Technical What does “rebuilt” mean to you?

Rebuilt to me means, all new surfaces, as in bored, crank turned, line hone, etc

 

All depends on if your are the buyer or seller, I suppose. My rule is that if you can't show
me the receipts, we'll have to assume it wasn't done, and price accordingly. Never been sorry
using that as a guide.

 

I'd say this is one of those cans of worms that can go all too many ways.

If you are talking water pump it is all parts cleaned and inspected, bearings and seals replaced plus replace any bad parts such as an eroded impeller or messed up shaft.

Generator = again torn down and cleaned. Fields checked, armature checked, commutator turned, and mica cut and all bearings and or bushings replaced.

I've done a lot of ring, valve and bearing engine redos in my life, both on my rigs and others. Tear it down, clean it up, check the bores for taper and if they pass in decent shape hone the cylinders and clean the block again. install new cam bearings, check the crank with a micrometer and have it turned if needed or run it as is. I have polished a number of them with crocus cloth over the years but that was just a polish job and nothing more. Clean up the pistons, put new rings on, put new bearings in the rods and put the short block back together, New oil pump and timing set. Cam/lifters often depended on the shape they were in but I always put them in a rack I had made in order. Grind the valves and put the heads back together and finish putting the engine together.

I've always considered that to be a ring and valve job and not a rebuilt but know of a few guys who have sold engines they did that way as "rebuilt". To me being rebuilt includes having the block bored and new pistons plus a new cam and lifters. A fresh engine that if treated right should go just as many miles as it was capable of out of the factory.

I have to agree with Bob Lowrey, no paper work, no documentation on what was done and no documentation as to the miles on it is just a used engine or part, A rebuilt flathead with 30 K on it is a half worn out flathead, a rebuilt HAMB acceptable small block Chevy v8 with 60K is a half worn out Chevy V8 . Old rebuilder tags on engines are only good for telling you what the over bore and the rods and crank should have been turned. They don't add value.

 

From years of dealing with independent people I have come to know that the only way to have confidence is to demand:
1. proper paperwork ( suppliers receipts )
2. references from current suppliers
3. a written menu of each procedure ( to be/or that has been ) followed
4. name(s) of past customer(s)
This may sound unreasonable but I can say, "My money speaks for itself"
I you are not happy to meet my demands, that tells me that I won't be happy meeting yours.

 

If in doubt, ASK!

But to me rebuilt means all mechanical calibrations have been checked, repaired or replaced as needed, and are now within original manufacturers tolerances.

Restored simply takes the rebuild (definition above) and refinished all cosmetics to original manufacturer specifications.

The unfortunate issue today is that the product of the volume rebuilders MAY be better than buying new (depending on the country of origin).

Jon

 

Lol! That is the “rebuild” I just did on this Pontiac motor although I would never call it that. This was only a rear main seal replacement that got out of control while the engine was out. However, the owner could claim a rebuild I suppose...

 

Unless I'm buying something from a trusted friend, "rebuilt" doesn't mean much. People lie so much in ads. So, unless I can confirm with receipts or see in an engine with the intake or pan off, I consider it a core and pay accordingly, or factor in unknowns in the purchase price. And sometimes I take a risk and hope for the best.

 

When I sold my 261 I listed it as rebuilt with some modifications .

I had it on an engine stand with valve cover oil pan and side over removed .

I spoke to a few guys and told them if they give me $35 bucks ( cost of a head gasket ) I’ll even pull the head for you .


I sold it for great money as I was honest

 

BUT.............Then there is the other side of the coin.
Put something up for sale and you get a bunch of tire kickers with a million questions and no real intent to buy anything. I try to be honest, but when you are selling things and people are too inquisitive and just waste your time, that gets old too. Its a two way street

 

Whenever I hear the term "rebuilt" on something from a private party, especially engines, I'm already thinking in the back of my mind that hopefully it's a good core that can be saved.

 

"WHAT DOES “REBUILT” MEAN TO YOU?"

Hello,

Technically, anything not built by you in the first place. So, a short block bare is a good starting point. Anything else that is added on to the bare block is technically a rebuilt motor. The factory complete crate motor is not rebuilt. It starts new and then all of the new pieces are added to give it completely new build. If we took the new bare block and added our own speed parts, aluminum rods, pistons, cam, polished heads, then we are rebuilding the motor. So, it is a rebuilt motor.

Semantics can play a big game in how you see the whole picture. A new motor from the factory is new. A new motor from our backyard garage is technically, a rebuilt motor. We did it, not someone else. But, it still is a rebuilt motor. A long block or short block, or even a bare block, the starting point becomes a rebuilt motor.

When we sold our 671 292 cubic inch SBC motor, it was a rebuilt motor. We rebuilt it from scratch and it still was a rebuilt motor, no matter how we saw it. The blower spec parts were new, the assembly was new, but, the motor was an old 283 bored out to a 292 size. So, the finished product was a rebuilt motor.
similar to our 292 SBC motor

Jnaki

Would we buy a rebuilt motor, today? No. Would we buy a new crate motor from the factory, despite the cost? Yes. Crate motors are not traditional HAMB installs, but they are new motors that have been built by mechanics and machines. Just like the ones that come out of the local engine parts rebuilding shop, but from the new factory molds. It is just a new motor from factory mechanics and installers.

In our hey days of early drag racing and hot rod builds, yes, we would have bought a rebuilt motor from our small speed shop. My brother was one of those guys that was technical minded, had a proper way to do things and the results were top notch. He made sure that everything we did (from motors to including small installs, like carbs or manifolds) could be guaranteed as a good build. YRMV

 

Engine - new/rebuilt is - restored cam, pushrods and rockers, valves and pistons, bored, rings, carb, bearings, water pump and fuel pump, pan and main seals. Kinda like a crate engine with the accessories on it and ready to put in and run in the car.

 

Sometimes you get lucky with rebuilds and get a brand new part sold as rebuilt. Just got a Delco 42 amp 10si from Summit for my OT 44 year old tractor. Labeled as rebuilt, screaming deal at $29.95. Took it out of the Delco box and thought it looked too perfect to be rebuilt. Took the case apart to reclock it and that removed all doubt. I'm sure that this had never been installed. Since this was a low amp unit, it doesn't fit anything made in the last 30+ years. they probably had a bunch of new units left over and blew them out as rebuilds to move them.
Saw something similar when I was a NAPA dealer. I would get new looking starters and alternators for late model cars just out of warranty but new enough so that there hadn't been enough failures to fill the rebuild supply chain. The Rayloc rep (NAPA's rebuilder) told me that a lot of these units were actually new and were sold as rebuilt so they could get enough cores to rebuild. However, the price did reflect this, even though they were cheaper than the same parts sold as new and had a shorter warranty.

 

Rebuilt means if you did it yourself correctly to OEM specs.
Even getting a block machined nowadays still needs checking by yourself to be sure it’s done correctly.
Like a lot of things nowadays, it’s just a loosely used word.

 

When it comes to starters and alternators They take your cores take them apart check the part the good ones go in one pile the failed ones in another. turn commentators rebush replace brushers clean and assemble. then throw on a warranty probably as good as Chinese made.