Good engine assembler in Melbourne

mx5gem · Postby **mx5gem** » Mon May 16, 2011 1:24 pm

I have a dead stock 1998 NB8A which I've had for a couple of years now.

Recently it ran low on oil and now appears to have done a bearing (big end) .
I took it to my mechanic and he diagnosed it as this and he can rebuild it, though he quoted approx $3000 to do so, just using standard parts. (exact figure not known until he pulls it apart)

I can get a rebuild kit through a friend of mine ( rings, bearings, gaskets, etc, etc as well as water pump) however I'm not confident enough to pull the engine apart and rebuild it myself. I can remove and reinstall the engine in the car but am very hesitant to do internals. especially as I'd like to do some track days in the future and so would like it to stay in one piece...

So, my question is does anyone know of a good engine builder in Melbourne (dandenong ish area) that they can recommend to pull down and reassemble my engine if I supply the parts.
(I did try searching but didn't find anything useful in Melb. Also haven't called any in the phone book as I don't know the quality of their work..)

(p.s. I'm not interested in replacement motors. I want to have my motor rebuilt so I have a known quantity and no surprises)

93_Clubman · Postby **93_Clubman** » Mon May 16, 2011 1:33 pm

MrM mentions someone in the following:
viewtopic.php?f=18&t=47050

mx5gem · Postby **mx5gem** » Mon May 16, 2011 2:05 pm

Thanks for that, 93clubman.

Any others? I would have thought Dandenong being rev head central would have heaps of engine shops that people here have used before...

Any guesses as to what sort of dollar figure I should be looking at for someone to screw the engine together, assuming it doesn't have any surprises when pulled down

93_Clubman · Postby **93_Clubman** » Mon May 16, 2011 3:00 pm

Dean @ Motorsports Essentials in Mulgrave has also had good things said about him.

And Bensale recently mentioned Gerald @ Mammi Motors, 10 Industrial Drive, Somerville, 03 5977 7973.

I'm sure there would be a number of good places over Dandenong way, but not anyone that specialises in MX5s to my knowledge, not that you really need an MX5 specialist.

We're a bit underdone in terms of MX5 specialists in outer South & SE Melb, think davekmoore might have also found someone around the Mornington-Frankston area.

Cost-wise, from memory sweep77's engine rebuild by Tony @ Fultech was $4k-$5k, but I'm not sure what he had done.

MrsB · Postby **MrsB** » Mon May 16, 2011 3:33 pm

Mammi Motors Sommerville - Gerald and Chaz look after all of our cars and I can recommend them highly.

Chris

mx5gem · Postby **mx5gem** » Mon May 16, 2011 5:15 pm

Thanks for the replies guys.

I'll give these shops a call and see what they say.

Cheers

Mr Morlock · Postby **Mr Morlock** » Mon May 16, 2011 8:40 pm

Dandenong Rebores has been in business for about 40 years and in the same location. In the good old days ( well maybe not so good) it was common place to rebuild engines but now they last longer and people have more money. If they cannot do the job I would guess they can point you in the right direction.

mx5gem · Postby **mx5gem** » Tue May 17, 2011 2:17 pm

Just an update, I rang Motorsport Essentials and spoke to Dean and explained my situation.
He spent some time going through the options with me and provided some ball park figures for different scenarios.

He seemed to know his stuff, and his prices were very reasonable, so I will be dropping the motor in to him tomorrow.

Thanks again to those that provided suggestions.

Kenstaki · Postby **Kenstaki** » Mon Mar 18, 2013 10:03 pm

Hi mate, I'm looking forward to hearing an update on this story. How did it go?

mx5gem · Postby **mx5gem** » Tue Mar 19, 2013 7:09 am

Had forgotten about this post...

Anyway, got car back from Motorsport essentials. Dropped it off on the Wednesday, it was back the following friday so nice turnaround. They did a standard rebuild, but balanced it as well.

Motor has been in for nearly two years now, and hasn't missed a beat. It's really nice to drive, with it soo much smoother than it was before the rebuild. I can really notice it at high revs where is feels much happier than before. So very happy customer..

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them (and would use them again if needed anything else)

Kenstaki · Postby **Kenstaki** » Tue Mar 19, 2013 8:14 pm

Great to hear it turned out so well.

I'm in a similar situation myself, viewtopic.php?f=29&t=57153

Regarding the repair, would you do anything differently back then? Did you give them the whole car or just the motor?

What exactly was replaced on your motor? What did it all cost? Please PM me if you prefer.

Sorry for the barrage of questions!

mx5gem · Postby **mx5gem** » Wed Mar 27, 2013 1:49 pm

Kenstaki wrote:Great to hear it turned out so well.

I'm in a similar situation myself, viewtopic.php?f=29&t=57153

Regarding the repair, would you do anything differently back then? Did you give them the whole car or just the motor?

What exactly was replaced on your motor? What did it all cost? Please PM me if you prefer.

Sorry for the barrage of questions!

I wouldn't do anything differently, Very happy with result. I toyed with the idea of getting another 2nd hand motor instead, however this still left me with a motor of unknown quality (which could die on me 6mths later) whereas now I know my motor is all new and good for another 100000+ km

I took the motor out myself and gave it to them. Only a few hours work by myself. Just labelled everything and wrote down the steps I did so could reverse them to install. I'm no mechanic but its not very difficult, just unbolting things and lifting it out.

They rebuilt the block, with new rings, bearings, seals, etc.
Head was reconditioned (new valve stem seals, guides, etc)
Crank was balanced, along with flywheel, clutch as one unit.