73 340 motor worth

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abodyhotrod

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my neighbor came over and was talking mopar. he has a 73 340 rebuilt no miles, says it has .30 over cast pistons, w/stock rods and crank all checked, has j heads.

ok, what i had asked if it was balanced and he says no all it needs is a fluid damper. now will sum new pistons throw off the balance or will this thing be ready to go.

oh ya he wants 1000 bucks, he says he just wants it to go to a good home and couldnt help to notice all my mopars.
seems like a good price, what do you think.
 
price sounds about right. pistons shouldn't be a problem as far as balance. Just to be safe I would tear it down and go threw it. I never trust an engine I didn't build, or know who built it. Check the bearing's to verify they are new and atleast plastigage the crank and re-assemble it. That's just my opinion, but I sleep better at night when I know for sure what's going on in my motor.
 
There's a guy here with a '73 340 that he took from his Challenger. Apparently it runs, that's about all we know. It comes with a 904 tranny and he's asking $2200. I think it's too expensive, but just to give you confidence that $1000 sounds like a good price.
 
I have seen 340's with the steel crank go for $800 that needed rebuilding. The 73 has a cast crank so deduct $200 and go from there. Sounds like a pretty good deal. 340's are higher priced than 360's. You can get a 360 cheaper, but what do you want?
I have a 340 for my 69 Dart and have over $3500 in it and am happy with my selection, but a nice priced BB would open my mind.
 
I think the price is good but I have a hard time believing the balance would be good after a piston swap. And like someone above said those were cast crank engines originally which requires and external balance balancer. The other thing I would add is the factory was known for a lousy balance job too. Someone might have switched it over to forged you never know unless you check. I'd take it apart and get it all checkout out before firing it up.
 
i was just thinking of picking this thing up as i dont see many any more. and wouldnt mind a back up motor just in case. i dont know yet guys im still thinkin.
 
Pop the oil pan off and look up into the cylinders. If it looks fresh I'd jump on it for that price.
 
I think that price is good for a fresh engine. Machine work alone is worth that much - if it's done well. If it really hasn't been fired, hit the catalogs and find out what those cast pistons weigh. Or, just pull them, I think all 340's kept floating pins regardless of crank or year. Pop one and weigh it if you have to. Then, see what comes close, or just Do The Right Thing and have it properly balanced. Prof. Products makes an SFI balancer for cast crank 340's, so that's easy.

In the end, I'd be expecting more for my steel-crank 72 340 even though it's got a couple thousand miles on it now. No magic in a 340 - unless you want one...

Clair
 
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