I was wondering how difficult it would be to rebuild an engine. I'm thinking about buying a block, and having it soaked or whatever its called, to clean it up. Then slowly building it over time. What should go inside (within reason)? I want the internals to be forged to be able to handle later upgrades. Its gonna be a budget friendly rebuild. I plan on using everything from the heads up on my old car. What should be done to the heads to clean them up. I'm not planning on buildig this car up ridiculously so no porting or anything just a rebuild with slightly upgraded internals (for longevity mostly). Fuel economy is another big issue as it will be driven from virginia to S. Florida about twice a year. Thanks for all the help!

P.S. - Can you please include approx. prices on items...

Thanks again!

 

hey man,

i did the same thing your thinking of....

i bought a block...had it machined for 355.....bought the engine summit kit and bought heads...and a cam. ported the heads and also purchased the fuel injection. lil under 1000 $ and i'll have a kick *** motor.


the short block took me 4 hours total to assemble over 3 days. that includes installing the rings on the forged pistons i bought. to me....if you take your time and read everything your supposed to.....its a cake walk.

 

Thanks man, thats the kinda response I was looking for Whats the kit called from summit. I've noticed their search engine is a bit funky sometimes.

 

get a good machine shop to assemble the bottom end. Best $250 you can spend on the motor if you never did.

Had my best friends father (mechanic of 40 yrs) not helped me, o would have missed many "little" things. those little tricks of the trade and things you wont notice till its too late

 

That's a waste of $250. It's pretty darn easy. Having someone around while you do it definately doesn't hurt. It's even better if you can watch someone else first so that you get an idea of where to start, but it isn't rocket science.

 

Yeah, I kinda want to do it myself so that I can get the experience.

 

I agree with Trey. Not only are there many "little" tricks, to do it right you need a variety of tools (primarily measuring instruments) that very few backyard mechanics have (or know how to use). And as Trey pointed out, it isn't even very expensive to have a pro do it. I know a fair bit about motors, and I have access to most of the tools needed. But guess what, I have a pro do it. This year I spent ~$800 including the bearings, gaskets, and rings to have the block cleaned, inspected, partially filled, painted, and assembled. About $500 for parts, so the assembly was ~$300. Well spent, IMHO.

OTOH, it interesting to assemble a motor. You learn a lot. But I'd say don't do it without someone experienced to walk you through it and to lend you the tools needed.

Rich Krause

 

That being said, what do you think the chances are of a shop allowing me to watch as they build? I get a lot of off time and would be able to watch. Do most engine assemblers get a crab up their @$$ when you watch over them?

 

I had planned on doing exactly what you're talking about except I was going to build mine in a class at a local community college that has a 2yr GM tech program.
The only thing I can tell you is that you can do it two ways. use plastigauge or use high dollar precision measuring instruments.
I think that if you use plastigauge the engine may last when pushed or it might not just like some of the factory engines.
Some spin bearings and some don't.

I was willing to spend about 1k on measuring tools until I talked with my machine shop and they laughed. They use dial bore guages which are much more accurate. The machine they use to zero their dial bore guages is about $1200 by its self. They told me I could watch them verify everything and them assemble it in my class but that without spending a lot of money I would not be very accurate.

I think the bottom line is that it takes A LOT of experience to be able to build a engine that is done right with all the machining to close tolerances that will be very durable.

 

That's a great way to learn and DIY at the same time. A high performance engine is not where I would start without that kind of help. I started on mower type motors in home built carts and small, simple motorcycles. Graduated to an air-cooled VW and a Dodge Slant-6 as well as bigger bikes before I worked up to a moderately hi-po V-8.

If you offerred to compensate a shop for the extra time it takes to show you how it's done, that might be a way to do it as well.

Rich Krause