How hard is it to build your own motor??

I think you will find that the difference between buying the parts and having it built is only a couple hundred dollars. Personally that is worth it just for the warranty and peace of mind. It is certainly something worth thinking about.

It's not that hard. You need some special tools to load the pistons, put the rings on, measuring stuff for tons of measurements, quality ft/lb and inch/lb tq wrenches...etc... You can have somebody assembled a longblock for less than the tools often... I know a local shop around here will do a full longblock assembly for $420 including machine work lol...others range from $500-$800 +/- machine work costs. Just buy a built shortblock or have somebody build you one.

heres is what I am going to do. Get a long block out of a junk yard. Lots of good stuff to reuse. I can get all the outside stuff polished or powdercoated. Dissasselbe the heads, send em off to get ported, take the short block apart, send it to local builder, cleaned, machined, ect. Send him the selected internals. He assembles it. I pick up. assemble motor with new heads and pretty parts. Then drop in the my car with no down time. I am going to have a local engine builder to my block machine work and loading the short block up. I dont particualry like dealing with people 3000 miles away to build my stuff. Just having the builder to only deal with the engine internals. I will assemble everything else myself. Heads, cams, all that stuff. I have never built a motor before. I have been around it and done everything else in the car. I did alot of hydraulic work in the Navy, so I understand wear patterns and tolerances, ect.

The most important and somewhat expensive part is making sure you have all the PROPER tools to do the job correctly. A good place to work on an engine and some time and patience. I would consider building an engine only if you believe you will build/work on engines in the future. Building just 1 engine, is probably not the best investment, but after you have the right tools and experience you will be able to do more engine rebuilds and build ups in the future. On performance vehicles and everyday vehicles.

On ther positive will be knowing and understanding exactly what you've done to the engine, therefore you will be able to troubleshoot it personally then having to take it somewhere.

jprovence said:

I understand wear patterns and tolerances, ect.

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Yeah, but do you know what the tolerances/clearances are for your mod motor? Personally, I don't, and I couldn't build a motor without knowing. It's not magic to build a motor (I did my 351C in my '73 Mach 1 back in the day...nevermind that it didn't start afterward...I did it all myself! (Distributor was 180 degrees off ))
Point being, I sought out the necessary clearances and tolerances and the tools needed to do this. A quality torque wrench (actually a couple of em - ft/lbs and in/lbs) is essential.
Even still, if you found the info, and let's say the clearance between A and B is supposed to be .0018 - .0010. Would you know how to measure this? Would you feel confident in your measurement?
These mod motors have tight clearances and very little room for error. Moreover, any OHC motor is extremely reliant on proper oil flow.
At the end of the day, even if YOU don't feel confident, do you feel confident that your builder knows how to build a mod motor? Has he built them before? Does he have any customers you could contact and get their opinion?
The reason for going to one of the national builders is because of their experience. Most know this engine like the proverbial back of their hand.
Think of it another way. You have an accident, cut your hand badly, severe your tendons and nerve in your hand and need to have surgery. There is an orthopedic surgeon that works at the hospital really close to your house, but he has very limited experience in hand surgery, tendon graphs, nerve damage. Across town, there is a hand surgery specialist who has done this surgery hundreds of times... Who would you go to?
(See, I had this exact scenario happen to me...and I chose door #2..and you know what? I can now play guitar again, which even the doctor thought I'd never be able to do again...awesome work by Dr. Hess in Tampa...)
Anyway, sorry, I got off subject there a bit, but I think I made an important point. Jeez, if you're pouring money into a motor, don't sacrafice a quality build just to save a few bucks. Best of Luck!

The key to building a motor,is the machine work. all you really need is a dial caliper(to check machinist work).plasitiguage,torque wrench,ring compressor. if the machinist knows his **** you only really need to do is assemble. arp gives pretty good torque specs for rod bolt stretch etc. I have built many an engine for truck pulling(500 cu in +,and 8000-10,000 rpm) and needed nothng more than a torque wrench and ring compressor.of course i checked every clearance with mic's bore guages, checked bolt strech etc. but I had a good machinist and every thing alway's worked out. point is,don't be afraid, it really not black magic and all

blkhorse said:

The key to building a motor,is the machine work. all you really need is a dial caliper(to check machinist work).plasitiguage,torque wrench,ring compressor. if the machinist knows his **** you only really need to do is assemble. arp gives pretty good torque specs for rod bolt stretch etc. I have built many an engine for truck pulling(500 cu in +,and 8000-10,000 rpm) and needed nothng more than a torque wrench and ring compressor.of course i checked every clearance with mic's bore guages, checked bolt strech etc. but I had a good machinist and every thing alway's worked out. point is,don't be afraid, it really not black magic and all

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Well, I agree to a point. It really depends on the individual - let's face it (and hopefully the StangNet members can be honest with themselves), some people are just not mechanically inclined. Some folks have a knack for working with their hands, are very comfortable with using feeler gauges, dial calipers, ring compressor, hell, even simple ol' plasticgauge and a torque wrench...as you've mentioned above. While this may be second nature to some of us, to others, who tend to never do more than a bolt on here or there, a full build, with one simple error, could turn into a big expensive pile of junk. I'm sure you've known someone or at least heard of someone who can't spot the difference between a muffler and a catalytic converter. It's just not in their makeup. They may be experts in accounting, but still have to recite "lefty loosey, rightie tightie" whenever they are turning a wrench...you know these folks, right?

Back in the early 80s, in my high school days, I cut my teeth on go-cart engines, then VW engines, then I4s, and finally V8s. I'm no expert, but I'm not afraid to do most anything to my daily driver - I have the confidence that I'll do it right, whatever it may be. I also have the confidence that if I'm in over my head, I'll engage the proper resources to ensure the job is done right.
It's not magic, as you said. But that also doesn't mean anyone and everyone can build an engine as long as they have the right tools. It takes more than the tools. It takes an understanding of the mechanics of the engine, a general knowledge of how things work, per si. Giving anyone the proper tools and expecting that anyone could build a motor is equivalent to giving you a rope and calling you a cowboy...It takes a bit more than that.

agreed..............the person has to be mechanically inclined,but taking your time and with good book the person that is comfortable with say swapping there heads etc can build a short block. if you never even had a valve cover off an engine,leave it for the pro's for sure

I have an extra blockout of a 2000 GT. PM me if you are intrested

I say, if you have the time, patience, place and tools to do it. Go do it. Time is all a newbie should consider. With enough time to learn while you go it can be done, and gives you something fun to do. I'd go to a shop if I didn't have the time or was too lazy to learn.

Assembling is not a big issue...

But, having all the clearances correct is the biggie

Most do not do it, because they cannot afford all the machines.