JBGRAYTA

Shops are very scarce down here in south florida that will do a cam and valvetrain swap, so I didn't have too many options. I ended up taking it to guy who builds engines, and came recommended from several people and shops. He gave me an estimate of $1200 just for the install. I have to pay extra for tuning elsewhere. That's about the average down here. I took the car to his shop late morning friday on March 4th. I figured it would take about 3-4 days at most to complete.
First off, I know the guy is obviously very knowledgeable about engines and sort, I mean, his shop is loaded with various setups and has several projects going on. He said he could do a cam swap in my car without too much hassle. Ok.
Anyway, first he said he would have to drop the engine a little bit so he could have a little room to work. He said he didn't have a high enough lift, and would have to move the car next door so he could get up under it. I came back about 4 days later, and no real work had been done yet. He then stated that he didn't have to drop the engine and that he could just remove the radiator shroud and everything in front. Ok. He proceeded to do just this, though it took about 3 days to do.
Now this is where I get a little p'd off. I came back to the shop, my intake manifold was off, and most of my valvetrain components. He proceeded to tell me that he would have to remove the heads and my entire exhaust. He said he didn't realize I had LT's on the car , even though he drove it about 20 miles(he shouldn't even be doing that), and my exhaust is LOUD. He said he had to do this so there wouldn't be a risk of a lifter falling in the oil pan, creating more work. He told me he could still attempt to just slide the cam in and put the new one in, but was risky, even though he had the magnetic pens to try and keep them up. I'm like fine, remove the heads then. I'm not greatly knowledgeable about this stuff, but I think this may be going too far.
Now, he needs a new head gasket, and won't get them until monday. Basically, I can only hope he gets done this friday, cause he still hasn't even put my new cam and valvetrain stuff in yet.
Does it take 2 weeks to do a cam swap? I'm not going to be charged extra for labor, because I have a feeling that's what he is trying to do. He even snapped off a bolt on my header from the EGR tube. This is very frustrating.

cbota

Sounds like he is not to familar with working on F & Y bodies. 3-600 for cam and spring swap and you dont need to pull the heads. Dont let him charge you extra for pulling the heads which was not needed, your best bet at this point is to pick up a set of ported heads and get the install for free

YO-EL

iTrader: (6)

Dude..
I just paid that from a top shop here in Phila suburbs, and yes, the price does fluctuate depending on the shop you use, but mine was done in 2 days.

So, $1,200 for a cam swap, etc, OK, but any longer than say 2-3 days, you gotta question why you are paying top dollar for obviously less than top expertise..

My advise to you is to show up with a flatbed & GET YOUR CAR OUTTA THERE! If he balks about price or payment, thats when you call the cops..
or show up with the police..

He CANNOT hold your car, that is where the courts come in to play.

I can only forsee BAD in this situation..

I don't think reasoning with him is gonna get you anywhere or get you the type of job you want.

Just show up with a flatbed & with the police if you call them & tell them you think there may be trouble...

I am telling you, based on what you wrote, you better get you car out of there! Pulling heads for a cam is bull... Driving your car around in the middle of this work is also bull... RUN, don't walk & snare your vehicle bro..

Good luck..

Wile_E

That's more than double the prcie of the going rates for a cam and spring install here in Atlanta. I feel for you man because I know what it's like to have minimal choices for custom work.

Swapping a cam and springs is also a one day project.

Good luck, I hope everything works out for you.

mwalls54

thats kinda high and the shop is doing way too much and taking way too long. i took my time and installed cam and springs in a hotel parking lot in 2 evenings

militant_x

iTrader: (1)

Ouch man, thats pricey. I live here in miami and had no idea this stuff cost that much. I know my friends would gladly have taken 1/4 of that and had your car done in a day (but they are not "experts"). I hope this turns out ok.

Chris

sevanseriesta

iTrader: (34)

I did mine for free and it only took 2 days. And I have no Mechanical Knowledge. Common sense will go along way

RahuL

iTrader: (10)

you can def. use this emoticon --> ... the guy doing your cam swap is an idiot.. I'd probably say that to his ******* face for not only being a rip off artist, but also for the fact that he's majorly BS'ing regarding a cam swap... and here is proof:

seriously man, you've got ALOT of patience to be putting up with that fool.. like YO-EL said, have your car taken outta there ASAP!!..

Cam swap does not take more than a day, esp. from a "professional" which he obviously isn't.. don't believe he is very knowledgeable just because there are various cars and set-ups in his shop.. I had ventured into a similar shop when I had my Grand Prix GTP, and the guy kept repeating " turbo " when my car had a " Blower " and he said they're both the same

Get your car outta there!! If there isn't a sponsor shop around there, I'm sure someone in the local F-Body chapter will help ya.. If not, tow the car a bit [even if you have to pay for the tow.. AAA Plus would help ] to a sponsor and have it done right!! ...

I wouldn't pay that douche bag a penny for this screw up!!

SMOKIN01TA

iTrader: (10)

ok, ima say this from experience, you are getting totally screwed. i did all my springs and cam in about 6 hours total work over two different afternoons, it was very easy and NOTHTING comes off the car except some of the belt drive accessories, pulley and front cover. yea, you pulll the valvetrain obviously but this retard is scaming you. first off no you will need new head gaskets and you cant reuse the head bolts so there goes another big chunk of money. and im sure since hes not a ls1 mechanic he wont have them and will have to order them and they wont be cheap, your best bet is like was said above, get a wrecker, go get your car and bring it home NOW, any halfway decent mechanicaly skilled person can do it following all the precise directions floating around on this topic.

HavATampa

iTrader: (49)

You got ripped as soon as you signed the form saying you are going to pay him $1200 for the labor. That's crazy. You should have towed the car out of the shop as soon as he said he had to pull the engine to get the cam out. Ignorance is no excuse to getting ripped off. There are way to many websites with pics and threads explaining the cam removal process. Sounds like you should have done your homework before letting this con artist get one over on you. Sorry to hear this.

Krab

iTrader: (28)

You are definetely paying too much for a cam/springs swap. This guy probably doesn't have any experience with an LS1 engine, which you can obviously tell from what he has been feeding you. Run to that shop and take it out of there before he tries to stick you with an even more ridiculous bill for work that is completely unnecessary. Click on this link www.ls1howto.com and print out the "F-body cam/spring swap" write up and take it with you to this guys shop just in case he doesn't believe you when you try to tell him that he doesn't need to take off the heads, intake and exhaust to do the swap. On a side note, I wouldn't pay more than $350 for a cam/springs swap. $1200 is insane.

JBGRAYTA

Yeah, I know I should've just done it myself. I get a nice box of new tools this tuesday . Anyway, this guy quoted me exactly $310 for new head gaskets and bolts. He stated he'll save me some money by simply reusing the head bolts and using $70 for the gaskets. To my understanding, are the new bolts only something like $35?
This is looking bad. I'll give it until this tuesday or wednesday, see what he says about the final labor price. If it is more than the original price, I'm going to dispute and things might get ugly. If in the end, everything is done correctly, and I end up paying what I originally signed, I'll take my business elsewhere from now on.
BTW, the closest sponsor to me is Norris in Orlando, but there are a couple of shops down here I wish I would've taken to instead, though one of them also stated that the heads must come off.
I've had a lot of bad experiences with various shops down here, it seems more of them are interested in scamming people than doing a decent job. My transmission guy f'd up my plumbing when he installed my cooler, hacked up the plastic underside, and poked a hole in my condensor.
I'm never going to make this mistake again. Jesus.

Tech

iTrader: (1)

Tow the car away. Buy me a plane ticket and I'll come put the car back together for you. No charge for labor.

Billiumss

iTrader: (11)

Like Tech said, get the car towed home!!!

If your a young guy, he probably figured he can pull one on ya.

You best bet is to do it yourself. Even if you take your time, you'll have it done in a full weekend, it's really not that hard unless you never turn wrenches.

Click this link for all you need to know: http://ls1howto.com/

Brandon Boomhauer

iTrader: (10)

Sorry to hear it man, but that is horrible. I would highly suggest meeting up with some local FBod guys and finding out who does their work, if they need it. Also you could search on here for a reputable person. I'm not sure were REVXtreme is located, but I know they are in FL somewhere, and I've heard great things about their work, and have spoken with them a couple times on the phone. 1200 is crazy though. I've been quoted under 1400 for cam/springs(918s)/pushrods/install/tuning.

The head bolts are TTY, only use them once. Dont wait till Tuesday or Wednesday. Get the car out of there. Get the final price tomorrow morning before anything else is done. Dont wait around and get screwed out of more $.

CrazytrainWS6

$1200....ouch. like everybody said, it shouldn't take more than a day. mikey from rapid motorsports put my cam in and took him 3 hours

my01camaroz28

iTrader: (15)

Here is my take on things. I bought my z28 new off the lot and have some pretty good mechanical knowledge on cars. I grew up having to fix my own crap like rear seals, transmission swaps, brakes, etc. I even went in with a family member building a mock 69 corvette stingray motor for a 72 RS/SS camaro. With the little bit of knowledge I have, I will make a plan to upgrade something on my car, then research the work involved and the pro's and con's, then research the best price for the part. Once everything is purchased I hit it hard in one shot. I have had a few bad decisions here and there, but nothing that was critical, just cost me a few extra dollars to verify my work. So if you can get the couple of days to do stuff yourself, research it and do it. Save $500 + and spend it on something else.

RahuL

iTrader: (10)

I'm sure all these responses are probably making you feel like " ****! I've really been ripped .. and God knows what he'll stick me with next... " but it's okay.. I've made some very big mistakes too lol.. so just chalk it upto a learning curve..

wow! .. If you can't find a reputable shop around.. there's your help!!

Goodluck man.. keep us posted!!

Michael Ozorowsky

iTrader: (1)

I did my own heads/cam swap total in say about 48 hours. NEVER did a heads/cam swap before, just followed directions on Ls1howto.com and I AM NOT a mechanic by ANY means. I say you got ripped off.

777

iTrader: (21)

revextreme is in tampa...i will be getting my tune there in a couple weekends...i had absolutly no mechanical knowledge at all and i did an oil pump and timing chain swap...ls1howto.com is definatly your friend...it took me about 10 hours...but i could do it over again in half the time...the cam was right there...so it would have been maybe an extra 30 minutes to swap cams...i believe you could do it yourself if you wanted to...just takes determination and the right tools...