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searcher
Senior Member
Username: searcher
Post Number: 98
Registered: 10-2004
| | Posted on Sunday, April 09, 2006 - 12:57 am: | 
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I have only been in this old marine iron hobby for about two years, admit to still being rather green, and, have not yet been to a marine engine show.
In the beginning, I was not finding any old inboards and was getting quite frustrated. When three small inboards came along in quick succession, I bought all three. In hindsight, I probably paid more than they were worth but that in itself is no big deal. However, the circumstance begs a question. If one has an engine that doesn't sell because the price is a bit too high or the engine is a fairly common one or one not particularly popular, is parting the engine out the solution to recovering, in a timely fashion, as much of the investment as possible (as well as freeing up space for more old marine iron)? Some parts, like the crankcase and flywheel, typically don't break or wear out so they are not likely to be in high demand. Parts that are prone to breaking or damage like the cylinder jacket or parts that are often missing like the water pump or timer may be in demand. Is the sum of the value of the readily salable parts worth more, the same, or less than the value of the intact engine? |
rgvrr
Advanced Member
Username: rgvrr
Post Number: 40
Registered: 09-2002
| | Posted on Monday, April 10, 2006 - 10:12 pm: |
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Bad idea,,a good rule of thumb is to never take apart something good to fix something else. |
searcher
Senior Member
Username: searcher
Post Number: 100
Registered: 10-2004
| | Posted on Monday, April 10, 2006 - 11:55 pm: |
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Philosophically, I agree with you, it goes against the grain to dismantle and disperse a restorable engine. But what do you do with your mistakes? |
thomas
Senior Member
Username: thomas
Post Number: 190
Registered: 07-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 11, 2006 - 08:02 pm: |
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Good questions. I have never dismantled an inboard and then sold parts. Even a real basket case I would tend to keep together to "maybe" someday restore. If I bought an engine to just get one part it was with an eye to sell/trade or give the entire engine (such as it may be) to another collector who I knew needed the part. I have bought many individual parts and they always remained just parts.
Don't be in too big a hurry to sell something or part it out. If you are the new and inexperienced collector you say you are then you know that "thrashing" could be as big an error as
paying too much or not going enough for the quality item. I personally feel that a nicely reconditioned and running (but plain or common)engine would bring more than the money from it's parts at any engine show here in the east. If (like someone I know once said) "you were thinking with parts of your body not including your brain" when you bought the engine maybe you should keep it around to remind you to be more thoughtful in the future. I've done that with some of my other hobbies. Hoping you take this in the helpful spirit it was given..... T |
searcher
Senior Member
Username: searcher
Post Number: 101
Registered: 10-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 11, 2006 - 09:30 pm: |
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Thomas,
Thanks for your comments, they are right on. Over the past two years, I have accumulated a dozen essentially complete pre 1920 inboard engines and another handful of parts engines plus a lot of odds and ends 'go withs'. There is no real theme, it is an accumulation.
There were two triggers for my questions. Not only had space become an issue but I discovered that the fumes from the old oil/gasoline mix deteriorating in the crankcases, however faint, was causing some health problems. I tried plugging every opening in the engines but couldn't seem to stop them up sufficiently. Yesterday, as much as I hated to, I put most of the engines outside, under cover, but outside nonetheless. So, rather than indiscriminate accumulation, I need to focus on fewer engines that I can devote some time to, like giving them a good cleaning internally to rid them of that old oil and the volatile organic compounds it gives off (fresh oil/gas does not seem to be a problem). In thinking about disposing of some of the engines, I quickly realized it was not going to be as easy as it was accumulating them. All told, thrashing is an apt description. |
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