rebuilt engine price?

M

MickeyT

Senior Member
What might I expect to pay for the below engine. Let's assume everything is as stated.

"Model A Rebuilt Engine. All new babbett, pistons, adjustable valves, resurfaced flywheel with new clutch, New manifolds. Timing tab"

Thanks for your help.
 
There are only a few GOOD Model A engine rebuilders left. The local engine shop won't be able to handle the job. A search of this site will give you the best direction who to consider and who to avoid. I think you can expect to pay at least $2,500 for a quality short block.
 
you need to make sure that whoever did the babbitt has clue what they are doing. Look at schwalms for prices on a high quality build ad work from there.
 
It depends on who's doing the rebuild and what is their hourly rate. My guess would be a low of $25,00 and a high of $5,000. I'm doing one myself right now, and my machine shop tells me that I'm into it now for a little over $1,000. Doing as much of the labor yourself saves a lot of the cost. I also bought many of the new parts. When it's done, I'll probably have $2,000 in it plus a lot of my own labor.
 
Ora Landis of Schwalms re babbitting had engines at Hershey as high as $8000 + He also had them as low as $5000. Ora builds a good engine for the money!
Terry
 
If you don't HAVE to have babbitt, check out Antique Engine Rebuilders or Bert's. Both have their prices listed on their website. I'm getting mine back this week from AER.
 
The issue is, are we looking for a low price-point or quality? There are good builders up in the New England area such as J&M or Schwalms, and more good rebuilders as you branch out further but the reality is none of us can do a good job with worn-out equipment or cheap materials. Therefore the good shops have a sizable investment and must get a ROI to stay in business. There are a lot of labor hours that go into properly machining and rebuilding an engine. So it boils down to how does a one-man shop with worn-out equipment compete against those of us who have invested large sums into quality equipment? The answer is they look for ways to cut corners. They reuse melted babbitt or a cheaper blend. They don't take the time to clean the block as thoroughly, or maybe they don't chase all the bolt holes. Do they properly machine the crankshaft or take the time to rebalance the internal parts? Maybe the valve heighths all matching doesn't matter to them, or the finished bore sizes are a thousandth or so off. Remember that it takes time to do a thorough job, and Time = Money.
 
A company in Cali is listed weekly and does the engines pretty reasonably on ebay. Has been on there for quite some time, so would imagine the work is pretty good.
The pricing also seems very reasonable in the 2500-4500. range, depending what you want done. Also dont think a core is required?
 
I would highly recommend Antique Engine Rebuilders in Skokie, Il. They just rebuilt my short block(8/2017) with some minor extra repairs for $2355. The freight both ways was around $227. That was from NW Pa. to Skokie, Il. They are great to deal with and very helpful during the process answering all my questions. Also, the motor runs like a Swiss Clock!
 
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If you're looking at an ad and thinking of buying, the first thing to ask is "Who did the babbit work? "
Some other questions to ask are about the lifters, the valves, what sort of pistons, timing gears, and on and on. Too many unanswered questions to give a fair price. Like Brent pointed out, there are many ways to cut corners so that what you hear may technically be the truth, but not what you had in mind. That doesnt even consider the people that will out-and-out lie to you. Good Luck
 
Thanks everyone for the great input. The ad is one currently running and I just needed some ballpark figures. I'll explore the work done more closely.
 
It all depends on how much you are willing to pay. And what kind of engine you intend to end up with.
 
Terry said:
Ora Landis of Schwalms re babbitting had engines at Hershey as high as $8000 + He also had them as low as $5000. Ora builds a good engine for the money!
Terry
Click to expand...

X2, Ora did my engine for about $6,000, I had many upgrades plus Ross pistons and inserts. He has a great reputation in the East.
 
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