Motor build cost.

[jagnweiner]

In case any of you feel you haven't spent ENOUGH money on your engine, this is available on Minneapolis Craigslist: https://minneapolis.craigslist.org/a...824327579.html

[markdtn]

About $3500 in stone stock 8BA longblock

$2600 at machine shop which included: magnaflux, clean, bore, fix block cracks, polish crank, new pistons, rings, bearings, adjust valves, gaskets.

$600 for oil pump, screen, timing gear, adjustable lifters, valve guides, studs.

$200 cap, rotor, wires, plugs, points, condensor

$100 fuel pump and carb kit.

That doesn't count the core engine, clutch, flywheel, water neck, radiator, hoses, belt, fuel pump stand, front pulley, misc bolts and fittings, lubes and sealers, oil, etc. which is probably another $1000.

[JSeery]

Originally Posted by flatjack9

$6K in parts? For a stock rebuild?

I do not build stock engines, never have! But the ratios are about the same. And yes, $6k in parts! Start pricing intakes, carbs, cam & valves, flywheel, pressure plate, clutch, crank, rods, pistons, etc. Your lucky if you can get by that cheap.

[KGS]

Here's another option in SOCAL from another day...

http://theoldmotor.com/?p=161225

[edhd58]

I have just under 4k in the 226 G. cleaned bored, honed and lined bored for the crank and valve seats. That's all new from top to bottom (orig Crank and Cam). Head and block milled 0.020 each. All studs removed and all new studs. They reassembled all moving parts, I installed the head and pan and external parts.

[Ross F-1]

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Originally Posted by flatjack9

I don't see how you can rebuild any engine for half the price of a flathead build. Machine work is pretty much the same no matter what the engine. Sure parts are cheaper. But labor to build the engine should be similar. Now if you go buy fancy aftermarket parts, all bets are off. We're talking stock rebuild here.

The machine shop I use has a price sheet and it doesn't have separate "OHV" and "flathead" prices, except for a stock valve job on a flathead (non-adjustable lifters), that's an extra $100. Otherwise, the cost to bore, grind a crank, etc. is exactly the same. I had a 302 Ford rebuilt there, no assembly, and cost was $1900. My flathead (almost 10 years later) was $2200. Both included new bearings, pistons, rings, timing set, and oil pumps.

[GOSFAST]

If you make a comparison between a Chevy (e.g. SB) and a Flathead and do it as an "apples-to-apples" example the prices are considerably close.

The price could spread drastically when it isn't an "equal" comparison.

Without getting into particulars here, we find most "decent" SBC stroker's dynoed average about the same cost as a "decent" Flathead stroker. Both would be comparably priced for the most part but with the mods below on the Flatheads included.

Only a few items we strongly recommend on the Flatheads, pinning the heads/gaskets to the block (not needed on the Chevys), block-plate honing the finished bores (we do this routinely on all builds), and the "95%" oil flow modification.

Every Flathead built here now and in the past years gets dynoed, guarantee's everyone's "happiness"!

Thanks, Gary in N.Y.

P.S. Here's another shot of the pinning setup, it's all done in the identical locations on every Flathead casting. This makes "inter-changing" components possible. Also here's the dual purpose block-plate/pinning fixture.

[JSeery]

To me it depends are what you are calling apples to apples or equal comparison. A stock 265 Chevy back in the 50s pulled from a salvage yard had around 162hp, almost double a stock flathead. And very simple inexpensive mods could reap fairly health increases in hp. What I was refer to is the cost to get any kind of performance out of a flathead requires a much larger layout of money to even dreaming of getting into the range of a stock 283 Chevy or 5.0 Ford and about anything else. If you put the same effort and money into any of the later OHV engines the returns are far greater than an equal amount poured into a flathead. I love flatheads for what they are, but to say they are as cheap to work on as a later engine does not come anywhere near my experience!

Jerry Livingston here in Wichita KS builds flatheads for sell at around $2300 for a late model ($2600 for an earlier engine). But these are long blocks which require a lot of additional parts to get running. If you start talking any type of modifications the price starts climbing quickly.

[AnthonyG]

Jerry Livingston here in Wichita KS builds flatheads for sell at around $2300 for a late model ($2600 for an earlier engine). But these are long blocks which require a lot of additional parts to get running. If you start talking any type of modifications the price starts climbing quickly.

I bought mine from Jerry in Wichita as turnkey, nice 8BA, attached quote with what was included.

[trainguy]

Originally Posted by AnthonyG

I bought mine from Jerry in Wichita as turnkey, nice 8BA, attached quote with what was included.

I bought a stock rebuild from Jerry 3-4 years ago.i am very happy with the results.I runs whisper quiet has great oil pressure and has good power.I believe it cost me around $2400.00. I ordered another engine last xmas for spring delivery,l checked in from time to time and was assured that they would get around to it,I gave up and had Walt DuPont build me a engine.I am very satisfied with Walts engine and he finished it in about 6 weeks. Phil

[RobR'35]

I hear lots of good to great things about Walts rebuilds and work.
I've spoke to him on the phone a few times. He's a treasure of great information and knowledge.

[Henry Floored]

Originally Posted by JSeery

To me it depends are what you are calling apples to apples or equal comparison. A stock 265 Chevy back in the 50s pulled from a salvage yard had around 162hp, almost double a stock flathead. And very simple inexpensive mods could reap fairly health increases in hp. What I was refer to is the cost to get any kind of performance out of a flathead requires a much larger layout of money to even dreaming of getting into the range of a stock 283 Chevy or 5.0 Ford and about anything else. If you put the same effort and money into any of the later OHV engines the returns are far greater than an equal amount poured into a flathead. I love flatheads for what they are, but to say they are as cheap to work on as a later engine does not come anywhere near my experience!

Jerry Livingston here in Wichita KS builds flatheads for sell at around $2300 for a late model ($2600 for an earlier engine). But these are long blocks which require a lot of additional parts to get running. If you start talking any type of modifications the price starts climbing quickly.

For some unnatural reason when one thinks of converting to an OHV engine the leap is almost always for the enemy's parts bin. This is how it's supposed to look. Unaltered firewall and all.

[hardtimes]

Originally Posted by raybee

Add a minimum of 30% when building a high end V8-60.

I have a buddy who 'built' one of the V8-60s for 12K and felt that that was good !
Now if you all feel like you have invested a little much in your V8 flathead (full sized), check your blood pressure after seeing similar/more $ for FOUR cyls of a '32 B .

When your auditor / partner says, why did you THAT, my response is ...I'm not sure, but I will get $ back should I sell !

[40cpe]

Originally Posted by Henry Floored

For some unnatural reason when one thinks of converting to an OHV engine the leap is almost always for the enemy's parts bin. This is how it's supposed to look. Unaltered firewall and all.

THAT is a clean installation! Good Job! I thought I did well putting a 5.0 in my '40 without cutting the firewall, but I had to loose the mechanical fan.

[Henry Floored]

Originally Posted by 40cpe

THAT is a clean installation! Good Job! I thought I did well putting a 5.0 in my '40 without cutting the firewall, but I had to loose the mechanical fan.

Not mine. This car belongs to car dealer Jacky Jones in Georgia. Saw this car at the Moonshine Festival this past October. There are several of these '39 and '40's with clean SBF installations. North Georgia is Ford Country. You'll see tons of nice cars like this up there with Flattys and OHV Ford power. It's very encouraging to see them do what many say can't be done this well.

[tubman]

Nice looking installation on the SBF, but it has nothing to do with this thread. Can you spell "O/T"?

[Henry Floored]

Originally Posted by tubman

Nice looking installation on the SBF, but it has nothing to do with this thread. Can you spell "O/T"?

Correct but the comparison was made between build costs of Flatheads compared to contemporary OHV's. This is merely an example of such.

[GOSFAST]

Hi guys, the point I was trying to make about the cost is this, it's about the same price to do a decent Flathead as it is to do a decent SBC.

Of course you will never hit the same HP numbers but that's not what this is about here.

If you stop and figure for a second, sort of put things in perspective, I'll give you a couple examples: a decent stroker kit for a Flathead is about 1800.00, same for decent SBC, alum heads about 650.00/pr for either, new cam & lifter pkge about 500.00/600.00 for the Flathead, same for the Chevy (but this would get you a retro-hyd-roller). The entire valve train pkge maybe about 500.00 or so for either also, on the Flathead you'd get some new guides. Machining prices here are identical for either, dynoing prices identical, so in the end the actual billing becomes very close.

With all the "right" pieces in a Flathead today I can foresee one going past 100,000 miles and even more with an overdrive behind it! By "right" pieces I mean forged pistons, L/W metric-moly ring packs, bronze guides, stainless valves, etc. Using much of today's technology has allowed this to come around on these older castings. Absolutely no reason today they won't go the distance!

A "bone-stock" rebuild where many core pieces would be retained would also reflect a much build lower price, for instance, reuse the crank/rods, use some new cast pistons, new cast rings, same heads, etc. and the price stays reasonable. This is what I meant by an "apples-to-apples" comparison.

Thanks, Gary in N.Y.

P.S. The only difference here in doing a Flathead is we offer many more options than is needed on a Chevy. I've mentioned a few earlier, like pinning the heads, modifying the oil system, and now very shortly we'll have the adjustable spring-seat cups ready to go. Not every one of these is a "must-have" for all, but we do offer them.

[tubman]

Gary, No offense, but the stock engine in my '51 went 82,000 thousand miles before I pulled it because it was making a funny noise. (I know this because I am very familiar with the history of my car, as I have owned it for almost 40 years and knew the previous owners). Turned out to be a defective rear main bearing flange that failed either because it was defective or due to an assembly error. When I pulled it, the engine had good oil pressure and reasonable compression (85-90 lbs.); plus, I had a bunch of stuff I wanted to do to it, and the time was right. For a stock engine, cast pistons, rings and stock components are just fine from my perspective; the stuff you mention is great for a highly modified engine, but not needed for one close to stock. I'm putting a set of heads and a bigger carb on mine, but fully expect my stock rebuild to outlast me and the subsequent owners for many years. I believe that a properly maintained stock flathead will go 100,000 miles without any of the "special stuff". When I think of how we mistreated and neglected these engines when we were kids, I wonder how any can be left at all. I do however, have great respect for guys like you have made great strides in performance and reliability of these old "boilers".

[GOSFAST]

Originally Posted by tubman

Gary, No offense, but the stock engine in my '51 went 82,000 thousand miles before I pulled it because it was making a funny noise. (I know this because I am very familiar with the history of my car, as I have owned it for almost 40 years and knew the previous owners). Turned out to be a defective rear main bearing flange that failed either because it was defective or due to an assembly error. When I pulled it, the engine had good oil pressure and reasonable compression (85-90 lbs.); plus, I had a bunch of stuff I wanted to do to it, and the time was right. For a stock engine, cast pistons, rings and stock components are just fine from my perspective; the stuff you mention is great for a highly modified engine, but not needed for one close to stock. I'm putting a set of heads and a bigger carb on mine, but fully expect my stock rebuild to outlast me and the subsequent owners for many years. I believe that a properly maintained stock flathead will go 100,000 miles without any of the "special stuff". When I think of how we mistreated and neglected these engines when we were kids, I wonder how any can be left at all. I do however, have great respect for guys like you have made great strides in performance and reliability of these old "boilers".

Hi Dennis, I agree with you but should have said going that distance with over 150 HP, closer to 160 and over 260# Torque won't help longevity. The layout on the build above would produce around that HP/Torque number, and the higher those numbers are generally speaking tend to shorten the overall life expectancy. I feel due to the technology available now they will still go there without issues.

Thanks, Gary in N.Y.

P.S. Since the beginning of my driving years I've owned a number of Flatties and can tell while they may go that distance they certainly didn't have the same power at 90,000 miles that they had new. At least none of mine did anyway!