Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[Brewster]

I was at an engineering works in Dundee yesterday - just about the last of its type in the city - to hand in a Weber carb for ultrasonic cleaning and happened to ask, out of curiosity, how much it would cost to have an engine rebuilt. The engineer I was speaking to flicked through a few job sheets and said, "Here's one here - an Austin Ten engine. It's getting the full treatment and will be like new. £5000."

Is that what this sort of work costs nowadays? That seems very expensive to me although I've nothing really to judge it against. Perhaps this engineering shop enjoys too much of a monopoly up here? Or am I just out of touch?

[Ray White]

I think if someone wants a professional engineer to rebuild an engine to the highest standards then they should expect to be charged a high fee.

What they could do, of course, is have the engineer only do the specialist work and do the rest themselves. That will significantly reduce the cost.

The risk is that the home mechanic may not be aware of certain tolerances and fitting techniques that if not adopted can result in a less satisfactory outcome.

I suppose you get what you pay for.

[consul 57]

i had my crank regound, new shells, head skimmed rebore to 20th+ and new pistons on my consul mk2.
total cost of all new parts inc gaskets and a few other parts was £1000, did the labour myself.
if you can do a lot yourself then you can save a lot, labour is getting more expensive now.

[ukdave2002]

The last full engine rebuild I completed was on Morris 8 side valve, the machining alone was just under £1000, this include machining the camshaft journeys and line boring the block so that bearings could be fitted. In the m8 the cam runs in the block without separate bearing, when they wear good oil pressure can not be achieved.

Had the engine been the earlier version, then white metalling would have added more cost. So on top of the machine work, there was the cost of new pistons, rods, valves, valve guides, main and big end shell, cam bearings for the cam, gaskets, head studs and nuts, timing gears, timing chain, probably another £800.

I put it all together; a days work.

To compliment the engine work I rebuilt the carb and distributor.
If I had paid someone to do it all, I’d imagine the bill would be well north of £3k, and that was 10 years ago

Dave

[alastairq]

The Ford sidevalve engines used to be cheap as chipz....but a professional rebuild these days almost puts them in Aston Martin territory!!! {OK, I exaggerate a bit...but, not much!]
It's easy to forget this when one has 'grown up' with the cheaper end of the motoring marketplace.

I ad issues with getting the cam bearings line bored and cast iron bearings inserted, on the Standard Special engine in my old '39 Morgan 4/4!
The bearings originally were simply running in what one could describe as 'spiders'....so line boring and putting better bearing surfaces in was a nightmare, which could have resulted in seriously weakened cam bearings.
The cam, when it came out, had three different sized bearing surfaces [through wear]....!!

The Morgan's Standard special engine [not like the Jaguar Standard engine version] was, and is, a bit of a nightmare.
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Dellow Mk2, 1951 built, reg 1952.
Fiat 126 BIS
Cannon special [1996 registered. Built in 1950's]
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Ford Pop chassis, Ashley 1172 bodyshell, in pieces.

[alastairq]

Given today's engine re-build costs, I can well understand why some folk will remove the ''original'' engine and fit something more easily available.
I mentioned the Morgan above...it was suggested in the Morgan club by one or two old hands, that I substitute a BMC A -series [1300cc] engine for the Standard Special item.
An easy replacement, given the Morgan's drive layout....[remote gearbox, and it used the same clutch as the BMC Sprite]...which would, at least, see the car out & running around.
The Standard Special engine pushed out around 39 bhp [1300cc as well]...so an A series of the 1100 or 1275 variety would have been an improvement.

I have seen one or two [pre-WW2?} MG's [PA, etc] which, instead of having the 1 litre blown engine, had it substituted for a Ford 1172cc sidevalve engine.
A cheap upgrade [power would be about the same...also weight?] that at least kept the car running and useable.
Of course, purists would blanche at the prospect, but in the end, why have a car sitting around doing nothing, for want of fixing the original engine {Or, finding bits for it?}

Many Dellows have had more modern[more powerful?] engines inserted...as well as more robust drive layouts [from a trialling perspective]...over the 7-odd decades they've been around.
Nothing new in that either, as many are documented as having been modified in such a way since the late '50's and early '60's..

Mind, given the values and rebuild prices of the once ubiquitous Ford crossflow, or 1500, even the above will have proved an expensive lot to overhaul.

A nearby AC enthusiast had [some years ago, now] an AC saloon, which had its AC engine replaced by an inline Ford Zodiac engine [AC did that, I believe, as an option with the Ace?]as a cheaper and more useable option to the very old design AC 2 litre 6 pot motor.
I don't know if he's even still around? [Lived down by Drax power plant]...I hesitate to go door knocking to find out.

Makes those US V8 crate motors at around 5 or 6 grand, something of a bargain, perhaps?
_________________
Dellow Mk2, 1951 built, reg 1952.
Fiat 126 BIS
Cannon special [1996 registered. Built in 1950's]
----------------------------------------------
Ford Pop chassis, Ashley 1172 bodyshell, in pieces.

[Crashbox]

I know of a pre-war Minor SV engine rebuild that cost the owner £4000. The cost included £1200 in parts (pistons and other stuff).
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1989 2CV

1932 Morris Minor S.V. Two-Seater

[petelang]

Well I spent £1k just on the block stitching.
I have no tangible idea what the rest of the job will come to but I'm not expecting less than 5k.
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Daimler Fifteen 1934
Armstrong Siddeley 15 Long 1933
Daimler V8 250 1969

[Brewster]

Lots of interesting perspectives there. Looks like I'm out of touch then!

[lowdrag]

Most members here run older machinery than I, but in 2014 a total rebuild of my 3.8 engine cost £6,400. The company have closed now, the children unwilling to take the company on and get their hands dirty, but the same engine would cost today around £9,000 but if you are an Aston owner then much dearer. It always seems to me that the cost of parts depends on the make, the more valuable the car the dearer the parts. Pistons are a prime example. If you want an uprated engine, such as the XKSS with wilder cams, lightened flywheel, high compression pistons and so on you could well be looking towards £25,000 these days

[Ray White]

[badhuis]

[badhuis]

Also in 2011 we did a XK150 engine

€4100 new parts (like the DB4) incl new valve guides cil head. Compared to the DB4 (also a 6 inline engine), cheap!
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a car stops being fun when it becomes an investment

[peter scott]

If cranks are unobtainable it can be pretty expensive to have one recreated.

Peter
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http://www.nostalgiatech.co.uk
1939 SS Jaguar 2 1/2 litre saloon

[Brewster]

I suppose if you can afford a classic Aston Martin then you can afford the maintenance/repair costs that go along with it. By that yardstick, my next old car will be a push bike.