machine work prices and more

[online170]

Lol at the springs. Thats what i thought too at first. Thats just how the stock springs feel. You can almost disassemble them by hand.

There are mixed reviews about the head bolts, some people reuse them, some dont. I went with studs because you can see without a doubt the motor was rebuilt.

The main bolts are not tty. They are seriously overdesigned as well. The 600hp mts engine used them. I bought a new front cover from mts. Very expensive. To do it over again i would have jb welded and sanded smooth.

 

[G_Body_Enthusiast]

Lol at the springs. Thats what i thought too at first. Thats just how the stock springs feel. You can almost disassemble them by hand.

There are mixed reviews about the head bolts, some people reuse them, some dont. I went with studs because you can see without a doubt the motor was rebuilt.

The main bolts are not tty. They are seriously overdesigned as well. The 600hp mts engine used them. I bought a new front cover from mts. Very expensive. To do it over again i would have jb welded and sanded smooth.

the heads of the bolts that were not under the valve covers were rusty and while the shanks look ok i dont want to reuse them. once i see corrosion on critical fasteners i just ditch em and buy new hardware. even grade 9 head bolts arent cheap but i have considered using studs but that may be overkill for what i'm doing. as for the main cap bolts, they look great and the threads are like new. nobody has had the bottom end apart except for me so they're reusable since they're not TTY.

northern auto has a store on ebay and they have a cam kit (cam/lifters/timing set for the 500/472 for just under 2 bills. here's the link: http://www.ebay.com/itm/472-Cadillac-Ca ... bc&vxp=mtr

i'm guessing it's all melling since their site only shows melling cams. on their site they have a melling cam and lifter set (no timing set included) for 241 bucks. the one on ebay is 200.

i could probably JB weld the timing cover. if i give it a bath in phosphoric acid to remove all rust, how do i prep the surface so the JB weld adheres as best as possible? i'm still gonna have to have someone else remove the damn crank hub unless i can find a good tool to remove it. i'm not sure i can trust a made in china tool with the cheapest hardware put into it to remove this thing.

and WTH is with these rubber freeze plugs northern auto has? http://www.ebay.com/itm/472-Cadillac-Ca ... bc&vxp=mtr

i'm thinking of using brass, who uses these rubber things?

 

[online170]

If it were me doing the JB weld, i would probably just wirewheel the surface, clean with laquer thinner, and spread on some JB weld exactly like you would spot putty. I say JB weld, but just about anything would work. Epoxy, or even RTV. Then sand smooth. After I bought a new cover from MTS, one of the guys told me that the pitted cover is way too common, and there are a ton of guys running them as is, with RTV. If you dont get the surface 100% prepped perfect, its no problem, because the epoxy or weld has no where to go really, being sandwiched between two pieces of metal.

For the crank hub, I bought this princess auto puller about 8 years ago, and its helped me remove all kinds of things like steering wheels, and harmonic balancers. Works good, and its tough.
http://images.palcdn.com/hlr-system/Web ... 261653.jpg

 

[G_Body_Enthusiast]

we've been using clear silicone to seal some stuff up around the house and it works really well and it sticks to just about anything like it's welded on. i'm pretty sure it can withstand the temps of the coolant so i might try that route. i know silicone wont flake or crack so i think that would be a safer bet. i cant wirewheel this cover, i'd have to grind it and giving it a phosphoric bath removes all rust and preps the surface for whatever.

i thought you were making a joke about the princess puller. i googled it and sure enough princess does exist. the one you showed me is their 19 piece balancer puller and is only 20 bucks. i know what i'm getting next week. jumping jesus on a pogo stick! shipping is 17 bucks! actually it says 17.60 for canada post and 17.10 for purolator. i better not have to pay both!

i did some reading up on polishing the journals on different forums and since i have no experience in doing that by hand i'll leave that to someone else. from what i understand it doesnt cost that much anyway. as an alternative northern auto does have 500 cranks with bearings for 500 bucks and that includes the 200 dollar core and i doubt they'll accept the 472 crank as a core. i also checked ebay and there are 500 cranks from one seller for 500 bucks each. for now i'm sticking with the 472 crank just so i can get the engine running a little sooner. and by using the 472 crank i can reuse the pistons and save myself 1000 bucks just to refresh the engine. i can always do the rebuild i want to do later if i want.

 

[online170]

Princess auto is pretty popular around here but maybe not local to you. Its like harbor freight for you guys i guess. In any case pullers shouldnt be that expensive other places.

 

[G_Body_Enthusiast]

here's one i found on harbor freight. and it's on sale for 13 bucks and it's 46 pieces.
http://www.harborfreight.com/46-piece-b ... 37824.html it looks similar to the one you showed me so it'll probably work.

 

[online170]

That looks like it will work perfect. They are fairly universal.

Very handy tool to have in your arsenal. Not used too often, but when you need it youre glad you have it.

 

[G_Body_Enthusiast]

i finally got a reply to an email i sent to a local machine shop a while back and here's what they priced the work at...

HOT TANK BLOCK 50*
CHECK BLOCK FOR CRACKS 65*
BORE & HONE W/PLATE 200*
CK MAINS & LINE HONE 135
INSTALL CAM BRGS 35*
INSTALL FREEZE PLUGS 20*
SQUARE DECK BLOCK 125*
GRIND CRANK 95*
BALANCE STOCK ASSEMBLY 190
R&R PISTONS ON RODS 64*
RECONDITION RODS 80*
STOCK VALVE JOB 115*
INSTALL BRONZE GUIDES 175
PRESSURE TEST HEADS 70*
ASSEMBLY OF THE LONG BLOCK WILL VARY DEPENDING ON HOW MUCH YOU NEED ASSEMBLED.

most of the list will cost about 900ish bucks (everything with an * next to it) depending on what i get done and IF i let them assemble the engine it will cost even more. i really doubt the mains need anything so i didnt bother including it in the price. with new pistons i may need it balanced but if i use OE pistons the weight should be about the same so a balance shouldn't be needed in theory. nice to know they use plates when they hone. i still say it only needs a hone so it may not cost 200 bucks. i'm figuring about 1K for work needed.

 

[chevy2480]

A word of advice. If your going to go with head studs its critical that you have the block finished honed with a deck plate useing the head studs torqued to spec. If not done this way when you torq them later during motor assembly the head studs will buldge the upper cylinder walls inward by each stud. I learned this the hard way. Could lead to broken rings and blowby.

 

[G_Body_Enthusiast]

i'm just using bolts. i dont see the need for studs.