[Guest]

This should be easy, but not for me. A relative is restoring a mid 1960s muscle car upgrading to a larger cu in. He's received advice to install a used never opened engine. Of course no guarantee or as to the condition of it's internals, much less no real way to know the mileage or engine hours / wear thereon.
That is out of the question, I said !!

The only rational choice for him since he does not have that type of engine to rebuild.. is either buy a professionally re-manufactured engine or a factory fresh crate engine.. I don't know GM engines.
If it were my 318, I would lean toward a re-manufactured engine vs a rebuild of my 318. I don't think the cost savings is worth a gamble. What if the local shop misses a hair line crack in some high stress component. My 318 in my RC had two prior owners. Now if I had the RC/318 since new, I would have been changing the oil every 3,500 after the warranty expired, and yes I would opt to have it rebuilt by a facility with a long proven record of reliability.. The last option would be the factory fresh crate engine. Just got to do it right..
If I forgot to consider something.. Please advise... Regards to all...

P.S. No intent to disregard people on this site who've rebuilt their own mills..
I believe many on this blog can easily rebuild a good mill like the big shops.
Had a kid down the street a Firebird nut, rebuilt one in his bedroom..OMG.
Anyway as "Clint" once said "A man's got to know his limitations". The only engine I can rebuild is those using Legos. : )

 

[Broncowilly]

I personally would build or have one built.  The remanufactured engines are not put together with the best of quality parts or expertise.  Have a reputable shop build it for you if you do not possess the skills needed.

My 2 cents.

 

[W_A_Watson_II]

It would all depend upon the "restoration" and the goal.  a "used never opened engine" could be a jewel, or a ticking time bomb.  Unless it was very low cost I wouldn't take a chance for a good restoration project.

 

[dodge82273]

rebuilt engines have been around a long time , Sears Robuck usta sell them , trouble is , they dissasemble a pile of dodge small blocks , throw all the parts into a " checked + ok  pile , then assemble engines using whatever part from whatever engine as long as the spec is the same .. you get a mis mash that " should" work , I'd rather see 1 engine rebuilt using ITS parts . 

 

[Jeffy45]

            Life is like a box of connecting rods never know what you're going to get.😁

 

[Guest]

Time to resume restoration on the RC, while lending an assist re my old Buick now my youngest son's. It's much harder to give advice to another, especially engines when the history and the seller's reputation aren't easy to vet. Fortunately he has extensive engine work and swaps re 1980s Honda modified & race engines.
I think he's correct to proceed with a transplant of a Chevy 350 & TH350 trans, due to the spotty availability of Buick engines & perf parts. Not to mention conflicting information via casual review of at least between 6 blogs.
I always thought that RC Central was a good blog. However my opinion has changed .
IT IS ONE OF THE FINEST. You have a good core of experienced / current or former vendors, machinist etc (20-30) year guys, and the second tier down, (10-20 year owners) who are learning, and many... such as my self often try to pay it forward, to the folks who have joined having acquired their RC in more recent years. The chemistry,  good will and good solid information is a rare thing.
Ed