machine shop costs?

[bippu z]

A little back story is in order here, I think. First of all, I work for my grandpa, who is a fairly well known rental shop owner, so basically all of the construction workers know him. A little down the street is the local NAPA store and machine shop, where Dan, a friend of my grandpa's works as the machinist. Dan says that he's going to cut me deals and all that, because I work for my grandpa, he can give it to me at wholesale prices for parts. What worries me is the labor though...

So, I have a '74 260Z with a shot motor, hasn't been run in 10 years according to the previous owner. I opt for a ZXT swap and get lucky on craigslist with an '83 F54/P90a combo @ $180. It was just the longblock, so I have to get all of the outside pieces, and replace a few inside ones. Anyways, I know I'm going to be driving this car a LONG time, so just to be safe I send it off to Dan, asking him to tank and mag the block and pressure test the head. You know, to make sure I didn't just buy a POS motor. A week later he calls me back and says the engine is in great shape for how old it looked. (previous owner said 130k miles, which Dan agreed was correct) (side note: Dan used to work for a Nissan dealership as their machinist, so he's done thousands of these motors) Anyways, I say since it's there already, let's bring this baby back to her prime! And I asked him for the works, basically. I'm probably way of on terminology, but I'll give it a shot.

- initial testing

- hone and rebore (appx. .002)

- crank regrind (he said there was barely anything to do there, iono)

- internal balancing

- bead-blasting the block (he said something about destressing the motor)

- bead-blasting the head (purely cosmetic reasons, no mechanical value)

There were a few more procedures he was talking about that involved re-grinding the cam for a more aggressive lobe, which I probably won't need to do. And all of this (minus the cost of parts) is running just under $1500.00 as of last week. Again, I'm going to tell him not to do the cosmetic work, or send my cam away, that should knock off about $300, which is funny, because that's what I laid down for a deposit for my parts. By the by, parts are going to run just about $700.00. (which should include new pistons, rings ect.) he wasn't very specific)

That's what is frustrating me, Dan talks in technical terms that I don't fully understand, so I'm basically left standing there going: "Uhh, whatever you think it needs..." which is a TERRIBLE idea! But it happens anyways. Main question being: Is, let's say, $2000 a fair price to get this engine completely renewed?

[Bruce Palmer]

Sounds like a smoking deal!!

[ktm]

Sounds pricey for the work. The bottom end of the L28 is fairly stout and can last a few hundred thousand miles. If you are going through all of the expense of having the bottom end rebuilt, I would focus on the head as well. The head is where your power is made, the bottom end just needs to take the power.

I paid $320 for my P90a to be straightened and rebuilt. A hot tank, simple hone and rebore runs about the same, $300. There is no reason to grind the crank if it is within spec. Pistons and rods should be fine too. It is a waste of money to buy new pistons unless your old ones show signs of damage.

Always remember, parts is not where a machinist makes his money, its labor. Cutting you a deal on parts is just a way to make you think you are getting a deal.

Honestly, there are better ways to spend $2000 on a turbo setup than having the stock motor rebuilt.

[cunniwj]

Does that cost include placing the block back in the car and all the other things involved with that process?

[cunniwj]

Does that cost include placing the block back in the car and all the other things involved with that process?

[bippu z]

I think I can trust the guy, but I do understand that he's a salesman, so it's his job to sell the work. Some of this stuff supposedly does amp the horsepower a bit, though he's yet to give me numbers. Also, he's going to have a list of parts and processes for me tommorrow, so I'll have more info then.

Uhm... another side note would be that I'm taking all of the smog off of this engine. I'm not sure if that would alter any opinions, but I thought it might be helpful info.

And this doesn't include him putting it back together or installing the motor. I can do that myself! XD

[Z train]

It's reasonable.It depends what you're working with.A motor with 250 K is gonna need a lot more than one with 130K or one thats been beat to death.

A L-20b stroker is in the $3000 range when all is done.

KTM-tell us how you bore a block and then use the old pistons.

Bippu-tell the machinist that you want to see the block after it comes out of the hot tank.While you're there,have him run a gauge down the bores and see where you're at.Also have him mic the crank in front of you.Once that is done,there's not much room for fudging.

[bippu z]

He's already done that stuff though... I think right now he's onto bead blasting. I would call him, but the shop's closed for the day...

[ktm]

It is common practice to use old pistons on a hone job. Rings, no, pistons, yes. I was thinking more along the lines of a simple honing, not a full bore. My apologies.

[bippu z]

I'm gonna get that list from Dan today guys, I'm not sure if it's worth it though for him to re-grind my cam just yet, since I'm spending much of my savings on this rebuild. He tells me that there's no point in doing that unless I'm gonna mess with the turbo and compression. I've never really understood the relationship between the two other than the basics, and Dan once again is going off on technicalities.

btw, the turbo I have is stock. Problem being, it's got a TINY amount of play in the shaft. It's hard to explain, but it's less than 1mm of movement. I've had some buddies of mine say that it's no big deal, and others say that I should replace it. and on thezstore.com a replacement turbo is almost $600, with an upgrade being $1000ish. Should I just spring the $400 for a bigger turbo?

[bippu z]

Good news guys, Dan gave me a list of all the stuff he's doing to the engine. Here it is for you!

- tank block

- shot pein head

- bead blast block

- bore & hone

- dock block

- clean & polish crank

- clean traps (what's a trap?)

- resize rods (6)

- fit pins & align rods (6)

- complete balance

- valve grind

- resurface cyl. head

- resurface exhaust & intake side

- clean and tap "balleys" (his handwriting is pretty bad here, maybe pulleys?)

And then he gave me a complete parts list.

- pistons

- rings

- rod bearings

- main bearing

- oil pump

- tuning kit

- gasket set

- freeze plugs

And this is coming out to about $2000, parts included. Is this a good price?

[datsunrides]

Seems to be a fair price if it includes assembly. Couple of clarifications,

deck block- not dock

balleys is oil galleys

Is tuning kit meant to be timing kit?

Mark