Engine builders...this machining cost sound excessive?

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I got a call from my machinist today. I dropped my block and new pistons off requesting a .030 bore and R&R pistons onto rods. Nothing more. I am picking it up Friday. He has had it about 10 months. I haven't been hounding due to other obligations but we spoke a few times and he gave me some updates after the fact while he had it. Here is what I got....

Block cleaning - subbed out of house. I degreased and cleaned block prior to dropping off.
Brass freeze and oil plugs.
Cam bearings. I am hoping he align honed but he asked me to bring my cam.
Prime and paint. Said he had to paint it prior to boring. He did ask what color I was going with.
Overbore with torque plate.

My bill is $850. We did not discuss cost (my fault, no lecture please) but I was expecting around $350 for my requested work. My number was from asking others about their projects. Needless to say this was supposed to be a budget build on a low mileage Magnum 360.
Between the cost of the block, machine work, pistons, rings and bearings I am close to the price of an assembled short block but I really want to build this mill myself.
Does this sound about right? What would you charge for the work that was done?
I would appreciate if you broke it down if possible.
Thank you.

Maybe it would have been 350 or so if he hadn't taken 10 months to do it. (not really, but ya gotta wonder)
10 months, that's friggin ridiculous.
 
Lots of factors on cost being location, overhead, reputation, equipment and quality. Any labor intensive work will be what ads up. I bet the prime and paint was costly due to supplies, prep, masking, and painting. Some shops farm work out and they pinch off the top so know ahead of time if it's all done in house.
 
Had a 5.9 done in October.

Hot tanked.
Removed, cleaned and reringed pistons.
New main, rod, and cam bearings.
Polished the crank.
Honed the bores
And reassembled

Took two weeks and cost $800.
 
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Here is my $0.02. This is just like so many other, "I remember when that only cost..." comments. People come up to me all the time and say stuff like, "The mechanic wants $300 for a brake job. Isn't that too much?" I always tell them the mechanic has to pay rent on his building, he has to pay his mechanics a living wage, he either pays someone to answer the phone and order/track parts or does it himself at the expense of working on a car, he has to pay unemployment insurance on his employees he has to pay payroll tax on his employees, he probably pays for health insurance on his employees, he has to pay for liability insurance for his business, he has to pay for shop equipment and consumable supplies, plus lots of other expenses. The days of a $75 brake job are over. I think a lot of people get trapped in this line of thinking.
 
What about all of the things shop owners DON'T get paid for?
*Dealing with customers who want something for nothing.
*Babysitting those who do not understand the process, but still complain
*Covering all of your bases, so that you're not married to the job for the rest of your businesses life
*complying with OSHA, EPA, city and county regulations, Fire Dept, Workmans Comp, Etc.
*sitting on completed work, cause the customer is in jail
*lost labor, cause the customer changed their mind and abandoned the project
*projects brought in, in a crate (parts missing)
*ETC

someone had to say it !
 
What about all of the things shop owners DON'T get paid for?
*Dealing with customers who want something for nothing.
*Babysitting those who do not understand the process, but still complain
*Covering all of your bases, so that you're not married to the job for the rest of your businesses life
*complying with OSHA, EPA, city and county regulations, Fire Dept, Workmans Comp, Etc.
*sitting on completed work, cause the customer is in jail
*lost labor, cause the customer changed their mind and abandoned the project
*projects brought in, in a crate (parts missing)
*ETC

someone had to say it !
Completely agree. Lots of times, the shop owner isn’t trying to get rich, they’re just trying to keep in business. I’ve seen too many episodes of Restaurant Impossible where the owner hasn’t taken a paycheck in years and is losing money every month just keeping the staff paid.
 
I know my work took longer, and was more expensive then I thought it should have been, but looking back, it was only a few hundred dollars extra. He did some work that he did not clear with me first, but I know it is done right and worth the piece of mind going forward. It's getting harder to find a good shop, especially one that knows Mopars. A lot of these shops are one, or two man shows, and many owners are getting up there in years. At some point I think we will see them disappear to only have the option of big rebuilders available. Then you will get what they tell you, with no option for custom work.
 
I forgot one....
*I want 2500 HP like those guys on TV
 
15 years ago. (can't believe it's been that long) I paid $1200 for cleaning, .030 overbore and hone with torque plate, .010/.010 turn and polish the crank, recondition rods with new bolts, balance and cam bearings All the surfaces were checked and milled if necessary. The line bore was good. That was no head work.

It takes a lot of hours to do quality work and you wouldn't want somebody that charges just $20 per hour. I haven't checked but around $75/hr is probably normal.

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The cost of the equipment alone is pretty tough. I've been buying some stuff here and there, and even older equipment brings stiff money! Its probably a dying profession in my opinion.
 
15 years ago. (can't believe it's been that long) I paid $1200 for cleaning, core plugs, .030 overbore and hone with torque plate, .010/.010 turn and polish the crank, recondition rods with new bolts, balance and cam bearings All the surfaces were checked and milled if necessary. The line bore was good. That was no head work.

It takes a lot of hours to do quality work and you wouldn't want somebody that charges just $20 per hour. I haven't checked but around $75/hr is probably normal.

The ugly sister to that is all the Online options out there.. Crate motors, cyl heads, cheap cyl heads, cheap CNC'd cyl heads.
Scat rods cheaper than you can get a good old set reconed for..

The Lil guy really can't run with this type of environment.
 
The ugly sister to that is all the Online options out there.. Crate motors, cyl heads, cheap cyl heads, cheap CNC'd cyl heads.
Scat rods cheaper than you can get a good old set reconed for..

The Lil guy really can't run with this type of environment.
True that. It depends whether you want to modify or save what you have. I wanted to save. Original block,crank, rods, heads, intake, distributor, valve covers, air cleaner etc.
 
For the record... I am not complaining about the cost of work performed and I appreciate quality. We had a few conversations and I was very comfortable giving the work to him. He is an older gentleman in his late 60's with old school work ethics. As stated.... there aren't many of those guys left and hats off to those of you out there getting it done.
 
For the record... I am not complaining about the cost of work performed and I appreciate quality. We had a few conversations and I was very comfortable giving the work to him. He is an older gentleman in his late 60's with old school work ethics. As stated.... there aren't many of those guys left and hats off to those of you out there getting it done.

My apologies, if you thought I was knocking you around a bit...
Cost is a major factor. Things have got expensive, in most cases.
Most of it is reasons hidden from Joe P Customer.
While I was having a little fun, while true.... I was simply trying to give the business side of the equation.
 
The owner called to tell me my block was finished. I showed up two hours later to pick it up and pay the balance. He was extremely grateful for me getting there so quickly.

He said a guy came in with "emergency" work and begged him to get it done. So he moved it to the front of the line and got it done. He was still waiting three days later for the guy to pick it up!
 
from 1976 popular hot rodding.. Leaded gas was .39 then too :/
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Thanks for your input guys. Feeling much better about it now. I should have asked him for a price first so shame on me. I'm sure the money spent now will be bringing big smiles when I hit the go pedal.

But then you may have taken it to a lesser quality shop. It sounds to me like you got top quality work, which is not wasting your money!
 
Wow , 1975 360 block here . shot blast block , mag , torque bore and hone , square deck , install arp main studs and align hone , cut down main cap so stud and 12pt nut clears oil pump , brass freeze plugs , cam bearings , dist bushing , I supplied block and studs only . Beautiful work in the bag $450 cash . Everything checks perfect and it was done in a week . This is in Florida , same work in Maryland 5 years ago cost me $1100
 
if only i could find a sure grip 8 3/4 for $225.

keep looking, you'll get lucky once in a while...
I was at a buddies place one day (shivy guy), and he said, "..hey, you're a F&*#$ Mopar guy, you want those gears?", "they're heavy, and I'm tired of moving them around.." :lol:
 
keep looking, you'll get lucky once in a while...
I was at a buddies place one day (shivy guy), and he said, "..hey, you're a F&*#$ Mopar guy, you want those gears?", "they're heavy, and I'm tired of moving them around.." :lol:
Yeah i keep waiting for a nice 741 case to pop up cause nobody wants them. Itll be fine behind my slant.
 
Yeah i keep waiting for a nice 741 case to pop up cause nobody wants them. Itll be fine behind my slant.

I know someone whose got one, but it would probably cost $150 to ship it to Kansas from Kalifornia..
 
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