Hopefully the story I heard this morning will have a happy ending.

I know someone who is having a 351M motor from his '77 F250 replaced. He got an $1100 deal on a rebuilt exchange 400 motor from a friend with a local wrecking yard, so he had it sent to another friend with an auto repair shop to have the work done.

Fortunately the guy with the shop noticed the motor looked like it wasn't quite clean. He went to turn the crank to get a better look but it didn't move. He pulled a rod and main cap and found new std. bearings but the journals were rough and the oil was dirty. The engine wasn't taken apart. Someone cleaned it, replaced the bearings and timing gear set, gave it a coat of paint and passed it off as rebuilt. I don't think it ever had the heads off.

The big problem is, he's know both guys for 30 years. He's sure neither one would screw him intentionally. I'm waiting to hear the name of the place that claimed to rebuild this engine.

On another note, the 351M and 400 looked like they were never apart. The 351M had the thin balancer and the 400 was a '71 with the thick balancer. I'm just keeping an eye out for any inconsistancies.

 

Never mix friends and money. It's like mixing family and money. Sooner or later somebody is going to get screwed, and it's usually you.

I hate to hear about this kind of thing, but unfortunately it's all too common.

 

You can make deals with friends so long as you assume you WILL get screwed just as often as someone you never met.
So far so good. Several apologies and a full refund on the bad motor. The interesting twist was that the motor was allegedly rebuilt by Ford but sat for about 8 years. No wonder it was seized.