In conjuction with Joe's excellent post, the question sometimes comes up "Can an engine that was on an experimental aircraft be put back in service on a certificated aircraft?".
The answer is "Yes" if compliance with FARs can be demonstrated. Some experimental aircraft owners have "kept their engine certificated" (their opinion, not the FAR's, see Joe's post) by having all work performed by an A&P and only PMA parts used in maintenance along with thorough documentation. This should theoretically allow the engine to be directly transferred to a certificated airframe.
However........an A&P must put his signature in the log book stating the engine meets all type certificate requirements and in the real world there may not be any A&Ps who would put their occupation on the line without a full disassembly of the engine to verify type compliance. This is a case where FARs run up against real-world prudence.
An experimental owner may wish to maintain their engine to FARs in order to maximize reliability, but attempting to maximize resale value by hoping to maintain the engine so it could be directly transferred to a certificated airframe is most likely not a possibility.
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