B23FT rebuild cost

Hey guys, I just got my engine back today (Pics are on the way) so I figured I would post the total cost. This way others can check it out and weigh the options. Here goes:

Hot Tank: 25.00
Install Aux Shaft Bearings: 55.00
Bore/Hone (.012): 90.00
Grind Crank (.010): 135.00
Polish Crank: 20.00
Full Balance-(Pistons, rods, crank, crank pulley, flywheel, and pressure plate): 120.00
Valve Job: 130.00
Surface Head: 55.00
Cam work (Cleaning/inspect/adjust): 100.00
Surface Flywheel: 48.00
Install Freeze Plugs: 40.00
Assemble Short Block: 300.00
Auxillary Shaft Bearings: 32.00
Rod Bearings: 32.00
Main Bearings: 58.00
7 Adjusting Shims: 35.00
Pistons (Volvo OEM): 300.00 (Note: I have a "friend" at the dealership-I believe regular price is about 360.00)
Turbocharger: 550.00 (Note: This work was performed by Innovative Turbo Systems)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Cost: $2276.76

Am I nuts or what? Seriously though I will probably drive this car until it dies a natural death at (hopefully) 300K miles. The first part of doing this kind of work (If you're a poor college student like me) is realizing you'll never get the money back out of it. But anyway that's that. If you're looking for an idea on what a complete rebuild for a B23FT (B230FT should be very similar) should look like, there it is. I plan on doing a website which will document the whole buildup, from $500.00 junker to Swedish Rice Cooker! Anyway, I'd like to hear from others who have done rebuilds just to compare costs-my machine shop is a family business that has been doing everything from heavy industrial, street, and race work for over 50 years. They rebuilt a Chevy 305 for me about a year ago and from what I've seen their pricing is pretty competitive at least for this area (Central NJ). In any event I'd be glad to "donate" this info to the pending FAQ so that newbies can decide whether or not they want to take the plunge.

Later,

Matthew

Sounds pretty cool to me, and I mean with only about $2000 invested you basically have a brand new car assuming that the body and interior are in good shape. I certainly am jealous of your rebuild. Congratulations and Good Luck!

Holy. Well this is quite different for me as I did everything myself besides machine work.

Crank grind and micro polish about 150 bucks.
Rebuild kit w/ bearings from IPD was around 250 bucks, though they aren't listing them anymore.
Cylinder head work: IF I had payed for it, it would be around 1500 bucks, but were talking extreme work here.
Odds and ends: Bankruptcy (seriously, those kill you)
a dozen freeze plugs: 30 bucks probably
Cam/gear: 300 bucks I think.
60/48 Turbo from Patrick Dickman: 100 bucks (nice to have friends!)
New Driverside window, broken in a fit of rage when the last freeze plug blew out: Free (thanks to Pat once again).

Patrick and Paul knowing that after all was said and done, I forgot to get the correct throttle cable: Priceless

So, really I only "payed" under 1k. I did the hone myself, assembly and everything else.

"I mean with only about $2000 invested you basically have a brand new car assuming that the body and interior are in good shape."

Eh, you could say that. The base car was a basket case that I bought in Maryland for $500.00 so there's a little more to add. The interior, engine, and paint were in very bad shape so I basically gutted the thing and started fresh. The B23FT/M46 combo came from a wrecked 760T also in Maryland ($200.00). However, my dead 16 valve had an absolutely immaculate interior so in that went. Now all I need is paint (peeling clearcoat...), but that can wait-speed is what I'm really interested in!

Later,

Matthew

Use the 16v HEAD!!! Screw the car, just get that, the motor you have now and ditch the grandpa mobile and build a cool volvo, a 242!

Doug

I wish...first the head would have to be redone (Oil pump shaft sheared-you know the rest). Then aftermarket EMS, etc...Actually once I graduate and get a real job I'm thinking 850 engine with an M90 in a gutted 142. Maybe I'll be done paying off the work on the 740 by then

Later,

Matthew

Badfish740 said:

I wish...first the head would have to be redone (Oil pump shaft sheared-you know the rest). Then aftermarket EMS, etc...Actually once I graduate and get a real job I'm thinking 850 engine with an M90 in a gutted 142. Maybe I'll be done paying off the work on the 740 by then

Later,

Matthew

Click to expand...

Word for the wise, in this hobby, your never done paying anything off.

Before people start buying up parts people should call Volvo Parts Specialists.

http://www.volvopartsspecialist.com/

They sell OEM brand stuff they're just not in a volvo bag, so they're alot cheaper. I got all the stuff for my rebuild literally half the price of dealer discount prices. Seriously I really push these guys cause they have great prices, great service and they know they're stuff.

I got everything I needed for a rebuild plus one Mahle piston and a rubber IC hose for less than 700 bucks. I called all around (local dealer, Groton, etc...) and it was going to cost about 1300 with alot of places giving me a 20% "discount".

Geeze, 2000 bucks is a lot to spend on engine, but looks like you were pretty complete. Is that doing the work yourself? When I do the engine in my car I'm gonna do most of my own work to minimize costs.

Yeah, $2000 is a lot to spend (especially when you make about $11000 a year ) The thing is, once the car is done it will basically have zero miles on it. Also it'll be built pretty much the way I want, B23FT, M46, later model body and interior (plus I soundproofed the entire floor while the interior was out), euro front end, plus other little odds and ends. Like I've said before, I realize I'll never get that much back out. I'll just get it back in hopefully plenty of mileage and lot's of fun driving

Later,

Matthew

are performance cams available for the 16v head from a 740 glt or what ever? I saw one in ajunk yard and I weas going to grab it but I didn't I thought that they didn't import the 16v head to the usa. Can it be adapted to a B20? I read somewhere that it could.

that sounds awsome, got a pic of your car though? id like to see it

16V cams...

Jan C of Enem AB (the source of the cool V15's and Unitek and several other people's cams...

[quote:10a9fd6f22]Hello Matthew, you don?t have to do anything to your N/A Cams - what you need is a set of vernier pulleys (sprockets) to change the timing, lobe centers so that you get peak points (mamimum lift) appr 112-113 degress before (exhaust) and after (inlet) TDC. The secrets to get power out of a turbo engine has very much to do with the size and type of turbo you use, the management systems is extremely important as well as cooling of the inlet air temperature. Camshafts also, of course, but there are more to gain from the things I mentioned above to start with, N/A Cams will be a good base to start with.

Best Regards

Jan[/quote:10a9fd6f22]

Basically he said that the NA 16V cams are alright, not too bad really, possibly grind it a little to give more advantage but you'd get more bang for the buck with spending the money on other things first. Sounds like a 16V on a strong B230FT bottom would be killer!

~Matt