Sourcing Quality Parts for Engine Rebuild

[rsawatson]

I'm in the process of rebuilding my engine and will be shortly sending off the block and crankshaft to be re-machined. I have been quoted £100 for a re-bore, £85 for the crankshaft to be re-ground and £240 for a full set of pistons complete with rings and gudgeon pins. All of these prices are exclusive of VAT and are from a well-known and (by all accounts) well-respected company local to me which supplies quality parts.

Having experienced the annoyance of poor quality (but cheaper) parts before, I am more than happy to pay the extra money for parts that are not going to let me down. For instance, one of the well-known web suppliers is advertising a set of pistons for £85 +VAT, but I've been warned by a friend to steer clear as they are apparently poorly made and have been known to fail prematurely. Do the prices above seem reasonable for good quality parts/work being done?

Also, the machinist can supply the bearings required, but again these are significantly more expensive than the mainstream suppliers' prices. Does anyone have experience of buying bearings from one of the major suppliers? Is it worth splashing out?

Just to reiterate, I'm interested in longevity of operation, so don't mind spending the extra cash if it's worth it in the long run. As much as I've enjoyed (mostly) the engine rebuild so far, I don't particularly want to have to repeat it any time soon!

Thanks.

[bmcecosse]

The machining work seems reasonable enough. The pistons sound EXTREMELY expensive ? What justification is there for that price ? What size engine is this ?

[rsawatson]

1098cc

[bmcecosse]

Why not just negotiate an exchange 'half engine' from Bull Motif? Or just use their pistons - I don't see anything wrong with them at ~£100 - nor have I seen any bad reports of the quality. I'm sure they will be fine ! As will be their bearing shells.

[biomed32uk]

I am running on shells from Bull, mains and big ends and they are fine, both in the fitting and the use.

Can't comment on any block work as I was lucky, mine had been lined back to standard and were fine, my local engineering shop charged me £10 a journal for the crank, so £70.