HatchEh2

Im building my block, i take it to the Burlington County Auto Parts Machine Shop(nearest and reputable in the area) and for a hone, hot tank, crank polish, and assembly of the pistons and rods in the block this guy wants $400!!! thats crazy IMO...
i didnt even tell him about the notching i need for my eagles... Im not paying NEARLY that much for things i can do myself if i only had all the measuring tools..

All i really need done is the notching and gapping the rings and i would like to make sure my bore is true..(vitaras goin in... no room for boreing)... (no tools for that). If i get the crank polished elsewhere i can easily get a plastiguage and measure oil clearance for the bearings myself.. Then i can get a piston ring compressor from somewhere.. what am i missing here??

how much did you guys all pay for your block assembly and what all did you have done? And if you got it, the number, name and address of the place
preferrably the New Jersey/Philidelphia area...
tryin to get my hatch on the road boostin again been too long in the beater

.dave

In my opinion $400 isn't that bad for him to assemble the bottom end for you. Oh and as far as notching the block, if he's going to assemble it let him know up front that it may need to be done, otherwise he might try and charge you more than he normally would for it.

I paid a lot more than that for the assembly of my entire engine, but it involved a bit of headwork too.

TURBOELEMENTS IKE

if the guy has a good rep. doing pistons and blocks $400 doesn't sound to bad but there nothing wrong with shopping around for the best deals!

mugencivic94

why be cheap on one of the most important parts of the build machine work needs to be precise im spendin 600 on my block getting it bored over 20 hot tanked torque plate honed internally balanced notched for eagle rods and have the crank micro polished machining makes all the difference just my two sense also assembled to

Turbo-charged

400 is too much to pay for machine work and bottom end assembly? im going to be working at mcdonalds soon i bet

Jared

400 is a pretty damn good deal for cleaning, crank polish, notching and assembly of a shortblock.

non-VTEC

WTF you think 400 bucks for all that work is to much?

what planet you from..........

igo4bmx

yeah wtf
i paid 400 just to build my block... not incuding bore/hone

turbotypeR@SPEC

if that is too much,you need to find another hobby.

chrisgottigsr

$400 is dirt cheap! Whats the average price you charge for that kind of work Joe?


Modified by chrisgottigsr at 5:04 PM 1/2/2006

hybrid_KJ

I charge $500 just for assembly of a full shortblock. $400 with some machine work is very cheap.

turbotypeR@SPEC

yeah,when i had my shop,i charged $750 to assemble a longblock,not including the machine work.the same guy will probably go back and raise hell when he blows it up too.that's one of the reasons i don't have the shop anymore.

paulzy

iTrader: (1)

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Jared &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">400 is a pretty damn good deal for cleaning, crank polish, notching and assembly of a shortblock.</TD></TR></TABLE>

that's what I was thinking

AutoLab

$400 for machine work AND block assembly? If the place is competent then that is a steal. Unfortunately like most body shops, machine shops are either cheap or very expensive, and the work coming out of both typically reflects the price.

We get $400 for JUST assembly, figure another ~$350 for machine work. Deck, bore/hone, clean, press rods if needed, polish the crank, resize the big end of rods etc.

I can say, in all my years of experience doing this the one thing I tend to see the most is people skimping on machine work. It is usually an afterthought and the longevity of the build generally is the proof of the mistake.

-bill

HatchEh2

... maybe it seems so much to me only cuz i know exactly what needs to be done and IMO that it isnt too hard... ive been spoiled by the countless jeff evan build write-ups that it seems too much for the amount of work.

I remember when i first started doin side work, i charged a kid $100 bux to change a head gasket..finished in 3.5hrs.. later i find out i coulda charged 3 times as much and still be cheaper than most 'mom&pop' shops... the amount of work i did seemed little cuz i've done it sooo many times that its second nature and doesnt feel as much...

well.. my pasion is leaning more towards tuning, building motors, and turbos.. so i think im changing my major from criminal justice to Thermal dynamics or something.. i mind as well buy the machinist micrometers and some plastigauges and get to puttin this d16 together myself so i can do it again when i go bseries.

i refuse to pay another $400 to put together a 'D' series budget build.. ill save that for my B.

Boostfed

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Jared &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">400 is a pretty damn good deal for cleaning, crank polish, notching and assembly of a shortblock.</TD></TR></TABLE>

92eg6

iTrader: (1)

where this shop at, im lookin for one myself

D@nnY

your going to get "a plastigauge" ??

please just pay the man

0project dc2

iTrader: (1)

wow your an idiot to think 400 is too expensive. thats REALLY GOOD . we charge that just for ASSEMBLY of the motor not including bore and hone . hot tank etcc.

sure the jeff evans write up is great. but you're payin for his expertise and if it ***** up you can bring it back and say hey . fix this **** .


the write up doesnt list machining costs


polishing crank =- 120-140$
bore and hone 100-170$

theres most of your money right there.

ccfab

i just paid 670.

racinskittle

Somebody call the WAAAAAAMBULANCE.

2point2

I have 0 experience, but i'll do it for $100

CoreyR

my friend just paid over $1000 to have the same work you got qouted $400 for. if you think its not worth $400 then you dont know much about the actual work involved.

The Weather Man

Good thread. $400 sounds very reasonable though. I figured it would atleast cost $500 just for assembly.

Joseph Davis

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by D@nnY &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">your going to get "a plastigauge" ??

please just pay the man

</TD></TR></TABLE>


That's what's got you going about this post?

I'm giggling madly about this bit:

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by HatchEh2 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">vitaras goin in... no room for boreing)</TD></TR></TABLE>

Guy wants to put a smaller than stock piston into a slopped out, high mileage stock bore.