Cost of modification

[Oz_man]

As some of you know i am in the market for an fe fc or ek special.  I have seen a couple recently in seemingly good condition but they are both fairly original mechanically.  

I would like to know how much it costs to modify the follwoing so that i can get an idea of the total cost.

Installing a red motor (186).  i.e the cost of a good red with engineering certificate for nsw.

converting it to a hr front end.  cost of good front end plus certificate if needed.  

A mate of my dad is a mechanic so he will do the work for next to nix.

Thanks to anyone who can help.

As an aside does anyone know how much it would cost to convert a red to unleaded?  is it worth the money?

Cheers

[Fast_Eddie]

Oz-man,

My advice, for what it is worth, is to be patient and find the right modified car, if it is a modified car you want.

It's simply not economical to modify a car yourself, especially if you need to outsource the work. As generous as your mate's dad might be, there are a lot of hours in the work that you are asking about.

Take for example the V8 FC ute that was recently advertised on this site. Apparently a spot on car, it sold for $13K, which on rough estimates, is probably half what it would cost to build. Parts, not labour!

A nicely modified early model Holden with a red six will follow the same principles. The build cost will be a factor of 2 or 3 of what it would sell for.

I don't know your budget, however, between $4,500 - $7,500 should secure a really well sorted and engineered modified car. My guess is that a nice original will fall in the same price range.

Regards

Edward

[RET]

Oz_man,

A red motor in reasonable condition shouldn't cost you more than a few hundred dollars.  Since you're planning on a HR front end anyway, don't muck about with low-capacity reds like 138/149/161/173.  Go large, like 179, 186 or 202.  The amount of work is the same whichever one you choose (apart from 138/149) in NSW.  Definitely stay away from a 138 red.

HR front end is probably $400-$600, depending on how much brake work the one you get requires.  You also need to match the rear-end, (either through a proportioning valve on the original brakes, or better, using a complete HR setup drum to drum).  Figure on a couple of hundred bucks there.

You'll also need electric wipers, demister and seat-belts, and an engineers' report: around $500 for the lot.

So what's that, maybe $1500-ish all up?  If you can find a cheap, rust-bucket HD or HR that's mechanically OK, you'll have just about everything you'll need.  Score one of them for $750-1000 and you're definitely ahead of the game.

Conversion for unleaded is definitely worth it if you've got the motor in pieces anyway.  Cost is about $400.  You can also use Flash-Lube etc aftermarket set-ups, but they cost about the same anyway.  The only benefit of them is that you don't have to get the head taken off and modified.

Of course, all of this assumes that you're talking about a bog-stock red motor, straight out of the trading post and into your car.  You can spend as much as you want once you start talking add-ons like electronic ignition, injection, Yella Terra head etc etc etc.  I've also assumed you are keeping the crash-box: anything else requires floor modifications and more money...

You should visit the RTA website, and do a search for Light Vehicle Modifications.  You'll find a PDF you can download that lists all the rules and regs for this job.

Hope all that is some help, and possibly someone who's done this more recently than me might have some more up-to-date prices and recommendations.

cheers
RET

[RET]

Did it take me that long to write?  Ed posted his reply while I was still typing.  I've answered your question as you've asked it, but for what it's worth I agree with Ed - it's cheaper to buy a finished car than do it yourself.

cheers
RET