[DoubleVision]

Friend and I made a deal with my machinist, we offered him a set of bare camel hump heads with accessory holes for a roller cam 350 block, he said deal, so today we went and stripped the block all the way down, it had 3 spun main bearings, so the block will need align honed, he said he would send it away to be done, and it would likely cost around $150, I suggested to my friend that we pay half for the align hone, since the machinist will be out money on the block, but my friend said the deal made was good heads for a good block, so he says we shouldn`t pay the machinist anything, I`ve asked others who all say my friend is right, but I`m thinking if we did so this way, the machinist would tell others we screwed him over and my rep would be shot, I`ve always been honest in all my dealings since I don`t care to be looked at as a cheat. I can see my friends point, but the machinist is also letting us have the whole engine minus heads, and he`s throwing in a usable crank, he said he asks $175 for these blocks and magnafluxes them to assure there not cracked. the rods are pretty much useless in this engine, so we`ll have to get our own rods, but we got to keep the roller tappets and all the other pieces to this engine, so i`m asking, should we pay half for a align hone? or should the machinist pay for it all?

[NAIRB]

Did the heads you traded need any work? did they need guides?, if they were rebuildable cores and not cracked, you should only expect to get a rebuildable core in return for the trade.

[DoubleVision]

Yes, the heads need guides, and he said he would install seats on the exhaust, he said that they were worth $100 per head, we had them magnafluxed last year by the same machinist and they are crack free. he said he would build the heads and he knew they would sell quickly. I see your point Nairb, buildable should get buildable, and the machinist said that he would have to get the block align honed anyway, since he was already cash out on these engines.

[OddRodder]

Hey D.V., if the deal was to get a good usable block, your friend is probably right (I get a discount at the machine shop but I only pay around $100 for an align hone)! The thing is, do you feel like you are doing your machinist wrong? If so, by all means pay for half of the align hone even if your buddy won't budge and hold your head high! The machinist will consider you a friend even if the friend disowns you! Money is always hard to come by but self-worth is even harder!! You don't want to feel uneasy any time you see the machinist , do you! You know how you honestly feel about the situation! Just don't let it keep you awake at night!!

[kitkar]

I would discuss it with the machinist before the deal goes any further. I would never enter into any deal unless you are absolutely sure that all parties involved are clear on the terms, and in complete agreement, BEFORE the transaction gets started. Minor details can cause major hard feelings when wheeling and dealing.

Just my $.02 worth.
kitkar

[trees]

DV, I'm with you on this. You traded buildable heads for a buildable block. To me, both parties knew or assumed machine work would be required to build a good motor. Had there been a crack in the block or spun bearings had done so much damage, rebuild would be questionable, then a NO Trade would be the right thing, but to expect a ready to build block is not realistic. You may want to start watching your "parterner" a little closer, cause you may be his next "target".

Trees