You Really Can Find Anything on the Internet

Back in April 2010 (after I got our income taxes done), I thought I'd search around for old engines.  I had decided I wanted to have a Ford 302 in my car. Those engines were first manufactured in 1968 so I had to find a '68 or '69 to avoid emissions testing.  I imagined that all those engines were stuck in vintage Ford Mustangs and I'd never find one without blowing the whole budget.

As I searched, I found lots of new engines, but no old engines.  Then I tried eBay and what came up -- a 1969 Ford 302 engine block!  Well, it wasn't an engine, but it was close enough.  I followed it for a week and with 5 minutes left in the auction, I threw in the minimum bid.  There I was, the winner and only bidder.  I was the proud owner of a 180 lb. engine block... in Bad Axe, Michigan!  In case you haven't been to Bad Axe, it's a small town in the northern part of Michigan, just a little too far from Detroit that most people don't venture up there.

So my next project was getting that heavy metal object to NJ.  FedEx and the other wouldn't touch it (too heavy) and the freight lines wouldn't pick it up in Bad Axe.  I did get a few quotes but they were 3 times what I paid for the engine!

I was just about to get in the car and drive there myself when I came upon another hidden secret of the internet -- uShip.com.  uShip is a shipping auction site.  You list what you want shipped and shippers bid on the job.  You select who you want to work with based on the terms they offer.  Since all the bidders can see what the others have bid, it is very competitive.  The winning bidder was a guy with a pickup truck who drove to Bad Axe, picked up the engine and brought it to my driveway (all for $100!).

Here it is, right off the truck...

Right after this picture was taken, I remember thinking "OK, now what?"