These are the guys to go to. Class acts with a lot of know-how. I drove the 4 hrs up to Jonesboro for my cam install. Every installation comes with free beer and lasagna! Can't beat that.

 

Like I mentioned to you when you called, you may be able to get it done cheaper by someone out of their home or by someone using their employers shop for a side job. Usually in this situation if there is a problem it is your responsibility. From there we can tune it for you. For the record we charge $695 plus gaskets, seals, etc. for the cam and spring install and then $450 for a full LS1 Edit chassis dyno tune with A/F.

There are some very good "shade tree" and "side job" installers out there for sure who help folks out. We have also seen the other side of jobs with a lot of issues to take care of before tuning. Be careful of who you choose to do the install as it may end up costing more in the end. Hope this helps.

Mike Norris

 

holy crap!!!

and to think, all this time, us guys in the car club have been doing it for free!!

 

S FL, dave and brian (2 LS1 gurus) do it for 200 bux...

 

Also, What happens if your vehicle is damaged or the person who is working on your vehicle is severely injured or killed(car falls on them for instance). These people do not have the same equipment that a full blown shop has. With a reputable insured shop, these expenses (salaries, equipment, insurance, licenses) are part of our everyday overhead. I doubt a business is going to cover their employee doing a side job on the weekend or your car if it is damaged. Are you or your insurance going to pay someone's medical bills if they are injured working on your car? That $200.00 could turn into an absolute nightmare. Just my thoughts as a businessman.
Joe

 

on the flip side, if you're sane and you realize the possible reprocussions of modifying your car, and you reconize that working on a car is potentially dangerous.... then dont worry about it.

the only people that have to really worry about it are shops who have to work with the insane hypercritical customers and idiot employees.... (both happen at times, even to the best of shops)

 

Just do it yourself. You will be a better, smarter guy for it, and you will "bond" with your car. And you will be able to tell people you turn your own wrenches. Do the research on how to do it, select the parts you think you'll need, and buy any tools you need to do the job. Then when you need to check/replace valve springs 15k to 30k miles later, you will be up to the task, not paying someone else to do that too.

 

Mike,

My mistake was that I purchased the cam without researching or getting quotes for cam installs. I was merely going with the fact that from what I’ve personally seen, cam and valvespring swaps on LS1 engines or non-LS1 engines usually take 5 to 7 hours on people that have done this type of work before. So, I just took the fact that most speed shops usually charge $75 and hour which I figured it would run around $400 to $500 range. So that’s why I was amazed at the price.

I know you do a great job and your reputation speaks for itself, but I honestly can’t pay $700 for a cam swap at this point. But, I will see if a buddy that has done cam swaps before can help me out and we can do this project. If not, I will definately take it to you, but it definately won't be for a while since I can't pay that right now, and that's not including the price of the tune.

Regardless, I definately would like you to tune the car after the cam swap.

Thanks

 

this is true, me & a buddie who has a T/A are going to do our own cams within the next month, helping each other out along the way. if you have the mechanical know how to turn some wrenches, and a place to do it then i say go for it! check out LS1HOWTO.COM they have a detailed cam & spring install that you can print off & study.

 

I don't have a problem "turning wrenches". I have taken off the cylinder heads of an LS1 engine, and I'm sure that's a worst job to do then cam swap. But, since this is my daily driver and I really didn't want to spend a weekend working on my car I was really looking for somebody to do it for me?

And I also don't have all the tools to do this.

 

I am paying $650

 

Around $450 for cam and valve train installation in my neck of the woods.

 

No problem, just let me know when its time for the install if you decide to come my way or just to tune. We will be here.

For what it is worth, most honest shops do not go by actual time to do a repair, but rather book time for a guide such as Motors, Chilton or even calculating GM warranty time by 1.4 to get a non warranty time. Valve spring book time by themselves is 5.7 hours. A cam swap runs in the 13.3 hour area, but that includes cylinder head R&R per the "proper" way to do the install. So lets say 50% of that time as cam swap or 6.6-6.7. That 6.6 plus the 5.7 for a total of 12.3 hours at $75 an hour, or $922.50. Our $695 comes in about 25% under that so I do not have a problem with us charging that much. When you have a 13,000SF shop, state of the art equipment, top technicians, insurance for them and the cars as well as all the little things a performance shop needs to run, there is going to be overhead for sure that needs to be paid. Those doing the home or side job installs have no overhead to worry about and therefore can be less expensive and actually do a good job. The problem arises when a lifter drops, timing set not aligned properly, leaks occur after the install and how that is handled that can make a huge difference. Just food for thought.

Can things be done for less? Definitely. Can they be done properly for less? Definitely. But when you need the car back in a short time and potential issues are not an option, these are things to think about. You also mentioned that you wanted to get the car here for just one day as in drop it off in the AM and pick her up in the PM installed and tuned. Can this be done? Definitely. But I prefer to heat cycle the springs at least twice and usually 3 times for a better chance at a good sping life. Just the way we do things here.

I have talked to other shops that will do this for $450-500 and asked them what happens if they drop a lifter, they say that that is the responsibilty of the owner of the vehicle to pay for the additional labor and parts for the retrieval and reinstall of the lifter. If we drop one at the $695 price, we take care of it.

Talk to you soon.

Mike Norris

 

thats cool, i wasnt taking a stab at you, FWIW i would rather have somebody do mine too, but i dont have the money right now to have it done.

 

Why should the customer have to pay for the mechanics mistake?? The mechanic dropped the lifter, thats his error!

Are you covering yourself for a possible mistake???????????????????

 

Not covering anything here as I mentioned that if we drop one, we take care of it. I mentioned that other places and individuals doing the cam/spring installs for the under $500 price will generally not take care of a dropped lifter due to the extra costs involved. Not saying that they should not handle this situation if it does arise, but in some cases you get what you pay for. Basically just trying to let folks know it is buyer beware. A situation rarely arises, but when it does it can be costly when trying to save money. Hope this helps.

Mike Norris

 

Mike,

If I wanted to also swap out my timing chain and oil pump would that be extra labor cost?

 

700 bucks for an install??? For 1500 I got a custom cam, 30lb injectors, pushrods, vavlesprings, installation and a tune. This was a package deal from a local LS1 shop though...

 

JMX's guide

 

not to jump in mikes shoes.but the timing chain/oil pump takes awhile to do,sometimes it very smooth not often. same w/ valvesprings.when i do them i charge extra.
try to do this yourself.theres only 2 tools that the average man doesnt have,valvespring compressor" MORE PERFORMANCE makes a nice one" and rods that go in the block to prevent lifter from falling"ls1 speed makes them".it should take a full day to do this the first time if you have all your parts/tools.