Machine Shop Charges, What is reasonable? Options

[OU8AVW]

So, I dropped off my disassembled engine at a machine shop in DC. First off, this is an incredible shop and talking to the guy let me know he was top notch. He used to build NASCAR engines professionally and has two masters degrees in metallurgy and automotive engineering. He uses sonic frequencies to re temper parts after they are machined> Crazy stuff......
Anyway, I drop off my stuff. First he does a pair of 2.0 heads for me. For this he charges me $400 for the work. Really just cleaning them up, machining the seats and installing new guides, springs and my supplied valves. Not a bad deal and it was done in three weeks. They look fantastic. At this point he tels me $250 or so to balance my engine.
Then I deliver my engine parts. Case, rods, cam, ect. I also delivered a doner set of parts, essentially a short block and pistons/jugs. I also delivered a full gasket and bearing kit. My request: find the best parts to make a complete motor then balance everything and get it ready for assembly. I would take it from there. I sent him a $500 deposit to start
Good plan right?
It's now been two years. No a big deal as my car is still in pieces and I've been taking my time collecting parts.
Fast forward to now. Still not ready and he's been telling me that it will probably be another $1500 to get my parts done as requested. I have asked him to communicate exactly what he plans to do to my engine for $2000. Remember, these are all stock parts and he has not communicated any significant problems because he hasn't gotten that far on the project.
What should I expect to pay for a checked over and balanced motor? I think $2k is really high. especially when he wants another $800 to assemble it....What questions do I ask to sort this out?

Thanks in advance

[rick 918-S]

Send in a friend on a fishing expedition. "Hey I have this VW bus engine, I want you to look over the parts, pick the best ones, then balance the thing and get it ready to assemble" How much...?

Really, it should be easy for him to break down the charges in advance. To some degree it's repetitive.

Cost for cleaning parts:

Cost for checking crank and rods for straightness, diameter, cracks:

Check the case for cracks, collapsed registers, check the line bore and bearing fit:

Probably a few other jobs he could include. I don't know what your conversation with him was or what he remembers it was but I would go back and refresh his memory and get it in writting. Open ended machine shop work is asking for trouble. I'm not saying your guy is a crook. Just without an written understanding of what you and he agreed on with standard pricing, he is likely building you a NASCAR engine with your expectation of receiving basic machine shop services at standard rates.