Peter Malcolm Jardine
02-11-2003, 04:22 AM
If you read my last boat progress, I just found out this last weekend that my starboard engine block is cracked. It's likely an old crack, since I put a lot of antifreeze through to winterize so it wasn't me. Anyway, I could run it this season, with some grinding and some devcon, but it goes against my teachings, so out the second engine comes (the first one is in my unfinished family room just rebuilt) and a new engine block is needed along with a complete rebuild.
283 Chev engines are not getting any easier to find these days, and at this point a lot of them have been melted,blown up or otherwise disappeared. I'm sick as a dog, so I spent the day on the phone calling wrecking yards and engine remanufacturers looking for a block, or a short block, or a whole engine for parts. Most guys I talked to were kinda incredulous I was looking for one, or suggested swapping in a 327, getting rid of both and buying 350's etc.
I live in Prince Edward County Ontario, locally known for miles around as "The County". Things kinda run a little differently around here, and we have an individual philosophy much like a small country. Anyway, there is a wrecking yard down here called Minaker's. I say wrecking yard, but it's unlikely that a car later than say ...1969 has been processed through the yard for quite a while. The place consists of old buses, sheds, and boxes off cube vans stuffed with parts and trim and so on. To give you an idea, the last parts I bought from them was stainless trim for my 1940 plymouth P10 coupe I was restoring at the time. They had all the pieces I was missing. Another friend of mine bought a set of NOS Olds 442 insignia in the boxes from them..Old Minaker said "I dunno where I got these".
I phoned them up and told them what I was looking for, and now it's the son, who is about 65. He said "Ayup, I think there is some motors out in one of the van boxes", and after some consultation with an unknown coworker, allowed as there was "sum more moters out in one of the buses in the back". He would phone me back. You would have to see this place to believe it,but somehow someone knows where everything is, or at least the section of the yard where it might be.Four hours later he called back, "Ayup, I got a block here,but it ain't clean y'know" I said that was all right, and asked how much. "Weeellll, I guess I got to have 225 fer it, (about 140 american)and by the way would you be interested in a brand new set of 30 over pistons fer it?" I said yes and yes, and how much were the pistons? "Welllll, I doan know. Let me check on how much a set was nowdays, and I'll give ya a deal, but I don't know what they might be worth now. I'll call ya.In the meantime we'll dig that block out, and you can pick it up in a cupla days"
Minakers is not on the internet. Hell, they don't even have a display ad in the telephone book, just a one line entry. If any of you boys are looking for old car parts, (they have em allll the way back) drop me a line here in "The County" and I'll see what I can do fer ya. :D
283 Chev engines are not getting any easier to find these days, and at this point a lot of them have been melted,blown up or otherwise disappeared. I'm sick as a dog, so I spent the day on the phone calling wrecking yards and engine remanufacturers looking for a block, or a short block, or a whole engine for parts. Most guys I talked to were kinda incredulous I was looking for one, or suggested swapping in a 327, getting rid of both and buying 350's etc.
I live in Prince Edward County Ontario, locally known for miles around as "The County". Things kinda run a little differently around here, and we have an individual philosophy much like a small country. Anyway, there is a wrecking yard down here called Minaker's. I say wrecking yard, but it's unlikely that a car later than say ...1969 has been processed through the yard for quite a while. The place consists of old buses, sheds, and boxes off cube vans stuffed with parts and trim and so on. To give you an idea, the last parts I bought from them was stainless trim for my 1940 plymouth P10 coupe I was restoring at the time. They had all the pieces I was missing. Another friend of mine bought a set of NOS Olds 442 insignia in the boxes from them..Old Minaker said "I dunno where I got these".
I phoned them up and told them what I was looking for, and now it's the son, who is about 65. He said "Ayup, I think there is some motors out in one of the van boxes", and after some consultation with an unknown coworker, allowed as there was "sum more moters out in one of the buses in the back". He would phone me back. You would have to see this place to believe it,but somehow someone knows where everything is, or at least the section of the yard where it might be.Four hours later he called back, "Ayup, I got a block here,but it ain't clean y'know" I said that was all right, and asked how much. "Weeellll, I guess I got to have 225 fer it, (about 140 american)and by the way would you be interested in a brand new set of 30 over pistons fer it?" I said yes and yes, and how much were the pistons? "Welllll, I doan know. Let me check on how much a set was nowdays, and I'll give ya a deal, but I don't know what they might be worth now. I'll call ya.In the meantime we'll dig that block out, and you can pick it up in a cupla days"
Minakers is not on the internet. Hell, they don't even have a display ad in the telephone book, just a one line entry. If any of you boys are looking for old car parts, (they have em allll the way back) drop me a line here in "The County" and I'll see what I can do fer ya. :D