Rebuilding Engines for Profit

[GetDown]

Hi,
I'm a huge pro-touring fan. Unfortunately I am still in college so funds are tight. I have a 2004.5 Volvo s40 and a 1979 c10 longbed that I put to work. I was thinking of working my way to the car I really want. Mostly likely a 68-72 Nova with some QA1s so it can corner like my volvo but still have plenty of power. At this point in time anything I buy will need tons of work which also means money. Is it worth pulling engines from the junkyard (if its not cracked) or from a seller, hot tanking it etc. and rebuilding it, then selling it? Is there any money in that? Would I have to replace camshafts etc.? I also thought about pulling profitable cars from junkyards, media blasting them, then selling them. Thoughts and suggestions please? Thanks, I'm just really trying to learn and work my way to something I can be proud of.

[edog1]

I think the profit margin compared to the time you invested would be minimal. Not to mention if money is tight and you rebuild an engine and you made a mistake you will need to pay for the repairs. I would recommend trying to find part time job rebuilding engines for a shop where you can make an hourly rate and limit your liability. Welcome to the forum

[John Wright]

Unless you have the equipment(read full machine shop), I would say that by the time you farm out the machine work, there won't be much extra money left over for your pockets, unless you ask an unreasonable amount for your engines.

Don't get me wrong......I certainly don't want to be a stick in the mud or a discouraging word....I love to see folks willing to work to better themselves....it's just that I don't see any real money to be made unless you can do the whole package start to finish....and then you still have to keep your costs down so that you can be competitive with the other shops around your area.

Good Luck, I hope you can find that niche' to make a little extra dough to better PT your car.

[GetDown]

Hey thanks for the responses. That's great info, especially trying to make competitive prices with the shop around me. My next option would to either go to junk yards and find popular project cars if they haven't been picked through already or simply use auctions and ads to flip cars. I thought about media blasting a rusted body and selling it with al of the original parts but seeing how much it costs to sand or media blast that was out of the picture. That niche' is exactly what I am looking for.

[vette427-sbc]

You might be able to pocket some money if you search junkyards for things like LS motors (and wiring harnesses, computer, accessory drives) T56's, Corvette seats, GTO seats, Hydroboost units, disk brakes, C4 corvette suspension parts... Theres a pretty big market for stuff like this, and you could make a little profit if you have a few junkyards in your area
Im right there with ya on trying to build a car on a college budget. Its a slowww process

[GetDown]

Chris, very nice photoshoot. I love you car as well, espeically the headers. Yes it is slow, but it is good to know I am not the only one who can just buy massive Baer Brakes and complete rear ends and subframes when they first get a car. I'm sure it will pay off once I get around to mine. I am not too familiar with Junkyards, I am currently looking for some in Ohio where I go to school (Knowing Ohio that should not be too hard). What are prices like? How much if you pull and LS1 etc.?