Machining cost

[Tim Wolfe]

A machine shop just billed me about $500 to machine an intake manifold to match my exhaust manifold. Does this seem high to you? I have no choice but to pay it, but will tell him I think it is very high. At $100 an hour that means it took 5 hours to set up and fuzz cut it!

[Narve N]

I had a similar experience with a oiling-industry specialist tooling company turning my two rear 14" brake drums which are too large for normal shop equipment. While I forgot to ask for a price in beforehand, the operator then logged 2 hours at $250 an hour to perfectly center the two drums plus $100 to do the cut. After intense haggling and whining about what the cost would normally be for this non-professional restoration I ended up paying $500.

A regular machine shop just charged me $200 to mill an 8-cylinder head which I consider OK, Norwegian cost level taken into consideration.

[edinmass]

All costs are going up. Shops that actually do good work are very expensive, and a lot of shops have people who really shouldn’t be working on custom stuff. Manifolds can be very time consuming to get right.......five hours isn’t crazy depending on their equipment and skill level. On a Pierce, the manifolds could easily run you five grand..........for good used ones that need to be machined. Currently V-16 Manifolds run 15k for the units, plus machining, and then porcelain. Shop rates for custom work of 100-200 dollars per hour is “normal low” in many areas. 
 

I recently sent a brake drum 1500 miles in a wooden crate to be turned, because they were the only people I know who will do the job correctly. The crate was 200 bucks, shipping both ways was 300. Having a drum done correctly that is irreplaceable..........priceless.

Edited April 15, 2021 by edinmass (see edit history)

[Tim Wolfe]

Found out they made a jig to hold the manifolds steady on the mill table. The manifolds look great and are perfectly flat and in line with each other. So I guess it was worth the money.

[edinmass]

1 hour ago, Tim Wolfe said:

Found out they made a jig to hold the manifolds steady on the mill table. The manifolds look great and are perfectly flat and in line with each other. So I guess it was worth the money.

 

If it were easy, everyone would do it.........

[kings32]

It must be nice to be rich , Ihad my maifold  on my 38 chrysler 8 cyl  This is a top end shop that does every thing from 1 cyl to 1000 hp race engines . Kings32

[edinmass]

18 minutes ago, kings32 said:

It must be nice to be rich , Ihad my maifold  on my 38 chrysler 8 cyl  This is a top end shop that does every thing from 1 cyl to 1000 hp race engines . Kings32

 

Whats your point? 

[JV Puleo]

On 4/15/2021 at 4:22 PM, Tim Wolfe said:

Found out they made a jig to hold the manifolds steady on the mill table. The manifolds look great and are perfectly flat and in line with each other. So I guess it was worth the money.

 

I can't say how many times I've done that. Two days to make a fixture and 40 minutes to do the job is normal. Manifolds are particularly difficult. They were machined in special fixtures when they were made and often lack accurate register surfaces. You are lucky to have found a shop that would even take the job and get it done correctly. That, in itself, is beyond most shops today. The business of replacing parts rather than repairing them is not confined to the automobile world. Today the only time parts are being repaired is when they are fantastically expensive to begin with.

[Tim Wolfe]

installed the intake and engine runs great!