Rebuilt engines

[SMEGMA STENCH]

Talked to an old engine builder today that is friends with my dad. He's been building/rebuilding engines now for about 30 years . Owns his own mechanic shop. Of course by now he is getting ready to retire. He's rebuilds everything from Nissan to subaru to dodge and ford. You get the idea. Not a many engines he hasn't rebuilt . I asked him if there is any longevity issues that he's come to expect over the course of his many years of rebuilding. As i am considering doing a junkyard rebuild myself. He said that in his experience, as a general rule rebuilt engines tend not to last as long as they did originally from the factory .

What is your experience? Do you agree? Would it be reasonable to expect a typical junkyard rebuild to last you 200K miles? If it were properly maintained of course and not treated like crap .

[Lone Sailor]

IMO, the problem with longevity on rebuilds is a matter of either poor workmanship, mismatched or incorrect parts used, or improper care and/or abuse after it is in use by the end user. There are times when parts do fail, but as far as a detrimental failure, it isn't very common by itself without one of the 3 things I listed above.

[TEAMJACOB]

I would be satisfied to see any rebuild done for the sake of performance last anything over 50k

[Sleeper]

I would be satisfied to see any rebuild done for the sake of performance last anything over 50k

I've seen it. The problem is most get the itch to upgrade and change something before that.

Now I'm talking mid 10's to mid 11 sec street cars.

[sspstang]

My dad had a 83 Z28 that he bought with a cracked cylinder wall. He took it to a guy in Fort Worth, and they rebuilt it, and sleeved it. Anyways he sold it to a 17 year old kid, and he drove it for 6 years, and put real close to 200k miles on the motor. It was still going by the time he graduated College. I would say its still all in the parts used, and how well you maintain it.

[scootro]

little engines like 4 cylinders get hot and weaken the blocks over time

[SMEGMA STENCH]

Ok well it seems like if you do it right it will last . And you take care of it.

So which should i build for my 94 GT? A 393, or a 408? I hear the 408 makes more power and revs up faster, but also gives up the ghost sooner.

Or should i just skip all that old stuff and just go with a junkyard coyote? Might be a tight squeeze though..

[91CoupeMike]

Ok well it seems like if you do it right it will last . And you take care of it.

So which should i build for my 94 GT? A 393, or a 408? I hear the 408 makes more power and revs up faster, but also gives up the ghost sooner.

Or should i just skip all that old stuff and just go with a junkyard coyote? Might be a tight squeeze though..

If you're wanting 200k miles, you might be better off just leaving it at stock stroke and bore it out a little bit. 357 or 358 I forget.

Spray and pray lol

[TEAMJACOB]

Ok well it seems like if you do it right it will last . And you take care of it.

So which should i build for my 94 GT? A 393, or a 408? I hear the 408 makes more power and revs up faster, but also gives up the ghost sooner.

Or should i just skip all that old stuff and just go with a junkyard coyote? Might be a tight squeeze though..

do you have a 351w? just making sure you know you wont get a 393 or 408 out of a 302

[SMEGMA STENCH]

Oh no not at this point in time. Is it difficult to find a 351w at the junkyard? I'm a big noob on those motors.

Also, what was the highest HP stock 351? Might want to start with that one instead of one of the older ones from the 80's or something.

[YALE]

F4TE short blocks are cheap as hell. If you don't even know what you're building it for, aside from just a fun engine, buy one, slap a mild performance cam in it, make sure it has the football rod bolts at minimum, and cruise to your heart's content.

[SMEGMA STENCH]

I want it to be fuel injected too . Anything i should expect there? Of course i would need 39# injectors (i think) and a big MAF.

[YALE]

I want it to be fuel injected too . Anything i should expect there?

Just try to decide what you want to do with it, and build it accordingly. It's easy to go over budget, so remember not to step over a dollar to pick up a dime.

[SMEGMA STENCH]

Ok thanks for advice .

How long would yall expect a properly built 408 to last? I know it will vary, but lets say its not banged on very often and maintenance is kept up well .

Think a person could get 100K out of it? Just driving it mildly daily, and taking it to the track from time to time. I am already way past the need to use the leadfoot every time I get behind the wheel.

[silverhatch]

Why build a stroker motor and not be rough on it?If you want to go fast the don't do it to a car you need everyday.