But do we know that is what happened. From the evidence so far that is what it seems like BUT... we do not know the whole story so we should ALL keep our torches and pitchforks down till we know all the info.
Well, I agree. At this point, we don't know if the seller knew what was inside the motor. Might have had someone rebuild it for him and he assumed it was good.
Few years back, I bought a 383 stroker (440 crank, 4.29 bore, 434 cubes) from a fellow car club member. Got a killer deal. Put it in my car, started it, kept having to add coolant, then it seized up. Drained the oil pan, and several gallons of coolant mixed with oil came out. Took the motor apart, found out that the builder had not turned the 440 counterweights down. They had hit the block, so he just ground the block for clearance. Ground into the water jacket, so he put a couple of plugs in the block, but never pressure tested them, and they leaked. The seller was horrified, offered to buy the motor back, but we worked out a deal where I donated a good 383 block and 440 crank and he paid for the machine work to the block and crank, including turning the counterweights down. Made a good motor out of it, was still a good price for me, and it was cheaper for him to pay for the machine work than buy the motor back.
Anyhoo - it really wasn't the seller's fault, except maybe for not having great judgment about who he let build the motor in the first place. However, I will never again run a supposedly rebuilt motor without taking it apart far enough to check everything for myself. And even then only if it's a really good deal.
