I think the key take-away from this is it really is not a secret as much as it is more about possessing quality tooling it takes to do an acceptable job. Our level of expectations are much greater today than what they were 50 years ago IMHO. Many of today's "home shops" or 'semi-pro shops' have old equipment that (-at least from my experiences) are worn out and can only produce marginal work. The level of expectations from the consumers I speak with are now where they desire an engine that can be reliable for more than 30k-40k miles. Equipment costs for a well-tooled shop are astronomical (i.e.: over $100k). Even more-so for shops that have the proper tooling to cast & pour bearings.
To expound on Bill's thoughts about costs, I am going to list the operations that I do and the equipment that is used, -and then I would like everyone to mentally assign a time that you would budget for performing that operation. If you are unfamiliar with the times, then ask or just substitute a price.
- Disassemble by removing all reusable core parts and expendables. (-includes removing head studs, pistons from connecting rods, valves, guides, etc.)
- Remove old bearing material and broken fasteners in Cylinder Block.
- Thermal Clean all engine parts in Oven to remove oil & grease.
- Jet Washing of all parts in Wash Cabinet.
- Shot Blast Cylinder Block and all parts in RotoBlaster.
- Test & record Cylinder Block walls and deck thicknesses with Sonic Tester.
- Crack-check Cylinder Block with Wet Magnaflux.
- Pressure Test Cylinder Block with air pressure and block-off plate tester.
- Install Bearing Mandrel onto Block to cast Bearings. Dam all openings.
- Pour bearing material into 3 main journals. Peen castings, and trim flashing. Drill & clean all oil passages.
- Install Cylinder Block onto Resurfacer. Indicate off of Pan Rails and set-up for leveling deck surface to ℄ of Crankshaft.
- Install Cylinder Block onto Head Machine and install valve guides.
- Measure Valve Seat margins and machine Block for new Seats.
- Machine Valve Seats for 3-angle. Check concentricity of seat to guide. Label & lap corresponding Valve. Vacuum check for leakage.
- Measure wear in Lifter Bore clearances in Cylinder Block and set-up in Mill to machine for over-sized tappets.
- Measure Camshaft Bores in Cylinder Block. Set-up and bore for Camshaft with O/S journals if needed.
- Set-up Cylinder Block for cylinder boring on Boring Bar. Bore 4 cylinders.
- Measure diameter of replacement Pistons and record numbers.
- Set-up Cylinder Block in Honing Machine and hone to corresponding piston.
- Deglaze cylinder walls and chamfer top of each cylinder.
- Check & measure end gap on new Piston Rings and file to size.
- Set-up Cylinder Block in Head Resurfacer and machine to finish under 10RA.
- Move Cylinder Block to cleaning area. Degrease and pressure-wash. Add rust-prevention chemical to all machined surfaces and paint casting.
- Mediablast Crankshaft. Remove Crankshaft Gear.
- Check Crankshaft in wet Mag machine for cracks.
- Set-up Crankshaft into Crankshaft Grinder and indicate for straightness.
- Remove Crankshaft and straighten. Measure journal wear and record.
- Install Crankshaft into Grinder and resize all connecting rod journal pins.
- Reset Grinder to resize all main journal pins.
- Recheck straightness of Crankshaft and straighten in Crankshaft Press. Verify Flywheel flange runout, -and machine if necessary.
- Clean, and machine Main Bearing Caps for parallel surfaces.
- Prep, preheat, flux, install mandrels, and cast bearings onto Main Caps.
- Machine Oil Dams and Oil Grooves in all 3 Main Caps and Main Bearings.
- Install Main Caps and shims to Cylinder Block, and torque to specs.
- Install Cylinder Block onto Align Boring Machine and set-up bar for proper Crankshaft gear to Cam gear backlash.
- Bore 3 Main Bearing to proper size correlating with Crankshaft journal pin size.
- Set-up and cut forward thrust surface of Rear Main in proper location.
- Measure Crankshaft Thrust surface clearance. Set-up Thrust Cutter and size Rear Main Thrust to match Crankshaft clearance.
- Remove Cylinder Block from Align Boring Machine and set-up to finish oil passage holes. Chamfer and blend holes in bearings.
- Install Crankshaft into Cylinder Block. Mount Cylinder Block to drive unit and burnish Main bearings. Adjust & remove shims for fit.
- Set-up 4 Connecting Rods for rebuilding. R&R Wrist Pin bushings. Mic corresponding Piston Pin and hone replacement Bushing to size.
- Grind 4 Connecting Rod Caps in Cap Grinder and prep rods for casting bearings.
- Prep, preheat, flux, install mandrels, and cast bearings onto Rod Caps.
- Prep, preheat, flux, install mandrels, and cast bearings into Connecting Rods.
- Set-up and cut Oil Grooves in 4 Connecting Rods & Caps. Drill and chamfer dipper oil holes. Clean remaining flashing.
- Set-up and bore 4 Connecting Rods in Connecting Rod Lathe.
- Check 4 Connecting Rods for straightness, and straighten in Rod Press.
- Clean, set-up, and machine Flywheel. Install Starter Ring Gear onto Flywheel.
- Install new Gear and Dowel Pins onto Crankshaft.
- Set-up Crankshaft in dynamic Balancer and machine for balance <10 grams. Install Flywheel to balanced Crankshaft and balance as assembly. Install Pressure Plate to Flywheel and balance as 2nd assembly.
- Weigh 4 Connecting Rods on big end, small end, and overall and match weights to ± 1 gram.
- Weigh 4 Pistons and Pins, machine, and match weights to < 1 gram.
- Set-up Flywheel Housing in grinder and machine housing to parallel sides.
- Measure Valve Spring pressures on Valve Spring Tester and match compressed pressures using shims.
- Disassemble, clean, r&r bushings & line-hone, and rebuild Oil Pump.
- Clean Rear Main Cap passages, re-install Drain Tube and Welch Plug.
- Rebuild Oil Pump Drive Assembly.
- Chase Threads on all bolt holes on Cylinder Block, and repair as necessary.
- Install corresponding Pistons to Connecting Rods for 4 cylinders.
- Install Piston Rings onto Pistons and index Ring location.
- Install Tappets and Camshaft. Install Cam Gear
- Install 8 Valves, Springs, Retainers, and Locks.
- Adjust lash clearance on 8 Valves.
- Install Crankshaft into Cylinder Block. Torque Fasteners.
- Install 4 Pistons & Connecting Rods. Connect Rods to Crankshaft and torque nuts.
- Install Flywheel Housing and verify runout.
- Set-up and machine Cylinder Head to finish under 10RA.
- Install Cylinder Head Studs and set to proper height.
- ...finish assembly.
As I sit here waiting on results at the doctor's office, I feel certain I have leftout some ops in the list above but this should be enough for most folks to realize what goes into a Model-A engine rebuild, and that $1,500.00 is honestly not going to be able to purchase a decent rebuild on most vintage engines. If you disagree with me (-and that is ok), then help me out and list what you feel each of these operations is worth by writing the time necessary to do the job thoroughly ...and the cost of the specialty machine necessary to do a good job.
Even removing some of those operations in an effort to save $$ should still help us realize that restoring a vintage engine is a very labor intensive process. Even those who choose to go with an insert bearing conversion will still find it takes a significant amount of time. Time in most quality machine shops these days is billed at over $100.00 per hour.
.
.
Very informative but you should have included an intermission for a leg stretch and bathroom break. Thanks