V8 upgrade cost - sound right?

Hey all,

so here is what I got quoted from Dad's Garage in El Cajon San Diego:

$3,400 with used V8 (90 day warranty)
$4,600 with rebuilt V8 (12 month warranty, 12K miles)


>labor (v8 upgrade, disc break upgrade, suspension rebuild): $1200
>used 302 with 90 day warranty: $600 or $1,800 for rebuilt one
>misc parts (oil pan, oil pump pickup, collant hoses, belts, A/C check): $500
>dual exaust: $800 (seems a little high)

3-4 weeks for the job to be completed

I will need t supply:
>disc brake parts for conersion
>suspension rebuild parts
>engine cross member, tranny crossmember, engine and frame mounts

 

Sounds high to me with you supplying the parts. I'd try to be doing some of it myself to get the cost lower.

 

that all seems high to me.
If you can do any or all of that yourself, it would be 1/4 of that total quote.
The only thing they are supplying is a rebuilt v8? Crazy prizes.
A shop here in town sells a reman. long block with 2 year/20k warranty for $1000.
Disc brake conversion cost me around $200.
A complete suspension kit from P-S-T is around $500.

*But, if you cannot do the work yourself and you do not have a friend that can, then your between a rock and a hard place.

 

Too much $$... figure a grand for parts(includes itty bitty sundries)tops.
1 to 1500 for a good re-man eng(minus core charge)
Soo... 1000.00 to 2500.00 give or take 500.00 bucks.
Thats at least a G cheaper than Dads.A grand labor seems to be in the right neighborhood.
Since they are quoting you 3400.00 W/O parts thats robbery.

 

sweet, thanks for the help.

I really wish I could do the work myself, the fun alone would be worth that cost. My schedule is a little too hectic though. I've had a pretty tough time even finding this guy. Not a lot of people who are willing to do work on older cars in San Diego. One shop I called quoted me something so absurd I won't even mention it.

I'm thinking I'll hold off on the brakes & suspension so how about:
labor $900
engine $600
misc $200
exhaust $300
-------------
total: $2,000

Maybe it's a California thing for people to charge so much. I asked other shops and I got much higher quotes.

 

I just got my front suspension totally rebuilt and it was totally worth it
I wanted to do the engine stuff first but a mechanic persuaded me to do the suspension first and then worry about the engine....MAN WAS IT WORTH IT!!

The car barely has any body roll, stiff but not tooo stiff,
and I did the disk brake conversion

all that was around 2300
oh and he scaled the car
-poly bushing
-cut 1.5 coil
-sway bar

 

Find a car club to join and meet someone who will do this at a reasonable price or free. This swap can be done in 2 or 3 days tops

 

Hey Mohammad....

Considering if you are not able to do the install......it all sounds very reasonable to me. Yeah...here in the Midwest it might be cheaper to get done....but you are out in California.....and just finding people to even LOOK at an old car can be very difficult.

 

Actually it might not be a bad price when you look at it. When I first read it then I saw it was a V-8 conversion and I thought that was a little high. When I realized that when it was a total rebuild and alignment of the front end and a disk break conversion the labor costs are starting to sound a little more accurate.....:16suspect

But I do all of my own work including all of the fabrication and machining....I just gotta wait for an open Okuma when I want to do it...

 

Although I'm in Canada; it sounded ok until you mentioned that YOU supply the parts - since that's the hard work! And will likely cost you a lot more than the labour. Hell, might as well provide your own new engine.

Before getting major surgery done to your car in this manner - er, like a HEART TRANSPLANT (nothin like having a new V-8 ticker... heh) - go see a few more doctors and get second and third and fourth opinions...

At least this will give you ideas and ammunition to go back and barter for a better labour quote. If someone quotes you a much lower or much higher price ask them why.

Doctor Whisky

 

Still seems high, when they convert over, are you going to have to get every nut, bolts, an BRACKETS? a/c, power steering etc

Get 2-3 more prices and MAKE sure they SPELL everything out! Judge Judy here we come!

Good Luck

 

that's really good advice because I can see how he could totally throw in some extra costs randomly.

I wish I could go to auto club meets and get to know people who are into working on cars and get hooked up that way but for whatever reason I just don't roll in those circuits. Most of my friends are into very fancy shmancy life styles, they don't get it.

I'll keep asking around for other prices. I called some shops in East LA who have done work on my other cars in the past. But don't know how good of a job they would do. I wanna make sure my engine spends most of its time in the engine compartment and not in the shop later.

 

$800 for dual exhaust anywhere USA is high in my opinion.
The other quotes are high as well to me.

Sometimes, people give you a price high....because they
don't really want the job.

I'd keep looking.

 

So I got him down to $2400 for just the engine swap. That's $600 for the engine, $900 labor, $500 misc parts, $400 for the dual exhaust. I will provide the bellhousing, mounts, accel cable and crossmembers.

His website is www.dads-g.com and I'm gonna have him spell it out in detail. Are there other expenses that might come up?

He is asking for an extra $1200 to rebuild that engine for a 12mo/12mi warranty instead of the 90 days I'll get with the used one.