TR5/TR250 Purchase of TR 250 engine

A local guy has some TR250/6 stuff he is getting rid of. In the package is a rebuilt TR250 engine. He purchased a basket case TR250 20 yrs ago from a guy who had rebuilt the engine only to find that the body shope told him not to waste his time on the car. Anyway this guy has a TVR & purchased the package & parted all but the running gear. It's been sitting in his folks house for 20 yrs & never started. He makes no claim/knowledge about the rebuild. He's asking $300 for the engine.

What say the group? Do I go for it, drain it, turn over by hand & mock it up on a stand & try running it, or just assume I need to pull it apart & do a complete re-build?

Your input would be most appreciated.
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Gary J. Hamilton
TR250 cd 6693

Gary -

When I bought my MGB project, I was told the engine was rebuilt (it was out of the car, and did look to be rebuilt). It had been sitting for a couple of years, and I went ahead and tore it down and rebuilt it myself. I'm glad I did, even though it all "looked" very clean inside.

20 years is a long time to be sitting - I'm sure it needs a build-up, and peace of mind is worth a lot.

Mickey

I would prefer to rebuild the engine myself or at least have the engine rebuilt by people I trust and could hold accountable. How can you tell if the engine has been rebuilt and what does rebuilt mean (only new bearings, rings and a valve job....about $150 worth of new parts...hardly a real rebuild?) If you buy it, do not relay on the engine being like new with a little flushing. If you are going to buy it, at least pull the pan and check a rod and main bearing and journal to see if it look ok. It would be a pain to pull the head, but I would be encouraged to see bright shinny new piston tops and clean valves,etc.

Gary, do you like to gamble?? Odds are it would run, but have problems.Major worry is the cam/lifters. These MUST have a special lube when assembled(if they were new??)or they will self-destruct.Over time this lube would have gone away , also the rings may have stuck as old oil dried out over time. For the price of a gasket set I say a partial teardown is prudent.....
MD(mad dog)

OK, thanks all, what type of $ would you think I would be looking at to have a shop do a tear down/mic & rebuild? Assumming that no machine work needs to be done, what's the guess on labor & gaskets; $500-$750??

My current motor smokes a little oil pressure is 80 cold/25 hot & seems to run decent.

Do I just offer him $200 & assume it's for a spare in the near future?

I really going to look at a tranny & some other spares he was selling, but this peaked my curiosity.

I'd buy it and rebuilt it. If it's been rebuilt before, even if it wasn't done well the odds are nothing is seriously wrong with it. The cam lube MD mentioned is only necessary for initial startup and after about 5 minutes of runtime it's gone and replaced by oil. I would not start it without a teardown though unless you're feeling very, very lucky. Odds are you can buy it, rebuild it, and keep it as a spare or sell it for more than you put in it.