Small Block & Big Block Chevy Specific - Could getting in an accident bend a crank on a 454?

I found locally a guy selling a 454 out of his 75 work truck and can get the engine complete from carb to pan for $500. The last time the engine ran was 4 years ago when his kid was racing a camaro in the work truck and hit an oak tree going 100MPH. The kid lived but the truck did not. I saw the motor tonight and it looked to be in good shape other than the front timing cover was slightly caved in and the valve covers dented a bit. However the front harmonic balancer was missing along with the waterpump and engine accessory brackets. The guy said the wreck was bad enough where the engine got pushed into the cab. Didn't kill his son but gave him the scare of a lifetime. Anyways, what's the chances of the crank snout being bent after hitting a tree head on at 100MPH? I'm going to buy this engine regardless, but other than putting a dial indicator on and spinning it by hand, do these crankshafts hold up to a lot of abuse? Would the balancer break off or crack before bending the crank? I don't see any marring on the nose of the crank so I can't see where anything came in contact with it. Maybe I should just stroke it to a 496 anyways and be done ;)

well, i had a 2000 camaro engine from a car that went off the road and bottomed out hard, the crank came out in 3 peices and actually bent and pinched the second to last main, i had to use a pick-axe to get all the parts out... so if thats any idea, i would think if the snout took enough of a hit to break off the balancer, it could possibly have bent the crank. Can you turn the motor over by hand?

I would take it apart and have the crank professionally checked, and the line bore of the block. I had a 454 out of a minor wreck and the crank was bent, line bore was bad.

Even at $500 for just a good 454 block would make me happy. Because I assume that everything else is going to be aftermarket.

Even at $500 for just a good 454 block would make me happy. Because I assume that everything else is going to be aftermarket.

True I took the engine I bought and used a different crank and had it line bored. But...100 mph with about 4000 pounds behind it and you might end up with a $500 pile of garbage. Thats well enough force to break a block depending...

see if you can buy it with soem type of garuntee. like if its junk you can get you're money back. If the seller wont do that then he may also think its junk already. If he agrees to refund your money if its bad, buy it and have it checked out.