super budget bone stock ls swap question

[_X_]

Hello.

 

I am currently working on a 78 280z. Originally it had an issue with the timing chain.

I took it over to a "friend" who is no longer my friend to have the chain replaced. the guy was an automotive school graduate but he managed to totally **** up my car. It would not even stay on for more than a few seconds. He ended up bending some valves as well.

 

I took the head off to see the damage. and sure enough, there were some bent valves.

I also have another problem where my pistons are not the original ones. Im running a n42 block and head with p79 flat top pistons.

I have been contemplating on having my head rebuilt and moving over to triple carb setup.but with all this work its going to cost a pretty penny.

 

Since i am going to be spending prolly over 2000 dollars on parts I figure it may be a good idea to consider a gm swap on my z.

There is a place where I can get 5.3 lm7's for 500 bucks. i would also need a transmission of course wich would run me about 400 dollars.

I know there are some other cost involved like the harness and the drive shaft.

Ive seen people spend in the 10k-20k range. Im not looking to build a race car. I just want a cool car that is fun to drive.

and something to smoke the tires up in every once in a while.

 

What would I be looking at spending on a bone stock ls swap? Im looking to use as much ls stock parts and spend the least amount of money as possible.

[RebekahsZ]

Hard question because costs vary so much and we all get the "while I'm at its." I think you are looking at at least $3K. Figure 1,000 for parts, 1,000 for electrical/ computer and harness mods, 1,000 for exhaust and misc. I wouldn't even start until you have that kind of money. Do lots of searching - this question is all over the forum. PM wfritts in Conway, Arkansas - he did a budget swap in a litte over a month so he will have a good idea - but he did all his own fabricating and he is really sharp.

[wfritts911]

Aww I'm blushing RebekahsZ!! As for the budget LS swap, it can be done. I didn't spend very much on the actual swap parts, I spent more on the chassis parts than I did the swap since I bought pretty much just a shell. Granted I also didn't count the price of my motor/tranny/wiring since I had it from my wrecked firebird.

 

The deal is, if you buy a 5.3, the intake is probably too tall. The oil pan probably wont fit either. The 4l60E from the truck MIGHT fit, but I believe they are wider than the T56, but I seem to recall reading someones thread where they used the auto tranny. If you can find a T56 for 400 bucks, buy everyone you can lol. If you get the wiring/ecu for the motor as well, and it is as easy as my LS1 wiring was, you shouldnt need to send it off to anyone. I gave power to 5 wires, and soldered up a VATS bypass box, and it started right up. Granted that doesn't get you gauges or anything, but if you are handy, you should be able to figure that out. The wiring seems really intimidating, but if the truck stuff is as easy as the LS1 stuff was, the harness is almost standalone as it is.

 

The driveshaft runs 290 from JCI to your door, not a bad deal and it seems like a quality piece. Although had I not been under a time constraint, I probably would have forked over the extra 100 bucks for a 3 inch aluminum one.

 

If you are looking for a bolt in motor/tranny mount setup, that runs another 400-500 I believe. I made my own mounts, and wouldn't hesitate to do it again if I was doing another swap. It took me a weekend to get my motor mounted up, and only cost time(Which I always consider free) and maybe 20 bucks worth of metal. Tranny mount was a piece of cake, maybe an hour or two.

 

Then you have the exhaust, I took the redneck way out and turned some manifolds up through the hood because I couldn't make them fit facing down. It was cheap, but is a very temp fix. I think had I had the 98-99 F-body manifolds they would fit.

 

All the little stuff at the end adds up quick, i would probably say another couple hundred for odds and ends. Radiator hoses, wiring supplies, oils, etc.

 

The swap could definitely be done on a budget, but you have to be willing to do almost everything yourself, no farming out work. Just doing the mounts pretty much pays for that LM7. But all I have to say is research, research, research. Read through my build thread, along with RebekahsZ's, and Sunnys were both really helpful. I would say, not factorying in the motor/tranny/harness/ecu, you could probably do the rest for under 1000. If you don't have a welder, add another 1000+ to that for mounts and exhaust. It wouldn't be a bad idea to try and get an entire parts truck. that way you know you have everything for the motor.

 

Like I said above, you can't do enough reading before you start. Read, read, read...and when you get tired of reading and searching, read some more. The swap isn't hard, but if you aren't really familiar with your car and the LSx drivetrains and motor swaps in general, it will be difficult. LS1tech is great site for any info on wiring and any other info pertaining to the powertrain.

 

Hope I didn't discourage you here, I would definitely spend the money on the LSx swap over fixing your little 6 banger The LSx swap is a blast!(When you aren't breaking things )

 

Damn I wrote a book didn't I...

 

-Will