hello gang Tony Pozun here n babylon ny my 78 vw transporter engine GE finally needs complete rebuild. Fuel injected ran good until recently started bucking spitting popping at speed took to gtx in massapequa. fi
others systems ok///////compression loss in two cylinders 50 90/ other two 110 135. They want 3000 grand for california rebuild engine then another 1000 to 1500 to remove re install. Does anyone know of good local shop that will rebuild my engine. can still drive van to long island queens nyc njersey for good shop.... etc, for complete r/r rebuild of my engine. Please call me talk on me 516 978 4116
Sorry to say that I cant recommend anyone locally. A local friend of mine paid 4k for P&C replacement with new heads on his bug at some place in Amityville. That is unreal! They didnt even split the case.
Glenn wrote:I have to say, this "gruppe" is so much more than just a car club.
MrBreeze wrote:
This is the DVG board. The threads flow as they flow.
Deal with it.
Meh...
You won't get any shop to lock down a number - and rightfully so - because they won't get caught with their pants down and can't speak for what parts inside your engine are good to be reused/rebuilt like the cam, arms, etc. Add to that that costs can vary wildly from shop to shop based on their experience, and how busy they are - then they have a mark up for anything they do to absorb the "Warranty" repairs if something should happen to be wrong.
That Amityville shop uses a couple engine builders I believe - based on who has the best turn around time. They buy a long block, and sends the old broken engine back as a core - which is pretty standard fare, shipping/crating/core shouldn't be on him.
I know that said shop is an authorized distributor for "CPR" Chico Performance Racing. Anibal Chico is a well respected builder and does a good job on the Type IV engines - he built mine as well as my 1914 in my old 71 Super.
There aren't many other shops on the island that will touch old VW's anymore (unfortunately) the only other shop - and one I have been considering using - is Freccia Brothers up in Greenwich CT.
Also, at $3000, you're absolutely, 100% going to go over budget. Type IV's are expensive to build right. I just did mine last year, the engine all told came in closer to about $7k. I had the shortblock done by Chico, the heads by Hoffman, had the tins powdered (negligible at $400) and then had to replace some stuff inside the engine - cam, rockers, upgraded the bearings and lifters. Then had running issues and needed to replace the throttle body which added another $350 on it... Ultimately, it still had tuning issues that were seemingly insurmountable without some adjustment to the AFM. When it did finally find it's "happy spot" Yes. Your bus runs now. But when you start to replace some parts, or pick and choose you will quickly see that old parts have worn in together and won't like to mate with new parts as readily. So expect to have some unexpected costs incurred. It's easy to budget shop, and ultimately pretend to be happy with a GEX (stay away from GEX!) but as has been said before you can have your pick of cheap, reliable, and quality - but you can only have two.
I've built quite a number of engines and can tell you it takes time and time = $$$$.
You can do it fast, but then you're cutting corners and make mistakes.
1) take the engine apart can be 4-6 hours depending on how dirty and rusty.
2) clean all the parts including the tin is another 2-3 hours.
3) taking the case, crank and rods to a machine shop to inspect and machine
4) research what parts and where to buy them
5) clean inspect every part and make sure they measure to spec.
6) assemble the short block is 4 hours
7) install the p/c, heads, valve train is another 4 hours
8) install all the tin, intake, exhaust, fuel pump, alternator is another 4 hours
There's about 30 hours from start to finish.. .and this is for a Type 1. A Type 4 with fuel injection will had a few extra hours taking it apart and then back together.
So you're looking at $3000 just in labor.
Now if you buy a engine from a shop that only builds engines, they can do it faster. Also their labor rate will be much less than Long Island where $100 is very cheap, more like $120+ these days.
I think a turnkey Type 4 engine will be over $5000 and that's without the exhaust and FI.
