Used parts is good parts...
Usually when I need a motor,like I did when the 250 blew in my C10,I just head to the boneyard or auto auction,and ask all my mechanic friends if they know of any "deals"--I bought an 86 305 out of a G10 van with 115,000 miles from a friend who was scrapping it due to title problems(decent van too,a shame!)--it ran excellent,had good oil pressure-
-I had to put a new timing chain,gears,and oil pump in it(timing gear teeth stuck in the screen!)--but it runs good, 200dollars for the engine,radiator,and any other parts I wanted,so I grabbed the hood for my 81 van!--local junkyards had only a few 305's for 250 bucks,no 350 carbed motor around then,but a few guys at the yards had cars they stashed away and saved from the crusher I could have bought for about the same price-
-I almost prefer buying a whole vehicle--its more work pulling 2 motors,but you get all those little clips,dewhickies and other things without 100 trips to the junkyard--and when you have the job done,you can stuff all the uneeded junk in the shell of the vehicle and get at least 100 bucks for scrap!
GM sells new "Mr.Goodwrench" motors for about 1150 bucks,with a gaurantee!--its hard to completely rebuild a motor for much less nowadays,unless you know a machinist--parts arent that expensive,but boring out a motor and other block work adds up fast--and valve jobs arent cheap anymore either unless you do it yourself--and its not really a project the average Joe can tackle in his backyard--but installing a complete motor is--its involved,but not impossible..I have done dozens of motor swaps,after the first one its not so hard...
