Looking for Mechanic to Rebuild 273 in SoCal

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zephyr

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The 273 in my 65 Dart has 144K and is getting tired; smokes and has pretty low compression. Before it conks out on me I want to get it rebuilt. Money is my issue, I've been selling some stuff to raise $ and so far I've got $3,700. Not enough to have IMM build an engine and also hire someone to remove/replace it. I can't do any of the work myself.
I'm not looking for performance upgrades, just a reliable engine.
Any recommendation for a Mopar mechanic/rebuilder in southern Cal?
 
VanceC said:
The 273 in my 65 Dart has 144K and is getting tired; smokes and has pretty low compression. Before it conks out on me I want to get it rebuilt. Money is my issue, I've been selling some stuff to raise $ and so far I've got $3,700. Not enough to have IMM build an engine and also hire someone to remove/replace it. I can't do any of the work myself.
I'm not looking for performance upgrades, just a reliable engine.
Any recommendation for a Mopar mechanic/rebuilder in southern Cal?
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That’s enough to do a really nice 273 commando.
 
The biggest issue you will have, is if you need to bore the block. 273 pistons are not inexpensive.......And 65 has a different bolt pattern, sort of, for intake..... So if you want a stock 4bbl intake, it gets pricey as well....You can change to later heads and not have that problem....
 
Join Inland Mopar club and see if they have connections.

the remove and install labor is really going to hurt that budget. I could see 16 hours estimate on remove and install. Chances are there will be a broken bolt, wires broken, or other things not part of the rebuild happen when motor gets swapped. Not a slam dunk with an older car.

shops are $75+ per hour. Someone at home is half that. Just adds up.
 
16 hours to R&R?? Last time I had the 273 out of my old '66 Barracuda I think it was out in 1.5 hrs. Granted I was still in my 20s at that time. We had the 340/727 and suspension out of the GTS in about 4 hours a couple of years ago. Shoot, I think the R&R on the 5.9 in my Durango was about 6 hours (I've done it twice for different reasons).

And, $11k for a stock rebuild???
 
Jim Lusk said:
16 hours to R&R?? Last time I had the 273 out of my old '66 Barracuda I think it was out in 1.5 hrs. Granted I was still in my 20s at that time. We had the 340/727 and suspension out of the GTS in about 4 hours a couple of years ago. Shoot, I think the R&R on the 5.9 in my Durango was about 6 hours (I've done it twice for different reasons).

And, $11k for a stock rebuild???
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maybe that’s a bad guess. I’m thinking an estimate and may come down. Or be prepared to extra labor for things you run into. You WILL run into something. You’re going to touch something and it’s going to just come apart.

And I’m thinking long block. So R&R person has to transfer peripherals to long block. And there will be repairs and maintenance to peripherals. Like new motor mounts, water pump, fuel pump, fuel filter, carb rebuild, hoses, etc. Then you’ve got tuning and adjustments.
 
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