I had recently picked up a "barn find" 69 toro that had been sitting for 37 years. The owner did a lot of the prep work to get it ready to drive and I picked it up in Dallas with intention of driving to Austin. After 150 miles of sweet running I started hearing a light knocking sound (I'm thinking lifter) and after a while I stopped for gas and the oil pressure light started flickering on and off. You guessed it. I spun a rod. After getting lots of great advice from a lot of smart people, I decided to spend the money and do a complete rebuild, staying stock. Since this was a numbers matching car with a very rare option set I thought why not even through it hurt the bank. Today the engine removal was complete and guess what? Not a numbers matching car and it appears that the engine is already a rebuilt one. I am now second guessing everything about the car in general and the drive train in particular. The car is still worth investing in for a number of other reasons, but now it is looking more like a fun semi-daily driver rather than a show candidate so I have more decisions to make. If the heads check out tomorrow as true Toro 455s, then I can continue on the path of rebuild. The shop also thinks I might want to consider a crate short block if the heads are good, long block if not and save some money on the manual rebuild. Questions: what would you do? If crate, where would I get one? Stay stock or kick it up a notch on rebuild? If I kick it up, what and also where again can I find it?

Very sorry for the long note, but I'm still PISSED and babbling a bit.

Mitch (the Sucker)

Also, where can I find a Toro oil pan and dip stick tube and stick (Yes, they are F-ed up too)

 

Well, what do the block casting numbers come out to? Look on the horizontal surface at the front of the block above the water pump's position on the timing cover. It doesn't matter if the number doesn't match the car as long as it's a 455 casting. If it's a later block with low-compression pistons, just get a set of shallow-dish high-compression pistons in a master kit. A good master kit should run you between 600 and 700 dollars. A spun rod bearing is no biggie, like I said just have someone competent resize the rods (have them relieve the stress risers while they're at it and get them to put in new rod bolts too-- Might as well go for quality and get ARP rod bolts.)

I grenaded a 455 back in '04 and only got around to rebuilding it in the last year. I spent $250 at a good engine shop on getting the block bored .030 over, another 120 on getting the heads resurfaced, another 120 on top of that for regrinding the crank, and 90 to press the new bolts and pistons onto the rods. All told, between parts and shop service on an engine I rebuilt myself, the total cost was $1500 factoring in other incidentals like new fasteners (ARP all around.) I already had the tools and a hand-me-down engine stand from a buddy. Once I put some go-fast goodies on the engine, the tally went up another $400 (Holley carb, Pertronix ignition module, and an Accel coil.)

With a spun bearing a crank regrind probably isn't a bad idea; if your bores are unscratched and unpitted you can get away with standard bore pistons. If you have a pre-Malaise motor and the pistons aren't dished for low compression you might as well reuse them. This will save you a bit, it costs less to just get a re-ring kit and a bearing set. If the car's in good enough condition to not worry about anything else, you're getting off light on a DIY rebuild. As long as you have a little garage space and an hour or two a night to spare it shouldn't take long. If I still lived in the DFW area I would have been more than happy to come down and swing a wrench with you, but I can't get back to the motherland for another year or two until I finish school here in Lower Alabama. Just do your homework and don't let anyone hose you.

Do a little research on your own! 442.com is a goldmine of data on Olds engines, with an excellent database of engine casting numbers. Figure out what you have, maybe you can reuse it before you plunk money down on a dubious crate long-block. With a little time and patience a DiY engine rebuild is not a difficult, mysterious endeavor.

 

PS: Has it occurred to you that even though the engine serial number doesn't match the car, it's still a year-appropriate motor with the right goodies in place? Perhaps the mechanic sees an engine with the right combo of block and heads to turn around and use the engine profitably to his own ends? This is why you figure out what you're sitting on before talking to anyone else. [/paranoia]

 

A crate short block? Is he talking about a 455? I would just rebuild the engine you already have.

 

No "crate" shortblock is worth the money. Spend the money on quality work on the engine you already have. My .02