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HybridZ

cost for an LSx 240Z swap


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I have my build priced out to about $30k so far. About $8000 for the drivetrain (excluding diff), $2400 for brakes/wheels/tires, $7000 for the body/paint/addons, $3000 for interior, and around $4000 for the suspension. Thats with lots of things like hardware, wiring, fabrication, and small stuff left out. Quality parts and services are important. Being patient and taking time to save money to afford the good stuff is also important, in my opinion. If its worth doing, its worth doing right.

Edited by iHeartTouge
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  • 4 years later...
this is where I am so far. its not everything. and I do 90% of work on it myself. So no labor.

 

Heads 

GM 799s

Port & polish

$500.00

 

Block

GM LQ4 New felpro head gaskets

New felpro head gaskets

$2,200.00

 

Intake

Edelbrock 29087 Victor Jr LS1/ LS 

Carb spacer 

$300.00

 

Carb

Holley 750 CFM double pumper

stock

$420.00

 

Ignition

MSD 6LS

Programmed accordingly

$350.00

 

Fuel intro

¼ inch aluminum line paired with Carter Competition Series Electric Fuel Pump 100 gph Free Flow , 6-8 psi output

Standby mr gasket electric inline pump installed

$320.00

 

Valves/ retainers

LS6 equavilent

Stock

$400.00

 

Cam

The real question lays here. UPGRADE stock

Gms Hot Cam install eventually

 

 

 

Headers

JTR 

1-3/4" primary tubes, 3" collector 

$500.00

 

Exhaust

2.5 inch straight through to an 18 inch crossover muffler back to 2.5 to rear.

custom

$500.00

 

Trans

700R4 with transgo shift kit and B&M pro series ratchet shifter

2500 stall converter

$1,200.00

 

Diff

R200 with OBX lsd and hardened washers installed.

Stock rebuilt axels

$700.00

 

EXTERIOR

 

Body 

Fully shaved bumpers. Sand blasted undercoated. painted

New rubbers on all windows

$7,200.00

 

Seats

Nothing special.

$0.00

 

Dash/ din steering wheel

Z store cover ,full

$220.00

 

Doors

Panels and hardware mirrors etc.

$400.00

 

Wheels

Rota RBR 17x7.5, 17x9, bridgestone blizzak lm22, mickey tompson drag radials

$1,800.00

 

Spoilers

BRE front air dam, custom rear spoiler

$320.00

 

Wiring

Keep it clean wiring harness. 21circut

$300.00

 

Misc.

All other randon things. Bolts, wires, connectors, fuel cell, roll cage, switches, tape, shrink wrap, fluids, radiator, fans, intake, loom, steering supplies, brakes, wheel spacers, etc etc.

$3,200.00

 

Total

Rough estimate on most parts. This is not including the labor I put in and the things i had laying around the shop while building the car.

$20,830.00

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Well I hate to say this but I'm at 85K on my spreadsheet and still far from being done. I will have over 100K in this car once it's completed and it will probably be worth 5K. My budget was originally 45 to 50K and that has been blown long ago.

 

Definitely something you do because you are passionate about it not for an investment. Obviously you can do a swap much cheaper than me but as always it is all about personal preference.

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You can do it for less than 5k if you really wanted to, not including the car price. The Porsche in my garage has a ls1 in it and only spent 3500 on the entire project including the car. (Car was free with a blown motor). How much you spend is really how patient you are to find good deals and how handy you are when it comes to fabrication

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If you have all the parts already laying around, are a good welder and machinist and can get all your materials for free, you can do it for FREE. I have had my Z for 25 years and stopped saving receipts when I hit $15k in about 1994 when it still had a 6-cyl in it. It very much depends on when you say you are finished. Engine in the car and started once? With new drivetrain that can handle the power? All new wiring? With new tires? New interior? Paint? Rust repair? Brakes? Suspension? I do 1-2 track days a year, 1-4 autocrosses per year , drag race about 10 times a year and am hoping to start doing standing mile twice a year. And I daily drive it when I need to (every day for last 2 months). It breaks so i fix it, i wear out tires so i buy more-I'll never be finished. My advice is: don't start until you have $15k laying around. You might do it for a lot less, but I would hate to see you get started and have to quit because you ran out of money. Or be really patient, cause Meatwad is right. But, I'm not patient.

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You can do it for less than 5k if you really wanted to, not including the car price. The Porsche in my garage has a ls1 in it and only spent 3500 on the entire project including the car. (Car was free with a blown motor). How much you spend is really how patient you are to find good deals and how handy you are when it comes to fabrication

You are partly right, how much you spend does have a lot to do with your ability to do fab work and getting good deals but ultimately the price of your build is all about what level you want to take it to.

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I fully agree the level will dictate the price. If you're going show car then it's gonna get deep quick in body work, but I just wanted a quick daily with occasional track days and my goal was $10k. I'm at $16k+ with vintage air included... I agree with $15k starting and minimal fab work you can build a nice car and not half way do everything so it's done right the first time. I'm not worried about scratches with the way the body looks lol body work eh maybe someday

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have $13K in a drysump configurated Forged LS3 403 stroker complete, oilpan to intake, headers, plumbing, clutch kit, everything to run it.  The rub here is I already had a FAST EFI standalone unit.  I also spent $1200 on T56 parts to rebuild a $600 T56 I bought from a friend.  I offset that by selling my TKO600 for $2200.  I then dove into the Ford 8.8 Rear diff conversion and sunk $2200 into that, which lead to me selling my Q45 setup for $1100.  

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