ok. so i wanna rebuild my 3.8 sc how much would a port job cost on average? if im rebuilding the motor im gonna port everything while its off. SC, intake, exhaust, and heads. im already planning on putting stage 1 cams in it and possibly a custom FMIC while im at it. then i wanna clean the block and bore it out. is it worth it to sleve the 3.8 block? and then all the usual rebuild items. im looking for a cost estimate for these things and some other helpful ideas. money is tight but i wanna get the most bang for my buck.
port and engine rebuild costs
- Thread starter anthrax
- Start date
im planning on doing this once winter comes. so ill have time to get it together.
i dont want forged pistons or rods. im gonna balance the crank. pressure test/ acid wash the block. bore it over and possibly sleeve it. should i just get big ported heads vs porting and cam the stock one? im lookin for 300+ hp daily driver.
rzimmerl
Registered User
Ok, then take $1k off for the forged parts.
Not sure if there is a price difference for V6, or V8, or depending on what power they are gonna be putting down, but when my buddy was getting his 347 stroker built, he was priced $250 per sleeve, so times 8 is $2000. Thats only the sleeve it.
Needless to say, he didn't get it sleeved.
Needless to say, he didn't get it sleeved.
thirdbird
Registered User
Not True
If you are gonna use it as a DD and its not hammered, you don't need sleeving and machine work.
Boring it is not going to give you a return worth the $ it costs.
If there is crosshatch still in the bore just hone it and ring it.
Rings and bearings are not cheap either, but you dont need to take block to shop unless there are major bads with the cylinder walls.
I have a 190k motor rebuilt at 186 all hard parts are stock, they cleaned up very well, and all mic-ed like the book says.
You can port it yourself, I ported everything you mentioned and put aftermarket IC, camshaft, exhaust, and pulley on stock tune.
Thing runs excellently as it is, reliable and predictable....
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Not True
If you are gonna use it as a DD and its not hammered, you don't need sleeving and machine work.
Boring it is not going to give you a return worth the $ it costs.
If there is crosshatch still in the bore just hone it and ring it.
Rings and bearings are not cheap either, but you dont need to take block to shop unless there are major bads with the cylinder walls.
I have a 190k motor rebuilt at 186 all hard parts are stock, they cleaned up very well, and all mic-ed like the book says.
You can port it yourself, I ported everything you mentioned and put aftermarket IC, camshaft, exhaust, and pulley on stock tune.
Thing runs excellently as it is, reliable and predictable....
i want a DD that can haul when i need to. do you have pictues of your porting? i have a 90 sc auto. maybe use them as ideas. i have a buddy with an air compresser and a grinder that i can usse. about how long did it take u to port it ur self
thirdbird
Registered User
Hey
Just search my posts you will find pics of my porting also my garage.
I took my time cuz I have other vehicle... Port work probably around 8 hours for everything non stop...?
90turbo1
Registered User
you most likey are going to be looking at 2k for the rebuild.
i would not reuse the stock pistons, after x amount of pounding by fire and compression they will have some sort of metal fatigue on them. stock replacement pistons are almost always a must for a "good" engine rebuild. of course the block will need to be inspected and measured for taper and out of round in the cylinders. if any of those exist the block will need to be bored. My block was bored +1mm on each cyl.
some prefer to get the block line bored for the main bearings to be true but to tell the truth I have not seen a block so far out of alingment that it needed this for an everyday motor rebuild. your crank will need to be inspected, measured, ect and then turned to make true if needed. if your stock bearings are in ok to good shape when you remove them this is probably very minor work needed to crank maybee just a polish.
I would have the deck surface milled to bring the ra into spec for mls head gaskets. then have heads dissasembled, guides measured for wear (repaired as needed) vavle seats cut and vavle job done. port away but if you do it wrong you can actually make the car worse.
reassembly can be done by your self if you are clean and can follow a plan to reassembly.
balancing the crank is generally not needed if you are reusing the stock rods, crank and putting them back in same locations as you took them apart. but it is a nice thing to know if its balanced.
use a good quality gasket set like fel pro then use mls gaskets. i would never rebuild this motor without replacemnet of oil pump, water pump, t-stat, radiator flushed, recored, or replaced. its far too much to risk a fresh motor on some crappy 30 dollar part that was thought not to be needed.
the cost to rebuld this motor (machining) is no more than any other engine out there. its the parts that are expensive due to the general rarity of this motor (only beind used in two models of ford cars)
but have fun thats what these cars are ment for anyway.
BTW... my rebuild cost me 2200 total and i did all the grunt work my self.
i would not reuse the stock pistons, after x amount of pounding by fire and compression they will have some sort of metal fatigue on them. stock replacement pistons are almost always a must for a "good" engine rebuild. of course the block will need to be inspected and measured for taper and out of round in the cylinders. if any of those exist the block will need to be bored. My block was bored +1mm on each cyl.
some prefer to get the block line bored for the main bearings to be true but to tell the truth I have not seen a block so far out of alingment that it needed this for an everyday motor rebuild. your crank will need to be inspected, measured, ect and then turned to make true if needed. if your stock bearings are in ok to good shape when you remove them this is probably very minor work needed to crank maybee just a polish.
I would have the deck surface milled to bring the ra into spec for mls head gaskets. then have heads dissasembled, guides measured for wear (repaired as needed) vavle seats cut and vavle job done. port away but if you do it wrong you can actually make the car worse.
reassembly can be done by your self if you are clean and can follow a plan to reassembly.
balancing the crank is generally not needed if you are reusing the stock rods, crank and putting them back in same locations as you took them apart. but it is a nice thing to know if its balanced.
use a good quality gasket set like fel pro then use mls gaskets. i would never rebuild this motor without replacemnet of oil pump, water pump, t-stat, radiator flushed, recored, or replaced. its far too much to risk a fresh motor on some crappy 30 dollar part that was thought not to be needed.
the cost to rebuld this motor (machining) is no more than any other engine out there. its the parts that are expensive due to the general rarity of this motor (only beind used in two models of ford cars)
but have fun thats what these cars are ment for anyway.
BTW... my rebuild cost me 2200 total and i did all the grunt work my self.
Quik95SC
SCCoA Member
The only issue is Stock replacement pistons are pretty much non-existant. I just did a stock rebuild and DaveD could not find any stock replacement pistons, so I had to go .030 over size which are avaiable with no problems.
Punching mine out .030 was only $90, which I thought was very reasonable.
Total for Machine work on the entire block was only $145.00 and it was ready to be reassembled with replacement parts.
Cost is pretty accurate if you do a lot of the work your self.
Smitty
thirdbird
Registered User
I disagree, not a logical statement.
It cost me ~$500 in overpriced parts to rebuild mine.
shoalcracker
Registered User
Not sure what your starting with, but you may want to account for the following;
Fuel Pump
Possible Tank
Exhaust
Manifolds
Push Rods
Windage Tray
Blower and air delivery
Qtr Horse/Chip/Tune
For a daily driver with built in reliability you have to plug in all of the above IMO. Any mismatches and you've built in your maintenance schedule.
Fuel Pump
Possible Tank
Exhaust
Manifolds
Push Rods
Windage Tray
Blower and air delivery
Qtr Horse/Chip/Tune
For a daily driver with built in reliability you have to plug in all of the above IMO. Any mismatches and you've built in your maintenance schedule.
pbdevastator
Registered User
I would talk to dave as many people already stated. I drove my sc out to ohio, left it there for little over 2 months i think, but alot of work got done. Heads got ported, big cam was put in, bigger injectors, roller rockers, custom alum radiator, motor mounts, mp tensions, 10% more OD on the supercharger, dyno tune, and whatever other internal engine mods you see under my member page link, I left several things out cause i just cant remember everything that was done at that time. Cost was between 4 to 5k, but everything that needed to be done was done, and it was done correctly.