Hey guys,
I have a '66 383 4-barrel that was given to me as part of package deal. I was told the engine was pulled from a rotten '66 Chrysler before it went to the demo derby.
The engine appears to have never been apart, it turns over fine, had clean coolant in it, and 6 of the 8 plugs seemed pretty happy. The other two had some fluffy black fouling but were not wet with oil.
The rear main and crank snout seals don't appear to have been leaking, however the engine had been gushing oil from valvecovers for years.
I've gotten the outside of the engine pretty clean and I'm about ready to take a closer look inside.
My question is: how far would you go, and how much money would you invest, in a "free" engine?
I want to install it in my '68 Coronet to replace the missing original. It doesn't have to be a earth-shaker I just want a decent engine that will give me a couple years of cruise nights and Friday drives to work while I invest my funds in other areas of the car.
I've already ordered replacement gaskets for the oil pan, valvecovers, timing cover, new timing chain, etc. I was also planning on ordering a new oil pump.
The prudent thing to do is check the rod and main bearings, I was planing on doing one at a time?
Should I do the rear main seal? Read lots of horror stories about the new seals.
Should I pull the heads? Can replace the steel shim gaskets with a thicker comp gasket without having the heads surfaced?
Valve seals?
Should I pull the pistons one at a time to clean, inspect?
What about the cam? Peeking in the distributor hole the came lobes have a pretty good vanish coating on them, and the front lobe doesn't look like the wear is an consistent as the others.
Need some guidance... I have no problem buying the parts needed to ensure the engine lives... and I don't have a problem stabbing in a new cam as long as things don't snowball... new springs, etc.
I just worry about the constant threads I see about crappy replacement parts, and I don't want to open pandora's box and go full rebuild right now.
