The studs are on the other side of the case. We’re undecided whether we will replace them or not. I’m hoping we will as I’ve never done that part of a rebuild.

As for speed, the figures I have seen indicate that an engine rebuild is 60 hours labour when the engine needs to be removed and refitted in the car. So it’s between 42 and 45 hours of labour to dismantle, clean and reassemble an engine.

My first rebuild was slow because I wasn’t sure how things came apart and was constantly off to the tool shop looking for items e.g. 10mm sockets with a thin wall to take the chain retainer cover off. This time I knew what the sequence was, I had the tools and the various bolts, nuts and connectors didn’t put up a fight. It also helped that the engine owner had removed the exhaust system and headers as that can be time consuming, requiring heat to remove nuts.

Given that the time component of a rebuild is fairly constant, I’m going to document the parts cost with this rebuild so that there is a data point for others to view. I have a degree of sympathy for mechanics where someone goes in and says I won’t pay any more than $X because that’s what is reasonable based on what it cost Y. No two rebuilds are exactly the same and there are ways to save money e.g. don’t replace rod bolts, bearings, chain guides and chains, which are crazy in the long term but you could get away with it if just flicking the car after the build.