Am I asking too much of her?

[Charles Talbert]

I don't know if any of you guys are maried or not , but my wife sees this thing as a toy for me. Well I guess she is right.
Anyway if I spend $500 bucks on it she figures I should spend $500. on something for her also.
Kicking in several thousand for another engine would be a very expensive deal indeed.
The new tires cost me a new kitchen stove. I cant imagine what she would want if I spend 4 or 5 K on a motor. Plus dumping that kind of money on the truck starts heading to the point of diminishing return.

I'll say this once more, what you have come to realize is why it is so very important to run a compression test before purchasing a truck. You will know right up front about the engine condition, and whether it will need to be built soon. Spending $$$ rebuilding things like the carb only leads to frustration and disappointment when the fact is it simply will not improve until an overhaul is done.

Diminishing return, if you are viewing it from that perspective, the show is over if it's just a hobby truck. Only way I know to put it is do you want a dependable truck? If so, you need to figure a way to build your engine. I simply don't know any other option as it will never be dependable as is. Trying to short cut will not be a cost savings, in fact many times doing such winds up costing more in cash and certainly frustration. If we were doing a build for you, to do one right will run $5,000. That is a nothing left unturned complete, balanced build, with all the accessory components rebuilt and electronic ignition, done in our shop. That cost also includes being run in on the test stand, with all final adjustments done, all you have to do is install it in your truck and go. Has a 12 month or 12,000 mile warranty, which ever comes first.

[Kaiser2boy]

You are right. I did not get it for an investment, its a hobby. Prior to this truck I picked up a 1953 MGTD that was sitting in a garage for 30 years. I spent a ton of money on it and about a year getting it finished.
The MG was a lot simpler to work on. You can lift out the engine with one hand,,almost.

I bought the M37 on a leap of faith on EBAY. The owner swore it ran just fine. It does run OK its just weak.

I did a re-test on the compression after the engine was started and run for one minute. It was up to 100 psi with 14 inches of vacuum at idle .
I am going to run it for a while and if it gets on my nerves I may look into sending it down to you.
Thank you very much for the info. and advice.

I went into the garage and looked at the structure. It looks like I can rig a chain block from the cross beam and pull the engine when I get up the ambition.
Thanks again.

[Charles Talbert]

You are right. I did not get it for an investment, its a hobby. Prior to this truck I picked up a 1953 MGTD that was sitting in a garage for 30 years. I spent a ton of money on it and about a year getting it finished.
The MG was a lot simpler to work on. You can lift out the engine with one hand,,almost.

I bought the M37 on a leap of faith on EBAY. The owner swore it ran just fine. It does run OK its just weak.

I did a re-test on the compression after the engine was started and run for one minute. It was up to 100 psi with 14 inches of vacuum at idle .
I am going to run it for a while and if it gets on my nerves I may look into sending it down to you.
Thank you very much for the info. and advice.

I went into the garage and looked at the structure. It looks like I can rig a chain block from the cross beam and pull the engine when I get up the ambition.
Thanks again.

The vacuum should be at least 16 inches at idle on a decent engine, 17 is much better. This low number here goes right along with the low compression, it is normal for that situation.

So many times e-bay purchases turn out not so great. I've seen a few folks burned bad buying off e-bay. I'm old school, if I can't inspect it personally, I don't get too interested.

We would be happy to build the engine for you, however I was not trying to drum business by giving you the info that I did. I was just trying to shed some light on what it cost to do a first rate rebuild of a 230 these days.

[Kaiser2boy]

I know you were not fishing for business. But it's good to know you are there when the time comes.
Checking around I see there are not many places that can or will work on older stuff let alone actually specialize in old Dodge motors. The last thing I need is to send the engine to a place where the guy says " Wow man thats really and old one , what's it out of?

[Gsmith]

I don't know if any of you guys are maried or not , but my wife sees this thing as a toy for me. Well I guess she is right.
Anyway if I spend $500 bucks on it she figures I should spend $500. on something for her also.
Kicking in several thousand for another engine would be a very expensive deal indeed.
The new tires cost me a new kitchen stove. I cant imagine what she would want if I spend 4 or 5 K on a motor. Plus dumping that kind of money on the truck starts heading to the point of diminishing return.

At least she just doesn't tell you that you don't need it. I'm married and sometimes my wife isn't exactly happy about the money I spend either, and unless you use it for other than a hobby then it's definitely a toy. Mine are toys, plain and simple, and a very expensive hobby. Of course compared to some stuff actually a cheap hobby. I'd say as mentioned, enjoy it as is for now, fix it up and when you can have the engine done right.