Has any one bought sleeves and had a local machine shop install them? Is this a good idea and how hard is it to have them installed?

The reason I ask is because I live in Hawaii and to ship my block, have it sleeved(Benson, Golden Eagle, ect.) and then return shipping, Is gonna cost way more than I can afford right now.

I'm sure someone has done this before, but how qualifed does the machine shop have to be. There islike one machine shop here so my choices are limited. This is the next step in my build.

Anyone with opinions on this would be apreciated.

 

You should try to talk to Vince at golden eagle and see if he has some sleeved blocks for sale and have it shipped to you .This way you only pay for shipping one way.I would think the main thing to sleeves is who is installing them and that is why Bensons and G E and such get their good reputation from .I think you really need to know what you are doing to get the sleeves to hold up to the abuse it is not as simple as having them put in but that is my opinion

 

I thought about that but i still think it is gonna be out of my budget. Cost of living is so freakin high on this island.

 

not a good idea to have a local to do it unless they're highly experienced. sleeves arent something u wanan **** with . few thousands off and youll get some sinking sleeves.

 

Yes trust a well known Mfg for sleeving, I tried a side shop and got in the long run.. Sleeves failed! so save a little more money for the shipping and get it done by the pro's

 

It cost me $120 to ship my block from Norcal to Socal, according to UPS it only costs $140 to ship from Hawaii to Socal. That was for a B18C block with no accessories ot sensors but full internals and oilpan. If you can afford to have your motor sleeve then you can afford another $150-$200 for shipping, hehehe.

 

If thats all it costs for shipping then i'll definatly go with the pro's. when i was gonna get a b16 swap befor I got my LS I was quoted $600 for shipping for a complete swap, so I figured a short block wouldbe at least $400 each way. Maybe I should find out for sure. Thanks for the advise, I not going use the shop around here for sleeves. Time to start working more overtime.

 

I just recently sent my block through UPS, so I know how much it weighs. Your's will weighh about the same, or maybe a little less.