Undocumented Motor Swap

[SVT_Colin_01]

So I bought my 2001 Cobra in August of 2015 and took it to get a new clutch and flywheel replaced. The guy working on my car asked if I had ever rebuilt the motor and I told him I had not. He tells me that at one time it was replaced and then tells me that the flywheel in it is a 6 bolt when it should be an 8 bolt and he said I should try to contact the previous owner.

I did some digging and got a hold of the previous owner who said she had $4,000 of work done a year before she traded it in and she asked if I had gotten any of the paperwork she gave the dealership, which I hadn't. She gave me the number of the guy who did all the work on it.

So I called that guy who said the car was run without oil which seized the cams and put a few valves through some pistons. He replaced the motor with a remanufactured longblock from somewhere but couldn't remember where.

So since I was sold a car that they told me was all original but clearly isn't and I wasn't aware of it at the time is there anything I can do?

Seems like they might have known it had a new motor put in but decided to hide that by not giving me the paperwork.

 

[BJCobra99]

Time to cut your losses and do a coyote swap!

 

[HISSMAN]

Definitely not a cobra crank brother.

 

[SVT_Colin_01]

Definitely not a cobra crank brother.

Yeah I know it's not a Cobra crank which sucks since that one was forged. I have a feeling its an auto Mach motor...

 

[Nightmare302]

Fraud is incredibly hard to prove. You'd have to prove that the knew about the new motor but refused to tell you. Proving they knew would be the hardest part as there would have to be a document showing they knew about it. I.E. carfax or something as verbal from you isn't enough. You could call and bluff but chances are you are SOL.

 

[ashleyroachclip]

Mach has an 8 bolt crank .
You are on your own here brother.
Mach, and 01 Cobra engines are pretty much the same .

 

[01yellercobra]

Mach has an 8 bolt crank .
You are on your own here brother.
Mach, and 01 Cobra engines are pretty much the same .

Manual transmission Machs had the 8 bolt crank. Auto transmission Machs have 6 bolt cranks. So he probably has an engine out of an auto Mach.

Misspelling brought to you by Tapatalk

 

[SVT_Colin_01]

What he said ^

 

[olgreydog7]

Car salesmen typically turnover quite a bit. Good chance that the guy that sold it to you is gone. Also, like others have said, no way to prove that he read or even had whatever paperwork the previous owner gave the dealership. It's not really a bad thing unless you are trying to add a lot of boost. The 6 bolt crank is plenty strong for what most of us throw at these cars. I wouldn't worry too much.

 

[Weather Man]

As long as the car ran good at trade in time, they wouldn't have cared one fig leaf about what motor was in it.

 

[SID297]

Fraud is incredibly hard to prove. You'd have to prove that the knew about the new motor but refused to tell you. Proving they knew would be the hardest part as there would have to be a document showing they knew about it. I.E. carfax or something as verbal from you isn't enough. You could call and bluff but chances are you are SOL.

This, you'll never prove they knowingly withheld information from you unless you have it in writing that the car is all original (which we know you don't).

Just drive the car and enjoy it until you're ready for more power, then build.