Learn me engine shipping

I might (key word: MIGHT, knock on wood) need a new engine for my Alfa Romeo 164LS 3.0L 24 valve, or at least one new head. See my build thread for the gory details. There are none in the local salvage yards, but car-part.com shows one 94 LS engine in Georgia, one 95 LS engine in New Jersey, and one 95 Quadrifoglio engine in Maryland. I'm in Massachusetts.

How exactly does engine shipping from a salvage yard work? Do the salvage yards ship them from one to the other? Can they be freighted to a shop?

Never tried a salvage yard. The last set of heads were 150 and 200 for a trans. If they have employees that can pull it.... They are a business man, they will find a way to turn a dollar in their favor.

I got my engine in my 850 from a salvage yard in St. Louis. Found them on car-part.com called them up and worked out the details with them. They strapped it to a pallet, and shipped it to a dock in Springdale Arkansas for around $90 ish if I remember correctly.

Their carrier of choice would only ship to a dock, no residential. One of my best friends worked for Airgas, and he/they let me ship it to them, and they unloaded it for me.

• Lee

Although I have no personal experience with shipping things like that,(a whole engine), I do know that having it deliverd to a local trucking companies depot, or to someplace that has a loading dock and/or forklift will be significantly cheaper than having it delivered to your door. But, if it turns out to be just a pair of heads, fedex delivered to your door might not be to expensive .

I paid $179.60 at FreightCenter.com.to have my 2.8l bitrouble engine shipped from VA to a freight terminal within 30 miles of my house here in San Antonio. The terminal loaded it into my buddies F150 for me with a fork truck.

The engine was on a pallet, included both turbos, and some intercoolers.

It really isn't any harder then UPS/FedEx getting parts. I once got a Dodge Ram ext cab rear seat shipped from MI to WV via R&L for stupid cheap money. The hardest decision is where will your pickup point be, whether it is work, dock, or "home".

I had a crated Spitfire engine sent by motor freight door to door from California to Texas for $400. As we speak I am having a Triumph Bonneville shipped in an enclosed trailer door to door from Idaho to Texas for $894. I stongly recommend that you stay away from UShip as you will receive calls and emails from brokers who claim to find you the lowest priced shipping. What happens is you will get a low price then you get tagged with a 30% fuel charge and other fees. The industry is not regulated so just beware. Best advise is to deal with the actual carrier and not a broker.

Had a Nissan engine and transmission shipped for $350 from BC, Canada to St. Louis, MO by Yellow, now YRC. They dropped it at their dock downtown and loaded it into the bed of my truck. They offered to drop it off at the shipping address. Alas, my house has no bay.

Done and done.

As mentioned, all you need is a local dock to ship to, a truck to go pick it up, and a cherry picker at home to get the engine out of the truck.

Shouldn't be more than $250 unless it's going across the country. Doorstep delivery will likely by 3x the cost.......so even then it's worth it to rent a truck if you have to.

I've had one engine shipped to me, and sold three this way. Easy peasy every time.

I had a contract to haul trailers for a courier company. They hauled among other things, car parts and computers. One day they put a pallet containing a V8 of some sort on top of a pallet of computer parts. The electronics that were not crushed were destroyed by the oil that leaked out when the motor shifted onto its side while they were loading it.

Of course that was not as bad as the time I hauled a 53 foot trailer of beer in sub zero temperatures and forgot to turn the heater on. Good times........

bearmtnmartin wrote: I had a contract to haul trailers for a courier company. They hauled among other things, car parts and computers. One day they put a pallet containing a V8 of some sort on top of a pallet of computer parts. The electronics that were not crushed were destroyed by the oil that leaked out when the motor shifted onto its side while they were loading it.

Was the motor OK?

bearmtnmartin wrote: I had a contract to haul trailers for a courier company. They hauled among other things, car parts and computers. One day they put a pallet containing a V8 of some sort on top of a pallet of computer parts. The electronics that were not crushed were destroyed by the oil that leaked out when the motor shifted onto its side while they were loading it. Of course that was not as bad as the time I hauled a 53 foot trailer of beer in sub zero temperatures and forgot to turn the heater on. Good times........

The shipper is supposed to ship the components with no fluids.

I just shipped a C6 transmission Core. 32lbs it was the case only. For $28 via USPS. In a huge box. 7-10 day

Unrelated but where can you beat it!?