Rear End Install Shop in NorCal

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RenVill

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Can anyone recommend a good shop around the Bay area with reasonable prices to help me install a full RMS rear end on my 72 Demon?

I've only been able to find one who I can trust with the install but I'd have to sell one of my kids in order to afford it.
 
Bay Area and affordable can’t coexist. Unfortunately though, it’s a fairly involved install so it’s gonna cost you.
 
$3k? I’m not an expert and I don’t own a shop but I would imagine 15+ hours for the install. Probably more like 20. Times that by a shop rate to get your $$$.
i'd say that's a fair assessment time and money wise for a tidy install: cleaning and painting stuff, getting it set up to a decent spec, maybe dealing with whatever small problem or two might come up: rerouting a brake or fuel line type of thing.
 
$3k? I’m not an expert and I don’t own a shop but I would imagine 15+ hours for the install. Probably more like 20. Times that by a shop rate to get your $$$.
Yeah, I would pay that much this second but the quotes I'm getting from really good reputable shops around here are 8k+....... fml
 
Yeah, I would pay that much this second but the quotes I'm getting from really good reputable shops around here are 8k+....... fml
jfc... what's their labor rate $250 an hour?

did those numbers include other work or just install?

****... at that price you could drive your car to me, catch a flight home and then catch a flight back when it's done and cruise back and it'd still probably be cheaper!
 
Yeah, I would pay that much this second but the quotes I'm getting from really good reputable shops around here are 8k+....... fml

What all are you having done? Is it just the RMS rear install, or is it an install with a 3” relocation and mini tub? Is that their cost without the cost of the RMS or is that parts included?

Lotsa variables…
 
jfc... what's their labor rate $250 an hour?

did those numbers include other work or just install?

****... at that price you could drive your car to me, catch a flight home and then catch a flight back when it's done and cruise back and it'd still probably be cheaper!
:rofl:
 
What all are you having done? Is it just the RMS rear install, or is it an install with a 3” relocation and mini tub? Is that their cost without the cost of the RMS or is that parts included?

Lotsa variables…
ok, to be fair it does also include some other parts needed.
It's the install of RMS, axles, center section from dr. diff then the price includes parts like rear Willwood disc brake kit and custom driveshaft.
 
ok, to be fair it does also include some other parts needed.
It's the install of RMS, axles, center section from dr. diff then the price includes parts like rear Willwood disc brake kit and custom driveshaft.
okay, that makes a lot more sense.

now the number doesn't seem quite as egregious.
 
A little driving, but check out Jaws Gear and Axle in Sacramento.
They set up my 8 3/4 for the Dart and Coronet. I recommend them.
 
ok, to be fair it does also include some other parts needed.
It's the install of RMS, axles, center section from dr. diff then the price includes parts like rear Willwood disc brake kit and custom driveshaft.

Yeah, that makes A LOT more sense. The rear disks alone are going to be more than $1k of that total, and then add whatever brake lines and modifications you need on top of that since Wilwood never includes the brake lines (shady bastards). Driveshaft is likely $300+ (what I paid for my last one with 1350 joints) and that doesn't include measuring time for labor. And yeah, an extra hour for the diff, an extra hour for the axles, several more hours for the brake conversion, and at a minimum $100+ per hour the "extra stuff" is probably adding a few grand to your total.

Plus the RMS is gonna take awhile. If that's a fully assembled car you're dropping off you've got to drop the fuel tank, peel back any fuel or brake lines in the way, clean the frame rails and prep for welding, weld the cross bar in, clean and prep the rear axle housing, locate and weld on the tabs. Doing it right means mocking it up fully, determining all the angles and lengths, then tacking it all together, taking it all apart again for all the welding then reassembly. It's going to be a lot of hours of labor if you're paying a good shop for the RMS install.

And then you're painting and undercoating, reinstalling the tank, hooking up all the lines again, etc, etc...
 
Yeah, that makes A LOT more sense. The rear disks alone are going to be more than $1k of that total, and then add whatever brake lines and modifications you need on top of that since Wilwood never includes the brake lines (shady bastards). Driveshaft is likely $300+ (what I paid for my last one with 1350 joints) and that doesn't include measuring time for labor. And yeah, an extra hour for the diff, an extra hour for the axles, several more hours for the brake conversion, and at a minimum $100+ per hour the "extra stuff" is probably adding a few grand to your total.

Plus the RMS is gonna take awhile. If that's a fully assembled car you're dropping off you've got to drop the fuel tank, peel back any fuel or brake lines in the way, clean the frame rails and prep for welding, weld the cross bar in, clean and prep the rear axle housing, locate and weld on the tabs. Doing it right means mocking it up fully, determining all the angles and lengths, then tacking it all together, taking it all apart again for all the welding then reassembly. It's going to be a lot of hours of labor if you're paying a good shop for the RMS install.

And then you're painting and undercoating, reinstalling the tank, hooking up all the lines again, etc, etc...
it's the "grand rule" man. everything takes $1,000 to do right.

oh, install a fuel tank? no problem! but you can't install a tank and just leave the bobo fuel line up in the engine bay. eighty-five dollars for a steel line? no wayy! so you spend the time buying line, bending one up, get the nice filter, the good hose for the flex portions and good clamps. and you can't install a new tank without new vent lines, and i need some insulation for the tank, and this sending unit lock ring sucks and so does the gasket. and what the F? i gotta half take apart the exhaust to get the tank out? *fume about it and then add it to the ticket* and then get back to wirewheeling the J-bolts... and that's how you end up with 1K on a tank install.

so spot on with wilwood. and a bunch of the other "kits"... if i had a dime for every "i bought the kit, it's all there and ready to install" i've heard. well, i'd have a lot of dimes. probably more than ten dollar's worth.
 
Ha....The project I have at my place now feels like the 4 wheeled version of the Winchester Mystery House. Many dead ends travelled, a seemingly endless list of small tidbits to address too....
 
Ha....The project I have at my place now feels like the 4 wheeled version of the Winchester Mystery House. Many dead ends travelled, a seemingly endless list of small tidbits to address too....
:lol: If your chasing details trying multiple options to find the best wat forward it takes time... Most don't want to pay for that time... So they should is get whatever you come up with on the first attempt... But then your doing work your not proud of & if that's the case then what's the point.....


There's a reason I don't get involved much anymore.. I just got a car in and it's already started to snowball... I've always done my own work & worked on others stuff for twenty plus years till I got outta the trade... Now I'm semi retired and took on a small quick job to support my car hobby... I wasn't looking for a major project.... But somebodies gotta do it & at least he's not a cheapskate...
 
If I charged this guy by the hour, even at the new BS $20 minimum wage, it would be a hard kick to the wallet for him.
It isn't all on him though. There are a lot of options that I've tried that a more experienced guy wouldn't even try because they'd know it is a dead end.
If the same sort of project heads my way in the future, I'll have this experience to serve as a guide for what works and what is pointless to try.
 
Can anyone recommend a good shop around the Bay area with reasonable prices to help me install a full RMS rear end on my 72 Demon?

I've only been able to find one who I can trust with the install but I'd have to sell one of my kids in order to afford it.L
Contact Sean @ River City Differentials. He does a lot of good work for the Mopar community in this area (Rancho Cordova).
 
Never mind what I said above, mine was straight swap. RMS would take some welding skills and I have none.
 
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