alright, i have recieved a motor that has been sitting for a while. the man i got it from said it worked fine, but had compression issues. could that just be piston rings that need to be replaced? or do i need something like a valve job, and how much would the latter cost?

 

You need to pull it apart and have a machine shop check the bore (unless you own a bore gague). Chances are it's a ring or possibly a valve issue if I try to guess what he meant by a "compression issue." Low in one cylinder? Low in all 8? Burning oil?

It's also possible the engine itself is a mismatch of parts resulting in compression that is too low and makes the thing run like poo.

In either case you're going to have to open up the motor. You MIGHT have to get work done to the block (overbore) along with new pistons/rings. You might not. Could be as simple as a burnt valve in one of the heads and the bottom end of the motor is just fine. Or it could be the whole thing is a worn out, tired POS that needs crank work, rod work, pistons, rings, new cylinder heads, etc.- the whole 9 yards. You won't know until you go through it thoroughly.

 

Let me translate into English:

"I know it has 2 shattered pistons and a rod broke in half; but I'm going to make you think I'm being honest by telling you this".

Prepare to discover you just spent money on something largely worthless.

I hope it's not more than $100 or so, because a motor that's so trashed that the used car parts seller is freely admitting it "has compression issues" is nothing but a core. It sounds very strongly like it's not a "motor" that you can "repair", it's a core that needs to be rebuilt, just like if you went to the junkyard and bought one that was guaranteed not to run.

 

haah the reason why i care is cause my uncle gave me this motor from his trans am he used to race.... if it was stock i wouldnt waste my time

 

well, hopefully there are a bunch of useable parts in it.
But yea, full tear down is what it'll need. Mark everything for it's location, incase you're going to be able to put it back where it came, when you're done.

 

Well at least you're lucky, you probably didn't get ripped off.... you might be amazed (or maybe not...) how often people get screwed buying something that comes with a story like that.

But regardless, tear it down and see what you've got, and go from there.