Off topicish here but after nuking the DeSoto's motor a while back, I took it to a machine shop. After sitting almost a year they finally opened it up, dipped it and got a quote to me.




#6 was damaged before I got it, but they said the ring grooves in the pistons were destroyed. So rather than sleeve it it makes more sense to just bore it out. Chrysler cranked out millions of these things, and i was told the majority had the 3-7/16" pistons i'd be boring it out to. However, 500 bucks for bottom shelf pistons and 500 bucks for gaskets when the head gasket is still ok to reuse strikes me as way too much. All I can think is oil pan and timing chain gaskets, how is that 500 bucks? The only unique gasket on it is the thermostat housing, and that can be made by hand very easily.

Grand total is 6500 bucks for a pretty simple job, I feel like this is way too much but I was wondering if anyone else here find it reasonable or not.

I don't really know how to shop for parts, if anyone would know a good source for flathead chrysler junk i'd really appreciate it.

 

Depending on what you want, for that price you can get a new crate motor ready to go.

 

I paid about $2300 to have a Ford I6 rebored and rebuilt. This was 6 years ago in a small town in a rural area. The whole process took less than a month from meeting the guy and discussing the job to having the finished engine back in my truck. Your quote of $6500 does seem very high by comparison. I'd shop around and keep the flathead if possible. Good luck.

Jim

P.S. My engine was rebored 0.60 over in order to save money on pistons and rings. Maybe a different size piston might be cheaper in your case.

 

I assume that's in Canadian dollars? So a little under $5k USD? I would also assume almost all the parts are ultimately US-sourced, so the prices include tariffs etc.

They are quoting a true remanufactured engine, with them doing all the disassembly and re-assembly, which is over a grand in labor. It's also an engine that doesn't have as much support as the flathead Ford V8's, so prices for things unique to it are going to cost more.

Overall, there are a few line items that seem high, but nothing truly outrageous. If you google search for the gaskets and pistons, you should be able to find sources to compare prices with.

 

If I had the skill and the tools to do a "pretty simple job" like rebuilding an engine I would just go ahead and do it myself.
Ed
near Philadelphia

 

Reuse the headgaskets?

 

In my area, SE Wisconsin, I have talked to a lot of people who have had their engines in shops for well over a hear. These aren't exotic engines, mostly Ford flatheads, a few Model As and Chevys. The main problem here is there were so many shops going of business. The local NAPA used to do machine work but they don't offer that service any more. I remember when I was younger there were machine shops all over town. One of the best know shops for building engines has recently closed their doors. I feel lucky I was able to find the shop I used in a town 15 miles away. They had two older guys, one being with the shop for over 40 years, working there since before he graduated highschool. I doubt if either will be there much longer, there weren't any young guys working there.

I got lucky with the rebuild of my 226, first the block was in good enough shape to not need any work other than a valve job including replacing the valve guides, which I was able to do myself. I also replaced the pistons only needing a shop to hone out the connecting rod bushings. I also had the shop grind the crank. I got the bushings honed and crank ground in three days at a local shop. My car buddies were amazed that the work was done so fast.

 

For that price that's exactly what he's getting, a totally reman'd Desoto crate engine. Not exactly something you're going to be able to order from Summit, either.

Personally, I don't think it's so bad for what you're getting. The list of parts and prices aren't a whole lot different from any other engine, keeping in mind we're looking at Canadian dollars x .7 to convert to USD. The labor broken down isn't outrageous by themselves, but like anything, enough little things add up to a big total. And at $150/hour for labor, it does add quickly. Unless you're able/willing to do some of the grunt labor yourself, it is what it is if you want a running Desoto. The option is to find a used, running engine somewhere, and hope the crap shoot of someone else's troubles isn't so bad.

 

Your statement covers pretty the entire aspect of working on an old vehicle. I have about $2000 in parts and small amount of engine shop labor. If I had taken the engine in to have all of the work done I suspect I could have easily triple the cost. Everyone has also consider the professionals doing this type of work have to make a living and have to be paid fairly for the skilled work they do. I have customers who complain about the prices but who add to my price to sell to their customers. I have had customers who complain about my cost but then show up in a brand new high end SUV one time and a brand new Harley on another visit. On top of that there have been many times when I am told not to try to call them after a certain date because they are taking cruise or some other expensive vacation. Everyone wants, and needs to make money.

 

I am just picking up an 390 engine block today, total work was $1200, almost all labor. This was a bare block that needed overboring, lifter bores honed, align honed mains, and new cam bearings installed (I brought those to him). He also decked it and painted it for me (for some reason...I didn't ask), polished the crank, and resurfaced the flywheel. That's a lot of machine work...stuff I can't do except for the painting part (but it's winter up here and I am NOT painting an engine block in my garage next to my cars). I brought everything to him separately and fully disassembled, too.

Moral of the story is this stuff isn't cheap, unfortunately. It's highly skilled work on highly specific machinery, This is not a "simple job", per say, and it seems you are getting back a nearly ready-to-run engine after it's all done.

 

That was my first thought until i could afford this one but the airflow motors are unique so that's unlikely to say the least.

I did find some NOS Pistons from Vintage Power Wagon for 70 bucks, a little less than 500. They also offer a gasket set for 108 dollars. Olslon carry a full set for 270 for the airflow specifically (unique thermostat housing etc). So the parts price can be slashed significantly. I had always intended to put it back together myself so i can take that much off, but even with all that off it's still a kick in the teeth.

 

Right before I got into the hobby of working on cars--and one of the things that made me want to learn to rebuild engines--was when guys would tell me about rebuilding a SBC in an afternoon with all new parts for a couple hundred bucks and a 36 pack for a couple friends.

Those days are gone. When I got my 223 head rebuilt($400) in 2021 I shot-the-breeze with the guys and they said rebuild kits have doubled, if you can even get them. Machine work at that shop has not gone up in price, only the parts.

Yeah I agree this DIY hobby can be a kick in the teeth.....everyone always told me I'd save a boatload of money. Bunch of hooplah.

 

Those days are long gone, as you noted, especially post-Covid with everyone jacking up their prices due to "supply chain" issues. I think it's a bit of rip, if I'm honest, but I'll avoid going down that rabbit hole. That said, parts are much more expensive and harder to get, delaying builds much longer than anticipated, and making an engine build a year-long project vs. a weekend fun fest. And labor has become THE bottleneck for so many of these highly skilled tasks. So many places are having a hard time finding qualified people to do that specialty work, and are either backing up the work or turning it away outright.

 

As everyone should know everything has gone up in price but it not only a few percent. McDonalds for years had an any drink for a $1, stopped in a few weeks ago it now $1.30, up 30%. Yesterday I had to buy a zone valve for the hydronic heat system in my house. I've replaced two of these in the last few years, the last one being in 2021, exactly two years ago (They seem to like to go out when the temps hoover around 0°) In 2021 I paid $160, yesterday I paid $200, same part, same place, about a 30% increase. I think this is a common increase across the board.

 

Those prices don’t look too crazy if it’s a shop with a good reputation. I have had a 226 and a 255 rebuilt and all the machine and valve work was around $2500 each. Guy is known for flatheads and race engines, so I pay what he asks no questions. Good guy, I couldn’t get a ring gear on a few months back and he put it on free but I gave him $10 bucks for the gas he used on his torch.

JB