Source for rebuilt spec motors near NC?

#1

Hey all,

I think i found a solid chassis and now i’m looking into motor options. Are most of you guys running rebuilt motors or trying to get by on lower mileage originals? Any recommendations on a source for a rebuilt spec motor near NC? Any guesstimates on cost?

Thanks a lot,
Dan

#2

Good sources for a used motor would be Al Taylor or Bret Luter. A used motor
with mileage in the low 100,000’s should run you $500. Al is in Rocky Mount
and Bret is in Clayton. Al is an active SpecE30 competitor also.

I would recommend going that route since several of the MA front runners and
winners are running 200,000+ mile motors that have never been opened up.
The cost of a total rebuild within Spec rules just does not seem to justify the cost given the reliability and durability of the M20B25 engines and the fact that there is not a lot of HP to be gained by a "legal" rebuid.

my .02

Steven

#3

Thanks Steven. Thats what i was secretly hoping to hear :stuck_out_tongue:

I’ve been on Bret’s farm a few times and I plan to go see what he has for motors this weekend. He said he has a few that’d do just fine.

#4

247K on the bottom end and going strong.

#5

look at the dyno charts, our ~90,000k motor that has never been opened up made the most horsepower out of all the cars at nationals. One of which was relatively fresh rebuild (patton). I would go with a used motor rather than rebuilding one as well. If it’s got good compression I wouldn’t touch it. If the compression is way down then I would look for a used motor with ~100,000k. But do make sure the valves are adjusted correctly, these motors do like to break rocker arms when the valve lash gets outta wack.

Good luck

Mike

#6

TXBDan wrote:

[quote]Hey all,

I think i found a solid chassis and now i’m looking into motor options. Are most of you guys running rebuilt motors or trying to get by on lower mileage originals? Any recommendations on a source for a rebuilt spec motor near NC? Any guesstimates on cost?

Thanks a lot,
Dan[/quote]

Unless it’s really cheap ($250) and you really enjoy the engine/electrical side of automotive work, I would pass and look for a running car. I picked up a very nice 325is for $1100. I only searched for about 3 weeks.

If the car isn’t running and has been sitting, you’ll wind up with plenty of maintenance/repair items that will quickly exceed the low cost/low hassle of an already running car.

#7

Hrmm well Bret was talking about a chassis for $700. Its a '89 325i w/ 150k on it. then a 140k motor for $500… This are rough estimates and he said he’d help me get the car running at his place. So i’d say under $1500 maybe for a running car? I’ve been looking for a few weeks and havent found anything under $2k yet. hrm maybe i should just keep looking.

I figured that all i’m really paying for is a motor, tranny, and chassis. Almost everything else on the car will be replaced so there’s no need to pay any extra for it. eh? or nay… :0

#8

TXBDan wrote:

[quote]Hrmm well Bret was talking about a chassis for $700. Its a '89 325i w/ 150k on it. then a 140k motor for $500… This are rough estimates and he said he’d help me get the car running at his place. So i’d say under $1500 maybe for a running car? I’ve been looking for a few weeks and havent found anything under $2k yet. hrm maybe i should just keep looking.

I figured that all i’m really paying for is a motor, tranny, and chassis. Almost everything else on the car will be replaced so there’s no need to pay any extra for it. eh? or nay… :0[/quote]

Not too bad, you have someone helping you do the work so you aren’t paying shop in/out rates on a motor. That said, if you find, like I did, a nice, tight car that was recently inspected but missing the valence and a slightly dinged LF fender which causes it not to be too desirable on the sales lot, you can negotiate the price down and maybe get a winner. The place that I bought the car from recently picked it up as a trade-in from a local car dealer. It was a hick town place and they were asking $1995 and then $1595. I offered $1000 and we settled on $1100. So, I’ll make the front spoiler anyway from the sheeting material that I have and then find a fender. There’s enough other work to do on the car without having to do an engine swap.

#9

I looked at that car that Bret has. It’s a decent candidate, but he has been scavenging a few parts from it. No telling what little things you might need (off the top of my head, I think grills/lights/instrument cluster might have been missing), but if he’s willing to let you take stuff off his other cars, you might be fine. Clearcoat was a peeling a bit, but nothing big. It’s a fine way to do it, but certainly a running car found cheap is the way to go…those are just getting hard to find.

#10

mskeen wrote:

^yes, he did mention that and he said we could find all the missing parts we need to get 'er whole. It does sound like a bit of a project, but if the price is right and he’ll help it might not be so bad. I’ll check it all out tomorrow and see.

Thanks