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Originally Posted by Rhett
"I wouldn't be selling it if I wasn't going overseas"
Good sales pitch Davis. Are you a used car salesman?
Seriously though mate, it does 'sound' like a good deal, but why does it only have 200 miles on it?
Why did the previous owner go through the expense and trouble of building up what sounds like a strong streeter, only to sell it straight away with the vehicle that you purchased? It sounds too good to be true.
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I don't know what your "I wouldn't be selling it if I wasn't going overseas" is supposed to mean, but it isn't as if this is a "sales pitch." If nobody wants it complete, I'll strip it and sell the parts.
The guy had the vehicle for 17 years...but never got around to finishing it completely. His "passions" have changed. He has probably 15-20 Harley's in his garage and this vehicle was actually parked in his neighbor's garage and he was paying rent on it. He decided that it was better to sell it and let someone finish it and enjoy it than sit in the garage collecting dust. I drove it and it is very strong and very responsive. The real problem with the vehicle was that it needed minor body work and complete paint, which was not this guy's area of skill. My uncle now has the vehicle and owns a paint and body shop. He's going to do the body work and paint it up for me.
I would keep the engine, but as most here know, I've been building a "Q-Code" engine (with closed chamber rather than open chamber heads) engine. In fact, I'm seriously considering modifying some of my initial parts selections to better accommodate the relatively heavy vehicle.
I'm thinking about doing a 393" stroker with a set of AFD 4Vs and a Funnelweb and solid roller cam...while selling my 4Vcc heads, Torker, Crank, Rods, pistons, etc. However, the truth is that it doesn't really need the extra power. If I just finish the "Q-Code" engine, it will be plenty enough to motivate this vehicle. The current engine makes (by my estimates/DD2K) about 380-400 HP and feels very, very strong in what must be at least a 4000# truck with tall tires (I don't recall exactly, but about 30") and 3.70:1 gears inside the 9" rear end. It should run in the mid 13s as it is without the nitrous.
The "Q-Code" engine that I'm building should make about 450 HP and 450 TQ. That would put it solidly into the high to mid 12s on the engine. Why keep the other engine when I've got this one nearly completed...just gotta finish assembling it?
I can pay for the paint and body work by selling the current engine. Besides, I truly would change the factory 2-piece valves. I'm not confident enough of them to run them. That would cost some money and some effort. Granted, it isn't a lot, but we're talking about money that I've already spent versus money that I don't have to spend if I don't want to spend it. Why should I buy valves when I already have a set of iron heads with brand new stainless steel valves installed in them?
I've seriously thought of keeping it and pulling the heads off to replace the valves and inlet, but I'd have to do it. If I'm going to do anything, why not just finish the higher output engine (with solid cam and higher compression, closed chamber heads)?
I've seriously thought of keeping it and pulling the heads off to replace the valves and inlet...(anyone getting deja vu?)...and selling off all of the parts of the "new" engine. The real reason for not doing it is that I don't want a hydraulic camshaft and I can easily make another 50 or more HP from the new engine.
The for sale engine has OC heads that make about 9.5:1 CR, which is fine for pump petrol. My CC heads make about 10.5:1 CR, with them, I can easily run a 50/50 mix of avgas and PULP to keep it from pinging, and my 112* solid flat tappet cam that will make a lot of dynamic compression ratio, too.
If it sounds too good to be true, consider that I purchased the entire vehicle for $4500 USD...delivered to me! Once painted, even with the current engine, I figure that it will be worth at least $12-15K. That is a nice return on investment regardless of what I do with the engine that is in it.
The principle reason that I'm selling the current engine in favor of the "new" engine is that I can photo-document every aspect of the build-up of the new engine. That will increase the ROI by perhaps as much as 5-7K. That much return will pay for the engine, the vehicle and the paint job leaving the remainder as profit. Considering that I have about 4 hours time invested so far, I'm doing fairly well with the project. If I decide to keep it and drive it, I'll have a nice cruiser either way. In that case, I'd be better off switching to AFD 4V heads or keeping the OC heads so that I can burn PULP without the hassle of mixing avgas, which entails regular trips to the airport for refills of 5-gallon containers. I don't like storing much gasoline around, as it is a hazard waiting to happen.
Don't worry about my used car salemanship. If nobody wants this engine, I'll probably sell the vehicle with it or strip the engine down and sell it as parts/assemblies. A killer paint job, as my uncle can do, will really make it sell well. I just like to have the "coup de grace" in terms of the engine photo-documentation, too.
:davis:
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