What kind of documentation for used engine would satisfy you?

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MRGTX

MRGTX

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If you were to consider buying a used engine sitting on a pallet, what would you want to see before buying it?

I will be selling my Magnum 300 crate engine in the very near future. It runs absolutely great…but no potential buyer can (nor should) just take my word for it obviously.

Ordinarily, I would be able to take someone for a ride but they have salted the roads up here in CT many times over so that’s out of the question.

Someone could come check it out and hear it run/idle…but if I don’t find a buyer before I pull it, even that won’t be an option.

Would a video of the car running be helpful? A video of a compression test? Those things could be faked but that would be an elaborate hoax.

Anyway, what would put your mind at ease?

Thanks for any input.
 
Show a video of it running. Have all the documentation you can. DO NOT drain the oil and remove the Filter (ask the buyer what they need in regards to that.) Show the Gauges in the video and a walk around of the exhaust.

And lastly, leak it down and show each cylinder. Anything else otherwise (for me) is considered a boat anchor. A Leakdown will show the condition of the motor short of a mechanical issue which will show up in the oil.

That may be more than you want to put into effort wise but you asked and since I got popped on a motor 2 years ago (my stupidity for trusting someone) that's what I would require of someone.

JW
 
Receipts, part number sticker on short block, cam card, a flow sheet if the heads were messed with, compression and leak down test especially.


Some want the pan off and one main and rod cap off to see the bearings condition and size.

Straight from the barrel...It really depends who you are selling to.
 
As a buyer of a used engine, if the seller gave me a firm hand shake and looked me in the eye and said “don’t pay me a dime until you have the engine installed and running and you are happy with it.”
That would be good enough for me.
 
At minimum a cold start video, walk around the rear to video the exhaust and sound. The more documentation the better which should include compression results. 65'
 
Depends what you're asking for it $$ wise. I've bought engines without hearing them run for a few hundred and had no problems, maybe I've been lucky but I generally look at the appearance of the engine, the seller, and the seller's property. I have also bought dozens of salvage vehicles from insurance auctions and only once got a car with a bad motor.
I guess if I was paying a couple thousand, I'd want some proof that it is what the seller claims, either video or hearing it run before purchase.
 
If the motor was on a pallet or concrete floor I would consider it core price, have to see running via phone or in person to give real value. Indeed the video here would make a deal in this case.
 
I bought my Duster having heard it run…. And to many experienced engine building people around me at the time the 3 year old built 340 in the car sounded and ran fine to them. I opened it up for a better look and found 7 lifters missing clips, 4 bent pushrods, galled rocker shafts, worn rocker arms, and a couple miscellaneous leaks. Not including stripped bolt holes in the heads and a carb with all different sized jets in it…. Car ran and drove pretty good still though… but I ended up putting $2000 in the top end of that engine to resolve the issues… including a little scope creep in buying nothing but the best lol. With all that I did do (more than most thought was even needed having heard it run) I was told I should have changed camshaft with the lifters, the timing chain, the water pump, and… NOOO. I stand behind my decision to have stopped because if I got to that point I would yank the engine and try to locate the 7 missing clips from the lifters…. And the rear main seal leaks…. So at what point does one just play the odds and see just how far what is left will run?

I think a video is a good start, but assembly pics and parts receipts (can check emails to find those if bought stuff online) would be another must in my opinion. And even then that does not guarantee to anyone what is in that engine or how it was assembled and broken in. And it also does not guarantee it wasn’t abused. Not saying you did anything bad, just what us gearheads think about. I passed on a 70s Dodge truck with a 360 running same cam as my Duster, same color and everything, would have looked great hauling my Duster on a trailer behind it. But I passed on it when I found a YouTube video showing the truck on a concrete pad with a chain from the hitch to a pole and a 5 minute full throttle burnout with fire shooting out the exhaust…. I ran away from that truck in a hurry.

Now the previous owner of my Duster showed me a burnout video of the Duster that sold me on the Duster cause it was not tied up to peel the rubber, and it was not full throttle matted, it was a respectable showing of “yes it can but let’s go somewhat easy on everything.”

So to answer the question…. Anything you can show a prospective buyer will better the chances that they are willing to spend…. But be ready to hear “it is a core” because anymore it is just too hard to find good rebuilt engines among all the crap being passed off and people are getting less willing to chance it and more willing to just start with a block.
 
date the video of it running and be obvious that the video is for an intent to sell.

A video of an engine idling at the drag strip 8 years ago is not a good selling point today.
 
If I were a buyer, a date stamped video, list of work done accompanied by receipts. If it was done at a shop I might follow up with them......maybe. I would also take along my little scope that connects to my smartphone and ask for a couple plugs to be pulled so I could look at the chambers.
 
Videos are a great tool Also, "I" would remove the pan, valve covers and maybe the intake.
 
Just sold my spare “core” W8 mill for 6k. I bought it “as is” years ago with 11 dyno sheets 730-745hp. I’d never heard it run, but for the parts alone I picked it up as a potential back up plan. About all I did was pull the valve covers and timing cover to scope things. Never really advertised it, but mentioned it a few times on forums and FB. I dropped it off in Nebraska back in September and it will end up in a dirt late model which is cool.
 
Eight years ago I bought a 1971 340/727 combo complete from fan to yoke and from carb to pan. It was pulled from a 1971 Super Bee by a restoration shop because the owner wanted a Hemi put in the car. The shop owner had it on a pallet and he spun the crank with a socket and breaker bar. He told me that it was sold “as is” and he recommended that I pull the heads to find out the real condition of the cylinders if I bought it. The price was $1200. I bought it.
When I got it home, I pulled the plugs and used my bore scope to find that it contained .30 over pistons with 4 eyebrows on each piston. The cylinders had some visible cross hatching left on the walls. The heads were small valve later heads.
I still have to pull the SP2P-318 intake to get a runout micrometer on the lobes of the cam.
It seems that the previous owner took his 340 and tried to make it get better gas mileage by choking off the top end.
I figured that I did ok since I already had a complete set of 1971 Large valve J heads, 1971 factory intake, an LD340 intake, ThermoQuad, TRW .30 over pistons, and a selection of different cams to go in it.
 
A video will work great. I would get a quick shot of a newspaper to prove the date.
 
Engine on a pallet would get an "engine core" price in my book....but I'm a VERY skeptical person. The only way I would pay more is if it was totally disassembled so I could inspect everything....then the sum of parts might be worth more depending on what is there (just my 2 cents).
 
In my dirt track world expensive engines are routinely sold with only the sellers word on its condition. Many are sold " total laps since refresh" or the name of the builder such as Clement, Draime or ProPower....
 
Hmmm...I had zero expectations for mine when I bought it....
But like the ugly duckling, it transformed into a beautiful swan (408).
20191102_161036.jpg
 
Like all the older guys i've got the "rebuilt" Engine, rear axle and transmission T shirts.
For me they are all cores unless i see them' and hear them run' or it's a trusted friend!
 
MRGTX said:
If you were to consider buying a used engine sitting on a pallet, what would you want to see before buying it?

I will be selling my Magnum 300 crate engine in the very near future. It runs absolutely great…but no potential buyer can (nor should) just take my word for it obviously.

Ordinarily, I would be able to take someone for a ride but they have salted the roads up here in CT many times over so that’s out of the question.

Someone could come check it out and hear it run/idle…but if I don’t find a buyer before I pull it, even that won’t be an option.

Would a video of the car running be helpful? A video of a compression test? Those things could be faked but that would be an elaborate hoax.

Anyway, what would put your mind at ease?

Thanks for any input.
Click to expand...
Buying it for .10 cents on the dollar would work for me
 
I usually adhere to the moto “nobody pulls a good running engine”. And that dictates the price I am willing to pay unless they can PROVE otherwise. Finding a buyer before you pull the engine will get you the most for your perfectly running engine.
 
Excellent input from just about everyone here.
Thanks!

I’ll use what I can from this list. I may learn something about my outgoing engine that I didn’t know and I firmly believe in the bad karma from selling someone parts that turn out to be less than expected. Even if I didn’t care about that, this engine will undoubtedly will be bought by someone fairly local and a fellow mopar enthusiast. Too close to home to risk selling someone junk.

Again, thanks to all for the suggestions.

'68cuda416 said:
Buying it for .10 cents on the dollar would work for me
Click to expand...

We can work something out. :)
I’m certainly not expecting to make money on this thing…just recoup a chunk of the cost of the new engine and get it out of my garage.
 
When I bought my 470 stroker I didn’t know the guy. I seen his car run at the track. I knew of the engine builder but didn’t know him either. I knew a guy that knew the guy I was getting the motor from. I took him a certified cheque. He had a d60 there also that I paid cash for. Kim
 
I had a chance to do a quick compression test today. Unfortunately, I did find something noteworthy. One cylinder was notably lower than the others. Every cylinder measured just above 150psi except number 2 which measured at 130. Still within spec for the motor but the fact that it’s an outlier is obviously a problem.

So it could be a valve seal, could be rings, could be a number of things but the bottom line is that it’s junk. Seems strange to pitch it when the motor ran well and pulled like a 300hp motor should, easily burned the 255s from a roll, didn’t consume any notable amount of oil.

Just for laughs, I’ll probably do a leak down if I have time. No answer would make this engine worth anything more than a “core.”

Well, that’s why I checked. Better than selling it to someone then having them come back unhappy, wanting their money back.
 
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