3.0 Rebuild Cost

italcarguy · italcarguy's Garage

How much does it generaly cost to do a rebuild on a 3.0? I'm looking for a 911 SC and am curious to know how much a rebuild is going to cost me down the road. I'd be doing it myself.

sammyg2 · 10-15-2004, 10:28 AM

If you pay to have it done it's Between $6000 and $9000 depending on damage. If it's totally trashed it can cost alot more than that.
If you do it yourself you can save a couple thousand, maybe more.

I suggest you buy Wayne's book on 911 engine rebuilding, it's available on Pelican's site. Not only does it cover the details of how to and what to look out for, it also has a chapter on when to rebuild and how much it should cost. I just used that book last night to time my cams. I can barely read it anymore because of all the dirty finger prints

(no, I'm not timing cams with dirty fingers).

mtelliott · 10-15-2004, 11:24 AM

That's an excellent questions with no definitive answer.

Tools cost: couple hundred to a thousand depending on what you got
Rebuild Cost: You can go through and figure that out via Wayne's tool
Machine Cost: $800 to $1200 for base, a lot more for top of the line
Piston Cost: If you have the wrong P&C's, figure buying new ones
Wiring cost: I found that my wires were so cruddy, I had to buy new (could have repaired but that takes time and patience)
Opportunity Cost: I think the experts take 40 - 60 hours to rebuild, you can double or triple that time estimate for the learning curve
Parts that need to be replace that you don't know about till you get in there: $200 - $1000

Experience Learned: Priceless

I love the fact that I built my engine from a box of parts. Wouldn't recommend doing it again, but it was a great journey.

Tim Hancock · 10-18-2004, 09:21 AM

I just put about 4K in mine (79 SC 3.0) which included reground cams, new rockers,
rings, rod bearings and balance, heads redone including all new guides and flycut, new clutch kit, 12 steel lower head studs, (1) new tensioner,
distributor rebuilt and lots of cleaning/blasting/painting.

I made all my tools that I did not already have. $500-$1000 if you have to buy these.

This took me about 2 months of part-time work.

hpmad · 01:57 PM

hello,

my local guy (has worked on PCAR for 30 years and rebuild 100's of engine) is giving me a price estimation of around $5500, but with the big caveat that this is an average price and that things can vary widely depending on the amount of damages in the engine and the desire of the owner to improve the engine.
however, this is in his opinion a "good" estimation for an engine that is just in for a rebuild, not resulting from some magor damages.

in my case, I am rebuilding because of a brocken head stud.

regards, cyrille

ps: he is quite cheap for a pcar mech, but the fact that we are in boise idaho might be the reason...

I figured out that it would cost me at least $1500 to buy the tools needed to rebuild an engine, plus the risk factor and my natural clumsiness. His flat fee for engine rebuild is $2400, so this is a great deal for me.

chuckw951 · 10-18-2004, 05:03 PM

I've had 2 SC motors rebuilt. $2500 the first time and $3500 the second. But these were not complete rebuilds. That is the key question...how to define "rebuild."

Sometimes you just need to the top end and studs..other times you need new P&Cs, machine work, etc. You can go all out and do everything and your at 10K or so. So it depends on the condition of the engine (probably won't know until you get in there) and the size of your wallet.

I had aulicil (sp?) cylinders on the 82 motor so I need a new set because they were toast...though there is a thread around here somewhere about re-ringing those cylinders.

AFJuvat · 10-18-2004, 06:48 PM

At my shop, we normally charge about 3500 - 4500 for a "top end" - new studs, rings, reseal the motor, head work, etc.

A full on, "split the case" rebuild normally runs between 7 and 9K.

As hpmad stated, the price can vary widely depending on what you find "while you are in there"

You need to judge your mechanical ability, vs available tools, and your available free time to see which way you want to go.

I have a small shop, two other people and myself, so when it comes to scheduling a job like this, I figure a top end job is normally on a 45 day cycle - this allows time for machine work, and having one guy work on it a few hours a day, 3 - 4 days a week.

Full up rebuild is scheduled on a 90 day cycle.

Best of luck in what you decide

AFJuvat