Cost of Engine Rebuild

[ricky racer]

There are a lot of times visitors to this site wonder how much it costs to rebuild a Farmall Cub C60 engine. I'm currently in the process of rebuilding the engine of a late 40's Cub so I thought I'd list the costs of my rebuild. Keep in mind, I'm doing all of the mechanical work myself and only farming out the machining of the block. Every rebuild is slightly different so you mileage may vary.

I purchased this Cub for a forum member who didn't adequately protect his investment with a 50/50 antifreeze/water solution. It appears that the engine was recently rebuilt prior to the block freezing and breaking. When I purchased it, I hoped the block would have an external crack that I could possibly repair. That was not the case. The block had internal cracks so a repair was out of the question. Now, I wouldn't normally buy such an unknown specimen but I had an ace in the hole. I had a spare Cub engine setting in the barn. Doesn't everyone have a spare engine setting in their barn?

I knew nothing about the spare engine so before making an offer on the Cub with the cracked block, I pressurized the spare engine block to verify that the block was sound and not itself cracked. My hope was that I could pull the bad engine and just install the spare engine and move it on down the road. Well, that didn't happen. I placed the spare engine on an engine stand and cranked it over to check the compression. I recorded 0 psi on each cylinder. So, off comes the head which reveled stuck valves which was no surprise at this point. I measured the bores, which were still standard size. The cylinders were worn .007" over nominal. A lot of guys might have just added new rings and called it rebuilt but I couldn't do that in good conscience do that.

The crank in the spare engine had been turned .010" under but was badly worn. The crank in the cracked engine was also turned .010" under but was was really nice and measures spot on so it is going in the reworked engine along with the connecting rods. The pistons in the cracked engine are fairly new, .030" over cast iron pistons in like new condition so those are going into the spare engine. I took a piston along with the engine block to the machine shop so the bores could be fitted to the pistons. I also had the block cleaned, valves and seats ground, new valve guides installed and the block decked. Since I couldn't find any .030" piston rings, I had the machine shop order a set for me.

The costs for these services are as follow but keep in mind, costs may vary in your area:

Clean the block: $60.00
Bore block to fit pistons: $100.00
Deck block: $50.00
Install valve guides: $40.00
Valve job: $110.00
Total labor: $360.00

1 set of .030" over rings: $45.00
8 valve guides: $20.00
Total parts: $65.00

Grand total: $425.00

Now keep in mind, the crank didn't need to be ground and I didn't have to buy pistons. I still need to buy bearings, seals and gaskets. I'll be ordering those from Hamilton Bob later this week. Those should run me around $230 or so. A few bucks for assembly lube and Permatex, etc., and I'll have about $675 in the rebuild doing all of the mechanical work myself. Once the Cub is back together, it should make someone a nice little tractor that should run well for another 60 years with a little care and maintenance.

I started the build today by painting the engine block and installing the cam, lifters, valves and setting the valve clearance. I really enjoy the building portion of a rebuild. Here's the engine block before I started reassembly today.

[Dale Finch]

I know you are a long way from finished, and it's looking great, but don't overlook the need to remove paint from where the starter bolts onto the block. Of course, I KNOW you would have remember!!

I so love the look and feel of nicely machined metal!! Guess I'm a wierd lady, eh?!

[Jackman]

Sure is pretty with fresh machining and paint How about the cam did you replace it?

[ricky racer]

Sure is pretty with fresh machining and paint How about the cam did you replace it?

I found no appreciable wear on the cam so it was not replaced.

[Bill E Bob]

Aaand all the oil galley plugs were in place before inserting the cam. Don't ask how I know

[inairam]

Ricky I think that is a lot of machining work for $425.00. I am not sure I could get that workscope done my way for that. I am sure like your other projects this will end up being great!

Did you do a compression test before tear down? I would like to see compression numbers on a fresh rebuild.

Good luck.

[ricky racer]

Ricky I think that is a lot of machining work for $425.00. I am not sure I could get that workscope done my way for that. I am sure like your other projects this will end up being great!

Did you do a compression test before tear down? I would like to see compression numbers on a fresh rebuild.

Good luck.

Prior to the tear down, I had no compression on any cylinder due to stuck valves. Until the rings seat, I don't know how accurate the compression tests might be after the build.

[jsfarmall]

I just rebuilt one last winter. Was more than it cost me.to buy the tractor.

Bore block and clean 200
.060 over pistons and rings 188
Rod and main bearings 150
Gasket set 90

I didn't change valves or guides because they were good. I had a crank shaft on the shelf. Otherwise add 380 for those for someone that's not in the same situation. I did the work myself other than the machine work.

[jasondepinto]

I need to move to where you all live. I'm being quoted double and TRIPLE those prices for the same amount of machine work. I feel like shops are giving me their "we really don't want to do this job" pricing.

[jsfarmall]

I need to move to where you all live. I'm being quoted double and TRIPLE those prices for the same amount of machine work. I feel like shops are giving me their "we really don't want to do this job" pricing.

Unfortunately you are probably right. I learned by my machinist that cub engine blocks are odd sized and somewhat of a pain to do if you don't have small engine sized machines.

[Pdurdon]

The shops around me get $75-100 per hole for boring. Decking the block I was quoted $200. I gotta find a shop like yours. Lol

[Mr Ziffel]

Mi is a great place to find an experienced Machinist . Good luck guys.

[cjack]

I don't have the price breakdown handy, but we had the following machine shop work done this year at a local engine shop:

clean the block
bore block to fit pistons
deck block
install one valve guide insert, grind all valves
install valve guides
grind crankshaft (they shipped that out to a crankshaft specialist)
weld up a dent in the top of the block from a glancing sledgehammer blow (should go into a lessons learned post)
remove broken tap from crankshaft (also lessons learned)

CAD$950, so about US$700.

There are not a lot of shops around here (southern Ontario) that claim to be able to do this work. We found three within a 50 mile radius of us, and the one we went to was the only one consistently recommended by anyone we spoke with. That shop does a lot of high end car engines, I think they were amused by our old flathead. Good shop though, I'd recommend them to anyone.

We bought new pistons, rings, valve guides, valves, all new bearings, bought a better used camshaft... we spent more in parts than at the machine shop. Some parts were not available in Canada, we had to have a relative pick some up in the U.S. and some we had them shipped from other suppliers to Buffalo and then drove across the border to pick them up.

We've been at auctions recently where running IH tractors (not cubs, but A's, etc.) go for less than half of what we spent on the engine (supply has overtaken demand in our area). But we are doing the restoration for fun and learning, not for profit.

[cub 3]

Ricky, your engine rebuild looks great!

[Gary S.]

Been waiting to add to this thread since my 5.8 Ford marine engine has been at the machinist here in the NW suburbs of Chicago-

Bore and hone .020 over was 35.00 a cylinder
Clean and polish V8 crank 85.00
File fit and install rings 105.00
R&R pistons to rods 125.00
Clean block for assembly 165.00

One of the ironic things to me was that he said parts for these 351's are starting to get hard to find. For instance he had to call several suppliers for the rings- catalogs show they have them but what happens is that they make a run of them and when they are out they are out until they decide to make them again which can be awhile. I guess the same with pistons but in this case it was no problem. Hope this isn't the case with the Cub when it's time.