How much did everyone spend on their V8 Conversion?

[spdsk8r]

I'm at just under $2500. That includes the purchase price ($800) of my car, wheels, tires, and seats. I have done nothing to the body, yet. The original purchase of the engine cost me -$100, yes, minus. I sold the van body and the 4L80E trans for a hundred more than I paid for the whole donor vehicle. Smart buying, fabricating, and bartering has kept the investment down. Oh, and we can't forget the many, many hours of labor.

[Poundz9oh9]

This little sucker better stinking turn some heads when it's done!!

 

Hell these cars turn heads even when they're partially done!

 

12 G's and counting for me and that's including the cost of the car. So I guess I'm not doing too bad.

 

What's left...........

Body work/paint

chassis reinforcements

brake upgrades

exhaust upgrade

suspension work (not needed, just wanted)

Installation labor hours and motivation

[warrenp]

i bet i have close to 10g's in mine and the engine is still about stock

car cost $4,700

paint $1,500

stainless exhaust $500 installed

alternator $100

after market front and rear sway bars $200

upper strut bar $130

corbeau seats & haness $400

f-40 wing $200

front air dam $200

new radiator $150

new switchs misc.. $200

new speekers $70 just rear

k&n filter kit $75

240 sx tb $50

ronal wheels $200 used

tires $500

new starter $100

the prices are estimated!

i have bought a turbo motor but have not installed it. not sure if thats what i want. that was $500 and then i went through it with new gastkets and timing belts etc......

[warrenp]

i bet i have close to 10g's in mine and the engine is still about stock

car cost $4,700

paint $1,500

stainless exhaust $500 installed

alternator $100

after market front and rear sway bars $200

upper strut bar $130

corbeau seats & haness $400

f-40 wing $200

front air dam $200

new radiator $150

new switchs misc.. $200

new speekers $70 just rear

k&n filter kit $75

240 sx tb $50

ronal wheels $200 used

tires $500

new starter $100

the prices are estimated!

i have bought a turbo motor but have not installed it. not sure if thats what i want. that was $500 and then i went through it with new gastkets and timing belts etc......

also nissan factory recall all new fuel system!!! i think it's an estimated 1,300 worth

[buZy]

By the time I have everthing done my way..... I'd say 23 grand. Already up to 17 grand and I bought a car someone already spent more money on than what I paid for it...

[EvilC]

My V8-swap = priceless...... thats when I ever get to do it! =)

[Chaparral2f]

I've got a closet full of recipets, and I'm afraid to even think about adding them up. I imagine that I have about $5000 in the swap not counting the engine work. that is about another $3000. As for my time and labor, at a nickle an hour, I would estimate it as slightly more than enough to pay off the national debt of Brazil.

[Phantom]

Two things turn heads - a really sharp exterior, and lighting the tires up at 60 mph right next to the other guys window. It is such a great feeling!

[280zwitha383]

$1701 at machine shop for work on bottom end of 383

$500 215cc dart iron eagle heads (used)

$100 roller cam setup for late model block (used)

$333 Eagle ESP I-beam rods

$200 Eagle ESP 383 crank

$110 victor jr. intake (used)

$200 1.6 roller rocker arms

$110 roller cam (used)

$550 for rebuilt 350 turbo

$275(?) for JTR mounting kit

$80 for chrome alternator

$20 chrome valve covers

$20 alternator brackets

$60 pulleys

-----------

= $4259

 

STILL need:

water pump, radiator, fan, shroud, driveshaft, shifter, dipsticks, electronic fuel pump, alternator belt, chevrolet mounts, CV joints if I get street slicks, I'm sure there's more

 

Hopefully another $1,000 will get me on the street but I'm sure it will be more like $2,000. I see the $3254 that I spent solely on the engine to be an investment because when I spent it I wasn't sure whether I was going to go ahead with the swap, and I have an '85 silverado that would appreciate it if stuff doesn't work out.

 

Basically, I'm putting $6,000+ in a car that I bought for $300 and put an additional $1000 into. Sound crazy?! Oh well, life is short. You may as well have a smokin fast car! Maybe I can make a little street racing....

[Mikelly]

Since this thread is still alive...

 

I"m on car #2...

 

1976 Shell W/ Pete's framerail design DONE - FREE (Got it and a BUNCH of parts for $1000 and sold a bunch of parts FOR $1000 so in the end the car was free!)

 

Rebuild of 383 Stroker W/ forged bits and balance/ blueprint/ assembly of shortblock - $1400

Already had the motor, but sent the heads to be cleaned and new valve springs installed - $380

Flywheel - $120

Sheetmetal Valve Covers - $160

Harmonic balancer and bolt - $280

Canton oil system/ pan - $480

I already have the MSD box, The canton Accusump, and all the fuel system parts/ braded lines/ fittings/ plumbing for clutch and brakes from a previous project. (My guess is all that stuff new would be about $2000 combined since we're talking about a LOT of Wilwood, ARP & AQP stuff.

 

GC Coil overs - $420

Tokico Struts - $360

Material for my custom front and rear control arms/ TC RODs - $300

Powder Coating - Free (Traded Jamie some stuff for labor)

TWO R230 Diffs - FREE (Traded an LSD R200 setup)

Custom R230 Speedway Eng. Axles - $350 (Sold my R200 Adapters and axles for $350. Cost of the R230s should have been $700, But I offset it with selling these!)

R230 Brace $75

Misc. R230 Parts and drilled Mustach Bar - $125

River City Speed aluminum 5 Lug Hubs - $425

 

TREMEC TKO600 tranny - Free - Did some work for Jim M. and he was nice enough to buy the tranny ($1850 Retail!)

Centerforce Clutch Kit - $270

Misc. Clutch/ tranny/ bellhousing parts - $450

 

Paint for the chassis & engine bay - $50

Corbeau A4 seats - $670 shipped

Corbeau Seat rails - $70

Autometer Gages - $340

Summit Fuel Cell - $189

Carbon tail light panel - $189 (I think, Been a long time since I paid for it)

 

I suspect I'll have another $5K in the rest of the build, since I've still got paint work to do, the cromoly cage to wrap up, and miscilanious parts left to buy like brake rotors, race tires, some ducting work to complete for the cooler setups. This car will be BARELY street legal, but not very street driven... Building it as a track day car.

Mike

[Guest Phil1934]

A 260Z. Rebuilt 350 (machinist gave me core) $1640

T5 $424

clutch and water pump $368

Intake with 4 Pinto 2 bbls, spun cleaners & linkage $500

Griffin rad and Holley blue $279

Headers, coating, and Tilton clutch m.c. $156

Swap kit in pieces form this site $208

HEI $75

flywheel $75

oil pan, rad hoses $147

Pulleys, muffler, O2 bung (for WB), alt mt $184

300Z wheels $130

wheel studs and spacers $156

Roll bar (I kept the front diagonals and swing out) $150

subframe tubing $25

R200 $60

drive shaft adapter $44

CV axles $105

CV adapters $228

rear springs $62

If you take out the new rear bearings for $292 and front rotors for $109 the total cost is at $6000. I still need tires and new paint and replace a lot of lines after 15 years of sitting.

[Guest BiltWelRestoration]

Take your best guess multiply it by 50% then add another 20% for stuff you forgot to put in your best guess. Hope that you know someone that will do body and paint work for free. You should get a good Idea after doin these calculations. But seriously I own a restoration shop and with labor will have about $30,000 in this one when finished http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1,1&item=4551193704&sspagename=STRK%3AMESE%3AIT . I will not do another one unless it is brought to me by someone who already owns it.

[2Forty]

Bought 72 in 1988 $2,000

complete TBI eng 1,000

700r4 550

JTR kit 165

Hooker hdrs 200

still need:fuel pump, fuel cell, exhaust

[DaEvil]

700 for car

250 for SBC

600 for 700R4

900 for suspendsion

500 for interier

400 for wheel & tires

400 for extras (est)

_______________

3650 total

 

Just purchased LS1/t56 for 4000.00

tab is now running

[Michael]

Car $600

Roll cage/frame $2000

Engine mounts, etc. $500

Firewall relocation $1000

Brakes replumbing $300

Radiator relocation $300

Fuel cell install $200

Fuel cell $200

Seat and misc install $400

Other welding $300

Engine $800

Shortblock rebuild $1300

Intake, carb, etc. $500

Exhaust $400

Suspension $300

Transmission $700

Clutch hydro $250

Clutch assy $300

Flywheel $300

Bellhousing $350

Seat $150

Belts $150

Bodywork (ghetto) $200

Electrical $100

Oil pan and pump $300

Plumbing $100

 

That adds up to $12K – give or take. The car is “rust freeâ€, but hardly attractive. It does have a brutal roll cage, though.

 

Broken, obsolete, incorrect or dead-end parts: about $2000

Still necessary for engineâ€

 

Heads $2500

Cam $400

Lifters $400

Rockers $300

Pushrods $100

[hanomon]

Super clean and stright 1975' 280-Z from Classic Cars.com = $3,300

Slightly used (63k miles) 1994' Corvette LT-1 eng/trans on ebay = $3,000

Watching your kid brother's 40k$ Porsche shrink in the rear-view mirror = Priceless!

 

For most things there is Master Card, for everything else . . . HybridZ.org

[baddriver]

I ran some statistics on the numbers in this thread, just so you guy's wouldn't have to re-read the whole thread every time you add up your cost.

 

Here you go:

Average cost of a running Hybrid Z:$16,614

Lowest cost:$6000

Highest cost:35,000

Median: $15000

 

That's only counting the guys that claimed to have a running z. Anyone who mentioned that they still had some 'little things' to buy got put in the other category

 

Average cost of a non-running hybrid z:$11,050

Lowest:$1800

Highest:$50,000

median: $7,800

 

Clearly the 'little things' that make the difference between a running and a non-running z come out to about $5000-$6000.

 

It also appears that to make a 30 year old z car into something you can drive every day costs around $4000-$5000, and those over the $10,000 mark had mostly invested in racing equipment.

 

It looks to me like the cost brakes down as so:

Buying an old z and making it fit for the road: $3000 (you either pay more for the car, or more for all the parts you have to rebuild)

Making it pleasant to drive: $3000 up (Eliminating leaks and carbon monoxide headaches, updating sterio and other misc pieces)

Actual cost of conversion: $3000-$4000

Building a motor with more power than you'll ever get to the ground: $3000-$4000

Getting power to the ground: $2000-$4000

Total $10,000-$15,000

 

Results of a search for a new 'sports car' costing from $10,000-$15,000 on NADA.com..... "We're Sorry. We didn't find any vehicles that match your search criteria. For better results, we suggest you refine your search by selecting a different combination of desired features. "

[VinhZXT]

Here is my short list:

LS1 motor with ECU and wiring $3500

T56 Trans $1500

77 280Z shell $600

 

I think I'll be better off just buying a V8 converted Z lol..

[Michael]

‘Baddriver’ has an excellent summary of the cost picture!!!

 

It answers, in a nutshell, the basic question of “how much does it cost to do a bare-bones conversionâ€. The answer is: if you already have your Z, and it runs OK, and you’re reasonably happy with the ride quality and the aesthetics and the suspension and the brakes, and so forth – and NOW you want to do the conversion, but for a “daily driver†that will have no particular place or purpose at the track – well then, the typical cost of “just the conversion†will evidently be around $4K.

 

Another curious observation – if you pay a professional to do specific jobs (not the whole conversion, but merely specific parts thereof) – typically, you’ll pay about the same for the professional’s work, as you would for doing it yourself + buying the tools + buying the wrong parts + breaking things + starting over and trying again. Of course, that’s assuming that you’re not a mechanic and that the professional is honest.

 

On my car, nearly everything that I built is hamfisted garbage. And nearly everything that the professional built is elegant and functional. If only I realized that 5 years ago...

[Mikelly]

It also begs the question of WHY. I would argue that I have less worry, more fun, and am much safer in my 99C5 Vette, which with all the mods to it, I'm still not over $25K total cost at the moment (The 500+HP motor will take me to about $30K), knocking down 26mpg, and making 335HP & 353#ft. of torque at the wheels... It does track days like a champ, gets me to work and back in style, has excellent heat, A/C, airbags, and leather and a Targa Top for the sun, twin amps and a killer sound system to loosen the fillings in my teeth! With all the upgrades and parts swaps, this car is more Z06 and LESS C5! Imagine that... A Sports car that is RELIABLE, COMFORTABLE, AND SAFE!

 

I told Michael this when he was at my home last winter... This Zcar is the last I'll build, and if I could move it without taking a crazy loss, I'd be onto a full race car tomorrow... I love Zcars, and what they stand for. BUt the market is what is and they are a resource that is drying up more every day. I don't see this car as a viable candidate to do "WELL" any of the things I currently want to do. Especially when compared to most of todays technology.

 

And that brings me to the last point in this post... Try SELLING your beloved Hybridz. All it takes is chatting with anyone who has posted their's on Ebay... You won't get 1/3rd of the $30K investment... And I know, I know "That isn't why I built it" and "I don't plan to ever sell it" is what I'll here next... Spit happens, people change their minds, families grow, tragic events cause change in direction... LIFE HAPPENS!

 

They're still cool, and every time I see Jim's car in the shop, or Pete graces me with the presence of his devil in a blue dress, I'm a sucker all over again and back working on my pile...

 

SUCKER! YES I am...

 

Mike