Sell Atomic 4?

[rlcham]

I have an Atomic 4 in my 1978 Tartan 30 which runs well. The PO did what he called a rebuild about 4 years ago. He is a retired airplane mechanic. The boat is currently on the hard at my house with the engine in. Electronic ignition and raw water cooled. What could I expect to get for the engine if I sold it as is?

Thanks

[Don Moyer]

There are three general categories of Atomic 4 engines in terms of resale
value:

1) If the engine is not runable, or for any other reason not suitable for immediate use in a boat, it would be considered a parts engine, or possibly as a rebuildable core. Engines in this category will usually bring from $300 to $500.

2) A well maintained, operating Atomic 4 can bring as much as $1000 to $1500 in most neighborhoods. In this range, the engine would have to look good in terms of rust and corrosion, have good compression (80 psi or above) and good oil pressure (30 to 40 psi fully warmed up at normal cruising RPM). In this range, you would also be expected to run the engine for a prospective buyer.

3) A recently rebuilt Atomic 4 could be valued as high as $2000, but it would be very important to establish the credability of the re-builder, when the rebuild was accomplished, and (more importantly) what was done during the rebuild. The question invariably needs to be addressed in this category as to why it is that a recently rebuilt engine is suddenly being sold, rather than being enjoyed by the current owner.

The value of an engine in category 2 or 3 above is usually held down somewhat by the fact that most private sellers will want to sell the engine "as is", and are not in a position to offer any kind of warranty support in case the engine doesn't perform as expected.

Best regards,

Don Moyer