Machine shop time, How many hours to prep case, crank, bearings? Options

[Phoenix914]

Greetings All!

I just recently dropped off my 2.0 (GA) case and 71mm crankshaft to get checked at a local machine shop in preparation for a rebuild. Today they called and said for align bore, decking the registers, polishing the crankshaft, and mocking up the assembly with fitted and numbered main bearings it would be 30 hours of work.

Does that sound reasonable? It's honestly a lot more than I expected and will add $$$ to my budget for this rebuild.

Should I look for another case, maybe a 1.7, that is in better condition or has already been prepped?

I'm not an expert builder and some things are worth paying for, but man that's a lot of money!

Thanks for any advice!

[Jake Raby]

I started prepping an engine last Friday.When I started, I had previously completed the dynamic balancing, which added another day onto things.

Just today I had all the work done for assembly, which will start tomorrow. I don't even keep track of the hours, because I don't bill by the hour. I propose the whole job as a flat cost. The time doesn't matter.
This one is a stroker, so that adds one day onto my work, generally speaking.

30 hours for a machine shop sounds about right, IF they are blueprinting the assembly, and also balancing the components, along with the other items that you posted.

Today it's a lot more than just building these engines. It's a full restoration effort, at the same time. If you have attention to detail, time to do these tasks can easily dip into the triple digits when it comes to hour count. That's why I don't keep track of it, I don't want to see the fact that I've been doing this for 28 years and I still don't make more than minimum wage.

This post has been edited by Jake Raby: Sep 17 2020, 08:22 PM

[Phoenix914]

I started prepping an engine last Friday.When I started, I had previously completed the dynamic balancing, which added another day onto things.

Just today I had all the work done for assembly, which will start tomorrow. I don't even keep track of the hours, because I don't bill by the hour. I propose the whole job as a flat cost. The time doesn't matter.
This one is a stroker, so that adds one day onto my work, generally speaking.

30 hours for a machine shop sounds about right, IF they are blueprinting the assembly, and also balancing the components, along with the other items that you posted.

Today it's a lot more than just building these engines. It's a full restoration effort, at the same time. If you have attention to detail, time to do these tasks can easily dip into the triple digits when it comes to hour count. That's why I don't keep track of it, I don't want to see the fact that I've been doing this for 28 years and I still don't make more than minimum wage.

Jake, thanks for your input on this. I added emphasis to your statement above because there was no balancing of components included in the estimate I was given. I'll call the shop again today and talk some more about the overall project. This one is a 2056, so no special clearancing needed. They also might be overestimating so I don't get sticker shock at the end.