Omega

iTrader: (1)

I have called 2 places so far looking for someone to do a BASIC rebuild. I don't want heads, cam, water pump.. NOTHING!! They tell me i am an idiot for wanting to go my way. One place even told me that all he would give me was a 30 day warrenty if i didn't buy a complete engine.

Does anyone know of a machine shop in NJ that doesn't force a new block down your throught?!!!

RB83L69

What would be considered a "basic" rebuild, and what would you consider to be the minmum acceptable warranty? i.e., what parts are you asking someone to warranty for you without touching? That's the "basic" problem: if somebody doesn't renew something, they aren't going to guarantee it.

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"So many Mustangs, so little time..."
ICON Motorsports

Omega

iTrader: (1)

Well, i have an L98 block sitting in my garage. I would like it bored, hot tanked, new cam bearings... yada yada. I want to reuse the crank but will be supplying the rods, pistons and rings. Thats it. I don't want a cam, heads, any of that stuff. I do not have $1800-$2400 to dump into a "crate" motor that they deem is the best thing since sliced bread.

The only place that i know of that does what you ask of them specializes in race engines, so he is out of the question.

spartyon

first of all they are just trying to get u to spend more money. tell them flat out that all u want it to have it bored, hot tanked and new cam bearings. it cost my buddy about 150 for that at the local machine shop even though they did a half *** job. but still, a machine shop should work with you.

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86 berlinetta
350cui w/.30 over
.526 hilift cam
hooker supercomps
3" duals
edelbrock streetmaster
holley 750 dp
bad asshauler

Omega

iTrader: (1)

$150!! WOW, i have been told it will be around $600. Half arsed.. So for $300 will that same shop do a good job

RB83L69

Well, maybe a way to approach it would be to send them the parts (crank, rods & block) and get them to do the prepping... cleaning, boring, turning, etc.; take them your choice of parts; and pay them to assemble it.

Avoiding the race engine specialist is a mistake. That is precisely the very individual you should be looking for. I'd recommend using whatever machine shop does the block work in your area for the circle track guys that win; and don't worry about a warranty. What you're asking for isn't in the same class of things as your typical Joe's Garage engine rebuild, where the shop makes all the decisions and then stands behind them; instead, you're making the choices and calling the shots, so the shop can't possibly "warranty" your decisions. But by using a racing shop instead of a repair / production shop, you automatically get a level of attention to detail which IMHO is better than any warranty anyway.

I would expect that the above services should run in the $600-700 neighborhood. That does not include parts, except for freeze plugs and such little ones; you supply cam, main, & rod bearings, pistons, rings, & rear main seal; and you assemble it from there (oil pump & pan, heads, and so on).

I also am not a fan of the so-called "crate" motor thing that people seem to be preoccupied with. I do exactly as I described above, except I do my own assembly from cam bearings on up. Keep in mind that the price is not a "good" price; but, you get what you pay for.

Top-notch machine work consists of a knowledgeable, skilled, experienced person (high hourly rate) in a well-equipped shop with quality tooling (high overhead) doing a careful, attentive job (high number of hours). Contrast this approach with a "warranty" which usually comes from a situation of a low-skill production-line employee (low hourly rate) in a high volume shop (low overhead) slamming it out as fast as possible with zero attention to detail (low number of hours) and then willing to replace ones that fail.

I do not buy engine work (or heart surgery, or anything else that's really imoportant to me) on the low bid, ever; so therefore a "warranty" is not an issue to me.

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"So many Mustangs, so little time..."
ICON Motorsports

88305tpiT/A

iTrader: (2)

guys this is a great topic -- what to look for in a machine shop or race shop.

Does anyone have any other input as to what to expect in terms of prices and workmanship from a machine shop as opposed to a good race shop?

I am planning doing a destroker 377 and would like to know how much of the short block to have done by a shop and should it be a race or mainstream machine shop.

thanks for any help.



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88 WS6 T/A 305 TPI--
K&N,Air foil,hypertech chip, thermostat+fanswitch
free mods, dynomax catback, urethane motor+trans mounts, PST front end poly stuff, Earl's hyperflex brake lines SSM SFCs, Bilsteins very trick homemade ramair, Accel 300+ ignition system. Ported plenum, intake and heads with 1.94I valves.
Planning: Heddman 1-5/8 longtubes, NOS 150 plate, replace the "peanut"! and Eibach Sportlines.
check it out at:
http://www.geocities.com/transam617

ede

i do a few engines for other people and have had great results. i always say 30 feet out the door or 30 seconds which ever comes first. i work cheap and don't want to deal with any problems and like rb said it's hard to promiss a used part won't break.

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ICON Motorsports
1st & 3rd
MM Black Diamond 538 F&AM

Tas

wny not get a NEW block from GM? http://www.sdpc2000.com/cart.asp?act...id=249&pid=133

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-Tas
'89 Formula WS-6

305, TBI, 700R4, P.A.W. 14x3 open element with K&N, Milodon 160* thermo, functional Formula hood, cross-flow Flowmaster, '99z28 rear pipes and tips, Hooker 1-5/8" 50 state legal headers, Dynomax 3" I pipe (PN 44063 and 43248)
Super GRK_Taz World
F-Body Dual Exaust
EFI & Intake Options

Guest

Ask to see their equipment. Ask about race cars they have built, customers cars, etc. Check out what sorta engines they are working on, inspect the work they have done. Every good shop I have been in usually has at least one high dollar engine in there being built at some time or another, if theres none there chances are its for a good reason. Also, a decent shop will do whatever you want, but will advise you if you are asking them to do something that is either out of the norm or not really adviseable. Also most of the higher end shops dont do rebuilds for repair shops and dealers (or very little), they survive on other work and dont really care for the cheap patch up stuff too much. Sounds like you have just been going to the wrong places.

Last time I checked, the place I go to wanted around $350 to clean, inspect, bore, and install cam bearings, freeze plugs, that sorta stuff in a 350 SBC. I walked out of there once with a fully prepped small block for $600, and it was good work. I should know, I used to work in a machine shop. Try not to be too lured by the cheap price though, the quality of the work is much more important, especially if you have to pick up scattered parts. Thats about the moment in time that you forget about how cheap the machine work was.

Best thing though is to just check them out. Find out what sorta equipment they are using, take a look and see if the tools and stuff are just thrown around or if they are taken care of properly.

spartyon

the place that did my friends machining was macomb auto parts. they SUCKeven though it was cheap and i did not expect much, seeing how i am building his engine while he pays for it, yippey, there was still rust in the cylinders and all over the block! so it was cheap a$$ shiznit but hey they are the only place around me who will doit. next time i am takin it to chicago and having professionals do it. but yeah for a pro to do it it will be more but i wouldn't expect over 500. but hey u never know.

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86 berlinetta
350cui w/.30 over
.526 hilift cam
hooker supercomps
3" duals
edelbrock streetmaster
holley 750 dp
bad asshauler

rezinn

If you guys look at this link, and click on the "305 bare block" it shows that the standard bore is 3.740 and the max bore is 3.840. This means that you could make a 322 with only boring, and a 347 with a larger crank. Thats an entire .1" of possible boring. Yeah, that would be a waste of money, but is it correct?

It also says 4 bolt in the table, but 2 bolt in the description...

iroc5speed

usually you only can bore a block .060 over..., this is far less than .1

Omega

iTrader: (1)

The shop i mentioned actually told me that he will not do the regular rebuild stuff. I think once i get the pistons and rods (undecided on buying a new crank) I will get in touch with him again. One of my co-workers is having his GN block built by this guy. He is having a girdle and all sorts of other fun things done to the block though. There is 1 more place that i know of. My boss used him to freshen his 427 the last time it was rebuilt, that is where i got the $600 price tag from.

I will have them prep the block. I want to do the rest. My boss will be teaching me so if it blows up i can blame him

I checked out the SDPC site. I bet that block needs cam bearings, honing or other things? I am sure it isn't a fully preped block.

I will be making some more phone calls tomorrow. I will let you guys know what is happening.

Thanks for the help