How much is my engine worth?
#1
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2018
Location: Oregon
Posts: 205
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Car: 86 Camaro Sports Coupe
Engine: 383 Stoker
Transmission: 700R4 transmission
How much is my engine worth?
Hi again
I've got a 383 stocker engine (v8) with a edelbrock carb (4 Barrel). I only. Paid $1k for the whole car. Minor issues (replacing hoses and plugging others). I'm just curious as to how much it's worth.
Thanks!
I've got a 383 stocker engine (v8) with a edelbrock carb (4 Barrel). I only. Paid $1k for the whole car. Minor issues (replacing hoses and plugging others). I'm just curious as to how much it's worth.
Thanks!
#2
Re: How much is my engine worth?
You have paperwork saying it’s a 383?
Impossible to tell with that info honestly but I’ll say this, if I buy a vehicle and the previous owner is telling me it’s a 383 and doesn’t provide proof I’m assuming it’s just a regular 350.
Impossible to tell with that info honestly but I’ll say this, if I buy a vehicle and the previous owner is telling me it’s a 383 and doesn’t provide proof I’m assuming it’s just a regular 350.
#3
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2018
Location: Oregon
Posts: 205
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Car: 86 Camaro Sports Coupe
Engine: 383 Stoker
Transmission: 700R4 transmission
Re: How much is my engine worth?
A month after I bought it, he texted me this. But only because I asked him for all the info he had on the car.
#4
Senior Member
iTrader: (4)
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: college station, texas
Posts: 632
Likes: 0
Received 6 Likes
on
5 Posts
Car: numerous
Engine: ls1, others
Transmission: t56, others
Axle/Gears: 3.23 7.6"
Re: How much is my engine worth?
without dropping the pan to verify, hard to tell. 400 balancer might be a give away if it is put together like a 400. Good running 350 can sell for up to $500 most of the time. Real 383 with a lot of unknowns still would not be over $750 or plus/minus $300 depending on the local market
#5
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2018
Location: Oregon
Posts: 205
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Car: 86 Camaro Sports Coupe
Engine: 383 Stoker
Transmission: 700R4 transmission
Re: How much is my engine worth?
without dropping the pan to verify, hard to tell. 400 balancer might be a give away if it is put together like a 400. Good running 350 can sell for up to $500 most of the time. Real 383 with a lot of unknowns still would not be over $750 or plus/minus $300 depending on the local market
#6
Supreme Member
Re: How much is my engine worth?
Lots of deciding factors but the two biggest ones will be the heads and cam installed.
Flat tappet cam probably with some factory heads maybe 4-500. Roller with some decent heads 1000 is probably right.
Flat tappet cam probably with some factory heads maybe 4-500. Roller with some decent heads 1000 is probably right.
#7
Supreme Member
iTrader: (1)
Join Date: Sep 2005
Posts: 26,051
Received 1,672 Likes
on
1,269 Posts
Car: Yes
Engine: Usually
Transmission: Sometimes
Axle/Gears: Behind me somewhere
Re: How much is my engine worth?
In a word (well... 2 words), not much.
Practically any time something is sold "used", it's automatically assumed to be suspect. Used UP, used HARD, improperly installed, built half-a$$ed, overheated every time it ran, you name it.
Then, as has been pointed out above, there's the problem of verification. You obviously haven't been around cars very long; or you'd AUTOMATICALLY be wary of phrases like "came out of a Vette", "runs to good to be a 305", "lots of potential just needs a tune-up", and so forth. VERIFICATION - the root of all honesty - is hard to come by. What was it Ronnie Raygun said... "trust, but verify"? How ya gonna do that?
Then even worse, the mere fact of "383"ness doesn't guarantee that it's any good. Did BillyBob and Cletus jam it together out of spare parts they swept up off their garage floor after acoupla demolition derby weekends? Was it built by Reher-Morrison or some such, and you have the dyno sheets that came with it, and none of the SEALED hardware has been turned, not even the valve cover bolts? What's it built out of... what crank is in it, what rods, what pistons, heads, cam, machine work, attention to detail, external touches like lightweight fuel pump rod, ... ??
Bottom line remains, the answer is, and must remain until proven otherwise, not much.
But a question must be asked at the same time: why do you ask this particular question at this very moment?
Sight unseen, I wouldn't give $1000 for it. Might not even give $50 for it, because if I screwed up AGAIN and then came to the day of reckoning, like if I had to move to a new place, I'd have to pay somebody that much to haul abuncha HEAVY-A$$ GARBAGE off my property. Might give $4000 for it but I'd have to be MIGHTY SURE of what was inside it.
Practically any time something is sold "used", it's automatically assumed to be suspect. Used UP, used HARD, improperly installed, built half-a$$ed, overheated every time it ran, you name it.
Then, as has been pointed out above, there's the problem of verification. You obviously haven't been around cars very long; or you'd AUTOMATICALLY be wary of phrases like "came out of a Vette", "runs to good to be a 305", "lots of potential just needs a tune-up", and so forth. VERIFICATION - the root of all honesty - is hard to come by. What was it Ronnie Raygun said... "trust, but verify"? How ya gonna do that?
Then even worse, the mere fact of "383"ness doesn't guarantee that it's any good. Did BillyBob and Cletus jam it together out of spare parts they swept up off their garage floor after acoupla demolition derby weekends? Was it built by Reher-Morrison or some such, and you have the dyno sheets that came with it, and none of the SEALED hardware has been turned, not even the valve cover bolts? What's it built out of... what crank is in it, what rods, what pistons, heads, cam, machine work, attention to detail, external touches like lightweight fuel pump rod, ... ??
Bottom line remains, the answer is, and must remain until proven otherwise, not much.
But a question must be asked at the same time: why do you ask this particular question at this very moment?
Sight unseen, I wouldn't give $1000 for it. Might not even give $50 for it, because if I screwed up AGAIN and then came to the day of reckoning, like if I had to move to a new place, I'd have to pay somebody that much to haul abuncha HEAVY-A$$ GARBAGE off my property. Might give $4000 for it but I'd have to be MIGHTY SURE of what was inside it.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
juanillox8
Southern California Area
6
02-22-2011 12:55 PM
Derth Deboblo
History / Originality
23
07-13-2009 09:31 AM
94-6spd
Tech / General Engine
3
01-09-2003 05:48 PM