Need help finding an engine

Rakers_SS said
Hey everyone,

I'm hoping the community here can give me a hand. I'm in the process of building my 1971 duster and putting a 360 magnum in and have hit a snag. I had an engine ordered from MABBO down in texas and they dropped the ball on the ship date so I canceled my order (If youre thinking about ordering from them DO NOT). My dad is coming into town mid next month to help me put the motor in but thanks to MABBCO I have no engine now... Does anyone know of or have a rebuilt 360/5.9 magnum in the las vegas area? I'm fine to drive a few hours as well if there's one in california, arizona, utah, etc. Just wanting to get the engine installed while my dad is in town. He's an old school mopar guy (first car was a 1971 383 cuda). Thanks for any help finding an engine! Ballpark I'm hoping to spend is ~$1,500 max for a rebuilt engine.

You are dreaming if you think you will find a rebuilt 360 for $1500. I don't think I've ever seen a complete and completely rebuilt one for less than $3,000. That company you are talking about could NOT possibly be turning out anything other than junk for that price. You can easily get several thousand tied up in just a short block with parts, labor and machine work. Machine work alone (cleaning, turn crank, bore, hone etc.) will likely be over a thousand dollars at a reputable shop. And what if the block needs to be decked or line honed?

Rakers_SS said
Really? huh I thought that would probably be reasonable since the MABBCO short block was 1200 shipped. Looking like i might go grab one from a junkyard and take it to a local machine shop and be all in around $1100. I'll keep this updated if anyone is curious, still open to any leads anyone has.

Who told you that. Let's say you pay $250 for the engine. In order to be "all in around $1100", you would have to find a shop to do a rebuild for $850. That simply is not possible. Listen, I'm really not busting your chops. You just need to take a deep breath and accept reality. For your budget, you are stuck with a decent running used engine. If you have the mechanical abilities (and if the engine is basically sound) you could probably get away with a freshen up (rings, bearings and gaskets) for not much. Good luck.