Purchasing a used engine, be it from a friend, junkyard, or a swap meet, can be a practice in futility. Every small-block at the local high-performance swap meet has been bored and stroked, equipped with a hot cam, and originally resided in a Corvette. At least according to the seller. The truth, however, is usually much less impressive. In reality, that overbore was only applied to one cylinder, that hot cam has two flattened lobes, and the seller actually meant Chevette and not Corvette. The point is, buying a used engine is akin to buying something sight-unseen because though it might be sitting right there in front of you, what’s hiding inside usually can’t be inspected until after the deal is done. And that deal can sometimes burn.
So, what…