Bad news from the machine shop today
 

I went to drop my block and crank off today at the machine shop and the guy felt inside the bores and said it will need to be bored.
I didn't really plan on buying new pistons.
I guess there were ridges and he said he would probably have to take it top .060 to get a good job(it's already .030 over).
I didn't take the main caps with me but he said he would like to have them so he can check the align bore. He said if the align bore is out then it probably won't be worth spending the cash to fix it since it would be already bored to the max and wouldn't be able to be rebuilt again in the future.

I did, however, find a guy selling another 351 block that has already been hot tanked and bored .040 with a good crank and .040 pistons for $200
I think it might be cheaper to just by this block that's already to go than to spend $250 on mine and that's if the crank doesn't need turned which will be another $65
Then I get to thinking, "what if this block for sale is actually junk and I waste good money on it?"
What should I do?

Find out if the guy will let you take the block and have it checked out. If so, type up some kind of agreement for you and him to sign with something to the effect of if the block is good it will be purchased and if not it will be returned. If he wants you to leave a deposit, include that in the agreement, all of which will cover your interest as well as the seller.
Caymon

82 GT,

why is dude selling the block? At least go check it out, and take your time to look it over. Sounds like a decent deal. Are you getting a pretty much stock bottom end rebuild?

He's selling it because he started a project and no longer has an interest in it(so he says). Yeah, it's pretty much stock bottom end but I don't plan on revving 7000+ rpm's either.
Since this project may take me awhile to save enough cash up to finish, I might just have my block done and know I have a good block. The guy seeling the other block is in Philly(about 3hrs from me) so it woudn't be worth doing all that driving back and forth IF the block is indeed faulty.
I really don't know yet. I might go look at it. Sometimes you can determine how trustworthy a person is by talking to them and how they react to your questions. Just by seeing how well this block and crank is currently being stored will tell me alot.
It should be all wrapped up nice in plastic with the rods labeled and not just thrown in some old shed or something like that...you know what I mean........?

That sounds like good sense to me.

And you're right, it may not be worth the trouble of driving 3 hrs, but it all depends how bad your situation is. I would at least get my blocked checked out further b4 doing anything else. Also, don't rule out visiting a junkyard (auto salvage) for a 351W block since you're gonna get a block rebuilt anyway. I got mine from one for $150 and got it rebuilt. If you do go this route (which may be a little more trouble than you want to mess with), try getting one from a police car (at least you know those were serviced regularly, even though they may have been run hard).

If you're gonna use the stock rods, get a truck block they have more meat near the head of the rod bolts. You can tell them by looking ... the rod bolt heads are football shaped instead of round.
Don't know about where you're at but here where i am we have pick-a-part wrecking yards where you tear the parts out yourself and i only paid 55 bucks for my 351 short block, and it was uncut, standard bore and standard crank .. The standard motors are pretty easy to pick out because they are usually still stock color and don't look to new for the vehicle they're in.
Before you spend a bunch of money on machine work have it sonic checked ! Otherwise you can end up with a junk block that you've spent a bunch of money on and you won't know it until you crack a cylinder wall, or shove a piston through one.

Hotrod , I must have a truck block because the rod bolts are football shaped.

what you should have done is buy brand new 302 roller block from summit for $250.00

My options are still open. He wants my main caps still so he can check the align bore before he starts anything.
Good idea though but if I went that route then I would buy a new 351 block and not a 302. Nothing wrong with 302's but I want to keep it a 351.

My bad, I thought you were running a 302. My friend bought the FRPP block for $250.00 and it has all the machine work done already. so its not a bad deal.

Do they have roller 351W blocks at Summit??? My motor is an 198x motor that I'm gonna have rebuilt. It's awaiting the right combo of forged crank, rods, pistons, etc. Want to convert it for roller cam...

I'm sure they do sell 351 roller blocks at Summit but you can also buy "retro-fit" kits that allow the use of roller cam & lifter in older blocks.