The Ford Barn - View Single Post - What is the price of a rebuilt flathead??

Bored&Stroked · 10-28-2019, 11:13 AM

Yeah - it is really tough to sell ANY assembled engine unless that is your business, you have great marketing, you do it day in/out, have tons of references, have an online/social presence and a reputation that matches. This is even true in high-end SBC builds.

I just sourced all the parts to build a 520 HP 383 SBC stroker - 4 bolt main 350 block, high quality forged crank, billet steel rods, Weisco pistons, AFR heads, custom roller cam, etc.. Balanced, square decked, windage tray, select oil pump, road-race oil pan, etc, etc, etc.. I have about $6000 in the engine - with me doing all the selection, parts purchasing, assembly and detailed work.

Imagine if I tried to put it on eBay and sell it. The typical buyer sees a stroker 383 SBC from a variety of vendors that makes 500 HP - and is going to pay $5000 - $6000 for it (turnkey).

The challenge is that you get what THEY put together and the details mater to me:

-> Mine has a quality Manley forged crank - theirs has a SCAT 9000 cast crank
-> Mine has Manley billet steel rods - theirs has SCAT forged rods
-> Mine has a custom roller cam and Harlan-Sharpe rockers - theirs is an off-the-shelf CompCams roller and cheap Chinese rockers.
-> Mine has AFR heads with the good valves and springs - theirs are Chinese knock-offs with much lower quality components.

The problem is that the average person doesn't know about all the details - they see 500 HP and that is it! Also, every one of these engines looks GREAT on the outside.

Having a custom built engine by somebody who really knows the details is going to cost you a lot of money - if it's a flathead probably 2X what you'd think.

Some people will pay for one-off custom engines (and have the $$$ it takes) . . . but that crowd has dwindled in size over the years - we surely don't have enough "customers" in the flathead world.

10-28-2019, 11:13 AM	#23
Bored&Stroked Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Central Ohio Posts: 5,067	Re: What is the price of a rebuilt flathead?? Yeah - it is really tough to sell ANY assembled engine unless that is your business, you have great marketing, you do it day in/out, have tons of references, have an online/social presence and a reputation that matches. This is even true in high-end SBC builds. I just sourced all the parts to build a 520 HP 383 SBC stroker - 4 bolt main 350 block, high quality forged crank, billet steel rods, Weisco pistons, AFR heads, custom roller cam, etc.. Balanced, square decked, windage tray, select oil pump, road-race oil pan, etc, etc, etc.. I have about $6000 in the engine - with me doing all the selection, parts purchasing, assembly and detailed work. Imagine if I tried to put it on eBay and sell it. The typical buyer sees a stroker 383 SBC from a variety of vendors that makes 500 HP - and is going to pay $5000 - $6000 for it (turnkey). The challenge is that you get what THEY put together and the details mater to me: -> Mine has a quality Manley forged crank - theirs has a SCAT 9000 cast crank -> Mine has Manley billet steel rods - theirs has SCAT forged rods -> Mine has a custom roller cam and Harlan-Sharpe rockers - theirs is an off-the-shelf CompCams roller and cheap Chinese rockers. -> Mine has AFR heads with the good valves and springs - theirs are Chinese knock-offs with much lower quality components. The problem is that the average person doesn't know about all the details - they see 500 HP and that is it! Also, every one of these engines looks GREAT on the outside. Having a custom built engine by somebody who really knows the details is going to cost you a lot of money - if it's a flathead probably 2X what you'd think. Some people will pay for one-off custom engines (and have the $$$ it takes) . . . but that crowd has dwindled in size over the years - we surely don't have enough "customers" in the flathead world.