Engine Rebuild: How Much and Where?

[Zephyrefi]

Maybe looking at having an engine rebuilt in the near future. It's a 351W, so nothing too exotic. How much can I expect to pay for something like that, and where could I have it done in the Twin Cities area?

Thanks!

[theduckylittle]

How serious? Would a dingle ball and a fresh gasket set do? If so, I've got an engine stand you could borrow.

[c10]

So many questions to ask here... Are you gonna stroke it? Are you gonna have the stock heads rebuilt or? Are you gonna assemble it yourself? What power level do you desire? More that I know im missing. I rebuilt a 350 vortec chevy and had all the block machine work which consisted of an overbore of .030, decked block, installed pistons on rods, had block cleaned and installed freeze plugs and cam bearings and that costed me 800 with the machine work and parts. Cost me another 150 for a crank kit, 325 into surfacing heads and valve job with "z28" springs. Plus another at least 850 in gaskets, oil pump, timing chain, comp cam off the shelf roller grind and new comp rollers ( I might be off on that number I dont have reciepts on hand right now but its close) I assembled the engine myself. I know there is more that I forgot and I got lucky cause my valve guides were good and so were the valves. So thats 2125 into a pretty much stock 350. I know thats comparing a chevy build to a windsor but Im just tryin to get you in the ballpark. PM me and I can get you a number to the shop that does all my machine work.

[Old Man]

Maybe looking at having an engine rebuilt in the near future. It's a 351W, so nothing too exotic. How much can I expect to pay for something like that, and where could I have it done in the Twin Cities area?

Thanks!

As stated there's a lot of options. What you end up with depends on your budget and what you are starting with. Are you wanting a stock rebuild, any power level goals? A complete machining is around $1200, forged pistons $400-600, ARP studs and bolts can add up fast.

[Zephyrefi]

Looking at a stock-type rebuild, sort of. I don't actually have the engine yet, but early indications are I may end up with one that has pretty high miles. My plan is, stock type rotating assembly (hopefully the original parts), a yet-to-be-determined aftermarket roller cam (thoughts?), Fox-swap double sump oil pan (yes, it's for the Zeph), new oil pump and pickup, hopefully original timing set with new chain, new roller lifters & pushrods, Explorer GT40 heads that will probably need going through, and at the very least, the mounting holes will need to be drilled for 1/2" hardware, not sure about rockers or valve springs. I'm hoping for a pretty mild final result. Something along the lines of a gen 1 Lightning engine. It will be SEFI with GT40 intake. I'm hoping to at least have something that will be a bit faster than all the damn Camrys and crap that all have over 250 hp these days.

I'm not against assembling it myself. $2125 sounds pretty high... I had been looking at reman engines too. Maybe that's a better option? No way I'm going to be breaking rods or anything. But that's not to say it won't be beat on...

[c10]

Is there anything mechanically wrong with your current 302?

[taank]

Contact mn5.0 aka Hotrod Steve . Pm me I can give you his number. Excellent work. Budget friendly

[Zephyrefi]

Is there anything mechanically wrong with your current 302?

No, but I should explain. A theme of my car is, I want to use factory Ford parts where-ever possible. I want it to look like it could have come this way. I know stuff like heads and cam don't really give away their aftermarket-ness, but say for example, an aftermarket EFI intake definitely would. They all scream "EDELBROCK!" or "TRICKFLOW!", ya know? Plus, at least new, most things like aftermarket heads are really expensive. When I first started thinking about doing this, I was probably more looking at dropping in a used truck 351 with GT40 heads and intake swapped on and hoping for the best, like I did with my 302. It would certainly be nice to have a freshened one though. I just didn't know what that sort of thing costs. Plus, it bugs me a bit that my car SOUNDS fast, but really isn't with a stock 302 in terms of today's cars. And a GT40 SEFI 351 would certainly up the uniqueness factor. Lots of guys drop 302s into Fairmont/Zephyrs.

[budderigs]

if you want stock appearing dont put a 351 into your car. your zepher is fairly close to my cougar. I can tell you with certainty a 351 isn't going to fit or look stock. at minimum you need to do drop mounts lowering tubular k member and k member spacers with a edelbrock preformer carb intake to get it under the stock hood. the gt40 intake sticks through the hood. I dont know why but the pre 86 cars are like this. also you can make alot of tq with a stockish 351 but not much power. my roller cammed 351 with holley 170's and a f cam made like 270 hp. my 91 5.0 with a steada cam and ported e7s made 277. the big difference was the 351 made like 360lbstq and the 302 made like 320lbstq if I would do it over again, I would do a 5.0 explorer engine with a trickflow cam and hit it with nitrous. or turbo it. want to spend more... then stroke a 5.0 and get decent heads.

[Sleepin96]

No, but I should explain. A theme of my car is, I want to use factory Ford parts where-ever possible. I want it to look like it could have come this way. I know stuff like heads and cam don't really give away their aftermarket-ness, but say for example, an aftermarket EFI intake definitely would. They all scream "EDELBROCK!" or "TRICKFLOW!", ya know? Plus, at least new, most things like aftermarket heads are really expensive. When I first started thinking about doing this, I was probably more looking at dropping in a used truck 351 with GT40 heads and intake swapped on and hoping for the best, like I did with my 302. It would certainly be nice to have a freshened one though. I just didn't know what that sort of thing costs. Plus, it bugs me a bit that my car SOUNDS fast, but really isn't with a stock 302 in terms of today's cars. And a GT40 SEFI 351 would certainly up the uniqueness factor. Lots of guys drop 302s into Fairmont/Zephyrs.

I'm with the rest of these guys. Leave the 302 in the car and make it what you want it. I really don't see a problem with your current set up. Cam, valve train, gt40's, gt40 intake and at that point it'll get out of its way a hell of a lot faster! I can help you out with the build as well if ya like.

[Zephyrefi]

Thanks all. Seems to be a consensus here.

[Exjay]

if I would do it over again, I would do a 5.0 explorer engine with a trickflow cam and hit it with nitrous.

That sounds like a brilliant idea.

[MadJack]

I have a mildly modded expo 5.0 I might be Willing to sell. Pm me if interested.

[octanehuffer]

Efi 460/ thread

[Old Man]

Efi 460ci SBF/ thread

Fixed