xyzzy wrote:

Put another way, after how many hours on an engine
can you tell that it's properly overhauld and broken in?

It's not really hours so much as calendar time, IMO. If the engine was overhauled
within about the last six months and there are no extenuating circumstances (such as
lost medical or death of the owner) prior to that, I would be a little leery of the
quality of the work. On the other hand, a "name" shop like Mattituck doesn't cut
corners on request for anyone (though their engines *have* failed on occasion), so I
would tend to assume the work was good if it came from one of those shops. There are
other factors besides time.

AFAIK, there's no way to really be sure that the engine was properly broken in,
especially with chrome cylinders.

George Patterson
If you want to know God's opinion of money, just look at the people
he gives it to.