BBC help

[SavingTheBird76]

I'm starting with only a bare block,I've located my pistons heads, and crank,now looking for rods.
If you are serious about selling off the parts,I may be interested.
I'm currently on unemployment,but could afford to buy a few hard parts here and there.
I got a great deal on the block, pistons TRW stock forged 10:1, and Forged crank 6223,and 049 heads.
I'm looking for a stock type rebuild,nothing really fancy.

 

[SavingTheBird76]

Funny thing about buying and selling parts,when I want to sell prices go down,when I want to buy they go up.
Guy on Ebay supposedly bought up all the remaining 396 crankshafts from Gm..he's getting about $200 each.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/396-427-Che...t=Vintage_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr

 

[Lrader99]

So what you are telling me is that parts cost more money because of supply and demand, there are less blocks available, and even less of those are 4 bolt main, and even less with closed chamber oval port heads and even less 7115 cranks, and even less original TM2 intakes but that all of this yields a motor that isn't really worth anything?

 

[Lrader99]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/396-427-Che...t=Vintage_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr

Notice how those are stock 6223 cranks and not a 6223 7115!

 

[SavingTheBird76]

They are NEW forged nitrided cranks for $200.
New aftermarket forged are $600.
Used cranks with no warranty are going to bring $300 if you find a guy wanting number matching stuff.
If I had the cash,I'd just buy the $4000 balanced assembled motor from competition products and go racing.

 

[Lrader99]

I am not arguing the validity of the new vs used.

6223 Crank: 1053 steel, forged, nitrided

6223 7115 Crank: 5140 steel, Forged, Nitrided, cross drilled, HiPo 427 Crank (used in L88 and ZL-1). This crank also uses a completely different set of rods. I have heard them referred to as the GM "dimple" rods. They are a factory GM full floating rod with 7/16 rod caps. ( Not like the normal BBC rods which are press fit with 3/8 rod caps)

Obviously I think I have something less common than a standard issue 396 as I keep bringing up the same things over and over again.

 

[Cardinal]

I had a standard bore 400 BBC (yes, they made a 400 BBC) that would probably have to be bored, crank was good (didn't need to be ground), 12 BBC rods, and a pair of rebuilt heads that I had $700 in rebuilding them.

The block was a date code that a guy from Canada needed for a 70 GMC Sprint he was building.

The heads were date coded for 1966 which a guy building a 1966 Chevelle needed. At first, he baulked about paying $700 for them till I explained why I had so much in them.

The first rebuild I had done was at a local machine shop. I paid over $300 for hardened exhaust seats, a three angle valve job, grind the valves, new guides, make sure that they were flat, and install the Crower valve springs to the proper height.

Quite a while after I got them back, I happened to stop at a local automotive repair shop and the owner was on the phone talking to someone he was VERY angry at. After he hung up, I asked what that was about. He told me that the machine shop was ripping him off AGAIN and he was NEVER going to have them do ANY work for them. He then told me of half a dozen horror stories with rebuilt parts from that machine shop which is where I had my BBC heads done! S O a B! He told me that I better have my heads checked to see IF they were done right.

So I took them to Syracuse Crank in Syracuse, NY and asked Brian to inspect the heads then tell me if they were OK and I'd pay him for his time if they were OK OR I'd pay him to have them done right.

He called me back a couple of days later and was dumb founded. He asked me if I was positive that they were rebuilt. I told him that I paid for having them rebuilt and what I paid.

Here's what he found wrong: two BENT exhaust valves! Valve seats were cut wrong and they were not hardened valve seats. The valve guides hadn't been touched and were worn out! AND the Crower valve springs were ALL set INCORRECTLY!

I authorised him rebuilding the heads which cost me LESS than what the local machine shop charged me!

Anyway, after I explained to the guy with the Chevelle that the heads were professionally rebuilt and they came with cast aluminum valve covers, all new exaust valves, new cast iron guides, Crower springs, long shot rockers, new screw in studs, cc'd, and they were flat & straight. He paid what I wanted plus the shipping and called me the day he got them ESTATIC that he now had a matching pair of 1966 BBC heads that all he had to do was bolt them on his block.

Now for the bad news. I had that 400 BBC for sale for about 10 years before all of this happened. In the end, I broke even with what I had in it. BUT two people had what they needed for their projects which made me happy too.

 

[Lrader99]

~Cardinal

Thank you for the story.

 

[Cardinal]

My point above is that you'll need to find someone who need a date coded block and someone who needs a a pair of date coded heads for their projects and they are willing to pay for them.

Cam: Crower used to have a program called "The Cam Doctor" where you would pay them to profile your cam. We had a "mystery" cam out of a stock car and they profiled it for us. The profile verified that it was WAY too much cam for the dirt short track we were rinning. Imagine that, the BIBS (Bigger Is Better Syndrome) strike again!

 

[vegas1974z28]

...Did you know that in 2002 you could get a brand new Camaro that had a motor from 98, 99-00, 01 LS1, 01-02 LS6...they all had 01 LS1 or 01-02 LS6 heads though. using left over parts was not all that uncommon for GM...in fact in '98 your F body could have come from the factory with a Corvette camshaft...they ran out of Fbody cams.

I did know that as my 02Z has the LS6 intake and made 317 to the tire Stock...and it was rated at 310 gross....