most people on this forum seem to want to modify their engines for more performance. if you were buying a car would you prefer to buy one that has already been modified to suit someone else's tastes or would you prefer to buy a stock engine and modify it later to suit your own taste. when buying a stock engine to modify does it really make much difference as to whether the engine is a c code or an a code?


EDIT: please note i am not talking about professionally built engines from a trusted source.

 

The last thing I care about when buying a car is the motor.

Here is why:
It may be trashed.
It may have been poorly built and about to be trash.
It may have the wrong setup cam, heads, intake, exhaust.......for the application.
But most importantly, I like building motors that I know will be trouble free for a long long time. I want to make sure its right because I love building motors, I hate repairing them.

 

I would much prefer an unmodified C code. The only significant difference between the A and C code was the A code had flat top pistons, and the C code had dish top. The cams, heads, and exhaust were identical, and the distributor only needs a tweak to be.

An engine some high school kid stuck a 4V intake on has probably also been trashed by the same kid. A stone-stock C code engine gives you much better odds.

You can modify a C or A code engine to 300+ hp for about a grand. This would not include repairs, if, say, the valves or pistons were shot.

 

Who cares as long as the block is in good shape. If you have the budget for a Dart block...who cares if it has an engine. =)

 

The best way to buy a classic mustang is with a unmodified motor, Pull the motor, mothball it and buy a ford crate motor. Warranty, much more power, and you have the stock, numbers matching motor. But that's just an opinion.

 

It also depends on the parts used to build the motor.. you could save some money with an engine that already has aftermarket heads and intake on it as long as it wasnt already bored 40 over or something. But then again you could just find a used block for cheap and build that as a short block and then transfer some parts over. And run with it.

 

I look more at the owner of the car if its a guy 30s or older its been taking care of and drive a little hard.If the owner is teenager early 20s its probably been drove hard as hell and not taken care of.But I'm also the type that will buy a car and replace the engine and trans if i plan to keep it just so i know everything is new and not beat on.

 

I would most likely rather buy a car that was completely stock. That way I know there are not half assed modifications, and don't have to undo stuff I don't want. If I knew the history of the car, as in knew the owner I would have a different take on it.