was it wort it

[Karts of Kaos]

so I was scrolling through FB and saw a post that said 9 Honda engines $100 dollars. so I bought them and now I am waiting for one last part for the first engine to be finished. It is a GX 270 no muffler has guvnor removed. have 70$ in it.
how much should I sell it for?
sorry not sure where to post this so put it here and I do not know how to move it. so Sid If you want me to move it you're gonna have to walk me through it.

 

[karl]

Oh boy!

This could go many directions, can we see a pic?

What parts do you have into it? What kind of work did you do to it? Whats the PTO shaft like?

Are you trying to resell this on the forum?

Presentation means everything when trying to resell something.

I am not trying to hate or discourage you, I think its awesome you have interest in fixing and modifying small engines.

But most people will be hesitant to purchase a motor from a 12? year old that has the governor deleted and straight pipe.

If you want the most resale value , clean the motor up sparkly clean, and get it running good, and leave it as stock as possible.

That way, people who want to use the motor for a piece of equipment still can, or someone looking to build it up, will probably want an untampered with engine to start with. That way, the market is much bigger, resale value bigger, more gooders for you.
Good luck, thats a steal for those motors

 

[itsid]

I think for now the Off Topic section seems appropiate..
unless you are trying to sell .. in which case we will move it move it...(SCNR)

Now, I have to agree with karl,
if you got the engines just to sell them,
cleaning, caring and making sure they're as good and stock as possible is your best bet.
An engine with an already removed governor shouts "must be opened to check"
that flimsy tiny washer... many forget about it...
Nono.. untampered with is indeed best.
modified engines are only worth anything from well known sources.
(unknown source better have a full documentation of the modifications in detailed pics to proof that washer is gone and the case cover is torqued to specs for example)

'sid

 

[JTSpeedDemon]

FYI, unless the entire engine's been checked over inside and out(to find stuff like the governor washer), and all the parts are there(like an exhaust system), I'd pay around $30 to $50.

Sorry, but that's a net loss(business term).

What made it so you have $70 in that 270??


Take some pics of your horde and post 'em up of each one, plus a short summary of their condition.

 

[Smerft85]

What made it so you have $70 in that 270??

/QUOTE]

That's my question as well, $100 for 9 engines is about $11 or so per engine, I agree with what has been stated above and not knowing someone else's work habits I've passed up several honda or clone engines stage 1-5 builds according to the sellers, and slightly over traded for a NIB predator predecessor engine. That 270 is a worthwhile engine for sure, but I agree with $50 max without knowing for myself what's been done to it, and even if you did a complete tear down and rebuild, most are sadly likely to pass it up because you are so young I'm sorry to say. There are seasoned mechanics that have never touched a small engine, and I even admit I was in my late 20's before I got comfortable working on them, but been a backyard mechanic since I could walk.

 

[Karts of Kaos]

I am half way through getting certified on pen foster online course. also I am planing to sell on FB on my parents account. I did get all the washers and I removed the guvnor because the post was bent. But thanks for the info. on a gx 240 that came with the lot I opened the crank case for the first time after I bought it and the previous owner had left the washer on the back when he removed the guvnor. so I took it out! so any way the 70$ on the 270 was because I but a new: carb, recoil, air box and filter, side cover gasket, and oil.

 

[JTSpeedDemon]

Now I'm wondering: Why was the governor shaft bent???
Kinda scary.

I echo what Smerft85 said above. I encourage you to try and flip the engines for a profit, but since I'm only 13, I also know how hard it is to get most adults to take you seriously.

At the worst, you have a ton of powerplant choices!

 

[Karts of Kaos]

I am still learning small engine repair and did not realize the guvnor wasn't lined up when i put the crank case back on. I was using an impact driver on a low setting so I did not realize what was happening. also the PTO shaft had been rusty I had cleaned it up but figured it was still a little snug. but don't worry i have learned my lesson.

 

[JTSpeedDemon]

Don't use an impact on engine parts unless you really know the engine and have been in it a lot. You don't want to break/strip a fastener, or do other wacky things to the engine.
It's slow, but I just use a hand wrench for almost everything.

Make sure all gears are meshing and the sidecover is already touching the block before you tighten anything down.


Can we see some pics of the masses of metal?

 

[Karts of Kaos]

pics coming soon. also I was out in the shop with my dad this afternoon and he was cutting some titanium with an oxy-acetylene torch and some molten mettle foll onto a broom and it caught fire. don't worry It did not get out of hand and we can still even use the broom. I don't know when I will do pics. and JT i would have made sure that the crank case and case cover were touching but as I stated earlier I had had problems with the pto shaft being rusty.

 

[JTSpeedDemon]

Sandpaper time!

 

[Smerft85]

Not trying to come off rude, but saying you used an impact on cast aluminum is exactly the reason us older, possibly wiser folks are likely to pass on a small engine from a youngster! Live and learn, torque wrench good, impact bad, I don't even use an impact on most automotive repairs honestly. Like JT said, sandpaper or emery cloth will clean that rust away with a little elbow grease and time. Sounds like you might have gotten lucky only bending the gov shaft, steel bolts will strip cast aluminum faster than you can cuss and throw tools, id avoid anything more than those snazy air ratchets, and be careful with those too.

 

[Budget GoKart]

I have an air impact i only use it on broken engines that are being thrown away or lugnuts on my karts because i can change a tire in minutes instead of hours. Please stop impacting everything and please just use a torque wrench it will help you greatly also rachets are slow but they dont break stuff.

 

[Karts of Kaos]

1. I don't cuss.
2. I was using an adjustable impact on the lowest setting. I was using one of these protoolreviews.com/tools/milwaukee-m18-fuel-impact-2653-22/1704/ . sorry I don't have a pic but here is a link to a pic

 

[Budget GoKart]

Well be careful with it but still i suggest not using it unless the bolt is super long and torqueing it if its an engine bolt i need to fix two briggs engines one needs the govenor removed and everything checked out and the other needs everything torqued down

 

[JTSpeedDemon]

hey JT what got you started in karting.

Well, for a while I had just dreamed about building my own go kart, bolting together a chassis(bad idea), and using a lawn mower engine we had laying around.

Well, I learned that both were bad ideas, so for a moment, I even thought of getting a Predator 670cc v-twin and using that as a powerplant roflol, but that would've been even worse!

So long story short, I fixed up that old lawn mower(old gas, dirty carb) to learn a bit about small engines, and then I saved up $100 and started prowling Craigslist!

It was listed at $200, he said he would take $150 in the description, and I bargained him down to $100 via email.

When I met up with him in a Walmart parking lot with my grandpa, it was pretty rough, so I managed to bargain him down to $60!

And so I ended with this kart, the Hothead!


Oh yeah, and as a beginner, ABSOLUTELY NO IMPACTS on an engine! Get your hands on a torque wrench, and a set of good sockets and a ratchet, and you will save many, many, many projects!

If you have a question, feel free to post it up, before you messs something up.

 

[Whitetrashrocker]

Impacts for removal. Hand tighten everything. Torque wrench for head bolts, rod and cap bolts.
After many years you can learn to feel what's the proper torque for most bolts.
If you were to hand tighten a bolt and check it with a torque wrench, most of the time it's over torqued. Just saying.

 

[JTSpeedDemon]

I don't even use impacts for removal, except occasionally on a flywheel nut. I mostly use a breaker bar and PB Blaster.

 

[Smerft85]

1. I don't cuss.
2. I was using an adjustable impact on the lowest setting. I was using one of these protoolreviews.com/tools/milwaukee-m18-fuel-impact-2653-22/1704/ . sorry I don't have a pic but here is a link to a pic

I cuss, a lot! And throw wrenches, and punch stuff, been known to run over a car or two as well, I guess Irish bloodlines will bring that out in a guy.

As for the impact, Mr. Budget, and Mr. JT are both closer in age to you than me for sure, and they are both speaking from experience the same way I am, adjustable or not, we can't all be wrong bud. There is a time and job for impacts, but aluminum and small engines usually don't jive with them, and you've already caused damage. Luckily it was minor this time. I'm not trying to argue about an impact, but if you are using one to build an engine instead of a torque wrench, the answer to your original question would be no, it wasn't worth it. You could easily turn your $100 score into a $100 pile of scrap. All of us will lend advice when it's asked for, up to you if you accept that advise. Now I'm going to go enjoy my birthday till it's dark. Have a good day guys!

 

[Budget GoKart]

Dont worry my first oil change i ever did i put 2stroke oil in a four stroke