I found a local B18C-R short block that the #3 piston "came apart" and heavily scored the cylinder wall. I called him, and he said he'd sell it for $140. I am looking to sleeve&build an n/a b18c/b16b

Is this a good starting point for my build?
Is the crank most likely OK?
Anything else I should know?

Any help here would be greatly appreciated!

 

Maybe, it depends.

Crank may or not be okay depending on how much trash went trough the oil passages.

It should be okay to use if the sleeves aren't cracked. If you're looking to sleeve the block anyways, it really doesn't matter what condition the stock sleeves are in unless the sleeves cracked though and into the aluminum block. Then it will be a little more troublesome to sleeve, but still doable.

 

He told me that the stock sleeve is just beat up. Which is fine w/ me b/c I would like to re-sleeve one of these to 84 or 85 anyway. I guess the crank is a little bit of a gamble, but at $140 it's worth it...right?

 

I would think so, for sure.

 

One forty is a great price for a GSR core with crank. The GSR blocks are not always easy to find. When ever I need four or five blocks it is hard to even find one. And when I am low on funds and don’t need any GSR cores there every where.
As EG1834 mentioned all is possible when it comes to re sleeving a block at certain machine shops. We here at G.E. will sleeve blocks that have cracks in the stock cylinder as long as the crack does not precede down past the half way mark.
Your crank can be micro polished to clean up any slight imperfections. If the crank has any deep gouges then its better off being used for a boat anchor. We offer free micro polishing here with sleeve service. Also if you plan on boosting over 20 psi I would recommend our copper O ring groove service. We cut a groove at the top of each cylinder to 10 thou shy of 18 gage soft copper wire. That makes a crush barrier to help seal the head gasket. A step deck also is free with G.E. sleeve service. Combine the copper O ring groove, step deck and G.E. head studs and you’re going to be able to boost up to 60 psi.
Keep in mind it all comes down to tuning. A bad tune can ruin any build.
All in all you have a great start and can make that engine scream with the proper rotating assembly, sleeves and tune. We have a sale on sleeving now. Pm me with your name phone number and e-mail along with a description of services needed such as sleeving, short block build/balance, pistons, rods, engine core, girdle and I would be glad to send you a deal you cannot refuse. Coast to coast G.E. boosts the most.

 

^Just the people I was hoping for! EG1834 thank you for a quick response too!

I'm going to pick-up this injured b18c-r this evening, and hopefully G.E. can work w/ it.