ohc engine

[Mike Stubbings]

Hi All. Has anyone had an ohc engine totally rebuilt lately if so what did it cost and would they recommend anyone. Mike

[Ian Grace]

Three names spring to mind - although I can't comment on prices.

Paul Rogers (morrisnutter@hotmail.com) is currently rebuilding two OHC Minor engines.

David Johnson (fateric30@hotmail.com) is currently rebuilding an OHC engine for Brian Maeers.

Dave Cooksey has rebuilt countless Minor engines.

[Ronald]

We had ours dopne last yr, the cost was as much as the car is worth, andf that was not paying an hourly rate........ he did the entire job for £800..... inc getting several bits remachined, and building the entire engine from bits...... the cost of the bits alone was over 5k! although that did include a new crank and rods!

[Ian Grace]

I'll offer you £1,600 for MT 3286 any day, Ronald. £800 sounds like a very good deal these days.

[Toby]

sidevalve done by cox and turner, pistons re-used, £4,000.00 Next time will do it myself farming out the machining jobs!

[Ronald]

I'll offer you £1,600 for MT 3286 any day, Ronald. £800 sounds like a very good deal these days.

Not quite right Ian............. £800 was the labour!!!!!!!!!!! as i said, the bits were over 5k,...... so add that up, and its nearly 6k! like i said, nigh ion the value of the car.... if not more than!

[Ian Grace]

Rats - thought I'd got a bargain there.

[ian judd]

There was a time, not so long ago, when people with worn crankshafts got them built up by ( I think ) submerged arc welding. I wonder if we are being too quick to discard old cranks (if they are not cracked). Modern ones have the disadvantage of being heavier than the originals, quite apart from the cost:value of the car ratio. It hardly seems worth it for a car that might only do a few hundred miles a year. Lots of cars out there still happily using original crankshafts.

Ian

[Highlander]

Ian, I am with you all the way. I cannot believe how much it costs to have someone rebuild an engine. I see £4,000 mentioned. What are our cars worth at the end of the day? I am not an engineer but have fettled for years and rebuilt my s/v a couple of years ago for about £500 and I thought this was dear!!! I only replace if necessary i.e. the inlet valves on my minor were like new so I only replaced the exhaust valves. It is too easy to get carried away. At the end of the day I seldom see a minor, s/v or OHV in this part of Surrey so where is everyone? Highlander.

[Ronald]

Ian/Highlander...

I totally agree about the cost of replacing items such as crankshafts.......... however, my mother and late father would have by now owned MT for some 46 yrs....... and i am 42, i know very little about the internal workings of these engines, all i know is they are fiddly to get right, i have a store full of worn out bits, and the way i did it, i got another engine built up and running, and then removed the engine that was in the car and put it (complete) under the bench for future reference......

The cost of rebuilding the engine i suspect is equivelent to the value of the car, if not more, however, MT is like a part of the family, it will never ever be for sale, even if it never gets used..... therefore, i would rather have acar that i can actually use from time to time, AND get up hills...... rather than one thats gutless and is dangerous to drive......
With reference to the weight of the crank, yes, they are heavier, but my flywheel is now much lighter to counteract that effect!!

Ronald.

[Ian Grace]

If you want to keep the crank weight close to the original, Phoenix will machine the webs of their standard fully-conterbalanced offering - but the cost is slightly more ...

[parthmehd]

Hello all. Well, I am rebuilding my 1934 SV Tourer in India, and, judging from what you all are paying, I guess mine is quite a "budget" job, despite the fact that I am (trying) to make no compromises in quality !! I am done with the machining bit and that has put me back about 130 GBP, including a new set of valves and guides and the fitting of a set of sleeves. The full set of valves and guides, made locally, cost me just 20 GBP (I am not sure how much they will last, but they seem quite ok). Standard Size Pistons and rings came from JP Pistons and were 55 GBP per piston with ring and G Pin. They are now putting it all together (at a snail's pace, much to my frustration). But I don't expect the cost to go above 250 - 300 GBP for the engine, including valves, machining, paint, sorting out a few rough edges and labour but excluding pistons. Fit and finish is quite good. I am not really sure how it will turn out, but the guy doing my job is a good friend who has tons of past experience and I am quite satisfied with the work done so far, so I don't see why it would not work out. I will keep you posted !!