Hey Everyone,

Out of pure curiosity, im wondering what the LS swapped thirdgens are selling for. Ive seen a couple swaps on LS1tech (Nice motor swap, most are cheap body work) sell for high $8k's.

Id love to think that mine is worth more then that, but hell, ive got no idea.

Im thinking one problem with these cars is that they require a specific buyer, who knows a little about what has been changed when it comes time to change parts etc.

Here's a spec list of my car, would be cool to get some opinions on what it might be worth (in finished form of course ).

Car: 1989 Chevrolet Camaro IROC-Z
Options: T-tops, Bright red (cant think of any other stock options that are still left haha)

Engine:
2004 5.3L LM7 (3000miles)
LS6 Cam
LS6 Intake
Ported TB
Billet Fuel Rails (Converted to regular plug injectors
F-body Oil pan
F-body Acc.
LS6 Valve Springs
LS2 Timing Chain

Transmission:
2000 4L60e
Stock Convertor, Fresh rebuild on trans

Driveline:
LS1 3" Aluminum Driveshaft
LS1 Rear differential
3.73 Richmond Gears
Trickflow Support cover

Exhaust:
Modified Hedman 68460 Headers
Custom Y-pipe with Flowmaster Merge
Magnaflow 3" Stainless Catback

Chassis:
12" LS1 2 piston Front brakes (PBR Pads, Brembo Rotors)
12" LS1 Rear disc brakes (Hawks Pad, Brembo rotors)
LS1 Master Cylinder
Wilwood Ajustable prop valve
Eibach Lowering Springs
(Planning on installing UMI SFC's)
17" WS6 Speedline Wheels

Exterior:
Fresh Bright Rally red Paint
Projector High Beams (Silverstar Ultra Bulbs)
H4 Converted Lowbeams
Polished Tail Lenses
Body Stripe Delete

Interior:
'96 4th Gen Dash
4th Gen a-pillars with guage pod
4th gen Seats
4th gen console
4th Gen steering wheel
Pioneer Headunit
Kaption Audio 6x9" Speakers
Pioneer 4" Speakers
MTX Amp
Rockford Fosgate Mono Amp
Fosgate 10" Sub

Comfort:
Heating / AC No longer functional, heating can be easily hooked up
No Windsheild Washer fluid (No container/pump)

Think thats it, and actually, after writing this out. I think i have too much money in my car

 

Would love to say you could get more, but I see a nice swap going for 10k..

You are right about the type of buyer.. I am LTx.. but the amount of money I have spent compared to the amount I may get from selling I try not to think about.. probably 25k in the car now, with no system untouched and quality parts throughout..hell the engine rebuild from last summer was 4k to do it right, but I am a perfectionist..

All in all I figure if I ever sell the loss will be at least 15k..

 

How much to sell??? Im looking into how much its going to cost to get my grave dug out alittle bigger so the car can get lowered in with me! haha.

J.

 

I hear that!! Seems like 1,000 little things keep popping up that keep driving the cost up...

 

Something is only worth how much someone is willing to pay. Which sucks, because custom cars tend to be worth half what gets put in them =/

 

I see what your sayin guys. My dad keeps telling me to stop spending money on the car cause its not worth it, but hell, if i sell it ill loose atleast $5k + the 500+ Hours ive spent working on the thing, so theres no way in hell id sell it. Might as well keep pouring the money in

Guess that means next year the car needs an LS1 and T56

 

I actually traded a car for mine, downgrade in terms of appearance, but an upgrade in performance capability.

http://home.hot.rr.com/gospeedgo/84CamaroZ28/
1984 Camaro Z28 T-tops, pwr windows and locks, black
IROC Hood
2000 F-body LS1
2000 F-body T56
2000 F-body PCM
2000 F-body fuel tank
2000 F-body rear end
2000 F-body brake master cylinder
2000 F-body hydraulic clutch setup
LS2 flywheel
3.73 gears
3rd gen Flowmaster catback
LS6 cam
Cold Air Intake
C5 Fuel Filter
255lph fuel pump
*tuned*
17x9.5/18x10.5 C5 Z06 wheels, black
Fabguy gauge panel
Autometer Ultralite 3-3/8" Electric Speedo
Autometer Ultralite 3-3/8" 10k RPM Tach
Autometer Ultralite 2-1/16" Electric Water Temp
Autometer Ultralite 2-1/16" Electric Oil Press
Autometer Ultralite 2-1/16" Voltage
Autometer Ultralite 2-1/16" Fuel Level
Homemade strut bar - This looks like crap, and I'll be removing it.

 

The car that I got rid of for this:

http://home.hot.rr.com/gospeedgo/85MustangGT/
1985 Mustang GT - 261rwhp/281rwtq

Engine:
302, stock forged bottom end, freshly rebuilt
GT40-P heads
FMS 1.6 Roller rockers
FMS E303 Cam
Edelbrock Performer RPM Air-Gap intake
Edelbrock 750cfm carburetor
3" race crank pulley
underdrive water pump pulley
longtube headers
off-road h-pipe
’01 Mach 1 mufflers, dumped
SN95 130amp alternator
’93 Cobra power steering pump
FMS power steering relocation bracket (deletes A/C)
Ford Racing plug wires
Ford Racing valve covers
new roller lifters
new water pump
new oil pump
new starter
new coil (87-93 style)
new NOS Duraspark ignition module
3-core radiator

Fuel:
Holley Blue fuel pump
Holley adjustable fuel pressure regulator
Stock fuel tank, sumped
Aeromotive billet fuel filter

Engine Dress:
USA Motorsports radiator bracket
87-93 Fan shroud
87-93 Overflow reservoir
87-93 Washer reservoir

Brakes:
Yukon 5-lug axles
new 5-lug drums, rear
new brake shoes, rear
new brake hardware, rear
’98 Mustang GT spindles
’98 Mustang GT rotors
’99 Mustang GT PBR calipers
’99 Mustang GT brake lines
new brake pads, front

Drivetrain:
Centerforce dual-friction clutch kit
Billet clutch quadrant
adjustable clutch cable
Pro 5.0 shifter
'03 Cobra shift ****
FMS 3.55 gears
17x8" Bullitt wheels, anthracite
235/45R17's on the front
255/45R17's on the rear

Suspension:
Jamex 2" lowering springs
Jamex Sportsline struts and shocks
’95 Cobra R rear sway bar
’93 Cobra front sway bar
BBK upper and lower control arms
Steeda bumpsteer kit
Maximum Motorsports caster/camber plates
Maximum Motorsports 6pt bolt in roll cage, painted body color
FMS subframe connectors

Interior:
Steeda billet pedal covers
Grant GT steering wheel
’87-‘89 AC controls, located in the factory information center location on center console
dual-pod a-pillar gauge pod
FMS 2 1/16" Water Temp gauge
Autometer 2 1/16" Oil Pressure gauge
Autometer 5" tachometer with shift light
Simpson 5 point racing harness (driver)
Simpson 4 point racing harness (passenger)
new black carpet
new black hatch carpet
new black headliner
no rear seat

Exterior:
Cervini 2.5" cowl hood
completely repainted (moldings need to be touched up on bumpers)

Miscellaneous:
Edelbrock nitrous kit, pilled for 100hp
Polyurethane motor mounts
Polyurethane transmission mount

 

'HartAttack' had about the nicest ls1/4l60 3rdgen I've ever seen and no one was biting at 12-13K.

Although if you do a search on here he himself did bite and buy the car for ~11K I think.

 

It is more of a local sale anyway with these. I get offers all the time on my car locally. but I had it listed on the net befor with people who want to see it and so on... nothing ever really came of it. I guess it's one of those things where in person you say WOW in a picture you have no idea

 

Some days I would like to sell mine, some days I drool over it still. If I had an offer close to 15K (seriously) I would let it go. Thus its doubtful I will sell in the next 5-10 years.

I agree with what has been said so far, you never get your money back and the sale is not easy over the net unless the person is somewhat knowledgeable with the swap before they buy.

In reality I had an 89 GTA that I put close to 38K into and sold quick for 9K. I would be hard pressed in my market to get anything over 10K for the low mile 92 GTA unless the right person strolled up.

 

Want to see what depreciation is all about? Go buy a new Vette brand spanking new. Drive it off the lot and try and sell it the next day and see what you get. Drive it two years and your eyes will pop out of your head from the depreciation. Just chew on that for a second if you want a performance car.

That said I think it a wise play to not get *ahem* "too" addicted to the mod bug. So my own style is I like to build something as best I can without going insane on buying parts ( hence my style of building darn near everything I use ) and then once its together I dont typically mess with it until I have problems.

A few examples;

Rear ends. I broke so many I just plain got sick and tired of swapping them even though back then there was plenty cheap in the bone yards I was broke more than I was running so I came up with the 8.8 soultion.

Brakes. I had burned literally melted/burned whatever my last set of pads of the stock crap so I did the C5 brake swap. ebay calipers with all my own fabbed adaptor plates.

exhaust. Okay I ponied up the big coin for the hawks headers for the LS1 but in the past I bought used ( brand new used once ) headers for next to nothing and welded up everything else out of stuff I had or get at a swap meet.

LS1 swap. That one really came from a hard call. I had run my last engine for five years and although it still ran great it wasnt enough power anymore I was tired of losing EVERY race LOL. So I was about to do a 400 sbc swap and then I got involved in this thread and the rest is history.

So now even though I want to mod the crap out of my car again for more power I'm making the most of it by driving it as often as I can until i wear it out, break it, or win the lottery so until then its use and abuse!!! hehe

Anyways just my thoughts. There is no sense at all financially speaking when it comes to going fast because to a financial investor it would all be considered a complete waste of money. But then again there is not much sense at all in not doing what you can with your short time on this ball of mud and water thats hurtling through space at many MPH faster than any car we will ever own can go So when people ask me why I build cars I say because I can and smile. Not everyone has the chops to pull off a swap like this and make it work so for the knowledge, sense of accomplishment, and pure fun of it I say its worth every cent.

So after one of longest winded posts I've ever done ( and thats saying a lot :P ) if a swap this involved is something you want to undertake then I think it important to want to use it as long and often as possible to make the investment worthwhile. No car drives for free but not all cars offer such high smiles per mile. Besides its mighty nice knowing you have the snot to roast just about any current factory car on the road with a third gen that just about every single other driver THINKS he will blow the doors off hehe ohh man the expressions some of these guys give... That alone is pretty much worth it!

P.S. My car is NOT for sale although I was offered some damn good money for it last summer. 20K believe it or not and I turned it down

 

The only problem with fabricating everything is that Im not that great. So the things I do make, I spend a lot of time and effort on. I become more attached them in that way as opposed to a monetary way.

Take my Cherokee for example. Floors are rusty, has 220k miles, gets poor MPG, its pretty slow for the most part... Ive been trying to sell it for awhile now, and I think I purposely overpriced it because I spent so much time, and not much money, building it and making it stand apart. I fabbed so much crap on that jeep its not even funny. Just hard to let all that work go. Money wise...I could care less about it. I paid $600 for the Jeep, and a few grand in the parts...and I wheeled the heck out of it. It doesnt owe me a cent.

Like others have said...sometimes someone with some money stashed away will dump it on something that is otherwise not really worth it...atleast to some people. If your car is clean, which i know yours is sheldon, and the swap is done very clean and everything works as it should, you should get attention from buyers. That wont drive the price you get up necessarily, but the more attention it gets the better your chances that someone willing to pay will come along.

J.

 

Thanks for the input guys!!!

I see what yor saying about building cars from a investment point, id say the only money in building cars these days is building customer cars, rarely is a car built & sold at a profit, it seems to be someone having work done on their car.

As for the "mod" Bug, ive been bitten, but i love building as much as i can myself, thats part of the reason i feel i was able to keep my swap costs uner $3500, as alot of the parts i made myself (Crossmember, motor mounts, headers, ypipe etc) I still would love to pony up to the good headers, and put in the real deal motor next year, rather then just the 5.3L. But, hell, at 17, im pretty damn proud of the fact that i swapped in an LSx series into my Iroc.

Ive tried to make my car stand out as much as i possibly can with the least money, and trying to use factory parts. Did the custom interior, with the 4th gen dash and such, engine, More GM parts, rear suspension, all 4th gen, paint, my dad and i did on it etc.

Think i sorta rambled off topic there haha . I definately see what your saying justin about pricing high cause we dont really want to sell it. Id say thats definately the case for me, if i were to try and sell. Ive got so much time & money into my car, and ontop of that its my first car. Its a perfect cantidate for everything ive done to it, its rust free, body is mint, its not a rare car, but its still a real deal iroc-z, its got t-tops, and all of the chassis is perfect.

Id say it would be impossible to let go of, i always hear people saying how they wish they kept their first car, i think id like to be one who did keep their first car

 

Wish I still had my first car 67 Pontiac Bonneville. 4dr hardtop. 400ci Pontiac motor with a TH400 trans.

Sold it for pennies basically. Back then, I didnt have the time or skills to finish it. I put a whole new rear clip on it, and rebuilt/detailed the engine and engine bay. All it needed was alittle body work, some paint, and alittle interior clean up. Interior was pretty perfect.

I sold it, and my fourwheeler when I was in college. Mostly to help pay for books, and because I didnt have the time to mess with either anymore. Totally regret it now.

J.

 

My dad tells me the same thing, so i decided im not gonna sell my car (indefinately). I may down the road, but not for a while.

However, it kinda sucks, cuz this is the first car ive owned that didnt need to be "fixed up". It was a turn key, use and abuse car. ANYTHING Ive done to it is strictly upgrades. Which im learning is much more expensive than fixing.

Its also funny, how theres a limit to how much needs to be fixed, but absolutely no limit to how much you can upgrade it..... If you can dream it you can do it.


But back on topic, weve all been to the point where we've asked how much can i put into the car before i surpass the sell value? Well think of a really nice thirdgen (whatever nice means to you) it could be original or modified. What would you pay for it if u were shopping? Thats probably what you would get.

I think 7-8k is right on the money (unfortunately). I know lots of cars which have been appraised for their modification value, and guess what, they are STILL for sale.....

 

Same sentiments from me, sometimes I wish I would have started with a 1st Gen Camaro for my swap that way if I ever decided to sell it, I would actually get my money back.

When I was debating doing the swap, I told myself if I was going to go through with it, I would never sell the car cus I wouldn’t get half of what I put into it. I've spent well over $12k in just parts and misc. I could of easily bought a 4th gen LS1 and paid it off!!! But then I would be just like every else in town.

I offered HeatAttack $14,000 when he first posted the car for sale in the summer 2006, just before starting my own swap. He turned me down thinking I had low balled him! I was tempted to make another offer but I decided I didn’t want to be driving around some one else’s work.

 

If you ever buy a car with the expectation that you're going to make money on it, sell it immediately and go buy savings bonds or CDs or something. There are very few cars out there that you can make money on, and even fewer that will make you more money than if you just took that cash and put it into some other type of investment. The money you spend on your cars is the cost of having fun, and the cost of having a hobby. It's not an investment. The faster you (and your parents, in the case of some of you) can come to terms with that mentality, the sooner you can start enjoying your car for what it is.

 

I don't have an LS but an LX, and it's my first car, been through hell and back with her and i know as long as i'm alive the title will be in my name. I'm 24 and ***** deep in this *****.

 

Now that's some interesting reading right there. None of us really had any idea of the power potential of the LSX platform. I know in 2004 I was busy building a 383 and the thought of a new-fangled LS1 never even crossed my mind. Why would I want that new slow junk that runs 13's?

 

LS power has definitely risen to its heyday thats for sure. So much support for go fast parts now. So much info on how to get er done too. Lots of greatness and still growing.

If i only knew then what i know now I would have done this swap sooner.

Jim hit the nail on the head regarding cost though. Theres a lot worse things to blow money on than cars though. Its a pretty solid hobby for growing the melon and getting some skills together too.

 

I buy and sell cars for additional money. Mostly VW's cause thats what I work on for a living.

The main thing you look for in a car to flip and sell is the size of the potential buyer pool. Example. I got hit hard on a Diesel New Beetle. Problem was it was a stick shift and a New Beetle. Guys didnt want a New Beetle and girls didnt want to drive stick. Second example is I had a VR6 GTI with a 5 speed. That car sold quick as hell.

 

I'm not talking about flipping cars. That's an entirely different animal. I'm talking about buying a car as an "investment". Buy it, keep it for a while, and sell it for a profit because it appreciated in value during the time that you owned it. Everybody wishes they kept their 69 Camaro that they bought brand new for $3k back in 1969 because it's worth so much now. The reality is, if they stuffed that $3k into the stock market back in 1969, their current net worth would be substantially higher than the current value of that same 69 Camaro.

When the mentality is to flip a car, there are 2 very important aspects. You certainly hit on the first, which is getting a car that people actually want to buy (which is why I don't buy & sell thirdgens!!!!!!!!!!!). The 2nd (and most important in my eyes), is buying the car at the right price. Even that 5 speed beetle will sell immediately if the price is low enough. The problem is that the price might need to be really low if you want to move it quick.

 

I see what youre talking about there. Yeah, buying a car as a long term investment is about as dumb as investing in real estate in 2007.

The beetle was about $1200 under value. Like I said, cheap or not, its not going to change a boy thinking its a chicks car or a girl to learn to drive a stick. True there are some that dont care, but youre taking away alot of the buyer base.

The girl who bought it, gets 53mpg driving from Miami to Tallahassee.

 

i think the thing you also need to keep in mind is that at this stage of the game with 3rd gens a lot of people who are interested in LSX swaps probably have some interest in doing it themselves as that is part of the fun. for myself personally i would not buy an LSX swap due to that factor

also another factor is when you buy a heavy mod car you are buying someone's work that like it or not is probably not documented to a point that someone not mechanically inclined or who has experience with LSX engines in this case is going to be able to trouble shoot effectively for potentially even small things... so that can also be an issue keeping the general masses away. just an example say your ECM dies on you and part of what you did was custom tuning. if you built it, you know what to do and have the hptuners software or file, etc and can handle it. for someone who doesn't know anything about it, it could be some trouble.

i do it for fun and my own personal education and enjoyment factor of working with my teenage son so to me it is like any other hobby like hunting, etc where the family enjoyment and knowledge you gain is worth what you are spending

 

Good sentiment - needs better expression.
Theologically speaking, love is not an emotion/feeling, it is commitment that has emotion/feelings accompanying that commitment.

This is not my 1st car; but, the 1st car I bought new. Intended to modify it all along. Thought I would get my transportation miles out of it, then modify. Put SFC, SLP headers & catback, LCA, LCARB, pro-kit springs, opened up the breathing a little, and re-prommed in '97. Never went into motor or even took the heads off. Put 215k miles on it.
Gave up on the car when I went to grad school (Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) for a higher calling. Weird circumstances have given my dream back to me. Glad I didn't jump into modding it earlier as the LSX bug hit right when I had the opportunity and cash.
I've put $20k into; LS2 & 4l65e, exhaust, suspension, brakes, & interior. Finally painting after all those miles & years - doing it right is nearing $10k. Yeah, I know everyone can do this for less.
As an original owner, I am committed (or should be committed ). My car is not an idol (in my mind, I had sacrificed it). The title will always be in my name.
Like others have said; the learning, the patience (23 yrs +), the sense of achievement, the commitment are all worth it in the end - they transcend the thing in itself. Lastly, the power produced by the car will expose the character in oneself. Takes character to control power (not that I'm perfect ).

Brian

 

Well put...

Now a days, a paint job can exceed the value of the car being painted.
Add in a labor intensive engine swap & you are over budget even if you consider your labor to be free.

It would be truely hard to build one for a profit. The nicer you make it, the more overboard you typically get in the cost department, where there is a diminishing return.

I have so much time/money in mine & would not feel like I profited by selling it for under $40K, even though the money spent is a lot less.

That being said... there is always someone with money that wants exactly what you built. You just have to find them. Barrett Jackson comes to mind... Saw some beautiful rides, but would never think of spending some of the cash that people there do.

Personally, I built something for much less than I could have paid to have it built, but still spent much more than I can probably sell it for.

 

I'm going to take a look at a local car for sale that's a silver '85 IROC-Z ttop car with a '99 LS1/4L60E swap that looks clean from the pictures. Asking price is $3,500 which I'm a little wary of but we'll see how she looks when I get there.

 

People would rather buy a all original TPI car for 6500 than a modded, faster, safer and more reliable third gen for 8-10k. But that is how it is. There are buyers out there, just hard to find. Seen ls1 swaps go for 4500, that was a deal.

 

If I knew what I know now I would have gone lsx . But when I did my build I knew nothing about lsx . Hell my build only have 500 miles before I blew trans and its been stored till I can finish and don't think I could get the money if I sold the motor and stuff to build a clean factory looking lsx 3rd gen....mabe if I wine the lotto

 

Turns out the guy flat out lied. he used pics of a totally different car not even the same color. needless to say it didnt have an ls1 swap....waste of my time

 

HHHHhhhmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm........

{sofa makes weighing motions with hands}

LS1.... 305..... LS1 .... 305 ..... LS1 .... 305 ..... LS1 .... 305 .....

I'm really struggling with this. Which one do I want? Which is better? If I'm tired of this car, and want to sell it, which one will a TYPICAL used car buyer for one of these cars (think about what they're looking for) want more? Which, if our hypothetical buyer DRIVES the car, will make him/her want the car?

I'm really struggling here. This isn't as easy as I thought.

{sofa makes more weighing motions with hands}

LS1.... 305..... LS1 .... 305 ..... LS1 .... 305 ..... LS1 .... 305 .....



Tough choice.

 

Never ended up getting any money for it It slowly donated parts to other project until it was an empty shell that a friend offered money for

Needless to say, 4 trucks & a vette later, finally back into a F-body

My room mate is looking at a LS1 swapped 3rd gen bird in seattle, the wiring work looks shoddy however, which makes me nervous, $5k for it