Glorious free parts!

This is the engine block and transmission I got for free. I've always been jealous of people with stories of a friend who was throwing out a turbo, or had a coilover kit sitting around collecting rust, or a big block race motor they never used. I also never believed I'd be on the receiving end of such a bargain, but I am once again proven wrong. These were listed in the Rockford Craigslist. The guy apparently had several people express interest in the thing merely so they could scrap it. He held on to it in the hopes of finding someone who could get some use out of it. Enter me.

This drivetrain sat outside, exposed to the elements for a whole winter. Yes, without a cylinder head on it. Surprisingly enough, I think it's salvageable. I had to separate the engine and trans in order to carry the things a hundred yards up a steep hill to my car. It was exhausting, but well worth it. I'm regularly making liberal applications of PB Blaster and/or WD-40 to the cylinders with the hope of breaking them loose eventually. This is a project for late summer, fall, or winter, depending on the progress on my other project(s).

In the plastic bag is a head, sans cams or lifters, that I borrowed from Duncan. Once I get around to actually attempting to rebuild this thing, I may rebuild his head so everything is ready to just drop in when I swap it. I probably won't use the transmission but to take it apart, clean it up, see how it all works, and sell it.

Here's a closeup of the pistons and cylinder bores (shitty picture, I know):