Guy on Craigslist posted a motor he had in a box Chevy pickup that he was parting out due to rust.

Was his plow truck for his property. He said he bought the motor from a catalog in 2001 and it had 231 hours on it. Being a non-road vehicle he put a meter in instead of going by the odometer. I did see the truck and the hour meter before I bought the motor. He promised all I had to do is put fluids in it and it'd fire.

But beyond that... I have no idea what it is. He said it has an Edelbrock cam to match the performer intake & 1405 carb. Supposed to have a 400 crank and Keith Black pistons. Pulled the valve covers to find roller rockers of some kind, cool!

All the bolts are stainless so they'll clean up.

Thing looks like *** but it'll be all shiny looking when I'm done cleaning and painting. Have to get a couple exhaust manifold bolt stubs out though, ugh.

I'll be pulling the heads soon, I'll post more pics then.

I know it has a weird harmonic balancer due to being a 400 crank stroker but not sure if I need a balanced flywheel too? It has a SFI flexplate on it now, would I be able to tell by that?

Getting a full serpentine setup later this week. I should be able to use this water pump right?

Not sure if I can use the starter on here or not. How do I tell? Hoping the block is drilled for 3 holes!



So, what do you think? Does it look like it fits what he said it's supposed to be?

I'll be real surprised if that thing runs correctly when you try to turn it over and fire it. That looks rough... I've seen worse, though. The rest of the story will become more clear once those heads come off.

so far inside the lifter valley looks really good, hope the rest looks as good

Looks t me like a well built engine...clean inside, painted valley, guideplates, rollers rockers...outside would have to take some crap from the elements, but looks like it didn't find it's way inside.

Oil look good when you drained it?

I'd say you have a nice engine there, but firing it up will let ya know for sure

i agree, the outside is just surface crap. looks great inside!

The true extent will show when he takes the pan off and looks at each of the bores when the heads are off. Not saying this motor is junk, but usually when they look like that on the outside... it's not good news.

But you've seen the lifter galley...

Think of a rusted car with a nice interior...

Looks good inside.
Pull the plugs, oil the cylinders and see how much torque it takes to turn over.
What heads are on it?

Definitely, hopefully I'll get them off after work!

Cool, that's what I thought!

Things I wouldn't know to look for vs a slapped together build. Hoping I got a good one!

Oil smelled clean and had no filings in it but was a bit dark. Insides of the valve covers look new still though, I didn't see any baked on oil anywhere!



Totally agree, you just never know. Could have a hole in a piston!

Ever open the door of a crusty old 60's car in the woods only to find a minty interior? Me neither, but I bet it happens. Maybe this is my unicorn!

Plugs are pulled. Haven't sprayed anything in the cylinders yet though.

Sadly it appears to have truck heads on it. Can always upgrade later!

Looks pretty good to me so far.
Yard truck engine should not have been too stressed if it didn't sit too much, so should gave little wear.
Don't ever buy a tranny from a plow truck, though! Nothing harder on trannys than plowing.
For that reason I would also make sure flexplate isn't cracked.

Flexplate is coming off as I have a manual car. Bought a built WC T5 so I should be ok!

Some cleaning up on the exterior is needed but it looks like you got a decent motor. I second what everyone has said about how clean the interior is.

Looks like it has some form of a deep oil pan on it (or maybe it's a regular one that has an odd shape).

Did you have the chance to see the inside of the tailpipes on the plow? If they were burning clean (whenever it last ran) that'd be a good sign.

Also, the brass freeze-out plugs (as opposed to the steel ones) are a plus, in my opinion.

Got a head off! Unfortunately I have ONE stripped bolt on the other one that I have to figure out.

Cross hatching looks great! Looks like it ran a bit rich though.

Pistons definitely aren't stock whatever they are!

I found a stuck lifter though, what damage might this have done? And what is the goop that stuck it? Feels carbony. Just baked on oil? Why did it pool there?

Those are some weird cut outs on the pistons...

Clean off the piston tops. Sometimes you can make out a number. Is there stamped numbers on the deck passenger side.If not the engine has been decked. Measure the pistons at TDC and the deck. Run a straight end front to back to see if it's square.
Let us know what you find.

No numbers on the front; sanded smooth.

Can you explain more what you mean about measuring? The surfaces are flat when I checked with a straight edge.

Arron if there isn't any numbers,it's more likely the block got decked.The primary question then is how much??. Common numbers is 10 down in the bore or 0 deck.TDC measuring the pistons to the deck will give you that number. Some intakes will require shaving to seal depending how much the deck was cut. Then the investigation turns towards the pistons and a stamp on them for hopefully a part number to see how much those pistons displaces in volume so you can tell what the SCR is and chose heads for pump gas. What is see in the pictures isn't that uncommon two eyebrow pistons.

I think everyone is talking about the measurement between the top of the piston and the deck of the block. The typical distance is normally .025" but this number varies when building a stroker. Piston to deck clearance is important to check as it can effect compression ratio and determine which head gasket to use in order to achieve ideal piston to head clearance. As far as the stuck lifter you found, it could be from sitting or the motor ran with a tap. Also to answer another question you asked, if you are using a serpentine setup you will need a reverse rotation water pump a standard v belt water pump with a serpentine pulley on it will not work.

Great info guys! I'll post back with my results