While bored out of my mind recently I responded to the following advertisement on Craigs List: "Slant Six and Trans $700 - 76 slant six and 904 trans auto three speed with shift kit. Headers, offy intake, headers for dual exhaust, Holley 390, bored out .030 over, big cam. No torque convertor (sic) or air cleaner. Has all pulleys and flex plate. 25000 miles on rebuild, will run when cleaned up."

I posed some easy questions to the seller:

1. What brand and particulars can you tell me concerning the "shift kit" in the 904? (I have a 3-spd in my 63 Valiant, but I wanted to see how the seller responded to such a simple question.)

2. Does the Holley 390 still have vacuum secondaries or have you converted it?

3. Who did the build on the engine?

4. What specific cam is in the engine - specs?

5. What vehicle was the motor in?

6. How long has the motor been sitting?

7. When was the last time you turned it over?

The seller responded promptly:

He didn't know what brand or any other specifics about the shift kit. He didn't answer my question regarding the Holley other than to say it was a Holley Carb that had secondaries. He stated that he and his brother built the engine but made no mention of who the machinist was. He didn't know what brand or any specifics on the cam (other than "It was a big one!"). He was able to tell me the engine came out of his 69 Barracuda and had been sitting on a stand since he pulled it out in August. At that same time he turned it over too.

I'm really glad I posed these simple questions to him before driving nearly 3 hours one way to look over the engine.

Sorry for the rant. I'm going to limit my search for a spare engine to my immediate Virginia Beach area.

I have learned a great deal from this site and will continue to lurk, read, and soak up all the great info the site provides.

Yeah, it makes me wonder too. He and his brother built the engine, but he can't tell you want cam he put in or anything else? What an idiot, didn't he keep the receipts? Obviously he didn't., I'd press to test for that info and all receipts or I'd walk away too. Good Luck

I'm betting his brother was the mechanic and he was just the funder/owner/driver of it so other turn-the-key-and-go he probably didn't know much about it to begin with.

Or his brother pulled it out of the car, put the 4bbl intake on it, spray painted the motor and viola - rebuilt.

Maybe so...another twist. The original ad indicated the motor was rebuilt in 2011 and probably had 25,000 miles on it. When questioned, he responded on the other matters he told me the motor probably has 15,000 - 20,000 miles tops. I didn't feel comfortable with this deal and have firmly decided to look elsewhere.

That's called an "aerosol overhaul".

_________________
"Louise", a 1976 Dart Custom project, (now sadly reverted to being just an "organ donor" to our other project Darts.)

The number of totally clueless sellers is staggering. Where do they get these items? Stereo stuff, car parts, a Saxophone I bought and for those who are interested - even some of the pawn shops are beyond clueless. Bought a "olympic" bass in Wichita, KS inside a really ratty wooden case with all the tolex missing. There were no manufacturing name plates or names anywhere on the instrument or external box. The bass would not play as the external "box" with the special cord that plugged in to the bass would not work. Marked $400, haggled down to $200 as believe it or not it had been there for MONTHS. Bought it on the spot and went home, immediately called the manufacture to see of the bass was stolen. Nope. Bought some 9V batteries, installed them inside the bass and viola! My Series 1 bass from 1977 was working fine. Real manufacturer? Alembic. Sometimes dealing with a clueless seller is a plus!

_________________
Tom
'86 Alfa Romeo Spider, red "Dinsdale"
'10 Corvette, red "" (no name yet)
'95 Ferrari 348, red "Zoom"
'04 Maserati, black "Evil"
'05 Aston Martin DB9, green "Bond, Treasury bond."
'82 Dodge W150 Power Ram, yellow "E. Valdez"

Sad to say, but after being burned many times I now assume everyone I don't already know is clueless and/or a liar or thief. Do your research before buying used stuff and assume it is junk. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

_________________
Casually looking for a Clifford hyperpak intake for cheap.

Can I ask which Craigslist area this was in? I am about 3 hours from the Tidewater area, and if nearby, may go look at it for grins.

Funny on the brother thing...if I had rebuilT this for my actual brother, he would be about that clueless..... even on the mileage!

The motor is located in Moorehead City, NC. It came up on my Hampton Roads list as a city nearby.

OK, wrong direction.....tnx.