SBC machine work?

I am in the process of a engine rebuild(350). This motor has approximately 30k on it. I am trying to get a guesstimate on how much the average shop would/should charge for decking, honing, magnaflux? Would it be necessary to bore? I don't want to stroke the motor, i'd rather keep the cubes down. Can anyone reccomend a full bottom end rebuild kit (excluding crank) that is good up to around 500hp and under a grand. Thank you.

Complete block prep and machining in my part of the country is between $700.00 & $1000.00 up depending on what you are having done.This is for the most normal/routine things.

Originally posted by 1racerdude
Complete block prep and machining in my part of the country is between $700.00 & $1000.00 up depending on what you are having done.This is for the most normal/routine things.

Same around here.

Rich Krause

I spent just under 1500 when I had mine done, but that included the headwork (surfaced and 5 angles), as well as machining the registers to fit billet main caps. Take those two away, and 700 to 1000 is what it was in Southern Indiana. I sure hope Ga prices arent any more! :cry:

Dave C.

Well if they want to rape you, send it over here and I will take care of it for you.
We have several excellant shops here that do beautiful work at a decent price.

Well if they want to rape you, send it over here and I will take care of it for you.

Might just have to do that. I'm looking at a new build right now, as I havn't been able to wipe the grin off my face all day after dloading and playing with that Engine Analyzer proggy. I now KNOW which cam I'm stabbing in my current bullet :) Thanks again for that link last night. Now I just gotta remember to sleep sometime :)

Dave C.

Ain't this computer racing fun.Sort of like bench racing in my day except the shared BUD.
Got a small engine shop over here and if I can help you with anything on your build,let me know and we'll get it handled.

i paid 195 dollars to have a small block chevy bored .030 over, honed, magnufluxed, new freeze plugs and new cam bearings installed.

Wow, $195... that's cheap.

Machine work is the same where I'm at just depending on where you go. For options like splayed mains, you figure an additional $400 for the caps, studs and machining. Lifter bore correcting/bushing/honing, about $500 ±100. Mine were not good...... well, not good enough for my build.

There are some companies out there doing CNC machining on blocks. Haven't heard any prices though. May check into that with the engine we're gathering parts for right now....

-Mindgame

yeah, and that 195 includes the cost of parts.

if i remember correctly, it was 8 dollars a cylinder to bore, 4 dollars a cylinder to hone, 20 bucks to magnuflux (which i didn't ask them to do....but oh well) 10 bucks to hot tank, they actually hot tanked it twice, but only charged me once. and the rest would be cam bearing/freeze plugs. and taxes.

David,
I hope you got good work at a steal. But with this stuff, you usually get what you pay for.

What kind of work does this shop do? Performance/race/competition builds?? Any success stories???

Here's a list of machine work prices from a couple of reputable builders.

http://www.steveschmidtracing.com/ssr_060.htm

http://www.speedomotive.com/MACHINE%20SHOP%20LABOR%20AND%20SERVICE.htm

-Mindgame

man, that's a lot of money.

it's an very reputable shop in my town, called reliant machine. when i was looking for a place to have machine work done, everyone recommended this place.

i wouldn't call it a race shop. but they do just about any type of machining, or assembling, balancing. the only thing they don't do is port and polish heads.
everytime i go in there he's loaded with work. i've had them sandblast parts, press in suspension bushings, press new pistons onto rods. and it all turned out great.

there's only about 3 guys that work there, maybe the guy just doesn't realize how much money he COULD make.

i havn't fired up the engine that i had machined yet, but it's going to be a 355, trickflow 23* heads, weiand dual plane intake, comp cams 230/236 .518/.522 110lsa, 9.5:1 c/r, and a 650cfm demon carb.

it's the first engine i've ever built, and i'm pretty much doing it all by myself, just going by internet tutorials and such. i'll let you know how it runs....if something doesn't go right, it'd probably be my assembling, rather than the machine shop tho.....

it's going in a C3 corvette, btw.

That's great David. I'm here wishing you the best of luck with your 1st engine.:thumb:

Make sure to pick up a book on small block chevy blueprinting (know of some but can't pull names out the ol head). That'll get you moving in the right direction. Of course, everyone here will be more than happy to help should you get yourself in a bind.

Good luck!

-Mindgame

actually, the engines completely assembled, put it together over the last week.

all that's left is to rent a cherry picker and hoist it in.

the only thing i don't know for sure how to do is adjust the rockers. i've read on here how to do it. but most of them you either have to have the engine running, or turn the engine over by hand, and adjust two cylinders at a time.

which brings me to another question...how hard should a fresh engine be to turn over by hand? i turned the crank over a few times after every piston/connecting rod was installed, and it got harder and harder each time, with only 7 it could still be turned over pretty easily....but then the 8th it completely locked it up. with the connecting rod bearing a little loose it would turn over fine. so i took it off, made sure there wasn't any debris on the crank, got a new connecting rod bearing and tried again....same result.

my dad, who's been "helping me" has built 6 or 7 engines, and he said it's hard as hell to turn over a fresh engine by hand. (he's just been giving me guidelines, he hasn't picked up a tool in months)

my idea, was once the engines in the car, install the starter, and just crank it over without any spark plugs or carb, and adjust the rockers that way. but i'd like the peace of mind that a fresh engine isn't supposed to turn freely.

(p.s. sorry for the thread hijack)

Well, I CAN tell you that if you the motor assembled, with no plugs in it, and it "locks up" when rotating by hand, then you need to seriously check your clearences. Did you double check the machine shops work with either a a good set of mic's, or at the very least some plastigauge? If not, then you definately need to. Especially (hate to say this) at the price you got the work done for. I would check that motor to death befor bolting it together...

A GOOD set of mic's is the best investment you will ever make IMHO..

Good luck man. Hope it turns out ok :)

Dave C.

Originally posted by david97gsxr
actually, the engines completely assembled, put it together over the last week.

all that's left is to rent a cherry picker and hoist it in.

the only thing i don't know for sure how to do is adjust the rockers. i've read on here how to do it. but most of them you either have to have the engine running, or turn the engine over by hand, and adjust two cylinders at a time.

which brings me to another question...how hard should a fresh engine be to turn over by hand? i turned the crank over a few times after every piston/connecting rod was installed, and it got harder and harder each time, with only 7 it could still be turned over pretty easily....but then the 8th it completely locked it up. with the connecting rod bearing a little loose it would turn over fine. so i took it off, made sure there wasn't any debris on the crank, got a new connecting rod bearing and tried again....same result.

my dad, who's been "helping me" has built 6 or 7 engines, and he said it's hard as hell to turn over a fresh engine by hand. (he's just been giving me guidelines, he hasn't picked up a tool in months)

my idea, was once the engines in the car, install the starter, and just crank it over without any spark plugs or carb, and adjust the rockers that way. but i'd like the peace of mind that a fresh engine isn't supposed to turn freely.

(p.s. sorry for the thread hijack)

Start with the crank, lube the bearings and torque the caps. Crank should spin effortlessly by hand. Check for crank runout.... should be a thou or less (need a mag base and dial indicator).

Without the plugs in, the assembled short block should still spin easily by hand. You definitely need to check those clearances. If you're going to be putting stuff like this together you need to invest in some tools.

Let us know what you find.

-Mindgame

Sounds like you have some clearance issues.If you try to run the engine that tight it is gonna cost you a lot more money.
A good build should turn with a 1/2" drive ratchet with no more than 30-40lbs of pressure applied.Just think of will it turn if I tie a 30-40lb weight to the end of the handle.With some brand of rings it will be a little higher but if it is real "hard" with a ratchet I would tear it back down and find out why.Otherwise it will cost you"more"money. Let us know what you find.

i have all the tools we need.

like i said tho, the crank turned freely when it was torqued down, and as i added pistons/rods it got a little harder each time

i looked up some clearance specs and i found that i'm supposed to have .009 inches of clearance between each connecting rod and the connecting rod and crank.

i only had .002. i have no idea why, the rods and crank are the ONLY part of the engine (other than the block) that are stock. so you'd think they'd go together like they were.

i guess my only option is to have the crank turned .010 under and get new bearings, that's the only thing i can think that might fix the problem.

i really don't see how there can be a clearance issure between the rods and crank. the rods were all put back in the same location that they were taken out of. as they are stamped with a number.

the only thing that i can think of that would cause this is a surface rust on the sides of the crank journals. i can't see any. (but i'm colorblind so it all blends in). i'll just have to take the crank out and have someone look at for me. but that won't be for a while, since i'll be busy with work for a while...

oh well, hopefully it won't be anything more than having the crank turned and new bearings. but who knows..

and as far as it being the machine shops fault, i don't see how, they never had the crank at their shop. and they would of had to ADD material to the rods to of caused this.

Make sure the rod pair is seperated (slide them apart) when you check the side clearance. If the clearance is too tight, then you'll need the machine shop to remove material from the connecting rod on the inside faces to get to spec.

So the machine shop never machined your crank? No rod or main journal grinding.... no gauge for big end rod clearances... that's no good. This time, take the rods when you take the crank and have them (or you) make sure the bearing clearances are correct.

Your shop should be able to straighten you out on these issues when you tell them what's going on.

Good luck.

-Mindgame

In case anybody in the midwest is needing work done, there is a shop in Lawrence Kansas that does impeccable work reasonably cheap. The name is Craig Built, owned by Darrel Craig and I know his work well and have never seen anything come from his shop that was less than 100%.

A friend had everything done that can be done except roller cam bearings, and it was about $800 for the block. That includes line bore/splayed mains/zero deck/bore,hone/AND bronzed/bhj lifter bores. VERY reasonable prices for that kind of work, but he has lots of work and a waiting list.

For your basic rebuild, a place called Campbell Crankshaft in KC will boil, bore, and hone a block for $150. I've used them for blocks, rods, and crankshafts and their work has always been top notch.

Originally posted by david97gsxr
actually, the engines completely assembled, put it together over the last week........

which brings me to another question...how hard should a fresh engine be to turn over by hand? i turned the crank over a few times after every piston/connecting rod was installed, and it got harder and harder each time, with only 7 it could still be turned over pretty easily....but then the 8th it completely locked it up. with the connecting rod bearing a little loose it would turn over fine. so i took it off, made sure there wasn't any debris on the crank, got a new connecting rod bearing and tried again....same result......

my idea, was once the engines in the car, install the starter, and just crank it over without any spark plugs or carb, and adjust the rockers that way. but i'd like the peace of mind that a fresh engine isn't supposed to turn freely.

(p.s. sorry for the thread hijack)

david97gsxr,

Engines done right are absolutely NOT hard to turn over at first? Something is wrong plain and simple so you need to find it before anything else is damaged. Depending on the rings they may be harder or easier than others to turn over but should get EASIER to turn the more you've turned them as the rings and such get oiled and wear in a tiny bit but basically shouldn't change a lot till they are run. I've seen from 40 foot pounds to 10 foot pounds as to initial TQ required to turn over a new shortblock depending on ring tension and hone jobe. Who knows what kind of hone job there is either from a place that charges that kind of money because they can't be checking anything or taking their time and still stay in business. There's no way they probably even used a TQ plate is there?!?

Also make sure the rods aren't hung backward and the fillets are touching depending on what crank and if you need chamfered bearings!

i havn't even messed with the engine in the last week, i've been working and such. but i know it's nothing to do with the cylinders themselves. or the rings. because with every piston in, and all the connecting rods on the crank, but just loosely on the crank. the engine turns freely, and i can torque down all the rods but 1 and it still turns freely, but when i torque the last one is when it locks up. i even took that piston/rod out and cleaned the crank and bearing journals and replaced the connecting rod bearing. and it still locked it up.

what does this mean "Also make sure the rods aren't hung backward and the fillets are touching depending on what crank and if you need chamfered bearings!"

there is a large radius in the corners of the rod journals where they blend into the rest of teh crank and these need claerance usually in teh form of chamfered bearings. You may have that last one wrong or the bearings in upside down ect.

Check to see if that "one" rod bearing might be undersize for your rod throw dia.

I think he switched a couple rod caps!

Very well could be.

no, i didn't switch any rod caps, they have numbers 1-8 stamped on the cap and the rod. so i know they're okay.

however, i think the problem is ineed, that rods, 1, 3, 5, and 7 are upside down.

but i havn't got around to messing with it.....been busy.

I dropped everything off with Bret Bauer (SStrokerAce)...at least I don't have to worry now if it will be done right or not now...don't know what it's going to run me yet though. :lol:

I dropped everything off with Bret Bauer (SStrokerAce)...at least I don't have to worry now if it will be done right or not now...don't know what it's going to run me yet though. :lol:

You leave a blank check too? :eek:

:)

-Mindgame

You leave a blank check too? :eek:

:)

-Mindgame
**** I guess it could be viewed that way... :no: Grrr.

Naw, after my last bad machine shop experience I just want it done right.

Bret will take good care of ya Dave. :)

Good luck!

-Mindgame