help me figure out what to do

[502procharger]

Ok here is the story, i came acrost a bbc 540 that did not sell on e-bay. it has a dart intake, manley pro series rods, scat billet crank, custome oil pan with trap doors(for what)flow bench ported gm heads with manley valves, cmi headders that are cracked( i will explain below)msd dist, and ign box, imco pullies and valve covers JE pistons, roller cam lifteres rockers, the list goes on 634hp on a dyno. here are the bad parts. The story goes, or so i am told that the motor was in the boat running pretty hard when he noticed steam coming out of the engine hatch. he shut it down and found the sea water pump hose had come off and the engine was very hot(no shit) he said he put it back on and started the boat and let it idle to cool it off. he also said he ran it the rest of the day, but new something was wrong with the headders(they cracked from the heat) he put it back on the trailer, shut it off. a week or so latter he went to run it and it turned over very slow. he thought it was the starter, removed it and tested it , and it was fine. some more time passed before he messed with it again. he put a bar on it and tried to turn it over becaue the starter was fine and it would only turn it over very slow. well now it will not turn over at all. pulle the plugs put oil in the cyl. and has not touched it since. i want to build a sec motor and i do not know if it is worth the 2500 he wants for it. all the parts are worth some money if they are ok, i will not know until i rip it down. what do you guys thing? is it worth it. i figure worst case i should be able to part it out for some good cash. help me

[KC]

2500 is a lot of money to spend for a boat anchor.....
if the headers are toast, then the heads are toast including those nice valves.. that does not explain the motor not wanting to turn over..
I can almost garantee that the block is warped enough that the crank has frozen, that would require rebore of the mains and turning the crank by at least .030... by that time you have lost reliability from the pressure that you are going to apply....
The motor is worth two things, the value of the used accessories attached and the value of the scrap metal....
do yourself a favor, don't go there - he should be paying you to haul it away.
KC

[502procharger]

probably good advice. thankx

[BOFH]

A few reasons why it could be acting like that;
Cracked risers allowed water to backflow into the open valves, and soak into the engine, turning the oil into baby shit, and rusting the berrings.
Cracked risers ... open valves, and create hydrolock, bending or breaking a piston and rod. (likely)
Block warpage spins a berring.
Think about it... There is a reason this engine was not rebuilt.

[gnarley]

I'd ask him to disassemble it for inspection prior to the sale but give him a deposit prior to the inspection based on the agreed sale price that allows you to back out if it, if it is in fact ALL junk that way you can see how bad the damage is & if it is worth anything at all. I suspect that even it was that overheated it should be salvageable or most of it.

[502procharger]

i am going to see it tomorow. i will pull the valve covers and oil pan to see what if anything i can see. i have limmited time. i talked to the guy this afternoon again and was asking him exactly what happend to see if his story changed at all, it did not. i looked him up on e-bay where he sells a lot of engines and drives to see his feedback, not one bad thing in 6 months or 60 sales. all good stuff from buyers. he assured me that nothing broke while the motor was running and that after he put the hose back on the sea water pump and let it cool he drove it without a problem for 1/2 hr or so and put it on the trailer. if was not until a few days later when he went to start it he found out something was wrong. he repaced the battery thinking it went dead and would not turn the motor over, that did not do it so he removed the starter to test that. whren the starter was fine he put a bar on the crank and it was very hard to turn. that was the last he touched it. he pulled the motor, put oil in the cyl. and put a differant motor in his boat. i gave him shit about ruining his rep over a few grand, and was it worth it to him to knowingly screw me knowing i would tell everyone i know, and he agreed that it would not be worth a fer grand to make a bad name for himself. he could still be full of shit, but i just have a gut feeling he is telling he the truth. does that mean the motor is not shot, hell know. is it worth the gambe to me? probably id]f the crank and rods look good. hell i should be able to part this thing out even if a bunch of stuff is shot and it is not worth rebuilding for about what i will have into it. please give me whatever feedback you guys have before tomorow.

[KC]

good luck.... enjoy the adventure

[502procharger]

kc thanks for the advise, i am still not shure what i am going to do, i guess i will see when i get a chance to look at it tomorow. like you said it may be worth nothing more than the accessories atached, but hopefully when i get a look inside i will have a better idea. i am not going to chase thid motor, if it is not worth anything i will walk away. i do apriciate everyones advice and opinions. thanks guys

[502procharger]

man i have to stop typing in the dark, i screw up every other word. lol

[KC]

I've decided....
Measuring the engine bay on Friday night and if there is clearance ordering the 502 Ram Jet on Monday... it should be able to push a 28p bravo into 80mph...
thump, thump, thump...
KC