Wow can't believe the salvage is only 1200 lol thats REAL low. Sounds good man. And yeah... the 427 sounds nice

 

Suprise, suprise. I think that's pretty much what everyone told you was going to happen.

Yes, you did have an option and chose the wrong one to begin with.

If you could pay $800 to pay off your car you could have easily paid $800 to get it back running if you shopped around. You could have also sold your wheels and bought some stockers assuming you don't still have them and have about $500-$600 right there.

 

No, your pretty much wrong on all 3 points.
What exactly is the purpose of you posting these opinions? They are not of any use.

 

Explain how I'm wrong for me then.

You said you could borrow $800 to get your car paid for. First off you paid $500 for your deductible, own 19 inch wheels with tires, and could have borrowed $800 to get it fixed. Do you still have stock wheels and tires? If not 500 + 800 + 550 = $1880. If so 500 + 800 + 950 = $2250. Look in the for sale section. Complete longlocks go for $1500 all day. You could have bought a used shortblock for less than half that.

You said you work at a dealership, are friends with the service guys and, can go in there when ever you want to work on your car. You don't think someone might of been willing to help you install a shortblock? Hell you could have offered them a couple hundred dollars to do it for you and never have touched a thing.

Instead you decided to go through your insurance. Huge mistake number 1. Insurance companies make money by being as cheap as possible. Didn't you think that would affect the part selection in fixing your vehicle? Obviously it did and look what happened. Have you ever looked at what fbodies with salvaged titles sell for? Try $2000-$3500 depending on condition.

You also said you're friends with the service guys. You couldn't have gotten one of them to say that the shortblock wouldn't hold together if they just replaced that one rod and piston? It was obvious that's what it would do. Huge mistake 2 is you actually agreed to letting them do that.

Now you have a car that's worth about 1/4-1/3 of what it was worth with money in your pocket. Yes, that money is nice and I agree that was a decent outcome. You sink all this $7500 into getting it fixed. You said you don't ever plan on selling the car, but what happens if something pops up? Say you get some girl pregnant or hit someone in your car. What then? I'm 19 and understand the idea of **** randomly happening. Do you? Also how much are your insurance payments going up a month?

 

Well if i was you i would build a 347, 408 or a 427 with a decent set of heads, intake and a huge cam

 

It's over with. No point in arm chair quarterbacking now. Plus I don't need to explain it to you.

I'll indulge you just because you seem curious. First, I didn't have $500 for the deductible. That had to be paid after the car was fixed. No, I didn't have my old rims. I would have been $800 in debt plus I needed more money to do all the little things that needed to be done, like a new clutch slave cylinder while the trans was out and rebuilding both heads while they were off the engine, etc... This would have put me in more debt assuming I could even borrow the money. Oh yeah, then where would I get even more money to pay the mechanics on the side for the labor?

The insurance company would pay for everything including a rental car which I needed plus said they would warranty the work done. I told them it needed a replacement motor, my service advisor told them it needed a replacement motor and the mechanic working on the engine told them it needed a replacement motor. Even my step dad got on the phone and bitched at them. The insurance company wouldn't go for it. Since they said they would warranty the work, I begrudgily agreed to let them replace just the piston and rod.

As for the rest, it was all unknown as I didn't think they would NOT warranty the motor work and hence any title change to the vehicle. My insurance may or may not go up. It hasn't yet, but I'll see.

 

I did find a 20k mile used 6.0 shortblock from a 05 GTO for $2200. (The owner replaced it with a 402 shortblock) I can get a nice set of ported heads for $1200. That's not so bad, plus I can say it's an LS2.

The 427 I looked at was a L92 based block and my LS1 heads won't fit it, so I would need new heads which really puts it too high in price for a daily driver. I could get a 402 based on the LS2 block. It's still pricey, but I might can swing it for $4500. I'm really not sure the extra 38 cubes and 0 miles are worth twice the price, though? Any thoughts on that?

The money I save can go to a stronger clutch or maybe a 12 bolt rear.

 

I'd go the LS2 route...great bragging rights.

Put on a set of long tubes while you're at it if there is money to spare

 

I'm thinking 427. Polished stainless headers. Healthy cam. Ported Heads. 500+ at the rear wheels. I'll add a 12 bolt when the stocker breaks. I'm making some decent money now so why not go big?

This if I go all new, but if I come across a healthy used engine for a good price, I may get it.

 

Nothing wrong with that setup! Keep us posted.

 

There is no replacement for displacement

 

Any update on the status of your situation?

 

I bought a nice, loaded 97 Tbird with a 4.6 V8 for $2000 so I'm in no rush.
The TA's been sitting for the last month or so. There are so many mods I want to do I just decided last night to not buy an elephant motor and instead pick up a used short block. I'll buy new ported heads and so forth and hopefully get it together with some new parts (oil pump, timing chain, etc...) for under $3000. That should be close to 500hp or 420+ to the rear wheels. I really don't care too much about actual HP numbers as long as it runs like a scalded dog. It's gotta have a sweet lope to the idle as well.

So that's where I'm at, back at the beginning, looking for a used shortblock.

 

i knew it was gonna be bad when i seen the crank and it wasnt going to be replaced =(
but im glad your happy with the outcome, thats all that really matters =)
this same thing happened to my mothers boyfriend, we had his 300c w/ a hemi for about 3 weeks and hit a puddle and sucked in water and threw not 1, not 2, but 3 rods. chrysler designed the intakes on those below the radiator(whos bright idea was that?) so it acted like a straw lol. they tried fixing it but he insisted on a new motor and got a brand new motor for it =)
and grats on the tbird =)

 

If my car were new or under warranty they probably would have replaced the whole engine. Once the value goes down, they cut corners.

Ehh, I'm not really a ford guy, but this car is OK. V8, rear wheel drive, leather, power everything. It's close to the TA, but wayyyyyy slower. I think I'm going to steal all the cool stuff off this model of car and put it on my TA. The 8.8 independent rear suspension will fit. The automatic climate control system is one of the best I've seen. A nice mix of manual and auto control. Opening the sunroof with the push of a button beats the crap out of pulling over and stowing T-tops. I may put a solid roof on the TA with a big sunroof. That would be unique and stiffen the car as a bonus.

Too many ideas, not enough time or money.

 

booooooo keep t-tops! it takes all of 45 seconds to pop them off...this is coming from a guy use to lifting a 250 pound hardtop off his jeep so the ttops are a breeze compared to that