Hello,
Just wanted to see what you guys paid for swapping and LSX engine and tranny into your thirdgen. Jim from www.calspeedperformance.com is charging me 9,000 +/- to do a full LSX/T56 swap. My current setup is L98/700R4 Trans. I would rather have a shop do it since im not that good with wiring and/or tuning. Thanks


Art

 

why you dont put your money for improve l98? you get more powwaa for same money

 

What do you get with that swap?

Stock LS1 engine with how many miles?
Headers and exhaust?
Suspension?
Fuel system upgrades?
Air conditioning conversion?
Clutch master cylinder update?

 

Thats what im trying to figure out, to beef up my L98 or go with a LS1. I also e-mail the guy to see if it comes with headers, suspension, a/c, fuel, etc, but havent got a reponse yet. Im just tired of dealing with my car, It wouldnt start and it turned out to be the distributor, maf, and bad gas, and now its running like crap again with no ses code. I step on the gas and it seems like its misfiring.

 

As long as he's doing ALL of the work to make it a complete hassle free car when its finished, then Ide say its not TOO bad.

Like others have said...depends what exactly he's doing and the condition of the parts/work. Has he done other LS swaps?

Mod the L98 and get more powwwa for the same money. HAHAHA. If you like the idea of the LS swap, go for it. You WILL NOT regret it. Especially if you are fed up with your motor as it is. You'll be 100x more happy. Ide put a whopping $5 on it (Im broke haha).

J.

 

or you can go v6 3.4 turbo swap :P

 

It seems a lil high but all depends on the level of workmanship thats being provided.I think you could save a very good amount of money just by buying the motor/trans and swap parts yourself first.This will get you a pretty good setup if you shop around.

Id want to know what type of warranty you get.

 

im not to sure if ghetto crusier ment he(as in jim, calspeed and performance) but if so yes he has did ls swap, and alot of them i might add. i have been to his shop 4-5 times and all i see is ls swaps. they even had a video of a c4 vette with an lsx iron block with twin turbo with over 950+ rwhp and have done plenty of forced indution too. ive seen plenty of them but never had him to do much of my work (im 2 1/2 hrs away & do my own work ) so as far as his work i have heard good.

as far as l98 or ls1 i would say with alot less money ucan have a pretty stout l98. but as far as an ls1(or really any ls engine) i say motor for motor(not including the cost of the swap) just comparing the 2. the ls1 to me and alot of people the ls is the engine of choice for many factors and has alot more potenial.

i was told to keep my l98 and freshen it up. after lots of conderation i chose to go with my ls3/t56 and love it. im not disappionted and would do it again. i love everthing about them hands down.

i dont think you'll be disappionted by either but by the end of the day dont have no regrets get wut u desire ..i did and never looked back

 

LS and dont look back if you are looking foreward. L98 if you want original, distributor operated old school TPI. I gave up on small blocks and have zero regrets. I cannot give a EFI price yet. Still working on one, but it is all used parts there for hard to compare to a 9k build.

 

my 5.3 swap price.
800€ engine
250€ wiring harness
4l60e 300€
converting to ls1 fitting(ls1 intake, monting etc..) 200€
1550 euros

 

Yup I was referring to whoever he was getting to do the work. I had head of calspeed...but dont know much about em. Sounds like he's more than capable! I would say paying someone that knows the LS platform and how to retrofit it is worth a little extra. Even though I still think his price is pretty in line.

Good luck op! You wont regret it!!!

J.

 

$9000?! That had better be for ALL NEW parts (GM crate LSx, reman T56), not some $2500 pullout.

That kind of money will buy a complete LS1/T56 4th gen in good condition.

 

We dont know 100% what the 9k is getting him. If he is going to go over the pullout and fix/refresh anything that it needs. Or if he's just going to slap it in.

Regardless. Lets assume he gets an LS1 and a T56 for $2500. Which IMO is still a fairly good price for a nice motor and trans with accessories. Add in the swap parts. Mounts, headers, custom y-pipe and probably a new cat back. Fuel upgrade. Wiring harness. All at whatever his shop labor rate is...which is probably close to $80/hr (no idea what shops charge for labor anymore). It'll add up quick.

Most of us would say "Its really not hard! Just do it yourself!" Which is fine, but not everyone can. Be it space issues, tool issues, skill confidence, etc. So the other option is to have someone else do it. And you gotta pay. If the shop does a good job, and the parts are nice, I still say $9k isnt too horrible.

J.

 

I agree with you Ghettocruiser. If these swaps are done correctly, they can get costly, even on a budget. I bet Hawks would charge about the same amount to do it too.

 

Now the dprest mentioned it I wanna say that there was a thread were a member had hawks did a swap for him n the price was pretty close if not the same ....also u r not only paying for a engine with great potential but newer an more advance technology imho

 

I got a quote from Hawks for a "swap kit" and it was up there. I dont remember the exact figure...and this was back in 05 that I got the quote. I think he wanted $6k or $7k for all the stuff you'd need including the drivetrain. So Im sure those prices have changed, but the LS motors really seemed to do well in holding their value. Plus low mile pull outs are still popping up.

What is really great...is the cost of a crate motor. A crate LS6 is REALLY reasonable for what you are getting. But I digress.

J.

 

$2500 for a complete pullout is the going rate. I've seen several wrecked complete LS1 cars go for $3000! Mounts, wiring, and fuel are all on that same site, $1000. Add exhaust, another $1000. That leaves ~$4500 for labor and misc small expenses.

I'm all for swapping an LSx into a 3rd gen believe me, but for $9000? Again, that will buy you a LS1 4th gen in good condition!

 

Im not sure what LS1 pullouts are going for really... But $2500 seems reasonable.

I think you'll spend more than $1000 on exhaust ESP if you get LT's and a catback. LT's are close to a grand by themselves, if he can run them in CA. Custom exhaust piping from the headers/manifolds to the cat back is going to run you labor. And if you want a nice one or one from stainless you'll be spending a good bit in materials alone. Then the cat back. I dont know too many people leaving their existing catbacks on.

But lets assume $4500 left for the misc stuff & labor. You still have to do some PCM tuning, actual wiring, 6-speed conversion?, gauge wiring/install... PLUS he's in CA so there are the smog requirements to adhere to. There's plenty of little details that will eat up shop hours.

Yeah you can probably get a decent 4th gen for that kind of money. But thats not what we want in this forum We want 4th gen power and performce in our thirdgens. Comes at a price.

And again..this ALL depends on what the guys at calspeed will be doing and the level of the swap. Its not easy to complete everything and come in under $5000 when doing the work yourself. So I still think the price isnt too outrageous.

BTW...Dont want to come off sounding like a d-head marc Just friendly bickering haha.

J.

 

LS1 + trans + harness + ECM = $3000 (can be more or less)
swap mounts = $100
trans x member = $100
fuel = $150 - $400 (I ran braided lines + LS1 tank)

price of swap = $1000 - $2500 (this is how much ppl charge where I live includes wiring)

$3600 - $6100 <this is the price range I would expect to be in if I paid to have the swap done in the San Francisco Bay Area). However, that price reflects me having it done "on the side". A shop price for this kind of work would be $4000-$6000 out here. Sounds like you are being quoted a fair "in the shop" price.

I managed to bring my cost waaay down and do a lot of upgrades by learning to do this all myself. I was even able to buy my own tools and still saved a ton.

 

9k still seems a bit high to me... for 9k I would exspect a complete swap. they supply engine, trans and any swap related parts and hardware. There is a shop in Oakland that has a 2002 LS1/T56 they only wanted $3000 for the set and offered to put it in my car for $2500.

my advice to you, get some quotes from other places and compare to see just how much more (or less) he is charging than everyone else. Then find out what is included in his swap.

 

I think you guys are talking to yourselves.

 

um, what? So, if i put $2000 into an LSx motor and $2000 into an L98 ill get the same "powa" out of each huh? Lay off the brake cleaner...

 

Seriously! You'd have to put two grand into an L98 just to bring it up to the stock power level of an LSx

 

Shhhhhh, don't say that too loud.

 

Oh, right! LOL

 

LOL, your not putting $2000 into an LSX motor... it costs $9,000 to have someone put a stock LSX motor in a third gen for you. What could you do to an l98/700r4 for $9000?

 

LOL at you, your misreading what i said, someone stated that the same money into an L98 VS the LSX yields the same "powa" which is an ignorant misinformed statement. Now I was staying away from the $90000000 bajillion cost of having a "shop" install one of these drivetrains but now ill speak up. Anyone who pays a shop $9000 for an LSX swap into a third gen BETTER be getting at least an LQ9 Cammed, Header, FAST intake and 6 speed built for RACING with Complete upgraded Fuel system to accomodate boost for LATER ON for that much money. $9000 is RIDICULOUS for a shop swap.... when you say LSX im thinking 4.8 / 5.3 /5.7 /6.0 /6.2 / LS1/2/3/7/9 etc etc etc

$9000????? Better be LS1/2/3/7/9 with an MN12 and the cleanest swap you'd ever see. Also, are these Brand New parts? Dealer ordered Engine 0 Miles?? Low mileage used Parts?? Is the shop/garage an LSX Specialty shop??

Buy a low mileage truck engine, low mileage tranny of your choice, order your harness from a vendor or Pocket (if he still does them), get your various mounts and other LSX specific parts needed and bring the car and all your **** to the shop and have it done, should be in the $2500-3500 BALLPARK depending on stock vs aftermarket upgrades/components you want.

And i hope the L98 w/$9000 was a joke, GEN II VS GEN III, please please please, not that argument again....

You want prices on LSX engines and transmissions? PM me, ill tell you everything i have in stock.

 

I think it all depends on the quality you are getting. Sure you can do it cheap and have issues down the road,but if it is top notch work and you are getting 2000 of extras that sounds pretty close to being right.

 

I think you mis-read what haisud said.

Btw, where are most going for 5.3/auto tranny/harness pull outs? I looked at Ebay, and it seems that just that stuff will put you too at least $2500 plus shipping.
Are most going to local salvage yards?

 

i have 68 5.3's from $300 to $700 in my area.

i have rebuilt 4L60E's for $1500 w/ 3yr Warr

20 used 4L60E's from $565 to $900


there, i just found an LM7 / 4L60E drop out for $1000


Ebay isnt a good deal unless you find cheap drop outs that you can pick up and eliminate the ship cost.

 

Holy hell! How did you find that many? How are you searching?

 

Got the 5.3 and 4l60 for 600$ off Craig's list.

 

[QUOTE=BirdsOnly;5372838]Holy hell! How did you find that many? How are you searching?[/QUO


PM'd you

 

easy way is www.car-parts.com


9k all depends on quality of the shops work. From the sounds of it. They do good work. So id expect a nice good job.

 

$2500 for a complete 5.3 with trans? That's a ripoff. Wrecked LS1 cars can be had for under $3000, and pop up on craigslist, LS1Tech, etc often. Ebay is ridiculously overpriced for this stuff.

 

I say 9k is high if it's all stock and used.