To replace one piston and the valves out of the head? I have my eye on a Grabber with a built 351W in it along with a four speed, the guy that owns it said they had a new cam put in and when it was fired up, a valve went through the piston top, I just want to know about how much trouble it will be to fix and maybe what else to look for (as far as damage goes) on the engine as I have heard of this happening but never seen it, this will greatly influence the price I am willing to pay for the car, I really don't know how much he wants yet, I nailed him down in a pawn shop the other day and basically told him to sell it to me and he agreed to do so, but had no price in mind, I told him to let me know SOON, I have been after this car for over six months now and finally have a chance at it, it's Grabber green and I would love to have it alongside of my blue one. Of course if I can get it, it's name will be "The Yo' Money Maverick" lol
A lot of the time you crack the cylinder and damage the head and even bend a rod when this happens. just figure the motor is toast.
need to have all the valves checked and may have to replace half of them. sounds like the motor will need to be completly checked out if they dont know how to install a cam and check piston to valve clearance then they dont know what they are doing. approach with caution. i would adjust the price down to give room to just locate another 351 that is good.
First off say a little prayer. If you are very lucky you may get away with replacing a piston and putting in a couple of new valves. Any Machine shop will put a piston on a rod and put in a few valves pretty cheap if you bring them the parts. Now the reality of it is that you may have anything from a simple repair to a major problem ie Bent rod, scored cyl wall, seriously messed up head. When I start on something like this I hope for the best but expect the worst. Expect to be into a total rebuild and if it's less than that, Great. I know it's not what people want to hear but after building motors for as long as I have it's a good rule of thumb. It never stops surprising me how much damage a simple problem can cause.
That is what I was thinking. If the engine turned over one complete revolution, and all cylinders were set up the same way with the same valvetrain geometry, etc, then you will likely find similar, if not as bad, damage on every cylinder. I would buy it as a project rebuild. Not as a quick fix and drop-in motor. Be sure to pay for it as a rebuild project and not as a "minor repair needed" motor.
If the timing chain was not installed on the marks (the cam in relation to the crank), I would be looking at more valves hitting the pistons that only one. The way I look at it is, if there is any internal damage to an engine what-so-ever, I tear the entire engine done. A piece of anthing could be lurking in a dark corner somewhere just waiting to do it's additional damage after you pay to have it put back together again.
Consider the engines internal components...Wasted...Plan on pistons and a head rebuild (valves/springs/guides seats) at the very least...Soo...Yeah, price it as "Needs an engine" Good luck!!!
Approach with caution. Small problems can have a snow ball effect. I'd drop 500-800$ off of original price to cover the cost of a new 351/302 and some play money to do other minor fixes that can cost you hundreds if not thousands down the line.
He might want to keep the 4 speed also if I do this....but wow there are a LOT of things that can be wrong from just someone installing a cam improperly, he had someone do it for him and then they(he and the installer) went to crank it up, he said once it fired it quit suddenly, dont think it actually "ran" at all, the car has a lot of goodies already in place.....9" rear,front disc, bucket seats, 4 speed and a good grabber hood, he also said it has very little rust. I kinda trust his word on things, I worked for him in the bar he owned down here on the beach, been to his house and shop down here, he has three or four Harley projects going along with two that he and his wife ride, the Grabber is in Georgia in a shed that is about to fall down, I told him to hurry and sell me the car before it gets crunched under the falling roof, he said he found another project he was interested in so he would. I will try to get him to get me pics....US some pics lol THanks everyone for your help
Well, if you want to be sure you get everything that comes with the car, I would try to, at least, get the price down on the car based on what you would have to do to rebuild the engine. If the final price works for you, once you get it home, you can still find another running engine and transplant it. That way you'll be sure you got all of the engine accessories, intake, oil pan, valve covers, carb, pullies, hoses, etc. including the 4 speed transmission.
