I would have thought that using those services would be a wash, by the time you pay for crating, etc. In the US, you can rent a regular size pick-up truck for about $150/day fully insured, which is what I did to get this engine, but it was a lot further away than either of these engines. Plus it gets me out of the house. A truck service might be worth it for the full engine though
Back to the red block, the seller wrote back saying “I bought this engine in 1995 to be used as spare parts. It was removed from low miles 1985 xj8 with no oil pressure. I disassembled engine to find broken oil pump drive. Center crank bearing had some discoloration and crank center very slight pitting. I planned on a rebuild for my 87 Xj6. I owned my 87 for 8 years and sold it with 180000 mi still running strong, so never needed the engine.” He says he’ll include the crank, and refund my money if I see any flaws in it when I pick it up. Will all of my parts fit this block?
I have just fitted a 1985 XJ6 series3 engine to my 240, late Mk2, and the engine mounts bolted straight on, had to remount the alternator onto the Mk2 engine mount, easy, and I mounted the XJ6 PAS pump above, message me for details if you intend to go this way, and my 1985 3.4 has short studs!
So, I finally got the crank out and got a better look at the damage. There are TWO holes, both at the back of the block. One looks like possible corrosion (jagged edges), but the other has nice clean squared sides (rectangular), like it was intentional. It was hard to get a good picture, but can you confirm that these definitely shouldn’t be there?
It’s a real shame because the bearings were really nice, and the con rods still move freely, 5 cylinder walls look serviceable, 2 pistons came out easily. This seems to be a really good block… except one bad cylinder had to go and ruin everything for the rest!
When I cleaned and painted my MKIV block I put protective tape on all machined surfaces. And prior to assembly cleaned with petrol / gasoline and once dry applied light clean oil. Paint would affect clearances, right? :-o
Try to hammer the bearing caps on - you’re looking at a coffee table (wine bottle stand). I just hope Joe didn’t listen to Paul and junked it, and kept it as a coffee table too
Lol, No Wiggles, That’s just a spare block I keep around the shop for doing mockups.
Also handy for building those grab it by the side engine stand brackets.
That’s not Glyptol it’s epoxy primer.
