Advice on purchasing a used motor?

[chozenfew805]

I wanted to pick up a stock 302 engine for my 1991 Mustang GT that I can build off of craigslist for like $400 but I wanted to know if there's anyway of checking for compression when the motor is out of the car because sometimes you can't just take the sellers word. Also is there anything I should look for ie; milkshake, burnt oil, hole through the block, crusty water passage, burnt wiring, etc........

 

[85_SS_302_Coupe]

The best advice i can give is to buy from a junkyard that'll give you a 30 day warranty. You may have to go on a road trip to find a good one, but i've seen low mileage Explorer engines online for $400 up to $1k and most of those places will give you a 30 day warranty. This will allow you to take it home and at least pull the heads off and see what the cylinder walls look like.

 

[Fast63]

personally, I would not buy a used engine unless I was planning to rebuild it, or I was able to hear the engine run.