Bongo Fury

After the issue of the coolant cap coming off mid-drive and causing the engine to massively overheat, i've been quoted £3500 to fit a new engine in my Bongo (Ford Freda).

Is that high? It's ADS, who are Bongo specialists in Bristol. I've never had an issue with them before, they're very good. He said they get the engine imported and would need a deposit before ordering.

Other question I have is - he said as part of the job they replace all the vitals at the same time - timing belt, water pump etc. I actually had all these done early this year - is this really required or will they have been affected by the engine overheating?

Edit - oh now I feel silly. I'm guessing the timing belt is part of the engine, and so he's saying when they get this replacement engine in they'll change the timing belt etc on it before passing to me.

Responded on the original posting with my seized V6, engine replacement was obtained for around £1000. Install costs have changed quite a bit since then I suspect but the vehicle is still running around quite happily performing well, its just been sold to a new user as the one i sold it to now falls inside the ULEZ.

If you are unable to lower that quote from £3.5K by shopping about I personally would be looking to sell/trade/break your Bongo for another example especially if your's is not in 1st Class condition i.e. rust AFT gearbox paint/panels/arches etc. This time of year people are beginning to bail out of ownership and ULEZ extension and cost of living may exacerbate that.

Sounds like a full engine-out replacement? - £3,5k ouch. Surely, scrapping the vehicle for parts or obtaining a good engine from a rusty scrap vehicle would be more economical? Suspect lots of vehicles with similar mileage, with no underseal and lots of rust are knocking about and keeping an eye out for a scrapper could be the best option. Might take a while, so you'd likely need to negotiate storage.

Depending on the damage, you might be able to find just a block and top-end then save most of your previously fitted new parts, but then risk a rolling bill from ADS for a rebuild, so better if they advised in detail and sourced all that. You can only ask!!

Good advice above, maybe look at a quote form somewhere like Bongo Spares, who will be able to supply and fit a second hand motor, the look at cost of transporting it?