Average cost of an engine rebuild?

[modelasam]

I just bought a locked up engine that I plan to rebuild. I am just trying to get a rough estimate of what I can plan to pay. What have others paid for a full rebuild, including babbiting, valve job, the whole deal?
Thanks

[Maclab58]

I gve about 4200 for an inserted,balanced, 6.0 head engine with a lightened flywheel and new clutch and pressure plate from Antique Engine Rebuilding. Money well spent!!!!!

[Kevin in NJ]

Not a very good question.

It is dependent on what is wrong with your block and what kind of work you will have done. You can take it to a shop that has limited experience and or does not know the details required properly rebuild the engine. You will likely get an engine that vibrates and is more likely fail.
You can spend the money to get everything properly balanced, the babbitt poured properly and put in a new cam and know the engine is good for 50,000+miles running 55 MPH.

There will be a few thousand dollar difference in cost and a big difference in what you can do.

[J and M Machine]

Kevin: you hit the nail on the head.
Lately we have been getting these inquiries in regards to how much an engine costs to rebuild. Clearly it all depends on the condition when we tear it apart,clean it and crack check it. The cores lately "rods,cams,crankshaft,cylinder head,even exhaust and intake manifolds are bad or nearing the end of their life cycle in the engine much as the Model T has.
Naturally each engine is different and there isn't a set cost only estimates.
http://www.jandm-machine.com/fordModelTandAEngines.html

[ursus]

The first question is: what caused the engine to be locked up? On one hand, the engine could be unrebuildable because of major internal damage. On the other hand, the engine could be in excellent shape and locked up simply because of rust formation on a few rings. I was very lucky to find the latter - a low mileage engine with perfect babbitt that had been pulled by a hotrodder years ago and left in a shed. You never know until you crack it open, that is, unless you already know.

[msmaron]

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call Rich at Antique Engine Re builders of James Rogers Here, estimate around 3800.00

[Tom Wesenberg]

Funny you should ask. Just yesterday I was looking up the price of a rebuilt shortblock in my 1938 Sears catalog.


Radiator...........................$9.98 and you get 75 cents return of old radiator.
Model A Roadster top..........$3.85
Model A Phaeton top...........$4.75
Model A muffler..................$2.29
Rebuilt Short Block............$29.75
Front Spring......................$1.49
Standard Head...................$2.49
High Compression Head........$2.79
New Brake Drum.................$1.98
Springfield .22 single shot rifle.....$3.19

The Roadster and Phaeton tops include new glass rear window and black steel frame.

Merry Christmas

[jkeesey]

Tom I still have customers that reference those prices when buying parts.

[Fred K-OR]

Modelasam I think the thing to do would be to talk to a quality rebuilder in your area-if you have one. Then try to give that person an idea what you have and tell him what you think you would like to have when they rebuild your engine. Such as-I just want it to be stock, I want to have a touring engine, I want to use as many used parts that are still good or I want all new parts, etc...... In other words you need to kind of decide what you want when it is rebuilt and then try to give the rebuilder some idea how much you want to spend. You will likely then get a "guesstimate" of what it will cost. Good luck!

[700rpm]

Originally Posted by Tom Wesenberg

Funny you should ask. Just yesterday I was looking up the price of a rebuilt shortblock in my 1938 Sears catalog.


Radiator...........................$9.98 and you get 75 cents return of old radiator.
Model A Roadster top..........$3.85
Model A Phaeton top...........$4.75
Model A muffler..................$2.29
Rebuilt Short Block............$29.75
Front Spring......................$1.49
Standard Head...................$2.49
High Compression Head........$2.79
New Brake Drum.................$1.98
Springfield .22 single shot rifle.....$3.19

The Roadster and Phaeton tops include new glass rear window and black steel frame.

Merry Christmas

Tom, I put your 1938 Rebuilt Short Block price ($29.75) into the inflation calculator, and accounting only for inflation, it should cost about $472.65 today. What has happened that it is now 10x or more over that?

[Tom Wesenberg]

Originally Posted by 700rpm

Tom, I put your 1938 Rebuilt Short Block price ($29.75) into the inflation calculator, and accounting only for inflation, it should cost about $472.65 today. What has happened that it is now 10x or more over that?

Yep, some things have really gone nuts!

It's the low price of the Roadster and Phaeton tops that really surprized me.

[ctlikon0712]

Take your motor apart at the shop you choose to do the rebuild, discuss what your options are and that is the only way to get a ballpark #. Till you know what you have you won't know the cost. If its just Rings, Gaskets, and a valve job $500-800 maybe, a full on touring motor, then its like the previous gentlemen have quoted.

[Arlen]

Seems like short block is around $2,500. Long block around $4,000.

[James Rogers]

My web site.
http://www.model-a-ford-4bangers.com/

[oliverguy]

It seems that average cost is around 4K. Back in the day I bet most machine shops figured that an engine coming in needed to be completely rebuilt. I think it's fair to figure that now for any engine found laying around. That's probably why they don't bring any money at auctions.

[SLPreston53]

My engine was 1,800 for parts alone for a complete rebuild including sleeves, cam, crank (bought used thenmturned/trued), pistons, rods, etc. I bought most of my stuff from Snyders and Brattons, so you can figure this as an average for a complete rebuild, I suppose.

[marc hildebrant]

The original question is a good one to ask. I would suggest a look in Snyder's catalog or web site for a short or long block price quote.

Obviously, a machine shop can't give a specific answer, but the posting was from a new owner who was looking for basic information to make a decision for his new hobby.

Marc

[lance leblanc]

I will be picking up my rebuilt engine in two weeks from a small machine shop with model A experience in west Fla. He chargerd me $100 to dismantle and determine the work needed. Before doing so he estimated $1000 parts and $1200 labor for a total rebuilt running engine with 1 year warranty, provided every thing went as planned, and a completion date of around 3 months.

After dis-assembly he found a bad crank and the cylinder bore was at 90 over.

New inserts and a used reworked crank has the bill up to approx. $2700. I think that is still an very good price, provided I receive what I have been promised. (The one year warranty is what helps me sleep at night).
Before choosing my builder I researched though my local club, asking who built their engines. The one local builder available to me has a great reputation but with that comes a two to three year wait. (building engines in his spare time) at about the same cost.

The average price I found for professionally built engines where in the $3750-$4000 range. "But that is with the same stipulation "what is the condition of the donor engine".

[ivoryjohn]

By all means deeply research the builder! A cheaper price can be far more expensive later if your engine is rebuilt by a crook in Georgia that does poor unreliable work doomed to fail from the start.

I had an engine built by this Georgia bandit and I can still picture him, in my mind, saying. "Oil grooves? We don't need no stinking oil grooves!"

[Bob Johnson]

Here is a table of prices from old parts catalogs.

Bob