Another SC Engine Value thread

[PushinRice]

Considering jumping ship on the 3.0 in my 81 SC to go 3.6. Was wondering what you guys think I could get for it.

81 SC 3.0 Engine
168k miles, no record of rebuild
Runs very well when warm. Cold starts are a bit rough, thinking injector O-Rings need replacement.

Work done over winter, less than 1,000 miles ago:
Valve adjustment
New clutch/flywheel
New spark plugs
New 90A alternator, power wire, alternator strap
New fan, fan housing, fan housing extension, pulleys
New Rear Main Seal
Resealed Crankcase Breather housing
New breather hoses
New Oil Pressure Sender
New Tstat O-Ring
AC removed

With 2K miles
New M&K Exhaust
New Fabspeed Cat delete
Oil and Filter

Would be selling long block with all CIS. I was thinking maybe 9-10K? or is that optimistic?

[Matt Monson]

Yeah, $8-10k

[PushinRice]

Thanks, I figured I would be in that range 👍🏼

[SalParadise]

Hopefully someone can get in there and replace all the studs and be back in business.

Mahle P/Cs or KS Alusils? To me, if they have KS then minus $2K

Once you get bit by old Alusils, you tend not to forget and wish Mahle on everyone.

[pmax]

Head damage would be another factor with two broken studs.

[SalParadise]

Originally Posted by PushinRice

Not sure about cylinders.. the engine hasn’t been opened up and I don’t think I would be able to tell from the outside.

You can tell from the outside. Just count the cooling fins. Ten fins make it Alusil, and eleven make it Nikisil.

It's confusing because Mahle also made Alusil. If it has KS on the base with ten fins, it's Alusil.

Who knows? Almost all '82 and '83 engines had Alusil, so you may be lucky.

[QueWhy]

Originally Posted by Matt Monson

Yeah, $8-10k

With broken head studs?!?

What is a similar engine in good working order worth? 5-8k more?

[911SauCy]

Originally Posted by QueWhy

With broken head studs?!?

What is a similar engine in good working order worth? 5-8k more?

Just about

[pmax]

I say $6K tops.

[Munky King]

Personally been in the market this summer for one.

I would estimate $6k -$7k for an engine needing studs with the miles and no history. Partially as you don’t know what else you might find.
You can ask more, I think you would get it, but I’m not sure it would sell quickly.

$10k will buy you a fair and running sc engine with some history if you are quick enough to be the one to pick it up. That seems to be the magic number. Some seem to go up to $14k or $15k but then they tend to sit around.

So with it needing work, my call would be $7.5k if you want to sell it reasonably quickly and be prepared to negotiate a little.

For me, in the end, I found a car with a nice engine with the intention of dropping that into my project. Only problem is, it turned out to be a really great car. I did get to drive it before buying too which for me is a plus.

Thought about seeing if whoever your getting your engine from might be interesting in trading? Most of the traders out there will either do the studs or have contacts that will and therefore not such a worry for them.

Edit, maybe a little more as I didn’t read the new m&k on it.

[pmax]

Originally Posted by PushinRice

$6k seems light IMO. I see long block cores for sale for $5k+, not sure what they end up selling for. I’d think a complete running engine with all accessories would fetch more.

If you can confirm it has Mahle's as another posted suggested, I will bump up my estimate.

You can also get more parting it out into the long block and accessories but then you do more work.