Re: [Classic Mustang] engine restore question

       That's a difficult question to pin down. If you're going to do the work yourself then you need only be concerned with the price of parts as most of us give our time willingly. If you are going to send the short block out to a shop to have the crank and rods checked, hone the cylinders and install new rings and bearings, the old rule of thumb used to be by the time all is said and done it comes out to $100 per cylinder. I don't know if that rule is accurate any more. I very much doubt it. Keep in mind if you're going to freshen up the bottom end this would also be the time to clean up the head, perform a valve job, and check the conditions of the valve springs.
       Last summer I decided to replace the timing chain in my 289. That was the planned project, just replacing the chain and gears. However, after a number of conversations with engine builders who are a lot smarter than me, we weighed in what I wanted to accomplish, taking into consideration work already performed plus the age of the parts and how many time they had already been reused. A timing chain led to a new camshaft, which led to a different intake manifold, which led to different valve springs, which led to different heads all together, plus little items like different pushrods. I didn't feel comfortable adding extra horsepower to 43 year old bottom end bolts even though I had installed new bearings a year ago and got away with it. After a lot of thought I decided to go with a complete rebuild. So it's Rahman noodles and Spam for the next few months but on the bright side it's ARP bolts all the way around and teflon coated pistons. I figured let me do it now because it's a sure bet prices are going to continue to rise and I may not be able to afford it later on down the road no matter how tight I budget. Also, if I only did the top part of the engine and something downstairs let go damaging the block the game would be over. Putting in another engine would be far more expensive than whatever I had planned for the old one.
       So you need to weigh what you want to do and how far you want to go. A timing chain, clutch, and things like carb rebuild are relative cheap and for the most part you need only worry about getting the best parts at the best price. If you're going to perform a complete rebuild we can't give you an accurate price because we don't know what you may need. Give yourself a high dollar figure, say $150 - $170 per cylinder, and you'll probably be covered for almost any eventuality.


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