hey gary, check out www.cranescorvette.com, go to engines or you can call. Lots of numbers matching engines

JacksL71 said: hey gary, check out www.cranescorvette.com, go to engines or you can call. Lots of numbers matching engines

what good is an engine code matching engine without a matching vin ??

cranes will restamp engines.. but I think gary is more concerned with performance than making his car a numbers match.

Spending quite a bit of money to get the correct 180hp engine instead of the incorrect 165hp seems pointless

|UPDATED|7/15/2004 8:09:28 PM (AZT)|/UPDATED|

As stated, unless the car was represented as numbers matching I wouldn't feel bad. I bought my 69 as a NOM. It has a 75 truck block. I added heads, cam, intake, carb and headers. I would say it runs better than the 300 hp that it came with. If it has good compresson and the bottom end is in good shape, you probably have a good foundation for a buildup


Dave

Thanks for all the responses and all the usefull ideas, i am mainly pissed because i was going to check the numbers and decided that they seemed like honest people and maybe they were, perhaps it was the people before, but looking at it, it's obvious the engine number had been deliberatley covered up, my own stupid fault for trusting, i bought it privateley so i am stuck with it.

It just means now i have to decide what engine to put in it, as i intened to keep the car i think i might go for a 'Crated' engine and maybe get something a bit beefy, i shall then sell my old engine for what ever i can get.

i feel just like this sign




You live and learn.


Gary

Ben, as usual, makes a very good point, the best money to spend on the car now is for performance, not originality. Again, you have the option of upgrading the motor you already have, which is not a bad base to start with, or go with a crate, either way, you have several choices as to how far you want to go.
Probably everyone here has bought something that was not what it was represented to be. Just a lesson in life!
I found out after I bought my 68, the guy selling it didn't think it was a real L-71.We took our time looking at the car before I bought it and when it got home, I pulled the tank, and there was a sticker that confirmed our judgement that the car was real.
Needless to say when he found out his fake was indeed a real car, he was disappointed in himself! Even the bad guys get their's once in a while!
"what goes around, comes around"

JagVette said: Thanks for all the responses and all the usefull ideas, i am mainly pissed because i was going to check the numbers and decided that they seemed like honest people and maybe they were, perhaps it was the people before,

yeah but what did they tell you it was..

have you talked to the guy about it ? if he has any decency in his body he will compromise with you.

if they misrepresented the car and wont make it right then you can at least goto small claims..

we (my company) have filed dozens of small claims suits (we were even contacted by the judge judy show once but the defendant backed out and settled), you dont need a lawyer, you just go, make your case, he makes his and the judge believes who he believes. in AR you can file upto 4,000$ in small claims and you have 1 year to file from the date of the last transaction.

it really is alot like peoples court.

what is neat is that nearly noone will pay you the money if they lose in small claims.. then you goto the court house and file a lien on their property (home, car, etc.) then you take it to the sheriffs office and pay a service fee (25$). we always take their car since the home is harder to execute. A deputy goes out to his house with a tow truck and takes his car unless he pays in cash on the spot, the judgement, filing fee, court costs, the service fee, two way tow charges and the impound fee. we siezed a guys prowler over a 400$ judgement one time. it wound up costing him nearly 800$..

they have 30 days after the judgement to appeal it to circuit court, this means they have to get a lawyer.

you only need send them the court notification by registered mail, they either have to show up and argue, fail to appear and lose by default, or file a counter claim to take it to circuit court. since he cant possbily show how you defrauded him a counter claim is tough.

we have never lost a case in court, and nearly every onse settles before the court date.

your local court house should have a pamphlet on small claims rules and procedures and possibly on the state website.



as for getting a crate engine and selling yours.. a used 350 isnt worth anything. i suggest spending a little money and beefing up what you have. if it lasts five years or 5 months at least youll get something out of it. unless your willing to dump quite a bit of money to get a "powerful" crate motor, ie on the order of 4k$+ it really isnt worth it. most crate motors are just plain old 350's with a better set of heads, buy a decent set of heads, an intake manifold, headers, and carb and youll have a screamer.. you would have to buy most of this stuff (except heads) if you bought a crate motor anyway. also this way you can do it incrementally.

but first and foremost confront the seller. tell him its not the real deal and tell him you are dissatisfied.

if you want ill get the info necssary to file and loan you the documentation necessary to prove your case.

|UPDATED|7/16/2004 4:15:37 PM (AZT)|/UPDATED|

I have to go with Ben here. Why replace a good motor? It is a 350. Don't let the truck designation through you. That's just what it was installed in. The only difference is the cam and intake. Sometimes there is no difference between truck and car engines.
Build it. If you are worried about the bottom end, put in rings and bearings. You can have a very good engine cheaper than a crate. It depends on what you want to do.


And remember this. Horsepower rating for the crate engine is not the same as what many of our cars are rated. It will match before early 70s. In 71, maybe 72, the HP was rated at the wheels, not the engine flywheel. Before that HP was rated at the flywheel.

If you had a net (Flywheel) rating of 300 HP, that was about the same as a gross (drive wheels) rating of 220 HP. It is about a 30% loss in rating numbers.

And the crate motor is rated with a certain intake, carb, and exhaust. You may not have those. It may be less with your components.

Sometimes someone will install a 300 HP crate motor to find it is weaker than the 220 they just took out. All in the ratings.