Average cost to pay a shop to install an engine

Discussion in 'Street/strip 400/430/455' started by hgiljr, Feb 17, 2020.

  1. LARRY70GS

    LARRY70GS a.k.a. "THE WIZARD" Staff Member

    I always take the hood off. I always have friends to help. I find it easier to install the engine/trans together. Just have to have the car off the ground a bit, and use a tilt sling with the hoist.
     
    ranger likes this.
  2. 300sbb_overkill

    300sbb_overkill WWG1WGA. MAGA

    Hey Larry, have you ever tried it the way I described? Its faster and easier without help, to many people that think they're experts that want to take charge and take the hood off.:rolleyes::D

    I have done it both ways and I prefer with the hood on and trans still in the car, even if the trans has to come out to be worked on. Very easy to take the trans out with the engine already out, jack the front up on jack stands, remove driveshaft, support trans with jack, remove shifter linkage, remove mount bolts, raise, move forward enough to clear cross member, lower and roll out the front with jack. To reinstall, just reverse the previously mentioned removal process.;) Removing the trans is like a 20 minute job this way.:cool:
     
  3. 436'd Skylark

    436'd Skylark Sweet Fancy Moses!!!!!

    At this point I think it's a waste to pull the trans. That's a wasted effort at this point.

    Also the last time I pulled my engine I left the hood on. It's certainly easier with it off but I was able to get it done with out waiting for help. Removing the hood is really the only part I need help with.
     
    300sbb_overkill likes this.
  4. bostoncat68

    bostoncat68 Platinum Level Contributor

    @hgiljr i have a compromise suggestion. Take a tour of Craigslist and Facebook and look for the traveling mechanics. I have a neighbor that does this as he got tired of working for others. He mostly does oil changes, brakes etc. however he is an ASE trained guy...ford dealer mechanic etc. he does engine work for some commercial guys etc. Guys like this will come to you and help you. Hire the guy for the day to help you bolt it in and get the rough stuff done. You can get the fiddlie stuff done your self. Yes you need to find the right guy but there are folks out there that will work with you. We did my timing chain cover and exhaust manifolds together... aka the broken bolt tour...
     
    tubecatgs and 300sbb_overkill like this.
  5. LARRY70GS

    LARRY70GS a.k.a. "THE WIZARD" Staff Member

    Sure I have done it both ways. When I installed my current engine, I had the benefit of a lift and 2 other guys. It was easier to drop the engine in and bolt the trans up with those advantages. Last winter, I did my converter change on my back by myself with the car on jack stands and with my Harbor Freight low lift transmission jack. I managed, but it was a pain in the butt getting it aligned.

    The OP can do this if he wants to. No way I would pay 5000.00 for an engine install.
     
    ranger and 1969RIVI like this.
  6. 300sbb_overkill

    300sbb_overkill WWG1WGA. MAGA

    Yeah, pain in the but to R&R a trans with the engine in but piece of cake to R&R an engine with the trans still in. So much easier to align the engine that is hanging from a lift than under the car trying to line up the trans to the engine. The trans is much more adjustable up and down than an engine is unless the M/Ms are disconnected and then lifted.

    I was talking about removing the trans with the engine already out of the car. The way I explained can be done but the car would need to be lifted way higher and the trans would need to slide on a piece of carpet or something like that to get passed the engine's oil pan.

    So it sounds like you have only R&R the engine with the trans attached and hood off? What you wrote isn't the both ways I was talking about. I was referring to with the hood on, trans left in and without the hood on, trans still connected.(I see what you did there:D)

    Yeah, its a little harder because the engine has to go forward a little then down a little then forward a little.... to clear the hood but after that 5 minutes its stupid easy.

    The reason I got so good at engine R&R-ing is because I built an engine back when there was the lifter crisis(when they changed to Chinesium) at the same time they changed the freakin oil formulation without telling anyone! That HRM article didn't come out until about 3 months after I went through 2 cams wiped out in the same freakin engine! Had to come out 3 times! The 4th one was a different engine, that one wasn't meant to be in that car I guess?

    Stupid oil formulation and lifter manufacturer changes at the same time!:mad: This is also the reason I like to recommend roller cams when asked.
     
  7. Redmanf1

    Redmanf1 Gold Level Contributor

    Too bad, I think you are about 3 hrs from me. I am sure this can be done in a day if you have everything.
     
  8. 70 GMuscle

    70 GMuscle Plan B

    Leave trans in . Moving engine around is a lot easier.
    And they pop into the trans. Tilt it up w a jack. Never really have problems this way over many cars in many years.
    Good luck take your time.
    Be very careful with your grill. That is a major point on Buick’s as to how the arrangement is. Grill is far forward of engine so the boom needs to be spaced out farther than most cars.
     
    johnriv67 likes this.
  9. johnriv67

    johnriv67 Well-Known Member

    I have the engine hoist of toward the corner of the car. Or even towards the bottoms of the 'W' that is the Riviera bumper.

    I've always left the trans jacked up higher than where the engine will be installed. Slap the engine into the trans, bolt the two together, then lower the two right on the engine mounts. Like butter, if the butter was made from rocks, cause it's never easy
     
    70 GMuscle likes this.
  10. 70 GMuscle

    70 GMuscle Plan B

    Just be careful w your grill.
    You must extend the boom out on Buick’s.
    Be careful and have fun.
     
    SpecialWagon65 likes this.
  11. SpecialWagon65

    SpecialWagon65 Ted Nagel

    Great thread. I have an engine swap pending an this has got me fired up - got to see if I can remove 1 and install another transmission and all in a day.
    OP- your 67 will be a fun ride once you get this done- I'm of the opinion that it is a DIY project, but I really like the idea of a mechanic helping for the big physical part.
    once the engine is bolted down, then it is down to connections electric and plumbing. Lots of details but ultimately very rewarding.
     
  12. 72gs4spd

    72gs4spd Well-Known Member

    Done too many to count, always removed hood Not just for clearance, hood also blocks overhead lights. As for trans always left as one. The only exception was a 76 Eldorado, only to find one of the thrown rods made a hole in the diff. LOL
     
  13. lemmy-67

    lemmy-67 Platinum Level Contributor

    I pulled my 430 twice in the driveway of the house I was renting with my roommate, used his hoist & pulled it out/dropped it in in under 2 hours each time. The hardest part was holding my side of the hood while using the air ratchet to remove/tighten those 2 bolts on the hinge...the hood is one heavy mother...close to 200 lbs of steel.
     
  14. BUICKRAT

    BUICKRAT Got any treats?

    You guys are killing me. The OP has never done an install, it's not gonna be burning gas in one day. Devil's in the details.

    Sure, any one of us can slam an engine into a chassis in a day, but now we gotta figure out all the other stuff, and do it right, not cob it so we can say "See, we did it in one day". Proly different carb, so different linkage (read new throttle cable, return springs, bracketry, hose routing). missing bolts(no i'm not making that up, the car has sat in some guys shop for 5 months). Hoses will probably need to be replaced (good luck sourcing those on a sat/sun), etc etc...

    Yes, you take the hood off!!!!

    Leave the transmission in the car!!!
     
  15. Andrew Sury

    Andrew Sury Well-Known Member

    If the hood closes well, it stays on. All I need is one chip in the fenders because the hood putting back on went South. There went your profit.
    And the tranny? Unless either a 4 speed or I'm resealing it, tranny stays with car.

    The reason I threw my name out there is I just finished a dissasembled 71 Skylark 350 in November, and I just pulled my 72 Stage1 455 and shorty 400 without a titler with the hood on. So I got some nuts and bolts and some knick knacks that could keep a job going. A 67 is no different. And I enjoy the old stuff.

    OP, I'll honor the price for two months. After that tax season is in full swing. It might have to wait. The senior cars get the little stuff done, and chains don't like old cars.

    And you shadetrees, all is good telling the guy to do it himself. Some people either don't want to or simply can't. My shop is blue collar only.
     
    Buicksky and 300sbb_overkill like this.
  16. sriley531

    sriley531 Excommunicado

    I know Miami Florida isn't Ohio, but $5k is ludicrous IMO. Sure, it's easy for many of us who have done it and have all the tools to sit here and say it's "easy", but five grand?! That bill better come with a nice bottle of lube, and I don't mean for the engine. But then I'm also the guy that winces at the thought of paying $200+ for a disc brake job (which seems to be the going rate at a lot of places), so maybe I'm the wrong guy to ask....
     
  17. Andrew Sury

    Andrew Sury Well-Known Member

    Hector got the car to me this afternoon, and it is beautiful! Going to take stock with what we have and have at it!
     
  18. LARRY70GS

    LARRY70GS a.k.a. "THE WIZARD" Staff Member

    What? No pictures?:):)
     
  19. 436'd Skylark

    436'd Skylark Sweet Fancy Moses!!!!!

    If the bill crests 5k, can you post an itemized bill? o_O
     
  20. Jim Weise

    Jim Weise EFI/DIS 482

    Huh... bet I have R&R'ed the engine in 50-75 different 64-72 GS's over the years, plus half a dozen Rivs and Electra's.. never even occurred to me to not pull the hood off. I mean, let's get serious here, it's 4 bolts...

    That's a special kind of crazy... I suppose, if you had no one to help you, but I would flag someone down on the street, and give them a $20 for 5 minutes work, before I did that job with the hood on..

    That's the best part, working without that damn hood in your way.. the light is fantastic... just pop the return springs on the hinges and push them down, so you don't kill yourself on them..

    Alignment?.. come one, turn in your tools if you can't align the hood.. heck, even body guys can do that (ducking while the body guys throw slings and arrows at me)

    But I guess, whatever works for you... no matter how crazy it seems to me..


    :D

    JW

     

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