3.4's are fairly scarce in the USA. Unless you want to be 100% original you might consider a 3.8 as well. There are a lot more of those around. Bill Terry has been around for a long time, he should be good. I'd avoid Welsh, I've been scammed by them.

 

I have a 1983 4.2 for sale, complete Long Block, no cracks. Mounted on a rolling Stand. Pickup in Florida 34787. Shipping is too expensive. Will require an intake for carbs, it is a fuel injected intake engine. First $600. takes it. Engine came from a running 1983 XJ-6 converted to a Chevy V8. I was going to fit it in my '65 S type but decided to rebuild the 3.8 engine which after my rebuild experience and expense, would have been a lot cheaper to fit the 4.2.

 

thanks, that sort of recommendation is what i was looking for.

when i corresponded with Bill Terry a few months ago he gave me a quote on a 3.4l. he said he had the parts with which to build it and said it could be done in a few months. all he needed from me was the old oil pan and the oil pump pipe. if he had those parts then he could button it all up before shipping.

i mentioned this to the shop owner where the car now resides in October of last year, but he pretty much discouraged me from further pursuing the matter at that time, inasmuch as he thought he had a source for parts and machine work. well.... not so now! he's all for me getting him the engine. i'm guessing he wants the car out of his hair. when contacted recently, he said that he was having trouble getting one of the cylinders to hold compression. then went on to mention a suspicion of a hairline crack in the head. (oy vey!!) at that point, i brought up the possibility of the rebuilt engine from Bill Terry that i had mentioned a few months back, and he thought that might be a good idea.

of course now i'm wondering whether or not i need a new head too! will it never end? i suppose i'll have to bring that up with mr. terry too, when he returns my call.

 

have new plan.

in a nutshell, the car will be removed from shop in delaware ohio as no progress has been made since the head was removed and be sent to a shop in idaho to have a rebuilt engine installed.

my previous contact, mentioned elsewhere in this thread, with the owner of ttraceengines.com in illinois (bill terry) has become untenable as the elderly man has, unfortunately, had an accident and for the foreseeable future will not be able to provide an engine. however, he gave me the name (Vintage Jag Works) of an outfit in idaho that can. he actually returned my call from his hospital bed. ...all indications are that he would have, no doubt in my mind, been a good one to do it. thanks bill.

i've contacted them (Vintage Jag Works, a pleasant bunch with a willingness to take the time to talk to me) and they have assured me that they have a 3.4l block and can, with access to the car and its current non-working and partially disassembled engine, get me fixed up. so i have arranged to have the car hauled to idaho in the coming weeks. we'll see how THAT goes. in the meantime i will endeavor to reclaim the funds (it should for the most part, be unused) given to the previous shop, that was never carried out. ...and we'll see how THAT goes.

in another loosely connected thread on this forum i recently created for the purposes of transporting the vehicle, i've received commentary that the shop i have contacted (Vintage Jag Works) may not be suitable. incompetent (MY interpretation of the comment, hope it's not too harsh), was the implication. and unless verified with specifics (and i am TRUELY appreciative of effort shown by the commentor to be helpful, trust me) i will carry on in the current direction. ...there are only so many outfits that can supply a suitable rebuilt 3.4l engine. and it's closing in on half a year of bother with nothing to show for it as of now. enough already! *foot stomp*

 

A sad story. I'm fighting with a large international company at present that employs 86,000 people globally to get 3 metres of simple trunking for my house refurbishment.

Whatever happened to simple customer service. Small customers can become very large ones if treated correctly. You never know who they represent & can influence.

 

Glyn, A boss of mine many years ago explained to me that when you want a very small amount of something, especially something way below the 'minimum order,' to start by implying you're looking for a huge amount, discuss the qualities of the product with the sales person, and conclude that you want to go ahead, but should really have a small sample to convince your colleagues. Then make sure the sample is a bit more than what you need. If they come back to you later, say your management found a cheaper alternative.

Huey, We all learn from these experiences. I've found that with companies I don't know well, it's better to delay paying for labour costs until at least some of the work is done and not to pay material/parts costs until the parts supplier is identified and a pro forma order in place. I appreciate it's all very painful, but, apart from the total rip-off merchants, there are many who want the cash balance to go too far in their own favour.