R1 engine value?

[Mike Sal]

A friend has an R1 engine/tranny which came from a poor Avanti that lost it's life 10 or so years ago when a car pulled out in front of it. after the initial crash, the car careened off into a long ditch & when it hit the embankment, the engine parted company with the chassis. My friend bought some of the left over debris along with the engine from the insurance company (he was not the owner of the Avanti....the couple were seriously hurt).

Anyway, the engine has been setting in his garage ever since. Most of the exterior metal parts (oil pan, rocker covers, etc.) are dented. He's going to check, but thinks the motor will still turn over. He's thinking about selling it, but doesn't have a clue as to how to price it. Any suggestions?
thanks,
Mike Sal

[JDP]

Maybe $500-$1000 mostly just for the damper and oil pan.

[PackardV8]

You didn't mention which transmission comes with it, but I'd pay $1000 for a dented-but-complete R1 engine and either transmission. If the tin was good and the mileage was known to be low, maybe $1250. That is has been sitting for ten years is not bad, but not good either. I bought a guaranteed good core engine which turned out to be full of water; cylinders rusted and block cracked.

jack vines

[Jessie J.]

Buying an engine out of a collision wrecked car is a crap shoot.
A friend spent some serious $$$ on the purchase of a Road Runner 383 Magnum involved in a similar incident, upon installation and fire-up it was discovered that all of the main-bearing webs had shattered from the impact forces. Before laying a $1000 or more on the assumption of it being salvageable, it would be most advisable to at least remove the oil pan for a very careful inspection.

[Bob Andrews]

Buying an engine out of a collision wrecked car is a crap shoot.

I agree. Over the years I have bought many dozens of totaled cars for parts, and can vouch that any hard hit vehicle's engine is, as Jessie says, a crap shoot. You expect it a bit more with aluminum, but even cast iron is brittle and can crack from impact- especially one that flew from the car.

First order of business should be a VERY thorough examination, starting with external mounting ears.

[studegary]

Buying an engine out of a collision wrecked car is a crap shoot.
A friend spent some serious $$$ on the purchase of a Road Runner 383 Magnum involved in a similar incident, upon installation and fire-up it was discovered that all of the main-bearing webs had shattered from the impact forces. Before laying a $1000 or more on the assumption of it being salvageable, it would be most advisable to at least remove the oil pan for a very careful inspection.

I agree. I also ended up junking a 383 Magnum that came from a wrecked car. The car was only one year old, but it was a roll over that crushed in the oil pan and the engine ran some amount while inverted.