Building a motor, over a period of time?

iwannadie

New Member
Jul 28, 2006
981
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gilbert, az
Just wondering what people think of building a motor over a period of months/year. Kinda part it together as the parts come in. Id like to get a block and send it out for all the machining/clean first then it will have stuff added to it.

Someone told me its a bad idea because of rust that will form on all the surfaces. I live in the desert so theres not alot of moisture lol, also Ive seen giant bags made to store motors. So, is there a problem doing it or better to just gather parts for the long run. When ready to assemble then machine/clean and assemble all at once?
 

gaboonviper85

Supramania Contributor
Jan 13, 2008
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Northeast Philly
clean your hands of sweat and oil before handling the block, connecting rods, and crank the hose them down with wd-40 then wrap them up in a plastic wrap of sorts.....pistons shouldn't rust and valves,springs,piston rings should already come in a sealed bag with lite oil.....

I can't see any problem at all!
 

Supracentral

Active Member
Mar 30, 2005
10,542
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The only bad side is prices tend to go down over time for parts. Think about how expensive forged pistons were for these cars 5 years ago.

Why not just save the money over the same time period (hell, maybe even in a bank earning interest) and just buy it all at once (probably getting a better deal from a vendor too)?

As for the rust... If the stuff is packed as it was shipped, it should last a long time that way. Most parts for these cars came here by boat. They've been lying around (in salty air) for a long time, they should be protected.
 

iwannadie

New Member
Jul 28, 2006
981
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gilbert, az
Supracentral;951849 said:
The only bad side is prices tend to go down over time for parts. Think about how expensive forged pistons were for these cars 5 years ago.

Why not just save the money over the same time period (hell, maybe even in a bank earning interest) and just buy it all at once (probably getting a better deal from a vendor too)?

As for the rust... If the stuff is packed as it was shipped, it should last a long time that way. Most parts for these cars came here by boat. They've been lying around (in salty air) for a long time, they should be protected.

I was just liking the idea of building it as I go as something to do on the weekends ha. Kinda like, oh I got this new part let me go mess with it this weekend. Also as an obvious learning project since Ive never built a motor before lol.
 

Isphius

Supra-less :(
May 30, 2006
359
0
0
long branch
i have a small block sitting in my living room right now on an engine stand. Saving for parts over time. So far it has...a water pump and valve covers! I also have forged 9:1 pistons and am working on a used forged crank next. then some of those good 400$ con rods. Should take me about a year to complete at this rate. go for it!