Not a Clue

After spending a few hours on the Summit website I gathered a rough price list for most of the parts involved in assembling an engine. I should qualify this list by saying I did not search for the best deal and simply looked for things that seemed like a good idea. I estimated the price for a core block and core heads. I’m not sure but I suspect that after doing the numbers I may find that it is nearly as expensive (maybe even cheaper!) to buy pre-assembled after market heads.

So what was the damage?

$5,473

Here is the list.

Part	Notes	Price
Engine Block	Used core (Price estimated)	150
Cylinder heads (2)	Used cores (Price estimated)	150
Crankshaft	Scat cast steel crank. Price for crank is pretty much the same regardless of stroke	190
Connecting rods (8)		200
Pistons (8)		275
Piston rings		100
ARP Studs		150
Headers		400
Carburetor	Thinking about a Speed Demon. Tunability and reliability are essential	500
K&N Air filter and housing	4” High 14” diameter. I’ve had good experience with K&N. KNN-60-1290	85
K&N substack	Won’t work on the Speed Demon but will use it if I select a different Carb	25
Camshaft	Flat tappet	125
Lifters	Hydraulic	100
Pushrods	Custom length (preassembled)	160 (90)
Rocker arms (16)	ST-2740	200
Valve covers (2)		50
Timing Chain	Double roller	90
Timing cover		20
Valves (16)		340
Valve springs and retainers		160
Valve seats	No idea what the price is but at this point pre-assembled after market heads are starting to sound like a good idea
Gasket set	Supposedly all the gaskets I’ll need	125
Intake manifold		200
Harmonic balancer	St-3995	270
Machine Work
- Bore and Hone		250
- Align hone	If needed. No price.
- Balance		200
Cylinder head Machine work. Guides, seats, deck.	No ideas on pricing but again, after market is looking better all the time
Bearings
- Cam		18
- Main		27
- Rod		32
Fuel pump	High volume low pressure	75
Fuel filter		10
Oil filter		10
Oil pan	MOR-20190 I'll need a different pan for a 4” stroke	136
- Windage tray		25
- Oil pickup		40
Oil pump	Standard volume ST-4398	30
Oil pump driveshaft		18
Water pump	High volume	175
T-stat		10
Ignition system
- Distributor	HEI	300
- Plug wires	Good stuff	110
- Spark Plugs		12
Total	And not all expenses are accounted for	5473

I should also point out that this does not include the price for specialized tools like micrometers and burettes.

This has been an enlightening exercise. I hear people discuss buying parts and refer to their costs that don’t make sense until you start really adding up the costs. If you are spending $6,000 to $8,000 on an engine then $1,300 for a block doesn’t seem like so much. This is especially true if you are building a high output motor. Well, I’m not. I’m looking for a modest power output hovering around 1 HP and 1lb ft per cubic inch.

However, I have an idea!

Builder