Alright, I have saved my money to have work done on my '92 T/A vert for the past 2 years. I bought the car on April 15 of '06. It is in very good shape for a 120k mile car. But it definitely needs new seat covers & a new top. I would love a new motor (or rebuild) ... it has a knock at startup ... and some SFC's, headers & new paint.

What can I get done with a budget of $4,000? And what would you guys do first? Would it be better to do a little at a time, a lot at a time, or save more money and do it ALL at once?

I already have $5,600 in the car. Is $10k (car price plus $4k resto costs) going to get me a super-nice car?

 

With 4k for me to spend.

Hooker headers and Corsa cat-back system = $1600
Edelbrock TBI manifold = $240
Holley TBI Unit + tune = $600
Radiator with fans and mount = $400
APS Starter = $250
MSD 160A Alternator = $380
Type II Power Steering Kit = $400
GAS = $130

That doesnt include my steering column I need, seats, brakes, suspension, drivetrain, body work (very minor).

It all depends on what your looking for and going for...me I want my engine complete before anything so the steering column and such dont bother me...just cant leave the car out of my site.

 

Thanks for the input, but I am looking for something a little different.

I want a solid engine with no knocking on startup before I go for headers & catback. No sense in beefing up a dud.

I also have no interest in TBI.

Sounds like you are going to build a nice car, though.

I think my build will go something like this:

1) Seat covers
2) Top
3) SFC's
4) Pull engine
5) Put in 350 (unfortunately, that knocks the bottom out of $4k)
6) Headers & Catback
7) Paint

Does this sound like a good set of goals? What would I be looking at for the total package?

 

You can easily spend 4k on paint alone. I would think 1-5 blows basically the entire budget...

 

Hmmmm ... might be smart to sell the car and get one that's already like I want, huh?

 

1)pull engine free if you can do it yourself
2) paint around 2-2.5k
3) New 350 or rebuild it 2k

figure that atleast when you pull the engine you can get the engine bay painted and leave money for a nice engine in a nice bay. Then maybe you'll have enough for a new engine or you'll be close. Thats your 4K!

Doesn't sound like a ton of work done but think about it. All that is left is the interior and what do people see more the out or the inside. So everyone will think you have a great car from the outside. Then save up about 800 for some new covers and various interior items. and your done! but wait... what about the rims!? lol

I think you have a pretty good point to start at unless you can sell your car for around 6k. in which case it may be better to start over. hope that helps.

 

Depends on what you really want...

2-2.5k for a 350 swap... it isn't that simple. You need more then just the engine. Injectors, ECM, etc etc all add into it. Normally for something like that take your guess on the cost and double it. That will be about what it costs do actually do the swap.

Question is, can you find the car you want for what it would cost for you to build it. Sometimes the answer is no because of rarity of specific wants.

 

I just can't let this vert go. I'm going to sink the money into it. Selling my '05 Kawasaki KX250 for some extra dough to make it happen.

I think I'm going for this motor for the swap:
http://www.rebuilt-auto-engines.com/...20108550238.f6

Looks like a great deal.

I will have around 12k in it when all is said and done, but don't you think it will be worth it?

Oh, and rims will stay stock. Can't beat those gold laces.

Now I have to head over to the engine swap forum for some advice there. Not sure if I can tackle that myself.

Anybody have any idea how much a new top costs?

 

Here's my 2 cents. the truth is it all depends on if YOU want to do it, or if you want to have someone else do it. I bet when i built my 350 i spent 1500 bucks total, but thats doing it myself. Don't get me wrong you're still going to have to send parts to the machine shop and such, but thats half the fun. Not to mention when you do it yourself you take alot more care not to mess up, its your car and its a paycheck to someone else There's nothing wrong with having stuff done except your dollar doesn't go as far. I forgot a big one..... have it done- get it back in a month.....do it yourself and get it done in six months.

 

I just spent about 3.5 k on my car. I had spun a bearing in my 305 and needed a new engine. Its comes home this week but heres what i got done to it.

I went from a 305 to 350.
I upgraded my water pump
New Distributor and wires
Headers
Intake manifold
And a new full exhaust system 2.5 inch with 3 inch tips, i kept my high flow cat and flow master 40.
And pretty much every new little tune up piece that a new engine needs, plugs, belts and hoses.
Plus i managed to get a 5 year 100,000 mile warranty from the shop thats putting the engine in.

Pretty much with 4K you can either get a 350 put in, or do all the other stuff you want. However i would encourage you , if you do have a knock to go get a new engine. My engine went at a bad time and i had to spend alot of money to get it up and running again.

 

Thanks for the input, Saber.

It only knocks at startup (about 1-3 seconds), then is fine once the oil gets flowing. I'm afraid it's a rod bearing.

How long was your car "out" for? And did you just go to a mechanic to get the new engine in, or some kind of specialty shop? We only have "mechanics" in my one-horse town.

 

I gotta tell you bro it gets expensive fast. I've just started my full resto on my iroc and its more dipressing everyday i think of the new costs lol j/k. Don't let that detour you tho. You will appreciate it so much more if you do it yourself and it can be alot cheaper in some cases. Best piece of advice i can give you is get yourself a solid DD so that your rebuild becomes a joy not a bind for time b/c you need to get it back on the road. The knowledge on this board is incredible you have everything at your fingertips just use the search function. Take it slow, read, read some more, and then try. I bought my car b/c i like tinkering in my spare time and i have a car/truck buying problem. I think you'll enjoy your car more if you do it yourself. If your just going to have it done for you it may very well be cheaper just to look for a new car. just my .02 take it for what its worth.

 

quick search for a motor and I found this.

http://www.sdparts.com/catalog/crate...teEngines.aspx

I have also just bought a 96 one ton chevy truck short block and used that. it was only 1100 bux and it had 4bolt mains and a windagetray..

 

1600 on exhaust? your out of your freakin mind, the car isnt even worth that haha.

 

Sell it for $5k and put the rest in getting a low milage orginal car for $9k. Its easlier and it will be worth more in the end.

 

That depends on if that is what he wants... does he want a dependable daily driver, hot rod, custom, etc etc. Dependable daily driver... well I don't think a Thirdgen Vert falls very well into that category.

 

For $4000 you can piece together an LS1 swap. If you find the right deals.

 

Well my car has been out since the Friday before spring break. Almost exactly a month. However i knew it knocked and needed a new engine i just put it off hoping to get it home for summer, it was in and out of about 3 shops trying to figure out if it was sever enough to get a new motor and when i got it back about 2 weeks ago it spun a bearing driving down the road. I took it to a shop here in tampa who operate with a bigger parent company called Power Pro Drivelines, out of Missouri i believe. I towed the car to them on the 28th of March and she comes home tomorrow hopefully. So its pretty much been with them for a little over a week and a half. They only swap in engines at this shop so i guess its specialty. Labor only cost me 900$ and they didnt charge to install any other things, like the headers and such. I got quoted 1300$ to put an engine in from my "mechanic" so to say. I wouldnt trust a swap to a regular mechanic though si if you get someone to do your swap id try and find a specialty shop. Most people dont know about places like this though, i searched for about a week before i felt comfortable giving them my car to fix.

 

No way it's going to go for $5k. And I want exactly what I have. The last year of the third gen in a 1-of-663 vert. But I don't want to put $8k in to a $6k car and have $14k invested in something that's worth $10k. But, then again, that $14k might look like a bargain in 5-10 years .

Does anybody think a 350 swap will hurt the value down the road? I would love to just rebuild my 305, but I've heard that it actually costs MORE to do that than to drop in a 350. I guess I could always just put the 305 on a stand in the garage and enjoy the 350 for now.

Also, this is not my daily driver. I have an '06 Yukon XL for that. But I don't want this to turn into a 2-year project (which I'm afraid it will ... because I am a total newb at car work). Even worse, I don't want a car in pretty good shape to become a car that sits in pieces for years and wastes away ... but I guess that's all up to me.