See what I mean about pictures? Further to my suggestions above, I when I included junkyards as a source, one I used to deal with had what could be termed, "pullouts"; complete engine/transmission assemblies pulled from wrecks that had then been test fired to see if all was well and then set aside for engine swaps while the rest of the hulk got squashed!! Obviously the best picks were ones from cars that been rammed from behind or t-boned. Any kind of front end collision tended to mean the motor had been dead stopped and could have suffered injury in the process. They became cores that went back to the rebuilders for re-man. All this is doesn't happen as much around here as it used to, too many off shore salt boxes built from metallic paper and preset life spans after which no parts are available and for which the salvage market is not so energetic. I had this discussion with the owners of an auto yard with which I do business and they noted that for them, anything car over 5 years of age pretty much falls into the squash and dispose category. Trucks get a better deal. Stuff for them can sit on the shelf for 10 years or more unless there is a major model change in which case, they start to look at thinning out the herd again.
On the matter of truck engines, be careful. While the motors themselves are fairly ubiquitous, the motor mounts may not be so. While the frame portion may be identical to that in a car, what you may find is that the upper shell, the portion that bolts to the block, has a different shape and or center line from the mounting face to the hole in the ear for the cross bolt. I posted pictures in Project Regress that showed that physical difference in two sets of upper shells. What I found is that the wrong shells just will not let the motor index into position.. Just another niggling little detail that might try to bite you during a project.
On the matter of truck engines, be careful. While the motors themselves are fairly ubiquitous, the motor mounts may not be so. While the frame portion may be identical to that in a car, what you may find is that the upper shell, the portion that bolts to the block, has a different shape and or center line from the mounting face to the hole in the ear for the cross bolt. I posted pictures in Project Regress that showed that physical difference in two sets of upper shells. What I found is that the wrong shells just will not let the motor index into position.. Just another niggling little detail that might try to bite you during a project.
