Crap!! Was I ever out to lunch on my estimate of what the 6.1 would sell for!! It turned out to be not banged up all that badly, and it got bought to rebuild. Went for $7500!!! I was prepared to go to $5000. Back to the drawing board.
I looked at a 5.7 litre hemi after I left the sale. It allegedly has 90,000 kms (54,000) miles, and looks ok. It is out of a ram pickup, 2wd, and has tranny as well. No wiring harness, but the brain box is supposed to be included. How easy are the new after market harnesses to install? The guy wants $2500 for it, which is pretty cheap, on the one hand, but on the other, it is a bit of a pig in a poke.
Back to the old engine concept, there is a 340 for sale, $1000, in need of overhaul. How much does it cost to go through one properly?
I don't know what to do, but I don't have to decide right away. I had my heart set on the big, raunchy 6.1 litre, but I am just not willing to blow that kind of cash.