I am rebuilding my 93 FD, and I don't know what would be better to swap it with a low miles used engine, or to rebuild it. The only thing is that my car has been sitting there for 8 years. So I don't know how bad the rebuild would be. I'm in Vegas so it is not rusted and still clean, minus some minor paint fade. Any thoughts on what I should do?

 

I would pull the engine and break down the engine and take a gander at what shape you engine is and decide from there you don't know what you got till you open it up.

 

The only way to know for sure is to tear the engine down and inspect it. If it has been sitting 8 years with an internal coolant leak, it will be a rusted mess. If it was just parked, then you may find it in perfect condition. Whatever you do, don't just crank it up without looking into the engine and making sure that it is safe to turn over.

 

take the engine apart , and decide what to do after that . like stated above . you if get it rebuilt will have the option of porting it and replacing the seals with what ever YOU want them to be compared to what ever the owner of the used motor wanted .

But use a reputable builder

 

That would be a good start thanks, is there a way I can cheat by pulling off the headers to peek into the housing to get a good understanding? If so I can take pics so you guys can tell me what you think

 

Yeah I thought I was at first but after checking this we. Site out I don't know anymore. Does anyone have a good ideas on who I can use to build my motor in las vegas. Not having a reputable. Builder is what stopped me from doing anything before

 

Before I parked it for 8 yrs, I did pull the spark plugs and try and get as much coolant out has possible so I don't know how much that would help. But I broke a big car guy rule and let one of my buddies borrow it and the bastard blew it.

 

Pull the engine apart and rebuild it. Even a "low mileage" engine should be cracked open and inspected just to be safe. Personally, I wouldn't trust the veracity of any engine that I didn't see rebuilt myself. But that's just a personal problem of mine after being burned by "big name" shops that are no longer in the community

It's not uncommon AT ALL to travel HOURS for a good shop. If you aren't comfortable doing your own rebuild than I'd consider hitting up Elliot down at Turblown Engineering, he's about 4-5 hours south of you in AZ.

 

Turn the engine by hand, if it can still make a full rotation without any locking then there should not be any rust. Does not mean the engine is rebuildable, that really depends on how badly it was overheated and how many miles were on it before it was parked. Installation of a used engine is a big gamble.

It is not that expensive to ship an engine, residential pickup is the most expensive but you are in LV so I am sure there is a terminal near you which cut the cost significantly. It is only $200-$300

Keep in mind that with a car sitting for such a long period of time, chances are high that it is going to need everything that is rubber replaced along with brake pads, clutch disk, etc. Fuel pump could also be shot.

 

how would you turn it by hand?
remove accessories, disconnect transmission?

 

Put a 19MM socked on the front hub bolt. Transmission in neutral of course.

 

Thank you Aaron

 

or hit the starter

just remove the EGI fuse to prevent it from pushing old fuel into the engine until you can clean out that system, that is in fact going to be your biggest hurdle out in vegas. most cars i worked on with 3+ year old stagnant fuel systems the fuel tank was a mess, injectors stuck shut, fuel in lines rotten, etc, etc. then you have the engine issue to worry about still.

be prepared for a restoration project, it's likely going to be more work than you planned for.

forget a JDM imported engine unless you need it for core parts to rebuild an engine.