simple compression test? Pull the valve cover and look for signs of old age, damaged/worn parts? Pull the distributor cap and wiggle the shaft to look for excess play? Pull all spark plugs and look for signs of oil consumption? The question is do you want a plug and play or plan to rebuild. I have a general distrust of people built upon experience. I've even seen a local shop do a simple seal and rings replacement using all the old parts, paint it up pretty and sell as a full rebuilt.

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I would recommend getting a cheap engine and do a rebuild. You learn very much valuable information about the engine during this process, so that later, if problems should arise, or you need to alter something, you will be familiar with the engine. Also, when you rebuild it yourself, you get a chance to insure that everything is done properly, and that there are no internal problems with the engine. It isn't as hard to do as one should think. I had serious doubts wether or not to dissasemble my engine, but I am glad I did.

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I want a mean street machine without spending a high amount of money...

 

So, here is the information he gave me

 

I spent over $2000 modifying the engine. It has less than 5,000 miles since it has been rebuilt. It ran very strong and made lots of power before my previous car was in an accident. The engine was not damaged in the accident and has been run since then to ensure that there was no internal damage. Engine modifacations include:

 

 

 

  • Full engine rebuild
  • Schnieder Racing camshaft - Lift(In/Ex): .460/.460. Duration(In/Ex): 270/280
  • All new and professionally installed valve train
  • N47 Head with P79 flattop pistons for a compression ratio of 10:1
  • Ported and polished head
  • 3-angle valve job
  • Balanced and polished crank
  • 240mm Flywheel
  • Centerforce Dual Friction clutch

So its a NA... Is there any way this can get near 250+ horsepower?

 

Is this engine of any value?

Can it be turbo (ed)?

Would it be worth it?

What do you think would be a price to offer if worth it?

 

For the time being... Until i have money for a small block conversion... I wouldn't mind settling into something that has some power but still gets good gas mileage... could my vehicle (260z 1974 1/2) get into the 12's?

 

SIMPLE QUESTION... if all stated info is true, would this be an engine worth buying? Or should I hold off?

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You haven't told us what the seller is asking for the engine yet. Hard to give advice on wether you should buy or not when we don't know how much you have to pay...

 

Also, you first said you had found yourself a L28ET engine. But this isn't that at all, as you said yourself it's a NA.

You can of course turbocharge that engine, but not without lowering the compression. For that you would need dished pistons. Then there's a question wether the performance cam that is installed will work with a turbo. I don't have a clue about cams, so I can't help you there. I personally wouldn't have bought that engine if my intention was to turbocharge it. Then I'd get myself a L28ET instead, and rebuild it if required. But if you want a NA engine, then that's a whole different story. It isn't a stroker though, so I doubt it making in excess of 250hp.

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I want a mean street machine without spending a high amount of money...

 

So' date=' here is the information he gave me

 

[b']I spent over $2000 modifying the engine. It has less than 5,000 miles since it has been rebuilt. It ran very strong and made lots of power before my previous car was in an accident. The engine was not damaged in the accident and has been run since then to ensure that there was no internal damage. Engine modifacations include:[/b]

 

 

 

  • Full engine rebuild
  • Schnieder Racing camshaft - Lift(In/Ex): .460/.460. Duration(In/Ex): 270/280
  • All new and professionally installed valve train
  • N47 Head with P79 flattop pistons for a compression ratio of 10:1
  • Ported and polished head
  • 3-angle valve job
  • Balanced and polished crank
  • 240mm Flywheel
  • Centerforce Dual Friction clutch

So its a NA... Is there any way this can get near 250+ horsepower?

 

Is this engine of any value?

Can it be turbo (ed)?

Would it be worth it?

What do you think would be a price to offer if worth it?

 

For the time being... Until i have money for a small block conversion... I wouldn't mind settling into something that has some power but still gets good gas mileage... could my vehicle (260z 1974 1/2) get into the 12's?

 

SIMPLE QUESTION... if all stated info is true, would this be an engine worth buying? Or should I hold off?

 

bigger cam, more compression, and wither severely modded su's efi, or triples.

 

hell spray it, it'll go 12's

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Guest beandip

You never said what they wanted for the engine ! If what he says is true about what was done to it , I can see the rebuild cost running the 2K . I recently bought a '81 ZX with 45K since a rebuild with some mild head work and a Erson cam . $ 500. and I figured it was worth the gamble and it was . The engine is strong and I am vary happy with the performance. I did switch it to SUs .

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