Selling a Rebuilt but Untested Motor, ..advice/thoughts? Options

[Literati914]

Looking for advice.. my latest 914, a '72 who's 1.7L engine WITH full D-jet fuel injection system, had supposedly just been rebuilt. I was told the engine was rebuilt by a friend of the owner, who was supposedly well versed in rebuilding VW engines. However the owner knew very little specifically about what was done and I got no receipts. He left it up to his friend/mechanic to "do it right" so to speak. You can plainly see that it's been stripped down and cleaned (certainly looks rebuilt at least). He'd just finished up the rebuild and the engine was never even reinstalled in the car or started (unless the builder did it on a stand, I don't know). It's absolutely complete - FI, induction, tin, clutch (said to be new), vacuum hoses (obviously new), etc, etc. It's just waiting to be installed and run.

The thing is I have a 2056cc 2.0L that I'm planning on using instead. So I'm gonna sell the original/rebuilt 1.7L and I'm wondering to what lengths I should go to verify the rebuild. What would you guys do? Pull heads (after pulling induction, FI, vacuum, ignition, etc, etc) (a bit of work) and photograph cylinders, etc? ... or just leave as is and try to get it started on a stand - then measure leak down and compression? Thoughts and considerations before I put it in the classifieds?

[Superhawk996]

I'd sell as used with no claims of rebuild as-is and/or as needing to be torn down and verified with appropriate pricing to reflect that risk for a buyer.

Personally for me, I would never trust an engine the age of 914 engines without going though it myself . . . Just so I know what's in there and how it's been done. That would be true even if I were told it were rebuilt.

If it was rebuilt, it will be a quick, clean tear down and a straight forward reassembly.

My personal opinion is putting it on a test stand doesn't prove much from a buyers perspective. Many poor rebuilds run initially but tear themselves up latter (main or rod bearings) if they were assembled poorly.

Now if you were to put on a dyno, do proper break-in and then provided HP and torque numbers, that would be a little better, but costly. And ultimately as a buyer, I'd still wonder if the bearings were done properly (clearances, aligned / not crushed by dowel pins, used assembly lube, etc.) and were in it for the long haul.

[Tdskip]

First of all big points for being honest and posting your question.

I'm dealing with a recently rebuild engine on the AZ car that didn't have a history beyond what you have, I have blow-by and pretty bad oil leaks. Roll of the dice if you don't have a professional shop that did it with supporting receipts. The seller I bought the car from was totally up-front that he didn't know much about it so no heart burn, I was just a bit unlucky but I was prepared for it.

On the '73 I bought off BAT that also came with a rebuilt engine I fired it up and it's a jewel of an engine - even the FI system came up happy.

It may well be fine, but short of spending time firing it up etc it's a guess.

[mepstein]

You could take it apart, check things out and then sell as an engine “kit” or part out the pieces. In my mind, a box of verified engine parts is more valuable than an unknown engine.

[JOEPROPER]

Strap it to a pallet and fire it up. video it running. I know this will take some effort, but may turn out to be worth the time.

[JRust]

It's a 1.7 so really isn't going pull much on resale anyway. I've always been of the mindset of just listing everything I know. I don't want surprises for anyone if it can be helped. I have sold a few motors over the years. Some of which were supposedly fresh. Unless you rebuilt it yourself it really is a crapshoot. So just say what you know & let the buyer make their own decision. It's a running driving motor which you can get a video of. I'd say it was supposedly rebuilt & judging by the way it looks. You don't have any reason to doubt it. Still it is a used motor & comes with no guarantee's.

[Mikey914]

Pop it into the car drive it, much easier to sell it to the end user if they can feel how it runs. Goes a way to show the thing is not a grenade if you can get a few k on it.

[Spoke]

It's a 1.7 so really isn't going pull much on resale anyway.

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I sold a running 1.8L with D-Jet and SSHE for $600. Basically I got $500 for the SSHE and $100 for the engine.

I bought a running-when-pulled 2.056L with carbs and tins for $850 just to give a data point.

[BeemerSteve]

I'd do a compression and leak down test and disclose it.

[Jonathan Livesay]

Pop it into the car drive it, much easier to sell it to the end user if they can feel how it runs. Goes a way to show the thing is not a grenade if you can get a few k on it.

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[Literati914]

I sold a running 1.8L with D-Jet and SSHE for $600. Basically I got $500 for the SSHE and $100 for the engine.

From watching the classifieds, I'd say you definitely gave away the SSI's and Djet on that deal Spoke. Doesn't sound typical IMHO. Was there any shipping done on your side? I know local deals pop up from time to time, but usually a little luck is involved. I like the idea of installing the rebuild and putting a few K on it before selling but.. the car's a long way from being ready and the engine sell would go towards finishing it. My options remain: break it down and look - or start it and test. Still undecided, or a combo of the two.

Also, I remember the seller mentioning new injectors. I just went and looked and the 3&4 bank have yellow tops while the 1&2 injectors are black ones. All fuel lines are new and have the shiny yellow cad crimps at the injectors. The exhaust studs are also shiny, new and cad plated. Fins look clean. Also, when looking up into the exhaust ports, I see fresh shiny valves with bronze guides.

[mepstein]

A couple years ago these parts weren’t worth much. I sold a nice set of ssi’s from my car for $200. Bought the rebuilt 3.2 for $4k.

Once upon a time, 911 turbos sold for $25K.

[Superhawk996]

So I have a bit of timely insight on what might be inside a motor that was rebuilt by an unknown individual and what you might find as worst case.

I just tore down a poorly done amateur rebuild. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/headbang.gif)

See my build thread for latest photos.

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?sho...5209&st=100

Not proposing the one by OP is this like this, but, it does demonstrate what the risk is to a rebuild of unknown origin.