Re: 7.4 454 Repower opinions needed.
Doesn't change the fact that every single cylinder is scored to crap which points towards mechanical failure. If it wasn't broken in properly then it would just burn oil because the rings would seat properly. I'm not talking a few scratches here it looks like the thing literally was bored out with a grinder Ive never seen anything like it.
Not to mention there were a few empty gallons of straight 40 weight conventional oil in the cabin...
Sounds to me like this previous owner had a really shoddy machine shop doing his work. Either the piston's weren't setup at the proper clearances or it leaked or burned oil so bad that he was running it low on oil regularly,hence all the empty oil containers. Also appears that he tried to hop it up some with the aftermarket exhaust, intake, and 850 holley carb. I bet if you get into it that it has an aftermarket cam in it too. He probably thought that was going to really make a performance improvement and ran the crap out of it.
As for replacement I don't see where you feel buying a reman somewhere is going to be any different than having your short block rebuilt. You should be able to find a reputable machine shop in your area that can supply you with good work. You would be able to work closer with them and know exactly what you have when their done. If you have any problems the shop would be right there. I couldn't imagine having to deal with some remain builder out of town somewhere especially if the engine had to be shipped back to them because of a problem, and of course at your expense.Also wouldn't have to mess with shipping and core return. Just because they might have a fancy website you have no idea of the quality of these remains on the internet. There's no way I would ever buy a reman somewhere when I could have my own done locally. Going local you would be able to check out their shop and equipment and speak with with them to form your own opinion of what you could expect.
