Where to find an engine?

[yowza]

Where can I find a cheap engine?  Or what model cars at a junkyard can I look at to get a good candidate for a rebuild.  Like I know the Imperials had 440's in them, are there other cars that had 440's?  Sorry if this has been gone over before I didn't see it in my search.

[moparmaniac59]

I am not familiar with Illinois. In my area ther's not a lot to pick from in junk yards anymore. But that's not to say they aren't out there. If you're just looking for a motor, you'd have more luck checking sites like this or Craig's List or Racingjunk.com just to name a few. If you are just looking for any 'ole car with a 440, try an old motor home or a lot of the old C-bodies (Monaco, Imperial, Newport, Fury) had 440's even after Chrysler stopped dropping them in the E bodies.


                                             Matt B.

[yowza]

I found just a bare 71 440 block and crank for $100.  Is that a good price?  Sorry I'm new to the classic car deal.

[The Cuda Guy]

sounds like a good deal to me.

Don

[72 cuda]

An old furyIII police unmarked ,I think they ran 440's until 78 possibly a little later
Mark

[somedaysoon]

I found just a bare 71 440 block and crank for $100.  Is that a good price?  Sorry I'm new to the classic car deal.

 It's a good deal if it's a good block, could be cracked, already bored beyond what you would risk. Are you stuck on an RB.  Pete

[yowza]

ok, changing my mind again, i think i want to go with a small block for money purposes.  I found a 340 for $500 and it comes with crank, pistons, rods, and cam.   Should I pick this up or find a 360?

[yowza]

Also, what is a realistic price for a rebuild on the 340.  Nothing too crazy just a decent street engine.  Say if the only things salvagable were the block crank and rods what would it cost to have it running and installed in the car?

[BB73Challenger]

IMO... and it's just that.....

MONEY DEMONS FLOCK TO DRY CYLINDERS   

I was told that once and have seen it many times come true. It's easy to watch a budget ( if that's what you are working on ) fly out the window even before the machine work is done if you are trying to watch the cost.

Ma' Mopar through a TON of good V-8's in a lot of cars, if you don't have your heart set on a specific cube' inch or type of motor ( some guys love 340's ) then, and again just my opinion, I'd find something you can hear run. I'm thinking a good 360 is still easy enough to find.

[HP2]

What's your budget, whats your intended usage, what is your skill level?

Budget;it costs as much to machine a small block as it does a big block. Dependingon the starting point, big block parts may run a little more than small block.

Usage; if your just cruising or going to shows you can take a different approach to machining, parts purchases, and the build up than if you are going to race it.

Your skill; helpful in determining if you should look for a completed crate type motor from a reputable builder or take a chance on some block that has been sittingin someones yard for a decade. recommendations on these types of purchases a risky done in an internet forum based on simple descriptions and not looking at a block. If your not sure of what to look for in a block to verify it is in usable shape, you can end up paying for things twice once you discover things are bad. Of course you could luck out and find a gem, but the odds are against it.

A number of salvage yards can get you a running small block for under a grand. There are a number of builders who will put together a packaged small block for a few grand. There are other who can do big blocks for $5-10k. A basic rebuild on either is going to run at least a couple grand if you have the skills, time, and patience to do most the labor. Paying someone else to build it for you is pushing in to crate motor territory right from the start.

[yowza]

I've never rebuilt an engine but I'm going to be rebuilding it with my friend who has rebuilt a ton of engines.  I think the only thing we wouldn't be doing is any machining the block needs.  I was hoping to spend around 2-3k.  I don't plan on racing it but I do want to get some decent quickness and speed out of.

[Super Blue 72]

I like to poke aroung the local craigslist for engines.  I got a 383 with a 727 tranny for $150.

Just curious, is your car set up for a small or big block right now?    If you just want to cruise around, a healthy small block will be good IMO.  If you want to have domination at the red light races, go big block. 

[BB73Challenger]

Just curious, is your car set up for a small or big block right now?   

I too was thinking the same thing - matching what was in will make it easier & cheaper.

[yowza]

It has a small block in it now which is why I decided to go small block.  Later down the road I might invest more money into a big block but for now save some dough. 

[BB73Challenger]

Does the car have no motor in it now and had a small block or does it have a smaller v-8 like a 318?

If you are trying to watch cost, another thing to consider is things like accesories, alt., water pump, power steering if you have it.
If you have these things, you open more cost saving avenues to consider.
For the motor that it sounds like you would like to have, you will need to buy new things like carb, intake, cam, headers and that does not include the basics like hoses, plugs, wires, oil and filters - this stuff really starts to add up in cost.

So if you are buying a "short block" and you have nothing to add to it used, it's going to cost a pretty penny to get it running.
If you buy a running motor, you can strip it, clean and save most items, and stretch where you have to and dirrect cash towards hop up items.

To be honest, and again it's just my 2 cents, I would find a running 360 - if and when you strip it a camera, zip lock bags and a note book are going to save a lot of hassle during reassembly. Find a shop to hot tank, bore, possibly deck head surface(what ever the block would need), install new cam bearings and clean the heads and possible valve job.
This will insure a solid foundation, and then you can paint easily to your liking, and my favorite part add your new hop up parts. You will also probably need a new oil pan for an e-body. Then add the rest of you old accesories and get ready to fire it up.

If you need to go even cheaper, you could even take the running motor and if it's not blowing or burning any oil and has good oil pressure you could just clean it and add your speed parts.