Reasonable price

What is the going rate for a '53 120 short block? Minus head, manifolds & distributor. complete otherwise. Standard 8:1 motor, Non SE. Pistons are siezed, but not badly rusted.
Thanks.

A lot depends on getting the pistons unseized. Look for cracks in the cylinder walls and all around the water jacket. Scotchbrite and clean the walls, then pour some oil on top of the pistons and leave it for a month or two and see if it turns. The pistons come out the top, and getting the split cotter pins out of the rod nuts when the crank wonā€™t turn is quite a trick, took me a couple hours on a 140 block I rescued from a field.
Everything that would have made an SE is gone so doesnā€™t matter.
Value is whatever a seller and buyer can agree. Wild guess $300-800 as is where is.

Thank you for the reply Rob, I was thinking along the same lines on price. That is a realistic price.

A few short years ago, You could use flea-bay to get a reasonable idea on what parts are worth. Not any more. Example, There is a bare block on there now that has worse looking bores than what I have. It was removed from a sedan but is listed as ā€œfittingā€ a 120/140. The BIN price is $4285/Best offer. Here is the good part, yesterday when I posted this question it was ā€œON SALEā€ ā€œ65% OFFā€ for $1500. The sale is over and it is back to $4285. Logic would say if it didnā€™t sell at the ā€œsale priceā€ of $1500, Why would anyone in there right mind re-list at $4285. If it was at least a true 120 engine with an ā€œSā€, and the bores didnā€™t look horrible, maybe start at $1500 with BO, Thats a big maybe.
This is a big reason why I no longer use e-bay for car parts. I get tired of everything listed as ā€œrareā€ and ā€œhard to findā€. Iā€™ve read through the e-bay rants here on the forum. I hardly ever use e-bay for anything anymore, maybe some mower parts and thats about it. As much as I dislike the practices and politics of Facebook, their marketplace is good, Iā€™ve scored a few goodies on there at realistic pricing.

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You mean this one?

Now down to $1199.99
But wait, thereā€™s moreā€¦weā€™ll throw in some iron oxide. :laughing:

To be fair, a C4820 block even with an A or B serial number from a Mark VII is the correct casting number for most 120s, although the upper coil mounting boss is not drilled and tapped if you want to mount your coil there (youā€™ll regret it when it dies far from home), but if its missing the main bearing caps and front timing cover it will need a line bore and deck check with your cover.

BTW I have a set of orphan main bearing capsā€¦ :grin:

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ā€œFlea bay:ā€ā€¦:slight_smile:

I stopped using them years ago, for all the same reasons. Early daysā€“'99-'05-- you could really find good stuff, for reasonable prices.

THEN, everyone figured their crap was worth TONS on eBaitā€¦:frowning:

Yes that would be the one. I like the ā€œhuge 72% offā€, ā€œYou save $3085ā€. It almost looks as if that is a bead of weld down one of the bores. Based on this pricing, mines worth $10K. LOL

Without bearing caps itā€™s junk until you can find those.

I asked the vendor: they said they didnā€™t know where they were.

Not junk, per se: another set of main caps and an align bore, and itā€™d be useable.

Scroll down and you see this seller has a half dozen 4.2 blocks all under $200, some with caps and some without. Make a lower offer if you really want it.
Have to wonder why this block is stripped to bare bones. I suppose the dismantler that was after the crankshaft dropped the caps in the mud and never knew they were mated to the block and had value.

I found my orphan caps and its only six and the front is for a later rotor oil pump so probably from block C8610.

What do you mean by fleabay? Is that another marketplace?

fleaBay= a swipe at the legitimacy of eBayā€¦:grimacing:

Thanks Paul, I assumed that as I read. (There is a considerable amount of slang used here sometimes which makes understanding a bit of a challenge for those not ā€œin the knowā€)

I have a set of main bearing caps from a scrapped XK-150 block (cracked) available for the cost of shipping. Be advised that the locating dowel positions changed somewhere in the 50ā€™s and not all caps will fit all blocks. Somewhere I have photos of the two variants.

I didnā€™t mean to cause any confusion here but I am not interested in the e-bay engine with the missing main caps. I was using it for reference to get a general idea on what an engine I have is worth.
The engine I have should be sold this week-end. If itā€™s not, Iā€™ll post on here if someone is looking for one and the price will be far more realistic than the one listed on e-bay.

mike can you advise the engine numbers on these 2 blocks?
thanks

one advantage of taking an old 1120/mk7 type block and putting post G1908 xk150 caps on it is that you can then use modern cheap oil pump
you have to line bore new caps and muck around with oil pick up pipes

Anyone looking for engine parts, please check my ad here or Craiglist Phoenix. Selling way below market value.

Thanks

Beware of any engine thatā€™s missing original parts like bearing caps. I have bought several ā€˜valuableā€™ blocks over the years in this state, typically 5-bolt bellhousing very early (C3) Ford 289 blocks or 1275 Cooper ā€˜Sā€™ blocks, and if those parts have gone itā€™s usually because a problem with the main block has been discovered pre-machining and the parts have migrated to a better donor block. Iā€™d want it crack tested and checked dimensionally, but I donā€™t imagine sellers would agree to that on a block like that.

I always assume an engine, etc., has been removed from a car for a reason.

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