I purchased this car with 160k on the clock not running. Previous owner said it had a slight knock and then he parked it. He neglected to tell me that it was parked for 4 years until after I drove 6 hours from SE KY to E. VA to trailer it home.
When I got it home all of the vacuum lines were dry rotted and the car looked like it needed to be gone through before starting. I decided to pulle the engine to have it cleaned up a bit and then discovered that the TC bolts were loose (supposedly the source of knock)- I figured I'd just have the engine refreshed. I took it to the machine shop and they tore it down. The crank was way out of spec even at it's best point. There were grooves in the crank and the rods. They're going to tank and magnaflux the block and heads this week and then we'll go from there. (I have printed and taken the specs of the engine to them).
I wanted to take the engine to a "buick expert" but 1. there aren't any that I know of very close (my guy is ten minutes away and across the street from my office) 2. The "experts" I have talked to all want $5k for an engine rebuild and I'm not ready to spend that much money on an engine for a car I rarely drive 3. I understand that the "experts" ensure that the job is done right but I just cannot fathom a machine shop being in business for 20-30 years or more without being able to do some basic machine work. I know there is stuff that is not basic but I figure if I can read up enough and ask all the right questions and use the best possble components in my build, I should be able to accomplish a build on a more reasonable budget.
I do not race my cars so I suppose I don't really need to go overboard with Forged stuff but I figure it's better to build it right the first time. Besides, I'm in no rush... I just want to take my time and learn all I can so that I can make sure the job is done properly and within a reasonable budget.
