Engine rebuild cost

[Gaz64]

Hi lads,

I'm looking for some idea for how much to charge to rebuild a "mate of a mate's" engine.

The current engine is a stroked 308 out to 331.

This time the engine will get ALL the work it should have had in the first place, all block prep work etc, new solid cam, heads ported a little better etc.
This package includes intake and carb rebuild, dizzy regraph etc, plus all detailing, replating, extractor hpc coating.
I'm aiming to make 80-100 hp more than previous, the owner says my baby 308 makes more power.

I normally do my mates work for free, but this will be a non-barter job.

So, can somebody here give me an idea what a "race engine" assembler would charge?

[rustyBob]

Thats a good way to loose a friend......or gain an enemy........
if you normaly do things for free why start chargeing now........
if someone says Gary did my stuff for free then this guy might
wonder why he's being charged top dollar or is it euros or pounds or ????

[Gaz64]

Originally Posted by rustyBob

Thats a good way to loose a friend......or gain an enemy........
if you normaly do things for free why start chargeing now........
if someone says Gary did my stuff for free then this guy might
wonder why he's being charged top dollar or is it euros or pounds or ????

Sorry for being misleading, the guy I'm doing this for is prepared to pay,
I'd just like to know what would be considered "the norm" for a street/race engine rebuild.

Loose a friend or gain an enemy? He is only a friend of a friend, and as such he understands I "should" charge him in some form.

He is unlikely to ever do work for me hence his offer to pay.

I, like most, do work for my mates for free, "as you do".

The term "free" means "love" or some form of return for the time spent on their car, be it the fun, or a paintjob as "payment" for a rewiring job etc.

[rustyBob]

well then you need to figure what your time is worth to you and charge him accordingly
and weather he will be buying the parts or are you buying the parts...
if you buy the parts you can mark up the price and make a few bucks...
i guess the bottom line here is there is no easy answer to your question.......
I just had all the machine work done on my sons 390 and the shop gave an estimate
of $700.00 us and when he was done he only charged $400.00 us and we spent
another $1,100.00 us buying parts that could have cost a lot more BUT we shopped
around for the best prices and i will be putting it together for FREE........he's my son.

[Jimboz]

I can tell ya this Mate, if ya hafta ask that question you shouldn't be doin the job. Take it from an older feller whose been there. Unless of course, you really know your stuff enough to build a high performance engine. There are many engine builders online that have advertised prices. Take care and good luck.

[Gaz64]

I was a little reluctant to ask the question, as I know I shouldn't have to ask.
I know I should know an estimate, but I've never paid anybody.

Mechanic for 30 years, I've screwed together some engines that make up to 1.7hp/cube aspirated, carb or EFI and no NOS.

[Jimboz]

Then it's a matter of parts and how much an hour you want to charge your mate of a mate. Right?