Would you deal with this seller? 68 YE 400 15 heads
 

Engine and transmission from 1969 PONTIAC FIREBIRD 400 (rare) ENGINE AND 400 TH TRANSMISSION. I WILL NOT DISMANTLE THIS ENGINE FOR INSPECTIONS. IF YOU BUY THIS, KNOW YOU ARE BUYING A BLOCK THAT NEEDS TO BE REBUILT. YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO JUST PUT IT IN YOUR CAR. WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET. I DON’T HAVE EXTRA PARTS OR PULLEYS. WHEN YOU SHOW UP DON’T BRING A CHECK. I ONLY TAKE CASH. THIS ENGINE/TRANS WAS RUNNING WHEN I PULLED IT. THEY GO TOGETHER AND THE PRICE STAYS THE SAME. NEED THEM OUT OF MY YARD. $1000
541-580-2825

Sounds like someone who doesnt want to deal with a bunch of BS. i would check it out at least

I would pass!

The statement running when pulled from the car is subjective to a lot!

It could have been running with a rod knock or worse yet a spun main bearing.

Those heads are not worth but 100 bucks even if they may have been rebuilt 20 years ago.

Unless someone was only looking for scrap value from the motor, I would never buy a motor except from a close friend unless I could at least inspect the number 2
Rod bearings and the number one lower main bearing.

The best price for scrap cast iron today is 15 cents a pound, so if the motor was total junk that would get you some 90 bucks!

Run Forrest, Run!

Nothing '69 Firebird 400 about a terd '69 350 2bbl YE coded engine.

Ad listers like that, need their #ss kicked. Am assuming this is another Fakebook "contribution"

The only 1969 Firebird YE code engine was a 350 2-barrel 265 hp V8.

A 1968 YE 400 340 hp engine with #15 heads came in big Pontiacs

So no matter what the seller’s ad says it’s not a ‘rare’ or more valuable Firebird 400 engine.

No 1968 or 1969 Firebird 400 engines were ever equipped with the medium performance press-in stud small valve #15 heads, all were equipped with high performance screw-in stud big valve heads.

He’s asking about twice what it’s worth if it’s a 400 and maybe it isn’t. If it’s a 350 ask him how much he’ll give you to haul it away.

Love to have a $300 a ton scrap buyer.

The motor cid is on the front of each cylinder bank in line with the freeze plugs .
Easy peasy to tell what the motor truly is.

The real price determiner is whether it's a big block 400, or a small block 400. The big blocks are worth way more than the small blocks.......LMAO....:pound:

Hey, the guy said it ran when parked, good enuff for him, so you should be fine with it. Beside that, he knows what he's got, even if it's a 350, probably a T350 transmission too......:noidea:

Wait about 2 weeks, you can probably buy whatever he has for $100!! After all , he needs them out of his yard. Probably full of water too, if it's stored in the yard.

The whole mess might be worth $100.

I thought the external cube labeling started in 1970?

My 69 428 has the CI cast in the lower sides, and the "28" in the valley.

Just sounds like a no BS guy which doesn't bother me. Only issue is he may think he has something that he doesn't.

Lets face it, buyers are just as bad these days. It goes both ways.

It is a little bit funny he had it listed for 6 months as a 350/400 combo. I had him take a few pictures. The block is a 9790071 the date ends with an 8 can't read the rest and 15 heads. No doubt it is a 68 340hp from a B body. For those six months He was convinced it was the original 350 out of his 69 Firebird because of the YE code. It is painted Chevy Orange with a thick oily grease dirt mix.

You get a post like that when you get people calling wanting you to guarantee it to be a drop in. Personally nope never it’s a rebuildable core if you want to try dropping it in that’s on you.

Other details aside, although the seller states that it ran when pulled, he is also very clear that it doesn't matter and he considers it a core for rebuild:

He's asking $1,000 for a 400ci block and TH400 transmission. Whether or not it spun a bearing, etc. is irrelevant, since the engine & trans are both being sold as cores. In my neck of the woods, $500 for a bare 400ci core without heads and $500 for a TH400 core are completely within normal market value.

Personally, I tend not to seek out sellers who write in call caps and take on this type of tone, but if I'm serious about buying something I also take a no-BS approach and ultimately let the parts do the talking and not the seller.

I had him down to 600 dollars, my concern has it had already been bored over once. Who knows maybe twice. We were going to drop the oil pan last Friday and check the piston size but a little emergency came up that morning and I was not able to get out there for another day. Then he rewrote his ad in caps and raised the price. I have no need for any 400 transmission cores I might be lucky to get hundred dollars for one here where I live. Oh well the rains have started and his engine is sitting out in his yard.

That's frustrating. There are other fish in the sea, though, so I'm sure you'll be able to find a good 400 donor block for a reasonable price before too long.

Years back I responded to an ad in the local parts trader. Set up a time with guy after going over the details of the 455s history he had for sale. Came out of a running car was purring like a kitten very low miles very rare blah blah.

We agreed to a price of $600 and go have a look to verify everything checks out. It was a 1976 2 barrel smogger like all his crap. Anyhow long story short this guy had a garage full of smogger crap that he thought was worth his retirement and then some. He calls me the next day saying he spoke with his buddy and he told him not to let it go for less than $1500. The 455s are drying up lol

Long story short I knew this guy did not have a pot or a window to throw it out of. What he did not know is that I had other information that this same guy wanted to buy a 1970 455 that a customer abandoned years back at a rebuilder machine shop. Knowing this and having some cash in my pocket I reached out to the machine shop and asked if he had a pontiac motor taking up his shop space. The shop manager indicated that he was talking with another guy, that happened to be the same guy trying to sell me the smogger for $1500. Well I offered the machine shop $400 and sealed the deal for a 1970 455 with #64 heads.

The lesson here is greed gets one nowhere in life as he would have had his 1970 455 and I would have bought the smogger for the agreed on $600. Makes me smile to think about it still to this day.

Might be a stuipid idea but you could contact (non-Pontiac) car clubs in your area and ask if anyone knows where to find a Pontiac block? Or even any rural wrecking yards that hold on to stuff for longer. When I deal with the Pontiac club in my area prices go up pretty quickly and really limits options.

My machine shop has a few Pontiac blocks as well but they expect to sell it with the associated work they will bring in. This might be another option for you.

Best of luck and nice to see people still loving Pontiac power and history.

Thank You!!!
I like folks that think like me!!!