What would you do?

[Lemon twist Cuda]

73 Cuda 340 4 speed. Bought off the car carrier in 1972. I drove it 7 years than parked it. Now bring it back to life. Having it restored. First part of restoration the bottom of the car. The bottom of the car has been taken apart, no engine, trans, rear. cross member, nothing left. All sheet metal parts are being taken down to bare metal than primed and painted factory color. (More money than I thought it would be, weeks stripping paint) Now the engine compartment is being done to. The engine is going to be painted the factory color (blue). Here is the question. With the engine out. Do I put this original engine back in or do I get another engine and put that one in and keep this one on the stand. Doesn't seem like a lot of people like crate engines. Which is better, never have done anything like this before. I don't want to ruin the original engine because it has about 85,000 miles on it. They haven't said anything about reworking the engine. But than funds are running a little low. If you had unlimited funds would you do it differently. Once I get this part of the project done I will have to garage it awhile because I don't have the funds to paint the body or fix the interior it needs a head liner, carpet and repair the bucket seat bottom material. Anybody have ideas. I am just trying to save money in the long run.

 

[DetMatt1]

If the car will be used as a fair weather cruiser and not a race car there's no reason that you shouldn't just use the original engine. At only 85,000 original miles it has a lot of life left in it. How many miles do you think you'll put on it in the average year? Somewhere between 2 and 5 thousand? Take care of it and it will easily last you a lifetime.

 

[Adam]

73 Cuda 340 4 speed. Bought off the car carrier in 1972. I drove it 7 years than parked it. Now bring it back to life. Having it restored. First part of restoration the bottom of the car. The bottom of the car has been taken apart, no engine, trans, rear. cross member, nothing left. All sheet metal parts are being taken down to bare metal than primed and painted factory color. (More money than I thought it would be, weeks stripping paint) Now the engine compartment is being done to. The engine is going to be painted the factory color (blue). Here is the question. With the engine out. Do I put this original engine back in or do I get another engine and put that one in and keep this one on the stand. Doesn't seem like a lot of people like crate engines. Which is better, never have done anything like this before. I don't want to ruin the original engine because it has about 85,000 miles on it. They haven't said anything about reworking the engine. But than funds are running a little low. If you had unlimited funds would you do it differently. Once I get this part of the project done I will have to garage it awhile because I don't have the funds to paint the body or fix the interior it needs a head liner, carpet and repair the bucket seat bottom material. Anybody have ideas. I am just trying to save money in the long run.

Take your 340 apart, inspect it and put it back together with fresh gaskets, valve seals, and head gaskets (If the bores look good I would not pull the pistons) Those 43 yr old gaskets and seals probably quit sealing 20 yrs ago and you don't want to find out after the engine is back in, right. If you are lucky you can get away with the cost of a gasket set and engine paint... your car is worth more with the original engine in it.

 

[moparleo]

It shouldn't take weeks to strip the paint off. Media blasting or dipping would be done in days. You might be paying more than it should as the biggest expense in a resto is labor hours. If you don't have the budget to do things like paint the car, or do the interior, I would take it home. Save up your money and find a different shop to complete your car.

 

[MOPARMITCH]

I,m with Adam on that. I agree that you should have someone disassemble the engine , except for pistons and crank. Your mechanic can tell from the piston bores, the condition of the engine, and can pull a main cap and rod cap to check for wear. If all it needed was set of gaskets to reseal it, then I can't see you in it for any more than $150 in parts. Plus labor. Be cheaper than a crate engine anyhow, and you would still have the correct engine in the car.

 

[Lemon twist Cuda]

Paint stripping is being done by one guy with sanding discs and wire wheels doing the whole underneath of the car that is why it is taking so long.

 

[challenger6pak]

It still should not take weeks. One good long week should do it. Maybe 50 hours, if it is a factory undercoat car. They are killing you on labor costs by they way they are doing things. More expensive, more experienced, and better equipped shops can save you money, even though they charge more per hour. They get the job done efficiently without nickel and diming you to death.

 

[Lemon twist Cuda]

I can tell you it is not nickels and dimes.

 

[Yatzee]

What is subject to more wear than the crank and main bearings. If you flip the block you can easily freshen these up with new bearings - little disassembly required. I've done this on various makes of engines using OE sized bearings which have zero wear and surpass the ones that exist for wear. Good opportunity to have a good look at the crank and measure it for wear which should be negligible. With the cash left over attack the valve guides, seals and seats. I did a 289 this way at 96K miles and it now has 130K on it, runs strong and quiet. Compression was down a bit but it doesn't smoke or blow by. Just a suggestion to get more time out of an engine without spending a fortune or doing a full blown rebuild.

 

[moparmissus]

I would keep the 340 in it, checking it over and replacing what needs to be. And the others are correct - that shop is killing you the way they are stripping the car!

 

[dongei]

#'s matching cars are always worth more.