back half cost

I was just wondering what a back half cost these days. Obviously that is a loaded question with many variables so I will give some criteria.

Ladder bar or 4 link rear clip for a street/strip car that is driven rarely so things like ride quality, noise etc don't mean shit.
9" housing with street/strip axles, wilwood street brakes and NO center section.
install supplied fuel cell and do tin work.

I am thinking about back halfing my Pinto and it already has 2x3 subframe connectors and an 8 point roll bar.

That is a tough question to accurately answer 100% on everything involved (labor, base materials, & parts).........

Labor can be a fudge-factor because different parts of the country will charge different dollar amounts for the same job depending on what the local cost of living is in that area. And the big-name shop vs small shop also factors into the mix. Materials for the fabrication can be a fudge deal too because of the local economy. Using US made materials vs foreign made also plays a part. But depending on where your material suppler get's his shipments from, you may not have a choice in the matter & have to use what materials are available to you regardless of their price, or what country they were made in.

Obviously because of this an SFI legal back half will most likely cost more (vs NHRA/IHRA rule book legal) in materials & labor just because of the extra bars/fitting/welding that are required. The choice between going SFI legal vs NHRA legal isn't only about how fast you want to go, resale value also is a factor. But for a car that might see some street use, going the SFI route might be a bit of a headache on a body style as small as the Pinto is.

Parts costs usually fudge up/down because of the part's design/layout & who makes them more than anything else. Take ladder bars for example, there are some low cost ones out there & some damn high priced ones. And there are some well designed ones & some using a less than perfect design/layout.


You could easily spend anywhere from $2500 to $6500 (or more) just on the labor alone for a back-half depending on all the factors involved. The old school saying of "labor costs = the cost of the parts" just doesn't always apply these days.

Thanks Dave. This is one of those things I usually do myself but I would actually like one of my cars to turn out nice.