What is the normal cost for the install of:

What i have are the heads PRC Stage 2 or 2.5 heads i know they are 59cc chambers fully assembled, Cam, Oil Pump, Timing Chain, push rods, head gaskets.

 

Depending on where you go anywhere from $300-700. Plus you will need a tune $200-500. If you have a place to do it, tools and some mechanical know how you can pretty much do it in a weekend....with experience it can be done in a day.

 

300 for a head/cam install? Id say at least 1k.

 

I was quoted by a reputable shop that said it would be somewhere around $2300-$2500 for parts, labor, and tuning.

 

+1 .. Labor by itself will run about 650+ on a cam only install. so you're def looking at about 1k on head/cam install. (not including tune,parts,ect)

 

Wow- These are cheap labor costs lol. Around my area it's more like 1200 - 1300 for the cam install alone. Mid-2000 for H/C.

But that's exactly why I do all my own work. Think of all the mod money you can save!

 

I agree, if you have to pay someone to do it for you. You better be rich and can afford to do so or else forget it. Its a waste of money to pay someone to do this. Just go to the dealer and trade your car in for a ZL1

 

Those examples might be on the cheap side, but the quotes you got are absurd and at the other end of the spectrum.

1300 for a cam install? At $100/hr (which is on the high side) that's 13 hours of labor? For a cam? That's ridiculous...an amateur with basic hand tools and little experience doing cam installs on LSx engines can do that job in less time. A professional speed shop charging $100/hr labor rate should bang out a cam install in 6-8 hours TOPS.

 

The cam is easy, but if youre messing with the timing chain or the heads, alot of prep work is required along with some tools not found in the tool box. The LS1 engine tool kit is about $800-$1200, They have to pay for it some how lol...

 

^ This I agree. I would honestly think 7-8 hours would be more reasonable to charge. (I am also in a Vette so I have to move that damn steering rack which adds to the pain in the *** part lol.) But 12-13 hours is a bit steep. I found that a lot of shops around my area charge similar - I've had friends either working there or go there to get it done and when I hear how much they paid, I'm always in disbelief. So when I hear quotes like what these guys say I feel like it's so cheap lol.

The only time I ever bring my cars to a shop is when I physically am not able to do the work due to lack of tools, manpower, etc. Other than that my garage is where it's at lol.

 

buy your self invest in a 2 post lift some tools and you can do what ever the **** you wanna do and have more mod money ,, and if you need man power i am pretty sure you have a friend or 2 too help out when needed ,,

plus i have had experience when a few shops i cant mention have not treated my vette as if it was one of their own personal rides i look at that big time ,,

nobody will ever work on your **** how you will work on it and and take care of it,,,

do it your self

good luck bud

 

We charge 1300-1500 for a HC install. Depends on the car.

 

I think $1300-$1500 sounds very reasonable. After spending a few hours leaning over those fenders scraping those damn old graphite head gaskets off and meticulously cleaning out those bolt holes, it sounds like a real deal. I remember how cramped my hands were from holding the scraper, and scotch brite, and how crappy my lower back was after being bent over so long. It took me 3 weekends to complete my H/C/Urethane motor mounts job. I did do a very detailed job, checking PTV clearance, degreeing the cam, and checked lifter preload to make sure there would be no problems after the job was done. Doing the mounts when the heads are off gives pretty good access and visibility, so I decided it would be as good a time as any to do it. I also replaced quite a few items when I did mine like oil pump, timing set, plugs, wires, new idler pullies, and a new AC tensioner, mine was not moving, belts, some gaskets, like water pump since I had a '98. New kock sensors, and harness too, as I was having some false knock issues. I also detailed the engine bay while the heads were off, you can acces your firewall and other areas much better. I removed the AC bracket, alternator, and starter as well, to access the long bolts that go through the mounts. I throughly detailed these items while out of the car, this is about the only way to get these items really clean. I took the fans off the rad, and spent some time getting them clean as new etc. I also swapped injectors and fuel pump too, as I needed more fuel to keep up with the new combo, dropped the tank because I didn't want to cut up the floor of my car. None of this is really hard, just takes patience, and alot of wrenching. I have HP tuners, and tuned it myself as well. If it were not for the personal satisfaction of doing it myself, I would pay $1500 for it in a heartbeat.

I had a friend/aquaintance ask me what I would charge to do his for him, he is not a wrench, and is not capable of doing it himself, like about 90% of the driving public. I told him that I was not in the business of doing it, but if I were going to give up 3 weekends of my life, away from my wife and kids, to do that for somone else, I'd want at least $2 grand plus the cost of all parts. He though I was crazy to charge that much. Like most people that think that is too much, he had never done a job like this. They don't understand things that can happen, like the balancer bolt taking an hour to get out, because it has been in there for like 12-15 years, and was torqued to the max when it went in. Or breaking things like the brittle old oil pressure sender with the brake booster hose when trying to get the intake manifold off, that you would need to replace, been there, done that.

I would be leary of any shop that quoted less than $1000 for a head/cam install. I realize people that do this for a living work faster than I do, but don't usually do any better job, actually most don't take the time and details like I do. If they quote less than $1000, I'd say they probably have not done the job much before and don't realize all the time that is required to do it right.

 

Where you get quotes like that from, we dont charge anything like that! Md is not Georgia alabama cheap but its not that bad

 

The standard flat-rate manual allowance to remove and replace the camshaft and the cylinder heads on an LS engine, done concurrently is 20.1 hours.

 

I had one place quote me $2,200.00 and another shop quote me $500.00 for a head/cam install; just labor, no parts.

 

i do them for 500 for something that can be done in a day you can make good money at that price

 

I have read so many times about people who crack blocks, screw up pushrod length, drop locks into the oil pan or cant get something to go in right. That is why I am paying very good money to Lashway Motorsports to do it for me. I have everything but the cam and pushrods. I didnt even look at the estimate, I gave them the car and all the parts I already had and said call me when it is done. I am done with hardcore wrenching. Id rather spend my time driving instead.

 

who's a good choice in the maryland area these days? Waffling on whether or not to do this project myself or not.

 

The labor rate where I took mine was $700 cam swap, $300 for lifter swap, $140 labor for pan gasket, $400 tuning and $50 hr for dyno.