Engine Rebuild

[Crazy Canuk]

Hello all,

I am in the process of figuring out exactly what I am going to get done to my engine.

My car spun a bearing last year and my car has been in storage since. I don't have the knowledge, room or the bravery to attempt this build myself. I would like to keep a budget of ~5-6k for the total engine project and get the most bang for the buck. I want the car NA and I likely wont tweek it later on.

It will be a daily driver for about 2 years then will only come out on weekends and will become my toy for when my midlife crissis hits :P

Now with all of that I met with a professional performance engine builder and he quoted me this:

Total with the complete rebuild, re and re, port work, camshaft, rockers, valve springs and pushrods: 5950.49 plus tax (this includes the removal and reinstallation of the engine)

Extras that wern't included that were recomended or asked about:
torque converter B&M torquemaster 2400 341.70,
coated Hedman headers 716.97,
Magnaflow cat-back 475.27,
K&N FIPK kit 261.56.

(all canadian but atm canadian dollar = USD)

I would also have to get a mail order tune for the build. He said it would give me 400hp at the flywheel.

What do you guys think of this? I basicly would like the best engine for the price above that wont break the rest of my car. I would be ok to upgrade the rear but not for a year or so. I have looked at golen engines, there pricey too and the shipping to ontario is something I am unsure about.

Thanks, I look forward to hear your coments.

- Bill

[Craig 94 TA GT]

You are in the same boat I was last year. I think 5-6k is ok for a budget of a moderately mild LT1. I can give you a breakdown of what it costed me (orig budget $7k max, but it went WAY over and is still climbing). Maybe it'll give you the rough idea of the costs of everything on this motor:
Full motor R&R labor $2000
LT1 shortblock bored 0.030 & decked, forged parts, balanced, blueprinted, arp studs, "race" bearings $3000
Engine gasket set, high volume oil pump, timing set, coolant, 2 oil changes, new battery & charge cable, etc ~$1000
Advanced Induction competition package w/ valve guides, etc + pushrods $2500
Spohn k-member: $600 after ship
AS&M 58mm TB: $500
36 lb injectors: $300
AC Compressor (froze on me right after the rebuild): $600
PCMforless: $75
Dyno tune (TBD): ~$400?

I already have a Dynaspark opti, water pump, and all supporting bolt-ons (CAI, headers, etc) so that saved a lot.

Then, the tranny that can take the power + 3000 stall will cost another ~$2500.

So basically, it adds up, fast. Be prepared with "crap happens" money. If you plan on capping at $6k, I'd shoot for $4-$4500 as your estimate at this point. If you plan on $6k for the project at this stage, expect it to come up to $8k+. Good luck!!!

[MunsonGTA]

Hello all,

I am in the process of figuring out exactly what I am going to get done to my engine.

My car spun a bearing last year and my car has been in storage since. I don't have the knowledge, room or the bravery to attempt this build myself. I would like to keep a budget of ~5-6k for the total engine project and get the most bang for the buck. I want the car NA and I likely wont tweek it later on.

It will be a daily driver for about 2 years then will only come out on weekends and will become my toy for when my midlife crissis hits :P

Now with all of that I met with a professional performance engine builder and he quoted me this:

Total with the complete rebuild, re and re, port work, camshaft, rockers, valve springs and pushrods: 5950.49 plus tax (this includes the removal and reinstallation of the engine)

Extras that wern't included that were recomended or asked about:
torque converter B&M torquemaster 2400 341.70,
coated Hedman headers 716.97,
Magnaflow cat-back 475.27,
K&N FIPK kit 261.56.

(all canadian but atm canadian dollar = USD)

I would also have to get a mail order tune for the build. He said it would give me 400hp at the flywheel.

What do you guys think of this? I basicly would like the best engine for the price above that wont break the rest of my car. I would be ok to upgrade the rear but not for a year or so. I have looked at golen engines, there pricey too and the shipping to ontario is something I am unsure about.

Thanks, I look forward to hear your coments.

- Bill

what kind of a rebuild is he putting in there? stock replacements? forged stroker kit? i'd also look for a shop that can dyno tune it after the motor is built. if you're going to daily drive the car for the next 2 years, i'd just have a cheap basic rebuild done. then when it becomes your "toy", tear it back apart and have it done the way you want.

if you have it built real stout right now, you'll enjoy it. but your wallet paying for all that gas won't. and neither will your stock drivetrain.

[Crazy Canuk]

Thanks for the replies

The builder that I talked to was looking at stalk internals (except for the parts mentioned above), which I think the quote was fairly high for. I have 2 more recommended local rebuilders here that I will also look into.

He said that for a 400hp engine that I want and the fact that I was only getting roughly 17 mpg before, it should be the same after the rebuild.

I just think the price of the parts and the rebuild for what is actually being replaced is kind of high. It makes the Golen engines a real option as well. If I add the prices from my first post and add taxes I am looking at around 9k for it total, without any surprises.

My belief is if I am going to pay 3-4k on a stock rebuild why not spend 6 and get more engine.

[MunsonGTA]

Thanks for the replies

The builder that I talked to was looking at stalk internals (except for the parts mentioned above), which I think the quote was fairly high for. I have 2 more recommended local rebuilders here that I will also look into.

He said that for a 400hp engine that I want and the fact that I was only getting roughly 17 mpg before, it should be the same after the rebuild.

I just think the price of the parts and the rebuild for what is actually being replaced is kind of high. It makes the Golen engines a real option as well. If I add the prices from my first post and add taxes I am looking at around 9k for it total, without any surprises.

My belief is if I am going to pay 3-4k on a stock rebuild why not spend 6 and get more engine.

i'd look around other places as you mentioned.

stock rebuild from summit racing, uses stock crank and rods, comes with gasket kit:
forged pistons: 589.95
hyper pistons: 499.95

cam: 250-350
rockers: 100-350
valve springs: 75-200
pushrods: 30-150
port work: depends on how it's done, cnc would be a good bit more expensive. i'm guessing he'll do it by hand and still charge you a bunch.

even if you use the forged kit and make it an even 650, then use the most expensive of the other parts, you're only at 2200. that's including 500 for the port work, could be more though. assuming he only charges you 500 for it would be a fair price if done by hand.

so basically you'd be spending around 4k for a little bit of machine work and the labor. i'd say the machine work is only going to run you around 500 unless you go crazy with it. to really determine if the cost is too high, you'd need an exact run down on what parts would be used. what cam, how will the heads be ported, new retainers with the new valve springs, what kind of springs, which rebuild kit, which pushrods, what rockers?

[Crazy Canuk]

Thanks for the price brake down.

Probably over the next 2 weeks I will have more questions as I see more engine shops.

I was realy hoping that I would have a much stronger engine for the same price as a golen engine or a compairable one (with all new parts) for a much cheeper price.

I am going to continue to shop around but getting my car back on the road is going to cost me more then I originaly thought.

[Injuneer]

Check what is available from various sources like this one:

http://www.golenengineservice.com/html/lt1_lt4.html

Have not seen the Hedman headers for the LT1.... are they shorty, mid- or long-tube? The one source I saw that sold them, indicated they were 1-5/8" primaries, but no picture.

[Crazy Canuk]

Hi Fred,

I mentioned getting shorty headers to him and he sourced those. I think I need shorty headers to still be able to use my cats for emission laws in Ontario. The headers looks a little expencive to me but I dont know where to go to get good inexpencive headers.

I have talked to Chad at golen to see what the shipping would be to ship it up here. Not counting broker fees I am looking at ~500ish so that keeps them in the running for a longblock replacement.

Switching the engine out with another one will end up costing more then this builders estimate however I have read that golen engines are alot stronger then just a rebuild that uses alot of stock parts.

So I have to think if the extra 1.5k-2k in cost is worth getting an engine from Golens or not. I still have 2 other builders localy that I would like to talk to and see what they come up with.

[MunsonGTA]

you can buy those hedman shorty headers for the 94 lt1 car, straight from jet-hot already coated with their sterling coating for 429.68 + shipping. they are a 1 5/8 primary.

[Injuneer]

You might want to consider the AS&M 1-3/4" mid-lengths... they keep the cat in the stock position. Sort of expensive though.

You can get a more stock-like crate LT1 from Pace Performance. Scoggin-Dickey found a small stash of new factory LT1's, for about $4,200.

http://paceperformance.com/

http://www.sdparts.com/

[Crazy Canuk]

Nice thanks,

This is great, getting alot of options.