Gauge Pod, 3 Hours?

[HGFireHazard]

I'm having the Vortech installed on March 27th at Paul's High Performance in Jackson, Michigan, and I'm pretty satisfied with pricing so far... except labor. They have me down for 11 hours on the s/c (the whole kit minus FMU), and 3 hours on the a-pillar guage pod (2 holes) with a boost gauges and electrical fuel pressure with sending unit. They said they have done a couple 94-95 S/C installs before, and they are Vortech Certified. The Vortech website says 9-10 hours. Does anyone thinks I'm getting the shaft a bit besides me? The last thing I want is some guy getting paid $90 an hour to sit on his ass and eat lunch, ya know?

 

[Yobi1Kanobi]

well I guess thats about right..you know they always charge you a few extra hours for the j/i/c factor.....For all of you wondering that just in case they f%&^ something up. I guess if you have to pay someone to do it your going to expect them to do a good job so as long as they are doig a good job and stand behind there work its better than spending a little less and getting a crappy job done.

 

[94gts]

do it yourself and save several hundred dollars

 

[S/CBlack95GT]

Labor is crazy high now days. That is one of the reasons I do things myself. Over $1,000 to install a blower and supporting hardware is just insane. It is an easy weekend job. And no it does not take 3 hours to install a gauge pod. It took me 2 hours max and I worked slow and never did it before.

 

[HGFireHazard]

I called them about it this afternoon and they said that they would give me the difference if it ends up taking them less time to do it, but I honestly don't expect it. I would do the supercharger myself, but I'm slightly paranoid about it. I've never pulled an engine apart (or parts off for that matter), but I know that you have to try in order to learn. I figure I'll throw this one at the pros and start learning when I decide to do a H/C/I swap. I guess I'm more comfortable with the car being dynoed immediately after install instead of me driving her 60 miles too. I agree, labor is insane, but I guess that's the price I pay (literally) for my lack of experience. On the plus side, I will post up my graphs and show you guys what shes makin, and so grady can crunch some more numbers :SNSign:

 

[95cobraguy]

i think putting the blower on would be easier than the heads, cam, intake job, especially since your not really at a comfortable level as far as wrenching goes. the vortech comes with pretty detailed booklet and to do the h/c/i all that labor your paying for now is gonna have to be undone anyhow. if your car is all stock except for the exhaust u have listed, those 42 injectors and meter are way overkill for your setup. if u had the h/c/i and then the blower u would be alright with them.

 

[HGFireHazard]

i think putting the blower on would be easier than the heads, cam, intake job, especially since your not really at a comfortable level as far as wrenching goes. the vortech comes with pretty detailed booklet and to do the h/c/i all that labor your paying for now is gonna have to be undone anyhow. if your car is all stock except for the exhaust u have listed, those 42 injectors and meter are way overkill for your setup. if u had the h/c/i and then the blower u would be alright with them.

I also do believe that putting the S/C on would be easier than an H/C/I swap, I still am keeping my current mind set. This Summer I have to take apart my Saturn's 1.9L to fix a head gasket. That much I am comfortable with, but I havn't worked on the 5.0L yet so I'm not comfortable with it. It isn't really that I'm not comfortable with my wrench work. As far as the meter and injectors being overkill, I disagree. I've done much research into this and the 42# are practically perfect, especially since they are the Ford Racing Flow Matched. This also leaves me room in the future to expand and not run 30# or 36# injectors on 100% duty cycle. Plus like I said it's being tuned immediately after the Vortech is installed, so as far as I'm concerned it's a win win, for now and the future.

 

[BlackVert]

i had never done it either, but i did my k/b install myself. i even had to replace the lower intake. if you take your time and work carefully, you can do it.

 

[Slow5.0]

Mechanichs works by the book , thats why i working on my cars and saving big $$$
If i can't do by my self i go to local garage and tryin make deal with them and they know that i know how hard or easy to change something so they can't screw me up

You can do S/C by your self ,its easy install if you have correct parts that are made for your year

 

[ProKiller]

i think i'd be fine with the price as long as you knew it was 100% completely tuned. paul's high performance is a good name and a trustworthy company.

 

[Steeda90GT]

3 hours is definitely too long for a boost gauge and electrical FP gauge...especially for a professional who is supposed to know how to do the job quick and right. There's no such thing as "extra time just in case they f-up" Theyre professionals, they should know how to do the job quickly and correctly...and if they f it up and need more time, let it come out of their own pockets.

I build computers on the side for people and quote them prices, I dont overcharge because something might take me longer...if i mess up or something takes longer than anticipated my clients are still paying the same amount..

 

[HGFireHazard]

3 hours is definitely too long for a boost gauge and electrical FP gauge...especially for a professional who is supposed to know how to do the job quick and right. There's no such thing as "extra time just in case they f-up" Theyre professionals, they should know how to do the job quickly and correctly...and if they f it up and need more time, let it come out of their own pockets.

I build computers on the side for people and quote them prices, I dont overcharge because something might take me longer...if i mess up or something takes longer than anticipated my clients are still paying the same amount..

I wish more people had the sentiment that you do. I really would like to do this myself and save the freaking near $1,300 in labor costs, I could beef up half of my driveline for that! I guess I'll think about this a little bit more before I send them the check, thanks for the input guys and the confidence, maybe I will just give it a shot?

 

[Ozz]

Pay me $90 per hour and I'll fly to MI and do it for you in less than 10 hours. I'll even throw in the gauge pod install free.

Any other shops around? Any local Stangers to ask for a helping hand?

With my club, our people would be pissed if no one asked for help before going to a shop for work. Sometimes we even set up weekends where we all hit the communal shop or someone's house with our cars and a buncha parts, and just help each other put them on all day!

Try the midwest section of Stangnet or Corral, see if anyone is up for helping or cheaper labor. I'm certain you can find someone to do the same job much cheaper.

 

[95cobraguy]

that $1300 u save in labor could go towards your h/c/i package. i would wait until u get the h/c/i and then do everything all in one shot. then u can bring it to them for the tune. if u didn't feel comfortable driving it there after u could even have it towed. there is a world of knowledge here on this site as any one of us could walk u through any snags u have along the way and a search will yield any and all parts u would need such as gaskets, bolts, etc. u stated your ready to tackle the head on your saturn then your ready to do the mustang. i would rather work on a stang than a saturn any day. but 3 hours to put in 2 gauges, come on. the boost gauge is a matter of splicing into a vacuum source. not rocket science.

 

[HGFireHazard]

It's a real hard choice, but you guys got me, I'm going to cancel the appointment. I'm counting on you all to help me out if I experience any problems, but I know you guys will be here anyways. I know I'm not thinking it now, but I know by time this is all over I'll be thanking you guys for saving me that much money, that I'm sure about.

 

[HISSIN50]

Whahoo, nice work guys.

With all the internet resources and possibly getting a friend to come help out (even someone who is retarded helps - nice to have a gopher to hand you tools), you can do it. Dave's thoughts on this were outstanding IMHO (getting a club guy to come help, even if he is lazy and just acts as an advisor).

Which is not to take away anything from the shop that was going to be used - I understand the business side of it. I cant say that I would do things differently if I had a shop (if someone wants to do it themselves, it would not bother me; I would say go for it. Shops are for those who cant/dont want to do it).

Best of luck with it.

 

[Yobi1Kanobi]

Yeah best of luck and you can count on us with any tech issues that come up. Between all of us in here we have done everything on these cars and have had all sorts of setups in the past. so dont be shy rip into that thing like its holding your lunch money. and use them 1300 bucks for a new set of heads..

 

[94gts]

whereever you are located i am sure someone would be willing to come help you out if you needed it.