I've rebuilt my own engine and it's running great and before I even did that a friend/customer of my families starter and alternator business asked if I'd be willing to rebuild his engine in an 80 SA. The car is arriving in the next week but I'm wondering what range I should be looking at to charge him..... I know there's a lot of variables but I will be pulling the engine, rebuilding it and reinstalling it at my home. I'm not a Mazda certified mechanic (like that means a whole lot anymore) but the options in NW Pa for rotaries to get worked on let alone rebuilding from pull to install are about zero unless there's another rotor head im not aware of in this area. So with that info what should we be looking at with the seal kit cost not included in the price due to him buying it himself. No idea and don't wanna under or over charge! Thanks members!

 

Charge how much you want to do it. There is no over or under. Its your time...... whats it worth to you? Charge him that

 

Just make sure you arrive at a price before you start the work... nothing more uncomfortable than doing (paid) work for a friend, then after the work is complete they start throwing lines such as "well, that's more than I expected..."
You should also consider (and discuss) how you will deal with unexpected findings... for example, you crack it open and discover parts need to be replaced? what if after discovering this he decides it's not worth it?
Personally I think doing work for "friends" should be done gratis - if they're not that good of a friend, then do it as a business - but expect to treat it like a business transaction (and don't expect to be friends after if something goes sideways).

 

Thanks guys for the input. I bought some parts from him about 10 years ago and he comes to the family business when needing work done so our small town mindset is that he's a friend. 🙂 but not the kind of friend you meet up at the local watering hole a few times a year. I love working on these cars and also helping out a fellow 7 owner especially when he contacted me asking if I would want to rebuild an engine. He's got confidence in me enough to ask and I'm excited to do it! I'll have to have that convo with him more than just agreeing to get labor pay..... but truthfully I'm excited for the chance to gain experience and good credit in this area. But with having a newborn that just hit 3 weeks old and a pair of boys that are 6 and 3 i don't wanna spend the time without getting some extra bread on the table to make my wife happy with the trade off. Of course I'll be getting the boys put to work cleaning parts and what not since they love helping me in the garage. 😆

 

how about you and your friend rebuild it together, and you guide him?

you rebuilt one engine, and it went smoothly. I did a simple Atkins engine swap. I had problem on top of problem. One was things were going great as I installed the Atkins engine, and I heard a little "ping". Where the thermostat cover bolts into the waterpump flange broke. It wasn't anyone's fault.

But could your friendship survive the headaches of entirely rebuilding rotary engine, and its install?

 

not a bad idea but he lives 45 minutes away and is in the hospital right now and had health problems all summer so I don't think he's up for that kind of work. He is on the upward swing of things thankfully. He said it's gonna be a Christmas present to himself. 😄