Weber 109 Blocks - Good Deal?

[THRLSKR]

Are these worth the money for $1,300 - or is better to find a seasoned block and have it machined?

Thanks - Plans are to build a girdled high HP shortblock capable of low 10s/high 9's.

New Buick 3.8L 109 Engine Block

Bill

[Weber Racing]

I think they are great for the money and that is why they are priced the way they are. A couple ways to look at a seasoned block. A seasoned block out of a turbo car is good so long as it has not been run hard because cast iron does without a doubt fatigue. If you are lucky enough to find one like that, great but it is rare. If you get a seasoned block from an N/A car they didn't make enough power to fatigue but in many cases they need to be bored .040" over just to clean up the worn cylinders if they had not been well tuned and maintained and we have some blocks here that were never bored that .040" over will not clean up the wear in the cylinders. Also in both of these cases these blocks have to be stripped, cleaned, tested for cracks, bored, and in some cases decked. All this costs money on top of the purchase price for the core block and then realize you have an engine block that is now bored closer to the usable limit. The new block has no fatigue, does not need all the cleaning and inspection, does not need to be bored, and can be run with a standard bore so it has room to grow if needed. The cost of the engine is actually only a small amount higher with a new block but what you end up with is much different.
I hope this helps put things into perspective.

[pacecarta]

i think they're great but the block is new and cast iron so take it easy for a few hundred miles and get a few heat cycles into like you would any new motor built back in the day