1970 340 T/A Motor

[Bossgold]

Alan, You are 100% correct. Remember, he doesn't have to sell it here either.  My only point is clarification and what "TODAY'S" cost would be. Several people balk at the price cause they bought the parts 25 years ago. My point, This stuff isn't cheap and if its correct (Castings, Date codes) from an original engine go and try to find all of the "T/A" parts. No one really thinks about how hard it is to find and what it cost. Why is this such a key discussion point, cause when I see people selling T/A's and AAR for top dollar and the car is missing everything but a T/A block.  Its not a bargain or a good buy unless you take into consideration the actual cost to return it to its original T/A condition. I hope he sells it at a high price so people can see there is a market out there for this stuff.....and it ain't cheap

[1 Wild R/T]

Alan, You are 100% correct. Remember, he doesn't have to sell it here either.  My only point is clarification and what "TODAY'S" cost would be. Several people balk at the price cause they bought the parts 25 years ago. My point, This stuff isn't cheap and if its correct (Castings, Date codes) from an original engine go and try to find all of the "T/A" parts. No one really thinks about how hard it is to find and what it cost. Why is this such a key discussion point, cause when I see people selling T/A's and AAR for top dollar and the car is missing everything but a T/A block.  Its not a bargain or a good buy unless you take into consideration the actual cost to return it to its original T/A condition. I hope he sells it at a high price so people can see there is a market out there for this stuff.....and it ain't cheap

25 years ago you could have bought that engine for 3K easily.... Or you could have been a trend setter & paid 10K... I've never needed to be a trend setter....  Hell 25 years ago a complete #s matching FM3 AAR sold locally for $500....

[Bossgold]

well 2 things are for certain - they ain't making these parts anymore, and they are getting harder to find in quality shape. So if your going to play in this game(AAR & T/A) buy hard to find stuff (PS coolers, T/A steering boxes, MC's, Brake Boosters, PS High Pressure hoses, Fast Idles solenoids, Fuel pumps (restored)) and anything with a Jan to end of Mar 1970 340 Date coded Part. This stuff is going fast and the restoration guys are dropping out of the game pretty quick. Hang on to your stash and use sparingly.

[Xghobo]

So I have offered my experience on several occasions on Forums and different sites. People always comment (good and Bad) about the price of a T/A 340 motor. First, if you just add up the prices individually if you  were going to buy each piece without Air Cleaner, Alternator, Starter, Power steering or exhaust manifolds your around( all correct both castings and date codes) $ 11K. A good .30 over block( not 35, 40) that is cleaned and tested alone should be in the $ 3K range and with a standard bore (I know where there is one right now) going higher.  A good set of heads and rockers ( not corroded, milled, or ported) are $ 2500k. Now add the crank, Pistons/ARP/rods, 294 oil pan, windage tray/pump, timing cover, water pump (rebuilt), 3418681  intake (not cracked/bad threads), correct valve covers, water neck/throttle brackets/hoses/fuel lines, balancer and pulleys/brackets.... it really starts to add up. Don't mention a valve job $ 450, and rocker arm restore (if needed $ 475) and other machining and assembly. Add in good restored carbs, air cleaner (original$ 1800), exhaust manifolds (originals $ 800) and don't forget the DR 1114429 Fast idle solenoid( $ 375 to $600)....and you can see the point.  Finally, throw in a Federal restored pump($300)/Cooler(Date coded ($ 350)/2891214 High pressure hose($ 400), 3438172 correct restored alternator ( $ 600) and a Correct Restored Starter (2875553/2875560 and Date coded)($ 375) and that just added another $ 1650 to the price. Now include shipping ($200). I have done this to Two T/A motors and first, to find all the parts, second shipping and restoration, and third to throw in extras for the oils/goop/gaskets/bearings, premiums for right part, date codes, casting and it really starts to get expensive. So an engine, air cleaner to oil pan, exhaust manifolds to bell housing, restored/rebuilt is easily $ 14K to $ 18K. And hopefully the seller has paper work, pictures and receipts for a engine shop that has good ratings and reviews.

I hope the seller gets more than the asking price, maybe a bidding war? But I do really think the logic to this response is flawed. Very few restored cars be it a aar or not ever sell for more than the sum of the parts cost of restoration. If you added up every bolt and screw put in a car and made that the selling price I know 318 cars that have over 60k into them so is that what it is worth? Idk. It's only worth what someone will pay. And by the same logic if it had it the right air assembly then it is worth north of 22k? Idk good luck with the sale and I hope the car is still out there to get reunited with the motor.

[Bossgold]

I hope the seller gets more than the asking price, maybe a bidding war? But I do really think the logic to this response is flawed. Very few restored cars be it a aar or not ever sell for more than the sum of the parts cost of restoration. If you added up every bolt and screw put in a car and made that the selling price I know 318 cars that have over 60k into them so is that what it is worth? Idk. It's only worth what someone will pay. And by the same logic if it had it the right air assembly then it is worth north of 22k? Idk good luck with the sale and I hope the car is still out there to get reunited with the motor.

Yes, I agree to a point, but what makes this different perhaps is the motor is what really makes it an AAR or T/A. When I bought my car it had a regular 340 motor. The original motor was in pieces in the garage. I got lucky....and it has definitely changed its value. I think motors make these cars so if anything other than the paint job is critical - its the motor. True, you might spend a lot and not get your money out of the car but one thing is for sure a 340 T/A motor is the reason these cars are valuable.

[Fastmark]

Boss, you have good points but the motor in this add does not have all these parts you mentioned to come up the the price you mentioned. Real good machine work is not cheap. I see lots of "just rebuilt " motors with all kinds of machining errors nowadays. Did they use a torque plate?  What brand of pistons? What kind of valve guides? Crankshaft clearances? On and on. I build motors and have a real good machine shop. I fix problems all the time. There are even running motors and still have issues. Money spent on rebuilding a motor to sell is not a good investment to me. Yes, finding all these parts is getting more expensive and harder to find. The poster is a new guy and maybe a Chevy guy. We were all new to this once. Who knows what the motor will bring? It does say obo. The worst feeling in the world is to have something for sale and the first guy that calls wants it. Then the  next few days, you have many calls telling you you sold it too cheap. The absolute worst is to see it advertised a few days later for much more than you sold it for! Good luck with the sale.

[Bossgold]

Boss, you have good points but the motor in this add does not have all these parts you mentioned to come up the the price you mentioned. Real good machine work is not cheap. I see lots of "just rebuilt " motors with all kinds of machining errors nowadays. Did they use a torque plate?  What brand of pistons? What kind of valve guides? Crankshaft clearances? On and on. I build motors and have a real good machine shop. I fix problems all the time. There are even running motors and still have issues. Money spent on rebuilding a motor to sell is not a good investment to me. Yes, finding all these parts is getting more expensive and harder to find. The poster is a new guy and maybe a Chevy guy. We were all new to this once. Who knows what the motor will bring? It does say obo. The worst feeling in the world is to have something for sale and the first guy that calls wants it. Then the  next few days, you have many calls telling you you sold it too cheap. The absolute worst is to see it advertised a few days later for much more than you sold it for! Good luck with the sale.

Fastmark, yes your right. I wanted to stay neutral on my price opinion. But I did want to point out that all the extra stuff really adds up to a very pricey motor. I tried to buy a T/A and as I said nothing on that car was T/A except the block. When I tried to negotiate for the price adjustment the seller thought I was nuts. And yes, machine work adds a whole different cost element. I just had my super nice T/A heads rebuilt and the rockers restored by rocker arms unlimited. The heads/rockers are perfect! But I just added another $ 1000 to the core cost.

[Fastmark]

Being both rare and old makes them hard to find. I bought an AAR in 79 as a parts car for $1500. It had the original motor.  I wanted spare parts for my real nice AAR. It was missing just a couple of things to be completely original. I finally bought the last part I needed to restore it correctly. . It was a date coded federal power steering pump with the correct pulley and date coded cooler. I paid $400 for the core. I think that was a good deal. I never traded in a core for my rebuild wide mouth calipers either. I got lucky. I had to buy everything from a dirt track racer to get a TA long block back in the eighties before he put it in his dirt track car.  I think it all cost me 1300 for all his 340 parts. Times have changed.

[norcal73]

I hope he gets what he is asking since I just picked up a complete 440 six pack with #s matching transmission.