C5Steve

Unfortunately if you were to sue, you can't prove the motor you are talking about is the one he sold you, he can just deny that is the engine. Caveat Emptor....Let the Buyer Beware. Good luck with everything

ubet28

Yes i have spoken to him and he said he doesn't know why the numbers are off. and i am really not wanting to put his name out until i get to the bottom of all this i just don't think that would be the right thing to do. Here are some pics i took today. I can say this if you are looking at buying a sonic you should probably pm me before doing so if you wanna know his name.

ubet28

here are some more
IMG]http://i33.tinypic.com/b6f4ag.jpg[/IMG]

Chris Sunkin

It appears to have the right stuff. At the same time, it's pretty crusty. At a bare minimum, it would have to have the heads and pan pulled to see what's going on inside- it's either been stored a long time or improperly. The abandoned stud in the exhaust flange of the head is a nice "tell".

Why someone would go to the trouble to grind off a casting number is beyond me.

Donman

Even if it is stolen, I think you would have a hard time finding out. Who writes down their casting number and saves it in a safe place ?

ubet28

I see your point about casting number. I just have no clue of what to do at this point that's why i am asking all of my fellow oso members and the boating community to help me out with advice. I do appreciate all the help so far. i mean should i just run the thing and and at the end of the season witch is about a month and then go thought the whole thing. I am just so frustrated about the whole thing i have been saving for 2 years to buy a motor and i get this. I guess you live and learn.

niceguy

According to my Mercruiser manual there are serial numbers in a couple places on the engine. I found mine on the front of the motor kinda over by the water pump mount... stamped into the block... started with OLxxxxxx

That pic of the rusty valve stem has got me concerned. Basically you have two options:

1. Install it and run it and hope everything goes fine. Then re-do it this winter.
2. Take it to a known engine builder and have him look it over.

Just know that right now, assuming all internals are good, you have a simple rebuild that shouldnt break the bank. But if you take it out and something internal breaks, you could be spending ALOT more money to replace parts instead of just cleaning up and re-using the existing parts.

Chris Sunkin

Thousands and thousands of blocks share the same casting number. They are not serialized.

As far as running it, right now it may be full of parts that could easily be made serviceable. If one of those valves that's gotten crusty sticks open once it gets hot, the only thing left that might be reusable is the valve covers... and there's no guarantees on that.

ubet28

So what are we talking price wise to go through it. And does any body have part #s that i could possible need to check eBay and other places?

heavyhauler

I've been where you are so I can feel for you, on taking the word of advertisers of parts and services for performance boats, and I can tell you first hand you're probably not going to get any satisfaction from the seller. I bought a boat advertised here that was not what it was claimed to be, and then turned right around and let another advertiser shaft me on the engine work, so I'm batting a thousand. From the outside, it looks like the right stuff, but you'll never know til you look inside. I would take Chris's advice and not ruin the good stuff you may have by running it. You can take it down and if it is a HP500 and you want to put it back the same way, you'll only be out pennies for gaskets, rings, bearings and a valve job compared to what it will cost if you run it and blow it up, plus it's out of the boat now. You'll really be p-o'd if you put it in the boat and have problems. There are reputable advertisers on this site, but several of us have gotten the other 2%.