[markag]

Hey guys,

I'm a tinkerer at heart. Combine that with my passion for cars, especially Mustangs, and you get a strong desire to build up an engine for the fun of it. If you couldn't guess, I would want to build a Ford small block.

Long story short, my wife actually brought up the idea of me getting a used / salvage engine to rebuild and clean up for fun. I had always wanted to do it, but I never thought I would get the OK from her without having a project car for it to go into. So when she suggested it as something that I could do, I was pretty excited. I pitched the idea of rebuilding a used or salvage yard engine, cleaning it up, and then selling it again to try and at lest brake even on the project. Maybe I would be lucky enough to make a little bit off of it, but that wouldn't really be the goal.

My plan is to rebuild the engine-reusing as much as possible to keep the costs down. Also, I'm thinking it might be easier to sell a refreshed engine, rather then an extreme high performance engine. Like I said above, my overall goal would be to brake even on the engine. I would love to make a little bit of money from my efforts with it, but that is just dreaming.

Are there any tips as for what I should look for in an engine. I'm wanting to go with a 302 or maybe a 351W. I think a big block would be harder to find, and it would cost a lot more. Correct me if I am wrong, but sticking with a carb engine seems like it might be easier and cheaper then dealing with a fuel injected engine. Although, I don't know if it would be harder sell if it isn't fuel injected.

Another question that I am a little embarrassed to ask... how do I go about finding an engine. I've never done the whole salvage yard search, so I'm not sure exactly how they operate. Do I go to a you pick and pull yard and walk around looking for a vehicle with the engine in it that I want? If I find that, do I have to pull it out, or will the yard pull it? Do salvage yards have engines already pulled that I can browse? sorry for such a newb question Other then salvage yards, there is always craiglsist, ebay, etc.

Anyone else done this kind of a project. Any other tips or advice for me?

Thanks for the help.

[Yadkin]

First, buy this book: How to Rebuild Small-Block Ford Engines: Tom Monroe: 9780912656892: Amazon.com: Books

Then you have to understand that there are different types of machine shops out there. Some are "production" type shops where they'll hone an old block that has a little bit of wear, and then there are others who insist on doing everything correctly and by the book. Find the latter and tell him what you're interested in doing.

Small blocks were used in many different types of vehicles. You are much more likely to find inexpensive junk engines if you look for the more utilitarian cars that people aren't collecting. The book lists compatibility of parts.

Wikipedia is actually a good start for research, although I wouldn't relay on it for technical details. But if you look up "small block ford" there you'll find years of production and its different displacements. Then you can look up cars of that era and see what engines they used.

[markag]

I have that book on my Christmas list

Luckily, I live in an area where there are a lot of machine shops. Finding the right one shouldn't be too hard, but I'm hoping that I can find a block that isn't too bad to start off with. It would be great if I could do the work at home. Granted if the cylinders need to be bored or there is other machine shop work that is required, then I would take it to a shop. But since this would be a build just for fun, I wouldn't mind doing honing work myself. I would be looking at stockmen levels of performance, retaining as many stock components as possible. If I could build an engine and only buy new rings, oil pump, gaskets, cam, and rebuild the heads, I would be happy.

[Yadkin]

I'm rebuilding a 1964 Thunderbird 390 now and learning a lot. Cylinders wear in a cone shape (wider at the top). Mine were about .003 worn, so my machinist is taking that up to 0.010 re-bore. That necessitates new pistons.

These old engines wore out after 80k or and many were redone by smiple honing and re-using parts. According to my guy they are junk and he won't work on them. I don't see why though. I had to assure him that I am the second owner of the car and that the first owner never touched the inside of the engine.

He rebuilt the heads using hardened valve seats and valves so I can use unleaded fuel. I'm using a mild hydraulic roller cam and adjustable roller rockers so I can use regular modern oil without having to resort to zinc additives. The new pistons will be some "hyper-something" material used in modern engines. This rebuild is supposed to last 250k miles.

[markag]

Are you doing the work, or are you using an engine builder? Sounds like the type of build you are going for is similar to what I want to do. Updating your old engine to modern technology, but you aren't going for extreme power or anything. Just getting a good solid running engine.

Interesting point about the valve seats and rockers for running unleaded gas and regular oil. I'll have to keep that in mind if I get an older engine.

[Yadkin]

The machine work requires a huge tool investment as well as specialized experience. All I'm doing is specifying parts and assembly. That's really all any mechanic, shade tree or otherwise, should be doing.