price of an engine?

[ksfarmgirl]

I have learned quite a bit in the last couple of years about my car, but obviously not enough. I have an 83' Trans Am Firebird with a 4-bolt main, 350 HO, 4 barrell Holley, Edelbrock engine cover and air cleaner, a racing cam, 5-speed with t-tops, an awesome cd/stereo system and a 411 Posi-track. However, for the life of me, I cannot get anyone to tell me what it is worth. I know the car itself isn't worth much, however, I have been told a 4 bolt main is rare and I know the racing engine with the 411 isn't a bad combination either. Also, it was all rewired last year. If anyone might have any idea how much it is worth as a whole, or even just the engine and rear end, and you would be willing to share, that would be lovely. Thank you in advance for any help.

[hotrod_chevyz]

$1,500.00 - $10,000.00 depending on overall condition. Some pics of it would help estimate its value. $1,500.00 would be one in fair condition with a good v-8. $10,000.00 would be all original with no flaws.

Check out ebay, you can get an idea of what its worth. Since i have one ive researched it some. Mines is in rough condition, when i first put a motor in it(4bm 350) I laughed at a $1,500.00 offer as i have more than that in the engine and trans.

BTW the motor is about $1,500.00 to have built starting with nothing, the rear axle is worth $150.00 if its posi. You can find a good condition body for around $500.00.

[silicon212]

Originally Posted by ksfarmgirl

I have learned quite a bit in the last couple of years about my car, but obviously not enough. I have an 83' Trans Am Firebird with a 4-bolt main, 350 HO, 4 barrell Holley, Edelbrock engine cover and air cleaner, a racing cam, 5-speed with t-tops, an awesome cd/stereo system and a 411 Posi-track. However, for the life of me, I cannot get anyone to tell me what it is worth. I know the car itself isn't worth much, however, I have been told a 4 bolt main is rare and I know the racing engine with the 411 isn't a bad combination either. Also, it was all rewired last year. If anyone might have any idea how much it is worth as a whole, or even just the engine and rear end, and you would be willing to share, that would be lovely. Thank you in advance for any help.

Depends on what's in it and how it's built. Most of the 4 bolt engines come out of trucks - that was certainly the case with mine. The real difference in the blocks on these 350s is basically extra holes drilled in the webbing. Most 2 bolt 350 engines can be converted to 4 bolt using aftermarket caps (these tend to have splayed outer bolts, which make them much stronger than factory 4 bolt engines).

Getting back to the question at hand, I spent about $2400 to build my engine, 14 years ago (1993). The heads and block were given to me - the money went to machining and parts. Figure, for my build, a cost of about $2600-2800 today for the same build. Then again, this build has 277k miles on it now, which is perhaps a little overkill for most. You can get away with a decent build for around $1000-$1500 with a two bolt block converted to 4 bolt main caps.

An engine with a good mileage count on it (including mine) isn't worth much more than core value, even if it's running exceptionally well (again, mine) this engine core value is generally around $200-300.