[bradsalex]

Hey guys, no one is helping me in classic tech.

I dropped off my engine today to have it boiled and bored. Well I got talking to the guy and we got onto the subject of the things that HE would have to do for me unless I bought some VERY expensive equipment. For the block all he would have to do is attach the piston rods to the piston, which is like $12.50 per piston, and put in the cam bearings. Both of these require specialized tools that I don't have.

I understand all of that and agree with him, but where I'm going to really get hosed is on the head. He was saying that there really isn't much on the head that I can do myself. For him to clean and rebuild the head will run like $600. This is for the hardened seats for the older cars to run todays gas and everything else. Is there a way for me to do any of this or just go with the shop?

Thanks for and input,

Brad

[Veronica]

Hello. There isn't anything that you can do yourself to reduce the cost of the head work, unless you have access to a machine shop. Sometimes the truth isn't what we want to hear, but it's still the truth. The people that will be doing the work have all of that expensive equipment, and it probably wasn't given to them. Having some work done for me that I don't have the equipment, knowledge or experience to do myself is not something that I can just pull an arbitrary figure out of the air on what it 'should' cost, and anything above that means that I'm getting hosed. If you want to have the motor done right, find a reputable shop, bite the bullet and pay them what it costs. If you try to do it on the cheap, what you will end up with will be a motor that was done on the cheap, and you won't be happy with the results. Hope that helps.

[andrewmp6]

And what if you mess something up and end up blowing up the engine and have to start over maybe replace pistons rods or heads it can get pricey fast when you blow the engine.

[Wildman]

If you think that shop is a little expensive check at another shop for a price.. Not a good idea of shortcutting when putting a engine together.. otherwise you might be walking..

[bradsalex]

Thanks guys, I was just hoping that someone would have some experience and be able to get me around this. I have no problem letting a shop do the head for me, my wife does though The guy at the shop is reputable and he has experience building racing motors too. There is a lot that I WANT to do but my budget is about $300 at a time. So it will just take time, which I have no problem with, lots of body work to do in the meantime.

[The Greek]

Let's hope that you're in a situation where you get what you pay for. Performance Automotive Warehouse has reworked vintage heads that you can get in several performance levels. Their prices were very reasonable and, if memory serves me, about what rebuilding is going to cost you.

A set of vintage heads fully assembled with new everything including larger valves, screw in rocker studs, 3 angle competition valve job and more for around $650 for a pair. You may want to check them out. PAW - Performance Automotive Warehouse - Your High Performance Mail Order Engine Parts Center .

These guys have got so much for Ford engines that their dedicated Ford print catalog is is almost 2" thick.

[RedSnake]

You could buy the parts yourself and let him assemble them and should cost around 200 per head or you could buy alumium heads already assembled which would cost more. Do some research and get another opinion. lots of luck.

[bradsalex]

Originally Posted by andrewmp6

And what if you mess something up and end up blowing up the engine and have to start over maybe replace pistons rods or heads it can get pricey fast when you blow the engine.

hehe that's just an incentive to get shoddy work