Looking for flatty for an a v8 project prices are quite high to me has anyone bought a flatty lately so I can get ballpark value now
Depending on who you go to and the level of build. It’s anywhere from 5to 9 thousand dollars to rebuild one. The last one I did was $2500 25years ago. Cores are getting tougher to find.
Actually, more than most flatheads. There is a good chance that it will have a usable 4" stroke crankshaft. If in turnable shape, the crankshaft alone is worth around $400. Other than that, you are facing the problem most flathead buyers do. Unless you do your due diligence and make the right arrangements with the seller, there is a good chance you will end up with $30 worth of s**** iron. Flathead blocks are notorious for cracking and funding a crack-free block is quite difficult these days. I sold my second to last good 8BA block to a guy who had dis***embled and checked five engines without finding a good one. Either buy a block that is tested and certified good, or get a money back guarantee and have it checked yourself. In my opinion, a tested good bare block is currently worth in the neighborhood of $1000.
Yeah I just want a good motor so many guys putting newer stuff in them I thought it would be a little easier to find one that’s affordable.
Hopefully, you'll get lucky. In my neck of the woods, people are pulling old SBC's for the LS/LT motors, but the flathead guys are keeping theirs. It won't hurt to keep your eyes and ears open.
Last summer I bought two mostly complete 59A engines that had been inside a garage for at least a couple decades. I spent $200 if I recall. Neither one is locked up, but they probably each need a rebuild.
Sometimes I wonder if usable blocks are unnecessarily condemned. I understand it. It's a big risk. Bruce Lancaster would voice the same sentiment specifically about pan rail cracks. Of course, this is if you have a running engine....Bruce's sentiment was mainly about "fatal" cracks discovered in a overhaul. The engine was running and running pretty good before the overhaul....The symptoms that required the overhaul was wear, not "crack" related....so why is it now junk? It was fine before....
Yes I found one that’s in a running car the guy wants 1500 bucks for it. If I don’t find anything else that is why I’m asking here thought I would get more responses
I have had decent luck locally finding 1 or 2 Merc motors a year, plus several 8BA. 59ABs in good shape are getting harder to find. Lots of them are "gee, it turned over when I pulled it out" but it's been sitting in the weather for years... Mercs with good bores generally sell for 1200-1500 and they're pretty complete. If you want to spend time chasing down leads on FB and CL, you can get one for a third of that.
If you can hear it run and the compression checks out I'd say that's a very good deal for a '51 Mercury motor. I'd doublecheck to make sure it's got the 4" stroke of course, as anything could have been swapped over the years, but if it's not smoking or chugging, no reason not to just clean it up and use it. I'm looking for an engine for my someday '34 Ford build and that would definitely get me interested.
The car is at the weekly car show, the guy wants to put an olds motor in it, so I think I will check it out
Don't buy anything that doesn't have the heads off so you can check for cracks. Usually you goes through 4 blocks before you find a good one.
There’s a guy in Tennessee Facebook marketplace that has a good , checked block, another late model engine that hasn’t been opened and early engine and a **** load of parts, starters generators pumps transmission, for $1000! Bones
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