What's the average cost to rebuild 1275cc

[abarth69]

What's the average cost to rebuild a clapped out 1275 engine. Lets say you did all the assy work.

Less then $2500?

Mark

 

[Morris]

<Dr. Evil> One MILLION dollars </Dr. Evil>

 

[jhorton3]

Wow Morris! I was thinking the same thing.

Depends on what work needs to be done and what you're looking to get out of the engine. There's a lot of variables that can raise the price of a rebuild real quick. Hap and some of these other guys who are professional engine builders can help give a better idea of what it'd run you.

Your machine shop bill might be somewhere between $800-1,300+ depending on what you're needing done and prices for your area of the world. I'd certainly hot tank it so you're dealing with clean components.

 

[spritenut]

You can do it anywhere from a couple hundred bucks to a couple thousand bucks.
Just rings and bearings and gaskets is a couple hundred.
New pistons, machine work (basic) and new parts is about $1000.
Line boring, balancing, go fast goodies, etc, etc, $$$$$$

 

[JPSmit]

$250 in Waterloo to clean hone & measure. new bearings/ rings/ gaskets were not at all expensive but nothing needed to be bored.

 

[jlaird]

My thought exactly, how fast do you want to go.

 

[SilentUnicorn]

How Much do you have???


mark

 

[MCS]

My budget was 1500.00. I think the total is 6000.00 plus. My 1275 turned into a 1363 with about 100 horse, going to put it on the dyno soon to confirm that the money I spent was all for extra horses. When I started my rebuild I really believed I could do all the work myself and spend less then 1500.00. I did all the work I could do, but machining alone was 2000.00. Hap built and supplied the head, beautiful head but it added 1300.00 to the total. It adds up quickly. All I can say is every drive brings a big smile and worth every cent .All I need now is a Datsun210 trans, seem to be hard to find.
Cheers Phil

 

[abarth69]

Lets put it this way a good friend has 1293 cc engine out of his race car. Full race but fresh with a 649 race cam he wants $2500 for the engine.Plan is to open it replace the 649 cam with a hot street cam I have.
I think it would be cheaper then starting out with a full rebuild on my 1275.

Mark

 

[mccalebr]

Probably take more than a cam change to make it streetable and run on pump gas.

Ray

 

[v8mgbal]

you could try to find someone who is selling a project car with a rebuilt engine. keep the engine and sell the other parts to pay for it. just did a random check on craigs list and found a 71 midget project for sale with rebuilt engine for 1700.00 dollars.

 

[Scott_Hower]

My budget was 1500.00. I think the total is 6000.00 plus.

Holy cow... you spent 6 grand+ on a 1275 engine rebuild?

 

[RocknTommy]

My budget was 1500.00. I think the total is 6000.00 plus.

Holy cow... you spent 6 grand+ on a 1275 engine rebuild?

That is what I was thinking. What else has been done to the engine...aluminum head? They are not cheap but would like to see
build specs and a pic.

 

[Westfield_XI]

You have no idea how fast the parts bill adds up if you use aftermarket parts and the faster you want to go, the more non-OEM stuff you need. Unless you use highly modified factory parts and now you are paying for hand work at American labor rates. Add in machine services, porting & balancing etc, and of course skilled assembly labor and it ain't cheap!

 

[Deleted member 3577]

Holy cow... you spent 6 grand+ on a 1275 engine rebuild?

$10,000 is not uncommon for a front running production engine in the SCCA.

You couldn't drive that thing on the street very well, but yes...
It's quite possible.

 

[Pythias]

Here's the build sheet for my 1098 rebuild from 2002, Done by Paul A. at MorrisService (the 5 speed guy +)...

Head gasked set 31.77
gasket comversion set 45.30
Block Prep (Bore $ install cam bearings 340.17
Cam Bearings 36.00
Crank Regrind 75.00
Camshaft Regrind 75.00
Oil Pressure Relief Valve 9.00
Oil Pressure Spring 4.00
Spin on Oil Filter 4.95
Rocker Bushing Set 42.84
Rocker Shaft 29.95
Thrust Plate Cam All A 19.95
Main Bearing 2" 59.95
Rod Bearing 59.95
Grind Valves and Prep Head 198.60
No seat assembly
Exhaust valves 45.00
Valve Guides Bronze 47.92
Machine for Top Hat Seal 10.00
Valve Stem Seals 10.00
Cam Follower Standard 43.84
Piston Set (.020 Over) 275.00
Spin On Oil Filter Adapter 49.95
Distributor Cap, Top Entry 12.25
Spark Plug Wires 15.95
Front Motor Mounts 23.00
Thermostat 160 Degree 7.95
Clutch Assembly 174.00
Timing Chain Dual Upgrade (Adjustable) 117.50


Labor 20 hrs @$35/hr 700.00

TOTAL $2607.78

This way you can seperate the parts, from the labor and looking at what parts are $$$$ for a 1275 vs a 1098, and what labor you can do for yourself, vs what has to be done at the machine shop.....Labor rates HAVE changed significantly, (ask Hap about his labor rates?) as well as the cost for machine work... I took the engine out of the car, took it to Paul A. Picked it up when he was done adn installed it. He came out for the break in. My engine was basically shot. One quart of oil to one tank of gas. It needed, as you can see, EVERYTHING.

 

[jlaird]

I knew there was a reason I do not add up receipts. My word.

 

[Hap Waldrop]

Well for starters, parts ain't parts, AE and standard County bearing, standard lifter, most reground camshafts, some gasket sets, some of the piston sets out there are flat out junk. I use AE 21253 pistons , APT cams, chilled iron lifters, tri metal bearing, vernier timing gear sets, new valve spring, alot of the time new valves, ARP rod bolts, Payen gasket sets ( a real biggie on A-series 1275 engines) and if you build a engine like this, which incldes new guides in the head, hardended exhaust seats, and get good machine work done, it's real easy to be at or near $2000 dollars in parts and machine work if you use the best part even if the engine is going back stock or near stock, now add a ported head to the mix, and let a professional prep everyhting put it together for you, so you don't have to pull it out a half dozens times to get it right, and yep $5K sounds about right.

 

[drooartz]

[...] and yep $5K sounds about right.

That's roughly what I spent on my Hap-built motor. For me, the motor was one area where I was not looking for the lowest cost solution, but the highest quality one. No complaints.

 

[Hap Waldrop]

FWIW, my stage 1 1275 engine is aprox. $3500 (end price no matter hwo's doing the work is always dependent on the condition of the engine core to begin with), that's uprated cam, uprated compression ratio, all the good parts listed above, including the 21253 pistons. I can use the AE 21251 piston, but that only saves you maybe a hundred bucks, the 21253 pistons is a nice performance boost for that kind of money.