Is this too much for a 440 rebuild?

[dspaulding70]

I have been quoted $3,500 by a gentleman that does nothing but restore and work on Mopars.  He said that he has numerous 440's that will cost about $800 that will need to be rebuilt or that he can rebuild a "really nice one" for the $3,500.  I have asked him to provide me the details of what the "really nice one" is, but just wanted to hear some thoughts from others.

I do like that he only works on Mopars. 

[max]

sounds alittle steep to me but i'm cheap as well. the biggest factor i would see is buying a good core 440 to work with. the prices of the engines seem to be all over the place.

PAW a couple of years back was offering a complete rebuild kit which had o/s cast pistons, rings, bearings, timming chain and gears, oil pump, cam and lifters and gaskets for around $450.00

i know i bought a couple of small block kits and they were $385.00.

machine work around here;

clean and mag (A MUST before building) $50.00
bore the cylinders $12.00 a hole
cam bearings $30.00
install cam bearings $30.00
press new pistons on rods $7.00 apiece
check rods $25.00
recondition rods $75.00
turn crank $75.00
fully recondition heads around $600.00

they usally charge around $500.00 to put one togeather.

i'm sure i have left a thing or two out but you have a general idea what it cost.

[General_01]

I think you should ask some of the car guys in your area. Prices vary place to place and the guy's in your area will tell you who they go to and why.

[Rolling_Thunder]

Well...    he is running a business...    at the shop - it costs about $5000 for an engine built and installed....       It can be done cheaper elsewhere but then again people know our work so they pay it...   

[Highbanked Hauler]

It cost me about $3,000 to get my 440 done almost ten years ago.

[RD]

that actually sounds pretty reasonable.  if you do it yourself though it will be cheaper, i guarantee it! hehe

[HeavyFuel]

Get the details , part numbers of what he is gong to put into it, and price it out.  Is it going to get lots of trick head work?  My stock rebuild with above average replacement parts just cost me $2200, so yours does not really sound that bad, especially if he is suppling the engine to start with.

[GTX]

Get the details , part numbers of what he is gong to put into it, and price it out.  Is it going to get lots of trick head work?  My stock rebuild with above average replacement parts just cost me $2200, so yours does not really sound that bad, especially if he is suppling the engine to start with.

  Find out the details of everything he would do, time spent doing it and all of the parts used even down to gasket sealer.
You only want to do it once so make sure it's done right. I'm in about 6k on the GTX engine without the blower and I wish I had done some things better/different. Money was the obstacle but most of what I'd change is things like cam and heads , things that can still be done pretty easily.  The Charger motor should be about $3000 - $4000 I figure.
Just decide what the real use of the car will be and then do it right without going too wild.  If you underbuild it you will regret it later.

[andy74]

i would have to say that if you arent doing any of it,that sounds fair.i am going to the machine shop down the road from me tommorow,need a block decked and bored,line honed etc-ill get a quote from them if you would like to compare different areas pricing-Andy