I spent last night tearing down the formerly fresh 327 that Katrina filled with saltwater and mud and didnt like what I found. I planned on just re ringing, and putting new bearings in, but looks like the rod bearings have scored at least one journal on the crank. Bummer. Not due to the hurricane either, because it hasnt run since it was flooded. Not rusty at all either. Maybe its a good thing in disguise because something obviously was eating the bearings when it was last run years ago. The motor was rebuilt years ago and put in a 35 Ford coupe, but was never really driven afterwords, so had only a few hundred miles on it when I bought it and the muncie 4 speed. Anyway its a std. steel small journal crank,never turned, standard bore 62 corvette 300 horse engine, with 461-X heads, The heads still look good at least, but looks like i'll have to at least turn the crank and bore the block, which means new pistons and more money. There is only one machine shop left here locally, so I'll have to use them but what should the following cost? Turn crank 10/10, drill for balancer Vat block, Remove and replace cam bearings bore block 30 over R/R con rods on new pistons. What else should I have done while its in there?
We're having a 350 done right now: crank turned bored and honed R+R conn. rods press pistons on rods installed cam bearings heads surfaced, 3 angle valve job, installed seals vat and tap all holes grand total 400.00 This is a reputable shop too, in business over 70 yrs.
That is machine work only, we supplied the parts and will be doing final assembly. Most shops out here used to get about 8 bucks a hole to bore and hone, 50-55 to turn a crank, 15-20 to install cam bearings, 2 buck per piston to pess 'em on, 45-50 to R+R rods, 15-20 vat, 100-150 to redo the heads, 65-70 to deck one, but they are closing their doors left and right out here also. There are a couple of big race shops out here that are a bit higher, I called one the other day to price 'em out and they wanted something like 125 bucks to bore one using a stress bar and 95 to do it without, and then about 95 to turn the crank. I spent 900 bucks having BASIC machine work done on a 390 Caddy block (no head work, just the block, crank, and rods), and thes fucktards threw away all the plugs and dowels that came out of my block! I'll never do anything that stupid again, I promise you that.
Don't forget to get the rotating assembly balanced. I had a big block done this summer. crank turned, piston pins out & in, block .30 over, hot tanked, freeze plugs, cam bearings, etc.. Cost me about $500.
8 bucks a hole to bore and hone? wow thats cheap..........why the hell do they charge me almost 40 bucks a hole to do triumph motorcycle 650 jugs or even more for harley! Grrr.. first i was upset at rebuild components for car motors being about 30% of the price of motorcycles, but i chalked that up to quantity of parts made is more for cars, thus cheaper parts. but machining, i cant see how machining a small block would be 20% the cost of doing a triumph jug, maybe someone can 'splain.
Take different tooling and mulitiply it by scooter bum, that = higher price. Last I priced was about 4 or 5 years back, my cost cranked turned .010 and offset .008 70 bucks. Block bored .030 with torque plates, aligned bored, decked and tanked 325.00. That was about 30% under walkin price. I think I heard they were gettin' around 100-125 to turn a crank around here any more. I just had the rods for my big wedge sized, polished and peened by Demon Speed for less than a C Note. Actually a good bit less, but he was cuttin' me a deal.
I just had a 350 done... Turn crank 10/10 [$100 + $30 shipping (they don't do this in-house)] Vat block, Remove and replace cam bearings [$150] (they also ran a tap through all the head bolt holes and installed the little freeze plugs on the front of the block; this included cost of cam bearings) bore block 30 over [$15 per hole x 8 = $120, this included the fancy plate] R/R con rods on new pistons [$100] (Rods re-sized and new pistons pressed on; I had to pay for new ARP studs) That sounds like a pretty basic bottom end rebuild. According to David Vizard, align boring is pretty over-rated. If you want to read up a bit on what machining operations can/should be done, pick up his two books How to Build Budget SBC's and How to Rebuild Your Small Block Chevy. The second is a really good resource to have on hand while you're putting the thing together. Hope this helps, Ed
Thanks, I just called them, I think I'm gonna go ahead and do it all, have it balanced too, I might as well build it to last. I'm thinking I want a rumpty cam in it too since it'll be a 4 speed with no power stuff. it has a mild Erson in it now. Anybody using a Compcam 270 H? One thing for sure, another hurricane comes, I'm carrying this engine out on my back if I have to. I'm sick of this Katrina crap...still washing silt out of all my stuff.
That cam is good for stock mild gearing and no headers. If you have headers and a bigger gear (3:55 +) you might want to go with the 280H. Its classified a rough idle where the 270H is a mild rough idle. Just a thought. For an off the shelf grind, these both make good power and are pretty cheap.
one month ago on a chevy 400 block: bore .030, and hone hot tank put pistons on rods total of $207, I thought it was a good deal.
Thought about the 280H, but didnt know how it would work with stock valvesprings and rockers, the heads are ported, and I'll be putting my tripower on it. Only running a 3.25 gear though....
the main reason is setup time. i used to work in a machine shop & we'd wait till we had a bunch of chevy stuff to do, set the machine up & do them all. how many triumphs are you gonna do in a week? ONE!... at the most...mel
what kind of equipment are these guys using for their boring and honing...some of those prices sound extremely cheap....
the local race engine shop here gets $125 to turn a v-8 crankshaft . they don't admit it ,but they don't do it themselfs.... the machine to grind a crank is a very specialized piece of equipment and very expensive. i asked them once to see it , and the shop owner just kinda stammers and said he was busy the reality is most shops send it out to have it done...which in my area is a dungy little hole in the wall place about 35 mile away...take it there yourself and it's $85
Should be around $100.00 to grind and polish. Don't pay extra for "stroke and index" - grinding .010 under you can't correct it enough to make a worthwhile difference. The finish is critical, if you rub your fingernail (or a penny) across the journal and it files your nail (or leaves copper on the journal), it'll cut the bearing. A lapped finish is best, but most smaller shops don't have the equipment (expensive). You can polish at home with 600 grit wet or dry paper and a leather shoelace, the finish should be reflective (like a mirror) when it's slick enough. I've been doing almost nothing but cranks for 20 years, if you have any other questions I'll try to answer them.
The Jalopy Journal
