Quote:
Originally Posted by cjsgarage
Subframes are easy to swap out. 3.5 hours. Depends on what needs to be installed onto it also. Steering box, steering linkages, engine mounts, trans mounts. Add accordingly.
Count on a mini tub installation taking about forty hours. It's hard for me to imagine how long it would take when trying to preserve the outside paint. There's special workings to not get weld spatter or heat onto the outside panels. Let alone be cutting, grinding and shaping neat them.
Far subframe connectors require the entire interior to be removed. Part of it will be done for the tuba but it does take time to remove front and rear seats, seat belts, carpet, wiring, etc. then time to cut the floor pan (and measuring) and weld them in. I'd say it would take me 6 hours to be realistic.
Gas tanks are easy. Half hour. Unless you have a bolt lockup. Then it could be an hour or two. Let's half half an hour. But there's also fuel lines. Feed, return from regulator, filter, and running it up the engine. Also removing the former lines that fed it and the charcoal canister line if it was present. Three hours. Maybe four now.
Dash. They install quick. Wiring, not so much. At least four hours. You're talking about running new fuel gauge sender wires, new VSS wires since they didn't come in a 69, and sender wires for engine vitals. Oh yeah. And removing the speedo cable.
Wiper motor is no problem. Wiring is not the same, as it adds more speeds and has a different switch. An hour.
Firewall plate? You must remove the entire front clip to do this. At least on gender and inner fender. It took me almost ten hours to get the front clip off, surface prepped, straight and welded. The welds must be done in stitches, not in one single pass--so as not to warp the panel.. Then I had to body work the welds so it looked like it belonged and paint the firewall. I think my paint guy had another twenty five hours in that.
Vintage air takes me around six to eight hours depending on how disassembled the car is and how complicated it is to crimp and run the hoses.
Roll cage. I don't know. I haven't had to do one in a 69. Maybe 5 if it was all bolt in.
Brakes could easily be twelve or fourteen hours if you count the time it takes to hang them on all four corners, hang the master and run new lines front to rear. Plus bleeding them. Bear isn't as bad as wilwood to bleed, but it's at least a half an hour. I usually have to spend an hour to get it right.
Column is two and a half hours.
Wiring the LS7 could take ten hours of you want to beautify the harness. Probably more. You're talking about adding wires for electric fans, speedometer, reverse lights, oxygen sensors, MAF, and gauges to the engine.
Plus dressing the engine. The accessory drive kit to work with Vintage air takes a couple hours to assemble. It alway takes me at least six hours to tune a car. Maybe less if it was just headers. But installing the oil pan, headers harness all takes time.
Alignment, too. The new suspension won't be set up out of the box. There's another hour.
Exhaust front to rear is a couple hours. Plus reassembly of interior and verifying fender figment to hood, to door, to header panel and valance are time consuming.
I'd say 150 hours could get filled up darn quick.
I billed a 68 at 88 hours once and probably only charged for half of what I did. I probably realistically spent about 240 hours on the car. Plus research time and "learning" time--time I spent going slow so I could understand. I can't charge two hours for a one hour job if it's my fault I'm going slow. At least, not in my mind.
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You can do all that work in just about 4 weeks, working 40 hours per week? Let me know when you can start and I will send you as many cars as you can handle.
It takes way more time then you think. Its pretty common to see the labor equal the parts total in most any project. The custom top notch cars begin to increase the labor total from there. The 50-50 split with labor and parts is pretty entry level.