Date:         Tue, 10 Nov 2009 04:31:46 -0800
Reply-To:     Cary Chiang <cchiang1@YAHOO.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Cary Chiang <cchiang1@YAHOO.COM>
Subject:      Value of 2.1 Engine Cores / Crankshafts?
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Listees:
Sorry in advance for cross-posting this on multiple lists.  I have several 2.1 engine cores that I have been trying to sell, without much luck.  I saw an ad on TheSamba where a person is offering $100 for crankshafts, $150 for short blocks, and $200 for long blocks (plus shipping).  He is buying for GEX in Arkansas.  I was hoping to get more than that for my engines, but I've been told that engine re-builders pay lower amounts, due to the large numbers of engines they have access to.

Questions--

Are the $ amounts being offered reasonable, considering it is being offered by an engine re-builder?

GEX says that to get the $ amounts offered, the engines must include either a flywheel or toque converter plate.  I was hoping to keep those parts for spares, or to sell them later.  Is a short or long block expected to have a flywheel or converter plate attached to it when bought or sold?

My engines had 120,000+ miles on them, had not ever been taken part, and did not have head gasket leaks when they were pulled from service.  Since the heads (which are VW, and not AMC) are only worth $50 a pair to GEX, I'm thinking about removing them to check for excessive pitting, and selling them separately if they don't look too bad.  However, I don't know if there's any market for used heads, unless they are re-built, and I don't want to invest the $ to have them tested or re-built, just to sell them.  Any advice as to whether I should pull & inspect the heads with the idea of selling them used as-is, as opposed to just leaving them on the engines?

Finally, has anyone had good or bad experiences regarding selling their engine cores to GEX?

Thanks in advance for your responses.

Cary