<VV> T150 engine values, etc

[Crawford Rose]

Dear list and Barry, 
everyone has an opinion about the value of parts and cars but I think that it is bad advice to state what any Corvair engine is worth sight unseen. No good can come of it. First, for the seller, the price will be too low. Second, for the buyer, the price will be too high.  Third, I think that any Corvair consumer can research the cost of rebuilding an engine and make an educated assessment of what a good running used engine is worth.  Consider that it costs about $2,000-3,000 to rebuild one to a reasonable standard approximating new condition and a cheapie overhaul is at least $750 with a gasket kit and hard parts, not even considering attention to turbo and clutch. Even after visual inspection and assessment of a used engine, I would still be hesitant to guess the value for a third party because if it turns out to need rebuilding after installation or fails prematurely, was it worth anything like the trouble to remove, rebuild and re-install it?   You'll have to see it start and run, then make a compression check and decide if it's a good engine or a candidate for the least cost rebuild. Unless a running engine is represented as rebuilt with receipts to demonstrate, values over $100 are speculative. Finally, buy the right 164 cubic inch displacement engine for your application if you can find one. The torque curves are much different.
Crawford