You can do one on a budget by shopping around. My 331 shortblock cost me about $1500 total to put together. ($100 for the bare block, $1250 for the stroker kit and machine work, $115 for the Z303 cam, $25 for the timing set) The Canfield heads and rockers ran another $1500 then the 3x2 induction setup was another $1100. That 65 289 block may or may not be what you want, if it's an early 65 then it could be a 5 bolt bellhousing block instead of a 6 bolt.
Now that looks like a deal, if it includes those pistons and the Parker Funnel Web intake......................Umm, nevermind I went back and looked again, it doesn't include the extras. Pass on it, that's WAY too much for a questionable roller block.
with this already done, without the pistons it was done for the block is a boat anchor... ...you would have to put the plate on to rebore and rehone for different pistons...
actually.. those are decent prices for what he has there IF he has receipts for it all?. IF he does.. I'd be tempted to start the bargaining process for the block. You'll spend north of 600 to aquire and machine a block in similar fashion but I'd be damned sure to get receipts and some type of proof of the bore size before laying out the cash(written on the spec sheet or physically checked with a bore gauge). And also be sure that the deck was "squared".. not just clean up "milled". Depending on their equipment.. they'll usually square the decks when they are already set up for the align hone though.. so IMHO you have good chance at a near full blueprinted block there. And be sure to check the lifter bores for any damage too. It also appears that the block would have been done to match those stock stroke SRP 302 pistons.. and if that's in fact the case.. it would be easy to just order the equivelant 347 piston from SRP and you'd be golden since the material(clearances) SHOULD be the same(spec's are on their website or you could just call them too). Another thing to watch is.. the crank in the pic doesn't look too bad but shows to have some light surface rust from not being oiled and bagged properly.. so I'd be concerned the block may be similar and should be checked VERY well. Not sure if he just did it for the pic's to be taken.. but t's not really the best idea to stand a crank on end for long periods of time either(I've heard the same for blocks but not sure that would really matter short of decades though, lol). Point is that the owner may not be the most knowledgable about best storage practices for those parts and extremely close inspection should be done even if he does have all the paperwork to support it. I myself would start at $350 and work my way up to about $400 max. On the other hand.. if you price out a core block and all the machine work that's been done there?... $450 still ain't too bad. And if you do go mail order instead?.. remember that freight shipping ain't really too cheap either.
looks like the pistons used to final hone were the SRP shown in the ad. AFAIK.. at least on the 5 or so sets that I've used from them so far.. the metallurgy should be the same and therefore required clearances should be too. Going off memory here.. but those slugs should be 4032 material.. and the next models up would be 2618 alloy(will be the sportsmans.. before going into the JE stuff). Although.. my disclaimer would be that it's been a very long day already.. so those numbers may be off of even reversed. lol
yeah im gonna go to the local pick your part and grab a 5.0 block out of one of the many foxbodies this weekend. half off sale wooo! a buddy is gonna try to find a 351. ill pass on that craigslist one. so when i grab this block should i buy a stroker kit before i have machining done? or can i get it bored first? like in this order: 1: get block 2. bore to .030 3. get stroker kit 4. hone to pistons if i understand all this info, this would be the first 4 steps^ correct me if i am wrong
Skip looking in those Mustangs, look for one in an 87-97 van or pickup, or a complete Explorer or Mountaineer 5.0. The same blocks were used in every application that had a 5.0 from 87-2001. With the Explorer/Mountaineer, you get either GT40 or GT40P heads. The 94-97 pickup/van 5.0 had the same cam as the Explore/Mountaineer motor. Better yet, look for a roller 351W in a 94-97 pickup or van. I pulled one of these out of a 97 F250 last year along with the ZF-5 speed transmission, whole thing cost me $325. I pulled the motor apart last weekend, the short block is good to go after a thorough cleaning, no bore wear at all. I haven't pulled the rod and main caps but at worst, all I'll need to do there is replace them with a fresh set. I'm gonna bolt on a set of GT40 iron heads, swap the cam to an HO roller (just because I have one, otherwise I'd leave the cam as is, it too has the Explorer cam) and a carbed intake topped with a Holley 570 and put it in a Bronco frame project offroad vehicle, backed by the ZF transmission. FYI, the Explorer cam specs out like this with 1.7 rockers: .445/.473 lift, 256/266 advertised duration, 116.5 LSA. Great cam for a street driven vehicle with a carb. Runs and drives exactly like an EFI setup.
excellent will do. the ones in the vans were probably more pampered and well taken care of huh? just noted those years so ill remember. oo sweet, that sounds like a fun build! never heard of the zf before though
Well they may not have been run hard and put up wet, but not all will have been pampered either as far as maintenence goes. A look inside a valve cover will tell you how the oil change cycle went. That 351 I took down wasn't the cleanest in the world inside, but I've seen worse. I still couldn't go wrong with the $325 purchase price. The ZF is a heavy duty truck transmission. The ZF line goes way back, at least into the 60's or 70's, I recall hearing the 70's Pantera's had ZF transaxles.
what do i look for to recognize a well taken care of engine? like general cleanliness? or are there other signs? just looked up the pantera. looks pretty wicked. seen em before but i didnt know what they were
when buying a junkyard motor you want to look for clean oil brown not black or white then look for broken parts under the valve cover if you find a broken part under the valve cover you can guarantee that motor has been run hard and or neglected as far as the stroker goes I wouldnt try to budget build it but then again I try not to budget build anything because EVERY SINGLE TIME I DO IT COMES BACK TO BITE ME IN THE A** and I spend more money than I wouldve if I had just did it right the first time. now my 347 is going to pull in around 1000 horses with a super charger and Ive went all in not trying to build the most expensive motor out there but by far not trying to do anything cheap at the same time. I started with the idea of an old 302 I had already and was going to spend a bunch of money just to have the old block suited to fit the 347 kit (900 I think for boring this and that and freeze plugs hot tank honing all kinds of other stuff I forget now) but with the old block I was going to be pressing my luck with 550 horse power and I didnt want to blow the thing up as soon as I built it so I went ahead and ordered the dart sportsman or competition series block so I didnt have to worry about it blowing up from too much pressure on the old block my build with forged everything upgraded everything from oil pan to super charger with a few parts I already bought (oil pump timing set) Ive spent so far....in the area of easily $5k on parts and I havent paid for the super charger kit or the 2 four barrel carbs or the blower yet and I havent even begun to pay for powder coating or assembly. I will do a partial assembly but all of the internals Im having them install (cheap insurance) DONT SHORT CUT IT YOU WILL REGRET IT! I can recommend my machine shop if youre interested. he does good work and is really fair on his pricing. some stuff he saved me money on. like instead of ordering the block myself I wouldve spent $200 more plus freight. block was $1800 alone
Look for a fairly clean engine bay. Look for oil leaks and coolant leaks around the head and intake gaskets. Pull a valve cover and see how dirty it is inside. And as junrai said, look at the oil on the dipstick. If it's milky or black and thick as sin, move onto another. Pop the radiator cap and see what the coolant looks like. If it looks fresh and not rusty or oily it should be a good motor. Bring a breaker bar and 15/16 socket and a short extension to turn the crank with. If it'll turn completely thru two revolutions without hanging up, that's a good sign. If it does hangup, look at the oilpan to see if it's mashed into the crank. Many of the big pull it yourself yards drain the coolant and oil when they come in, so be prepared to see no oil or coolant in the motor, there should still be enough traces of it present to make a judgement call though. If there's any means to start it up, by all means do so before buying it. And ask about a warantee in case you find a cracked block or anything else missed in the inspection.
I actually was given one worse than that. It came out of a 68 Galaxie, the gunk in the lifter valley actually filled the valley to the bottom of the intake, enough to make a perfect impression of the intake bottom in the sludge. Sad thing was it was either a 289 Hi-po block turned into a 302 or a Mex block as it had the Hi-po main caps. There was a huge hole in one cylinder wall from freeze damage
