Whitebird75

Has anyone else noticed that the price of used engines, mainly Small Block Chevy's, are out of this world these days? Most of these engines are listed as "Built" or "Race Motor" with atmosphere price tags ($3K plus), but they have stock Cast Iron heads on them. Even 305's out of old farm trucks are priced at $600-800 near me in Georgia. It's hard for me to believe those engines were treated nicely with regular maintenance. Is anyone else experiencing this phenomenon in other parts of the country?

AlkyIROC

Have an engine properly built using good machine shop procedures and not just slapped together and it will cost you more than that. You also have to consider the SBC isn't a production engine any more so as more and more blocks go to the recycler, there are less and less available. Even with the millions that GM produced, the amount of good cores are disappearing.

Easier and cheaper to go with an LS engine now. A basic 5.3 is cheap and can make more power than an old 350.

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

Good SBCs are becoming less common all the time. After all, they've been out of production in typical vehicles for 20 years now.

I still can't believe ANYBODY with 2 brain cells they could rub together every now and then and once in a while and accidentally get one of them to fire, would pay A DIME for a 305. That's ... just ... blasphemy. Stupidity. Ridiculous. Futility. You name it, it's that.

The cores to look for these days are 96-2000 truck 350s. Yeah they're starting to taper off too; yeah the people who have em, will RAPE YOU HARD if you mention the word "Vortec"; yeah yeah yeah yeah. But you're not that far from Texas, and I hear there's a certain amount of pickup trucks over there. (just a rumor I'm sure) Nothing wrong with "stock cast iron heads" on those. OTOH, if you don't like "stock cast iron heads" on your block, you can get any block you want, and go buy aftermarket aluminum ones if that's what peels yer banana, and slap em right up on there. You're SURE AS HELL not gonna find "used engines" with that sort of thing on them selling for any less (or not much less anyway) than what a set of such heads would cost out of the box; $1200 - 1500 or so, assuming they give away THE WHOLE REST OF THE MOTOR FOR FREE.

In case you can't tell, I'm not too terribly sympathetic with your "complaint". I think you're just ENTITLED and think the whole world ought to bend itself over for you and let you have your way. Sorry though d00d, out here in the REAL WORLD, it doesn't work like that. Sometimes ya just gotta do a little WORK (sorry for the dirty four-letter-word) on yer own.

BTW I'm in the Salt Belt, where bodies decay right in front of your eyes. Like, I mean, I can sweep / blow / vacuum my driveway, and go out in the next morning, and there's chunks of rust under EVERY car. Needless to say there's LOTS of motors available here, but NO bodies WHATSOEVER. And last time I drove from where I am to Atlanta (for a NASCAR race, I was taking my exchange student from Germany) it was less than an 8 hour drive. So yeah, I don't have much sympathy.

nhgator

Local yard selling 4.8-5.3 ls motors for $800 with trans,computer,all wiring.
No lack of rusted out chebby trucks around here.
Couldn't give away a old 350 block and heads.

WTR388

Lots of the circle track guys are using the 305s and 350s depending on their classes. I know guys that have a handful of engines in the shop waiting to go in to a race car in case one lets go... Most of the racers I know have at least one extra motor sitting in the garage. If I had a 305 or a 350 to sell and it was in good shape, it wouldn't last a week before someone hauled it away.

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

35 years ago I had to PAY somebody to HAUL AWAY abuncha 305s and crappy 350s. A GIANT pile: I bet there were probably 5 or 6 whole motors including some crappy mid 70s sludged-up truck big blocks, and at least one 327. I doubt they've gotten any more valuable since then.

The other day my son-in-law filled up my truck with exhaust stuff including an old Gibson stainless one, a Cheeeep front axle, a WHOLE BUNCH of other misc parts that have been accumulating on my driveway, and hauled it to the nearest scrap dealer. He got $6 and change for it. Cost him probably $9 of gas and however much work. That's pretty much about what a 305 is worth.

"Class" racing is a WHOLE OTHER ANIMAL. Yeah those guys HAVE TO run whatever, and yeah it makes GREAT power; but having made the mistake ONCE of building "motor claimer" class motors against a junkyard sponsor, and (a) losing my a$$ and (b) losing a customer, I KNOW first hand how worthless those old motors are. Didn't matter HOW CHEEEEEP I could build a motor, a short block out of some wrecked or rusted-out 70s Monte Carlo or Impala was UNBEATABLE in terms of financial competition. And that was 30 SOME ODD years ago. Hasn't got any better since then I can assure you.

GeneralDisorder

iTrader: (1)

I can easily find L31's here in the PNW for $500 to $800.

If you hit up yards in areas of the country where vehicles don't rust you can find great deals and you can just have it shipped. We buy engines all the time on pallets - shipping is typically $150 to $300. It's not a significant cost in an engine build.

GD

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

GD, I was just up there earlier this week. Flew into Bozeman Thursday and worked that night, drove to Spokane Fri and worked all night starting at midnight Friday (Sat morning) until about 5:30am, then to Port Angeles and worked Sunday, then to Portland and worked Monday, then flew back and got back Monday night (Tuesday morning) A long trip for sure. Got yelled at all day today about how I wasn't doing enough work and got assigned more "quality" duties to make sure I wasn't slacking off. (BASTARDS). Saw QUITE A FEW junkyards right by all the roads I drove on. I'd expect bodies outlive motors up there, but not as much as say Nevada. And of course, where I am in the Rust Belt, motors FAR outlive bodies except in plow trucks which is REAL HARD duty. I saw LOTS of trucks, I'm thinking they don't get trashed out there, like they do where I am.

Vinscully50

I'm in Florida. Same problem hear. Lack of 350s. We don't have a lot of LSX engines either. When you do find either both tend to be expensive. Plenty of 4.3L engines everywhere though.

I think part of it is the 350 has been out of production since 2000. The other reason is I'm sure there are lots of hoarders and backyard rebuilders that will "get to it soon" and have a pile of 350s in their yard waiting to be rebuild.

The other reason is all of the engine rebuilding companies purchased tons of them over the last 4 to 5 years and that cut down on the stock.

GeneralDisorder

iTrader: (1)

Here there is virtually NO RUST. My 86 Trans Am (original Oregon car with original yellow plates) has no significant rust of any kind. The t-top bar had to be replaced. That's pretty much it.

My 69 GMC pickup is solid. A few tiny holes starting in the edges of the floor where the carpet grew mushrooms.

My 84 Jimmy is rust free.

I have never broken a single fastener on any of them.

The parts ar out there. You just have to want it. And have to be willing to do the leg work.

I wanted a specific and relatively rare arcade game for example. Not particularly desirable or valuable, but a bit hard to come by 35 years later. I found one on Facebook and had it shipped via Fastenal for about $300.

GD

punkmaster98

iTrader: (5)

A few Local guys that are stripping trucks full time sell 5.3s running and complete for 500, 6-700 if its aluminum. Complete running 6.0s $1000 and 6.2 $1500. Some of my friends have found it easier to buy a whole vehicle for the $350 and get rid of the rest depending on how bad the rot was.

885speed

iTrader: (1)

Same, I'm near Ocala and searched for 2-3 months to find a good 5.3/4.8
There were some out there, but guys on FB marketplace wanting $1800+ for an early 5.3 long block only, no wiring or anything, strictly just a bare long block.
I took a big gamble and bought an Ebay 4.8 complete take out with 130k on the clock. $900 shipped to my door with all the goodies.
Made out good on that deal, the motor was in great shape when I got it. But I know others have been less fortunate with buying used engines from Ebay.

Fast355

iTrader: (2)

350s were in production longer than that and actually still are to this day. You can still get a brand new 300 hp 350 marine Vortec from GM if you are a marinizer or an industrial 350 for a generator. My last 2 Vortec 350s have come out of generators and the one before that out of a mexican 04 Tahoe.

Vans had the L31 until 02. The Isuzu box trucks until 04. Mexican GMT800 variants had them until 07. They are still put in boats and generators.

A 4 bolt main L31 crate engine was about $2200 new from GM last I checked.

Fast355

iTrader: (2)

My last 5.3 came from pick and pull out of a rear ended 02 Tahoe. $150 for the bare long block. Picked a practically new water pump and clutch fan, a reman alternator and a reman starter from different trucks, some accessory brackets, and a NNBS intake manifold off a GMT900 truck. Brought the total up to $250. I pulled the 799 heads off the NNBS 5.3 and bolted then in place of the 862s on the older engine. A couple hours of labor and got my 799 heads for my 6.0L build practically free. Its pick and pull....They don't care if you buy an engine or a piston, the price just gets adjusted.

Big&BadGTA

iTrader: (1)

Years ago (like, 20+ years), I sold a 1990 5.7L Alumn head TPI engine, complete from pan to intake. Got $1,000 and delivered it for another $100, if I recall.

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

Yeah those were the days. I miss em too.

Doesn't too much matter now... it's TODAY now. Whatever we all did way back when, is irrelevant. Just abuncha old grandpa old-timer stories. "Sonny boy, back when gas was a quarter a gallon, we'd..." Doesn't help with the current moment.

GeneralDisorder

iTrader: (1)

Regardless - they are common if you LOOK, and shipping is reasonable. Sure - inflation is a constant in our monetary system, and $200 doesn't buy what it used to. And yet I managed to acquire a perfectly good Vortec for $200 not long ago. Also got a built Vortec @ 350 HP including a TCI streetfighter 700R4 for my Jimmy for $1500 - pulled out of a '70 C10 (dyno'd at 280 wheel) from a friend that went with an LS6 swap.

It's just a matter of looking and doing the leg work.

GD