Gentlemen, recently I purchased a pretty decent collection of '66 442 and Cutlass items and am trying to understand current values. One of the items is a freshly (a couple years) rebuilt '66 E short block. Rotating assembly, .30 over, cam, chain and gearset. Don't know what the cam is yet. It's probably worth more to a fella looking for one for his '66 442 restoration, or to a stock appearing drag racer. I have a '67 Supreme that I'm converting to a 425 stick. Thanks for any help!

 

The problem with buying a "rebuilt" motor of unknown heritage is that one needs to assume it was done incorrectly and at least needs to come apart again for inspection. Personally I would value it not much above a core unless I had ironclad proof of the quality of the parts and workmanship.

 

Thanks Joe and that's exactly what Ill do if I use it. What's the ring end gap, bearing clearance, etc. It looks like a beautiful job, but only inspection will tell.

 

x 2

 

X3....

 

Agreed x’s 4 !

Even my mid 80’s engine built by Mondello wouldn’t have made it more than a few minutes without doing thousands in $$$ damages to the parts…. Luckily, we tore it down and fixed it right, and still spent a bunch fixing and upgrading it.

So, even with a documented pedigree….. tear it down and inspect it and reassemble with care.

It might be great, or it could be a Craigslist rebuild.

Many assembly lubes are fine for just a few years, but will turn hard as a rock and cause more damage than good if left for too long.


The assembly lube on our pistons and rings had turned to what looked like pure hard carbon and black glue for the bores.