Found the original 400 for my car!!
 

:D I found the original 400 for my 68 coupe, 4-speed! Problem is it's in another 68 bird, running, and not sure how likely I am to get it. My question for you guys is how much value would it add to my restored car, and what would be a reasonable offer to make for the engine? Thanks in advance for any input / advice.

Justin

Offer to swap your engine for his including install etc....

so your 'cost' would be whatever it costs to get your motor in his car and teh rebuild/install of your original motor.

This way you remove the 'pain in the a55' factor for the other guy and he feels as if he got an 'upgrade' in the process...assuming your restored motor looks/performs better than what he has now...

my .03

bring up the point that the 400 thats in his car doesnt add any value to his car over any other 400.
Offer him a 455 in trade and Ill bet that he jumps on it.

Tell you that would not work with me. If I had a motor with your cars serial number on the front of it I would expect more that a couple hours labor and another old motor especially if you are "John Doe" to me. Friends, well you can always work something out.

No you'd be doing like the guy who wanted my buddies old mint 64 GTO or neighbor's 64 Chevelle convertible in the late 70s. Replacing it with something new. The fellow knows what he has and why should he take a risk with your old motor to better your car. Just playing devil's advocate.

I would talk to the guy first and see how reasonable he is willing to be. No doubt, getting the matching #'s motor for your Firebird would be an awesome thing to get.

Matching numbers will add about 25-30% to the value of the car. I wouldn't go nuts with an offer, but keep these numbers in mind for the negotiation of the total cost of a swap. The engine will likely dictate what you do to the car from here on out too, so keep that in mind (in case you had plans to do anything super radical - that could negate a lot of that #'s value to someone else should you decide to sale). As with any negotiation, you gotta be cool like Fonzie and not too emotional about things. You don't HAVE to have it, thought it would be a nice to have.

As long as I knew I could get in touch with the guy at anytime, and where the car would be, I'd position it as "if you want to think about doing a swap I would make it worth your time" and leave it at that. Or even better, "how's she run, have you taken it to the track?"....start building up info on his experience that could help you in a negotiation. You could find it has a knock, or he can't tune it properly, you get the idea...

Don't go high pressure at first, with a guilt trip, or exposing how much it means to you. Again, if you don't know much about the guy and how to get a hold of him, it could put more pressure on you to get a deal done quicker.

Buy his car, swap motors & then sell it, get all you money back, possibly make a buck or 2.

steve v has a good point. How attached is he to the car, what kind of condition is it in, and is it for sale?
Another Steve

That would be my approach - don't even let him know it's your motor.

How did you find it?

I did a title history through the state's DMV and called the first name on the list. Spoke with the guy who bought the car in '83 from original owner and found out in '87 he had pulled the engine to rebuild it and sell, but he sold the car instead. He mentioned he wished he'd never sold the car.

He eventually put the engine in his son's '68 bird. I don't know if it is code correct for his car. If his car is a true 400 stick car, I may be looking for a wz block.

In any case, they already know I have the car. I thought about buying his car and doing the swap, but at this point don't know much about it. The guy I spoke with was going to try to call his son and thought it might be a few days before he could get back with me.

I think my only hope is the guy is a hobbyist and can appreciate the situation.

Justin

That's a pretty cool story! I wouldn't go overboard with a $$$ offer; just feel it out and hopefully he'll understand your situation.

You better make sure your engine is in tip top shape before offering a trade. Lots of receipts would help...good luck!

so do you have an update?

Wow, had no idea of this.

I'm glad I went through such a struggle to keep this motor and make it work. I even brought my motor to a supposed "respectable" engine builder in town and because the block was so rusty he told me "that thing will never run, you should just get another core".

After painstakingly tearing it down the bores were so nice I honed them by hand and slapped in forged pistons and a balanced lower. She runs like a top and needless to say I didn't go back there ever again.

In short, it is worth the trouble to some...

I have an original 68 GTO block YS code, with matching date coded heads. I have contacted the current and the owner before him with letters and phone messages that I have their original engine. No response from either owner! They could at least call me back and say that they are not interested, the car is a drag car, whatever? Nothing, Nada! Some guys could care less about numbers matching! Scott