Looking for a shop to perform full V8 conversion, any ideas?

[Marshall Dillon]

Hello everyone, I am a relatively new owner of a very clean 1972 240Z. It's got a mildly worked over 280 engine, I'm guessing 200hp. It's fun, it handles well, but man, it needs another 100hp, plus. That said, I have nowhere near the time to do this kind of job myself, and would love any recommendation of shops/mechanics that you guys have used or heard of that are familiar with this whole process. Ideally, I simply like to save up the bucks needed, ship the car and parts requested to the shop and be done with it. Thanks for all of your help!

[palosfv3]

What exactly are your plans ? Which motor and trans? LSx ? other? All new suspension ? Brakes ? A little search through the V8 conversion threads will get you started .

[EvilC]

PM, your info and exactly what you are looking for. Maybe even a newer LSx motor maybe the ticket for you.

[Marshall Dillon]

What exactly are your plans ? Which motor and trans? LSx ? other? All new suspension ? Brakes ? A little search through the V8 conversion threads will get you started .

 

Thinking LS1 with 6spd (Tremec) Suspension should be ok with new springs (eibach) and shocks all around. I would have to upgrade the rear brakes to discs, but that was already in the plans. I ran a search, but didn't seem to find anything about shops that might be a good fit for me. Basically I'd just like to right a nice little (ha) check and a really fast car. I'm not sure if that will help at all...MD

[palosfv3]

We built the LS1 260 in my avatar at our shop for a customer . There are many threads about building one of these Zs but costs and time are so variable depending on what the end product you desire will be and what each individual finds acceptable. It would be nice to find a properly completed V8 Z but it seems many dont want to accept the fact that building or buying a correctly built one is not cheap . For an example the orange car had around $30k in engine ,trans , suspension and brake upgrades. Yes others state you can buy the necessary parts on the cheap for far less but if you go with new parts ( enginge and trans were original 4,000 mile used) you are going to spend near this amount. Give a call or drop a PM if we can help or you need to talk to someone about the details of such an undertaking.

[Marshall Dillon]

We built the LS1 260 in my avatar at our shop for a customer . There are many threads about building one of these Zs but costs and time are so variable depending on what the end product you desire will be and what each individual finds acceptable. It would be nice to find a properly completed V8 Z but it seems many dont want to accept the fact that building or buying a correctly built one is not cheap . For an example the orange car had around $30k in engine ,trans , suspension and brake upgrades. Yes others state you can buy the necessary parts on the cheap for far less but if you go with new parts ( enginge and trans were original 4,000 mile used) you are going to spend near this amount. Give a call or drop a PM if we can help or you need to talk to someone about the details of such an undertaking.

 

 

Larry, thanks so much for your reply. I will absolutely look you up in a couple of days and see what type of estimated funds I should have available for a project like this, and what your experience has told you between say an LS1 vs say a well built carbureted 350/383. There are, just like you say, too many variables, and it might be nice to have someone put together a couple of different options/packages and go that route. Either way, I know this won't be inexpensive, I'm just looking to see what it might be to do it all at once, with a reputable shop, rather than piecemeal over years/months

 

MD

[Michael]

A few thoughts:

 

1. Much of the reason why swaps become amorphous money-pit perpetual projects is (1) requirements creep, and (2) problems with the engine or the vehicle that have nothing to do with the swap itself. In other words, first ascertain that your vehicle is in good shape. Solve rust issues, get the suspension and brakes to where you like them, get comfortable with everything about the car except maybe for the power. Then, and only then, proceed with the swap.

 

2. Avoid, if you can, the combined projects of building an engine and doing the swap. Again, many of us with interminable projects really didn’t have all that much trouble in the swap itself (mounts, exhaust, cooling, fuel delivery, etc.), but are stuck with perpetual engine rebuilds. Get a crate engine or a reliable donor, and leave it alone until the swap itself is more or less complete.

 

3. Contracting with a shop is all about reputation. Price, after a point, is a secondary consideration. Especially with a long-distance-relationship (Columbus to Chicago?), references and site visits are crucial.

 

4. I farmed out the roll cage, structural work and many other aspects of my build to a shop, back in 1999-2000. Overall I am very happy with the shop’s workmanship and have no regrets about paying the money. They guy did a masterful job at welding, and integration of complex systems. But nearly everything else that I’ve subsequently done myself has been a disaster! The moral here is that unless you go the 100% turnkey route (very expensive and not without its own pitfalls!), what the shop does for you is only the baseline. From then on, it’s the care and feeding of a custom, high-performance car, which is fraught with risk and frustration.

 

5. The downside of not building it yourself is that you’re helpless when things go wrong… see above. You can indeed save time and money on the front-end by contracting out the swap, but may lose time and money on the back end as you wrestle with the beast that’s just been built for you.

 

6. LS-series vs. traditional Chevy V8: no factory mass-produced Gen-1 or Gen-2 engine will have satisfying performance in stock form. Therefore a Gen-1 or Gen-2 means an aftermarket build… cam, intake, heads, etc. This can still be cheaper than an LS. While apples-to-apples comparison is difficult, the built Gen-1 or 2 (I mean the LT1 etc.) can conceivably have more power than the LS… or not. It all depends. However, the built engine will required more hands-on attention once you become the proud owner, whether or not your engine was professionally built. Back to 4 and 5 above.

 

I am geographically close to you and will send a PM.

[kamikaZeS30]

I went through a shop for my build. I don't know how far you'd be willing to ship the car, but there is a shop here in San Diego that specializes in this sort of thing, it's called "Dad's Garage" owned and operated by Mark Brent. That is where mine is currently being finished.

 

He's not your typical shop-owner from my experience. Telling him you want to swap a Buick 215 into a Porsche 914 won't make him squeamish. I have also been out at the shop while most of the work has been done on it, he doesn't mind me putting hands on it with him. That's another reason I decided to go the shop route. If it weren't for the fact that he takes no issue with me basically grinding through the project with him and doing my own work to the car while it's up on his lift, I wouldn't have paid a shop to do it. For reasons Michael mentioned above, ideally this is the kind of place you want to find to do the swap, otherwise, you may end up with a wonderfully finished, shiny, awesome finished product that you have no idea what's going on when it needs maintenance or repairs.

 

Granted, shops like that are becoming fewer and farther between, because in this litigation happy society, their insurance probably won't cover you if something happened to you in their work-area. (Aside: Thanks money-hungry lawyers and capitalists, you've made the world a shittier place.)

[EvilC]

Also do you have any pics of your car? Would you buy a car already done?

[dsommer]

If you're interested in a "turn key" car that has historical value drop me a PM. I've got my 71 Scarab for sale. Look at it this way, you can purchase it, drive it, show it and NOT lose your shirt. It can be had for what you're looking at spending on a shop performing a conversion for you. Just food for thought and I'd even consider a partial trade, as I'm a Z-nut.....

 

 

You tube vid link, clik on the HD version, it the link doesn't work just go to youtube and search datsun scarab.

My link

Edited November 20, 2010 by dsommer