all 3 lifter types,

Flat tappet




Link Bar Lifter




Roller Lifter

 

Alrighty, so around this coming September 10th is when this journey is going to begin. I had a couple more questions. If lets say they need to bore it out at the machine shop what does that all in tail? For instance the engine kit I am looking at gives these as options "STD, 020, 030, 040, 060". So if they have to bore it out and lets say make it 4.060 I would have to choose 060 for that particular part of the kit correct? While its not a huge amount bored out would it mess with the ecu at all? What sort of performance increase with the stock pistons would I expect from such a small increase (351 to 362 essentially). Would new larger fuel injectors have to be used or can the ecu compensate? Would the connecting rods be able to be reused? (or would a machine shop have to look them over?). Im sorry if all these questions seem really dumb, im just trying to learn. And you guys have been super helpful so far!.

 

In most cases, if you're dropping the engine off at the Machine shop, talk to the machinist about what you want out of the engine. Oftentimes, I've found, that their parts pricing is competitive with sourcing them myself, and depending on the Machine Shop, they very well could offer some measure of warranty if you use their parts, and let them put the long block together.

 

I agree. You won’t be able to order parts until the machine shop determines if the block needs to be bored and how much. You should be able to reuse everything except the pistons because they obviously would not work in a larger bore. I know you want to assemble the engine yourself but I got a one year parts and labor warranty on my engine. I doubt you will get anything if you pick it up and reassemble it yourself. The computer and everything else is fine with boring the block. You aren’t changing the displacement that much. Those numbers are small but a block bored .060 over is a lot. If it needs to be machined that much I would think about sourcing a different block. As you make the bore larger, the amount of material between the cylinder and coolant passages gets thinner.

 

True story
Your machinist will decide how much it needs overbored
You can use engine mikes to check bore size and taper beforehand to get an idea
Good luck

 

Yes. In general you want an overbore to be the minimum possible to maintain as much block strength and heat sinking ability.

An overbore like this makes no difference to power output or fueling requirements.

Yes and they should be checked over by the machinist. The big end of the rods tends to go oval shaped in a high milage engine so this needs to be ground true again so that new bearings don't create pinch points. This is standard part of an engine rebuild.

 

Machinist, will be able to get all the parts, verses you hoping they all come, one member, has waited nearly 2yrs, for 1 head to go with the one he got 2 yr ago.

 

None of you would happen to know of any Machine Shops near Knox county TN would you? Just called 9 today and apparently most of them either don't have people able to work and put engines together, have passed away, or have never offered it. I did get some pricing tho. B & R Automotive & Diesel Machine will charge 75 per cylinder head, and 120 ish to bore, 65 to hone. However nearly all of them have a 3 week waiting. I even called up one that I know rather well in GA, Automotive Precision Machinery. And there old man died, so they no longer assemble the engines. RIP. (they are the ones that im ordering my parts from whenever I get the measurements).

 

Sadly, Engine shops are going away all over the place, the Owners getting older, the customer base being different, some of the newer engines just not being even worth rebuilding, and a number of other factors (Insurance being a huge issue, as I understand it). I'm nowhere near your area, but I'm sure there's gotta be at least a couple in the area.

 

Machine shops like lawyers are looking for low hanging fruit
There is more money in making parts
There are very few left around here and you need to be rich to use one
<Makes me want to up my labor rate every time I talk to a machinist

 

75/head to what? Just look at or to mill flat and do guides? Because that isnt bad if that is what they are doing.
Parts is where the money can go high. Springs, new valves if worn too bad. Seats etc.

120 to bore all 8? And 65 to hone all 8? Not horrible i guess. Last time i had a block bored and honed was 1999 2000ish, and it ran me 20 bucks a hole to bore and hone. So my 160 to your 185 not a bad price increase really.

Then turning the crank if necessary cost too.

Rebuilding nowadays can get north of where a reman can be priced.

 

I have about $300 in the heads but that included setting the spring pressure to Comp’s specs along with testing and milling the heads. They replaced the guides and machined the valve seats. The cost to bore and hone the block was $160. I didn’t look at a reman so I suppose the cost rebuild with a couple add-ons was about the same or a tad bit more but I can go to the local shop if there is a problem and I know what I have instead of some product that an assembly line person felt like putting into it that day.

 

I had the 390 I'm building for my Dentside bored about a year ago, and I think I paid $45 a hole, Bore and Hone ($360), which seems to be about the going rate around here.

The last time I dropped a set of heads off to be reworked (mill touchup on the mating surface, cut and install hardened valve seats, new valve guides/seals, springs and valves were fine, and re-run) that ran me about $800 (Buick 225 V6)

It's all relative on where you are. The bigger issue aside from machine work being expensive here, is just A) Finding a Machine Shop, and B) Hoping that they can get to your stuff in something less than 8 Weeks.

 

Less than 8 weeks? Yeah, that didn’t happen. It was more like 16 weeks but I wasn’t in a hurry. The engine has been done since early December and I’m still not ready to try it out.

 

Oh, it's probably even worse now, I know of two Engine shops within about 40 miles of here that closed over the last year, so I'm sure the ones that remain are just getting even more backed up.