I might cry

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71Duster

71Duster

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I think my car has it out to get me... after all my en gine troubles I decided to build my 340 nice and mild 350hp street engine.

The first very good chrysler experianced engine builder was priced so high I wont repeat the numbers.

The second sent me a quote that he said he went high on but even so is scary@ $7800 for a rebuild of a 340 new crank and rods pistons etc all machine work and reman the J heads all into a long block.

Even if I build it myself it only saves a grand. Am I insane to think this engine can be built for 3 grand?

Think it might be back to the drawing board with my current en gine a new carb and tweaking to get some form of power from it and be done with it
 
I've often heard people discribe the 340 as the "Hemi of the small block family" With prices like that, it sounds about right!
 
Supply and demand :(
parts cost less for 350 chevy engines. 302 Fords too.
Seems to me that the entire drive line from a Dakota is probably gonna turn ou to be the best plan. Now that their steering rack has been successfully placed through the K-member (different thread) even the truck oil pan works.
Good luck whatever you decide :)
 
Unless 340 pistons cost alot more than 360 pistons, 3k sounds reasonable for a rebuilt. Reuse the crank/rods and no port work.

EDIT: I just looked up 340 rebuild 'kits' off summit. 3k seems even more reasonable. However that's for a factory spec rebuild.
 
the crank was to be new because the crank is 10 under and bubba the redneck welded the mallory weights in with chicken **** welds and one shop recomended it to be cheaper to go new a sopposed to the labour. Even so the savings is only $800 so save the crank and assemble it msyelf is only $1800 still 3 grand to high. Not sure why his numbers are so high I said mild dependable engine for street use around 350hp. Its a numbers matching 340 block that needs to go .040 over

Thinking about a mopar crate even now.
 
why not just do a stock rebuild? with those 340 hi compression pistons or
use a 360 crank and have the mains ground down
 
How about a cut-out hemi? For those kind of prices I'll bet one from a magnum or charger etc. will be looking pretty cheap.

Mmmmm.....fuel injected hemi.
 
this isn't far off from a stock rebuild nothing wild jsut all the machine work. The one big expendature is the roller cam as they dont recomend flat tappets any more due to the loss of zinc in oil and wont warrenty a flat tappet cam either. I just talked to them by phone again he's going to look into turning up a used crank or about turning down a 360 crank if my crank is not re-useable.


Realistically this needs to be done as a complete ready to rock long block in the 3-4 grand range out the door under the hood. The main problem is the labour cost comeing in at $3600 thats $100 more then parts!
 
Hey Cory. Man, it sounds like you're really having some major headaches with your car since I last saw you. That really sucks the big one.
What's up with your 360 you have in there now? Are you having major problems, or just annoying little gremlins and less power than you expected from your combination? Where did you go to get the quotes on rebuilding your 340? Machine shops in Edmonton I presume? Well, it sounds like they really have their sights set on your wallet. :)
 
A really decent rebuild, one that you can trust, is going to cost more than three grand. A decent head job, that's going to last is expensive. Not to mention the rest. My .02. Been there many times.
 
Vart: The current 360 is under powered, couldn't get the racer brown rockers to shut up -push rod issue or worse?- So I put the stockers on and it pings badly, colder heat ranges of plugs pulled timing etc. Even with 94 octane.

Just not getting any satisfaction from the car latly but to far into it for cash to just quit.

I went to AMS once which was just scary, I think he thought I wanted to race the space shuttle. They now require a $10000 deposit on all engine builds.

Bel Engines wants $7800

Waiting to here from Campbell

Depending on what they quote me I might jsut life with what I have, try another carb to eleiminate the bog if I can and drive it till it hurts. I always manage to find the worst people to deal with and get the parts that always have issues with this car.

I've had a lot of thoughts on cutting my losses and building a truck.
 
Contact Muscle Motors in Lansing Michigan. They are great honest guys there, Eric usally answers the phone. I live just an hour away but still, if I lived a 1,000 miles away, I still would use them.

All they do is Mopar motors, they have short blocks too. A 408 is $3,850
http://musclemotorsracing.com/m/ind...facturer_id=0&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=31



Heres the # 517-482-4900 they also have a web mail and answer their E-mail faster than most...

http://musclemotorsracing.com/m/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1
 
Depends on what you are getting.

For a long block, the local guy here could do it for around 3K and it's a solid piece. Probably have a Comp cams xe hydraulic, KB's, all machining and a rebuilt set of heads.

For 7K I'd expect at least a stroker with aluminum heads.

Are you providing cores for the build or is he getting everything together? That's a crazy price... run run run!

Get a detailed breakdown of all cost involved.
 
I've done the engine builder from far away thing... way mor ehassle across the border and cash involved not to mention when I had issues I was SOL, its a crate or a local builder just trying to understand why its so much. I'm provideing the block, complete heads, crank and rods all need to be re-worked but still.

I have a complete rundown from the one shop the other will get me a list next week so I'll see where that sits.
 
try hughes engines or either hensley performance both do great work a will build high horsepower crate motors for 7800 or less and alot more power. good luck. or at least they used to just have tro check:toothy7:
 
  1. I agree with Crackback for that much money you should get a stroker. $3600 just for the labor is a rip off. I just rebuilt a 360 and I spent about $1000. I did use the stock crank ,rods and heads and a flat tappet cam. I did put it together myself and so far I have about 2000 miles and it runs great. I asked a local machine shop that builds a lot of high dollar drag and round track engines what they charge to put an engine together and they only charge $300 accourse that doesn't include machine work and parts. It would be really hard to spend more than $2000 using the stock block, crank, rods and heads. I suggest find a good local machine shop that the local racers use.
 
Im In The Same Boat With Needing To Rebuild One. But That Seems Awfully High, Heres The Numbers I Got From My Shop.

Hot Tank 35.00

Bore .030 125.00

Install Cam Bearings 35.00

Polish Crank 60.00

Hang Pistons 50.00

Balance 175.00

Assembly 250.00

Now I Supply All The Parts, But That Is Still Alot Cheaper Than 3600
 
No line hone to straighten crank bores?
No decking to straighten deck (and even compression)?
No block blast to clean the in and out side after the boil?
Tap and champher all bolt holes (if you don't do it)?
125 fore a quality bore job. Wow.

A quality job cost money is all I'm saying.
 
wow. I'm not sure on the exchange rate, but i think the US and Canadian dollars are close to each other now. So here's two I have done, or am doing, right now. Keep in mind, I pay a shop to machine. Some things I do, but I charge for it. My customers generally pay for thier own parts even tho I order them.
505" RB six barrel Wedge- I supplied the block, did the build, spec'd the parts, ran it and broke in the cam, modified the carbs, installed inner valve springs, etc. Estimated hp is 575ish hp, 600+ torque. It will get dyno'd when the car is done.
RB 440 block, sonic tested, main studs, align bore/hone, square deck to my spec, bore, hone, modified oil system, deburred block, clean, assembled. 440Source 505/512 kit, 4.25 stroke crank, H beam rods, dished pistons, RPM heads new, ports cleaned up, but not ported, Engle custom grind solid flat tappet(my specs), nothing used except the block and main caps, timing cover, windage tray, misc small hardware, and correct 69 dated factory intake. All parts, labor, including running stand time and oil/filters/carb work/basic tuning were $8700 US. I dont use cheap parts. Comp, Crane, Edelbrock, Holley, MP, 440 Source, Fel Pro, Professional Products, etc.

422" LA wedge-Customer supplied block, milder build, looking for max hp @ 5500 redline, torque from idle up. Target power of 470ish hp, 530ish tq. 340 block, sonic tested, main studs, align bore/hone, square deck to my spec, bore, hone, modified oil system, deburred block, clean, assembled, break in cam on stand, deliver and dyno test when completed. Heads- 915"J" castings, fully done. Stage 2 ported by me (IIRC they ended up around 242int cfm/160exh cfm at 28"), 2.05 intake, 1.60 exh, new guides, unleaded seats, 5 angle Serdi performance valve job, spring seats cut, guides cut for teflon seals, SI stainless swirl polished valves, Crane retainers, locks, springs. Crosswind intake, MP rockers, re-using tinwork, new water and fuel pumps, all new wear items. Scat 4" crank, 340 rods redone w/ARP bolts, custom over size Diamond forged pistons, internally balanced. Current charges with parts is $5800. It should top off around $7K after dyno tuning. That adds close to $1000 to the bill tho. Shopping carefully, and not worrying about things like the MSD 6Al, the brand new Holley Street Avenger, etc, can bring costs way down. If you dont get a dyno'd package ready to run for over $7K, you're getting hosed IMO. Even if Barton did the engine, that's a lot of money for any stock based under 2hp/cubic inch 340.
 
if i was racing this motor then decking,line honing would be done. were talking about a motor that never see over 5000. this will be a strong running 360 to take out and cruise a little and enjoy. I think people get caught up in what the shop says they should do. or what guys building high reving race motors are doing. all i was doing was giving an example of what a person can do if funds are limited. the average person that has a family cannot afford an 8000 dollar engine. without saving for years to afford it. thats all that i was saying.
 
These guys want $1000 jsut to assemble the long block so you can do the math on how much they charge for machineing.

This is one of the premier recomended machine shops in the area. I have one more to get quotes from and see if they are more reasonable I went through all the quote I got but theres just no real way to cut the bill down most I could manage was around 6 grand.

Has anoyone here run the new magnum crate with 390hp? Not sure what they are chargeing for them right now.
 
It seems to me that since the Barrett Jackson auction went on TV and got everyone all crazy, prices on collector cars in ANY condition went up a lot and everything associated with restoring them got stupid as well. Engine building, paint and body, chroming, etc., all of it seems to have gotten out of hand. That's my take on it for what it's worth:toothy7:
 
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