Conversions & Swaps LSX Engines in Non-LSX Vehicles
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How much would you pay?

Old 02-15-2012, 01:24 AM
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Default How much would you pay?

Ok I am wondering what you would pay for the following car I am going to describe...the reason I am polling ya'll is to gauge the market for an late second generation camaro with LS conversion...I'm building one and if i wanna sell it i wanna make sure i dont put more in it then what someone is willing to pay you know? Please give your honest opinion with the assumption the car is running and operating flawlessly, i know this board is the best place to get some good opinions....anyway here it is..

Camaro with complete frame off (front sub as well as rear assembly)
Every square inch of body and every nut efurbished, repaired, or new, I'd give my work at least a 7 outta 10, 10 being barrett jackson ready restoration

Suspension:
Front- Brand new shocks, poly bushings (control arms, sway, end links, sway bracket)
Rear-New Shocks, poly bushings (Leaf spring pads, leaf perch), new shackles
Competition engineering subframe connectors

Steering:
Brand new center link, idler arm , inner/outer tie rods and sleeves with fresh alignment
Brand new upper/lower ball joints
2004 Escalade Power steering pump with 2.5 lock to lock gear

Brakes:
New calipers, pads, hoses, rotors up front
Brand new drums, shoes, springs, wheel cylinders, hose
All new brake hard lines (possibly copper nickel if i can get a deal on it)

Drivetrain:

2005 L33 all aluminum 5.3 with 10:1 compression (fresh rebuild)
GMPP "Muscle Car" Oilpan, melling standard pump, Clevite P series main and rod bearings, durabond cam bearings
polished stock crank, stock rods (2nd design), coated skirt flat top pistons with floating pins, total seal piston rings
GMPP Hot Cam (218/228 .525" 112LSA), ls6 springs, hardened pushrods, stock rockers, ls7 lifters, ls2 timing set
Freshly rebuilt 799 Heads with cleaned (not ported) casting lines, bowls, exhaust port (not messing with intake) with minimal resurface (slightly milled)
Edelbrock Performer Dual Plane carb intake
Holley 750 dual feed, single accelerator pump with GM MAP sensor vacuum advance controlled by MSD 6LS (part #6010) ignition box
LS1 Low mileage Coils
C5 stock exhaust manifolds ran to 2.5/3inch duals/mufflers/dumps with side screw off cutouts
The motor/clutch will have 2000 miles of close monitoring for good break in.
Rough estimate is 350-360 rwhp...car will come with 3 dialed in tunes when it comes to timing and advance (gas mileage mode, hot street mode, and all out track mode)

1981 Borg Warner Super T10 4 speed manual transmission , less than 20k miles since rebuild
26 spline input, 32 spline output, ls7 pilot roller bearing
Valeo 11 inch big block chevy clutch/pressure plate/bellhousing
Yearone Complete Manual clutch linkage/pedal assembly
Hurst Competition Plus shifter with white hurst ball

3.23 posi rearend, stock drive shaft with new u joints


Body:
Fresh stock "light blue mettalic" paint job with factory color matched ralleye wheels, solid body, no rust period, every panel either repaired or replaced
Completely stock "Sport Coupe" appearance package ( refurbed trim, rims, lightly tinted glass), sunroof
Medium blue full cloth interior, no damage, professionally cleaned, new headliner and carpet
Stock gauge cluster with 160mph speedo and 7000rpm redline tach
Complete underbody and firewall stripped and painted

Again Let me know what you would pay if you were in the market for a toy and you saw this car on craigslist, what price would make you pick up the phone and call about it? Thanks for reading i tried putting every detail i could to paint a good picture....
Old 02-15-2012, 01:36 AM
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Going to be impossible to give a guess without pics, and you're always going to put in it more than someone else is going to be willing to pay. Not too many people sell a car like this for a profit unless they are charging for their time as well. As soon as you put 'new' parts onto the car they become 'used'. Throw some pics up though and you'll get better answers. A camaro forum might be a better place as well.
Old 02-15-2012, 02:00 AM
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Obviously i know you never get what you put in...im not in it for profit...im in it for the restoration/conversion...just asking if you would buy it $6k or if you would only pay $2k...around where i live 4th gen fbodies go for about $7-$8 with decent miles...plus i dont see many, if any, LS conversion cars and people like old school muscle..i know some people would rather pay for car thats done because the labor for the restoration would be approx $3k if you're lucky...anyway let me hear some more opinions!!!

Oh and here is a picture of the same color/car but not the same rims and mine has a spoiler...
Old 02-15-2012, 05:38 AM
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Looks to me like you are building the car YOU want. So maybe you should be asking yourself what you would pay. The best way you can answer that will be to add the receipts for all the parts, time and labor you put into it.
Old 02-15-2012, 05:51 AM
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you're always going to put in it more than someone else is going to be willing to pay. Not too many people sell a car like this for a profit unless they are charging for their time as well.
building a car just to sell is such a waste of money,just fixing a few things then selling would be a better option, anything custom will hurt the value, now if you have a 71 camaro mint with a clean built lsx swap that might bring in some money , but work has to be top notch and you will still take a loss when you want to sell
Old 02-15-2012, 06:31 AM
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What ever you put into it parts and labor divide by 2 and you have your price.
Old 02-15-2012, 07:30 AM
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Originally Posted by wildcamaro
..I'm building one and if i wanna sell it i wanna make sure i dont put more in it then what someone is willing to pay you know?
Originally Posted by wildcamaro
Obviously i know you never get what you put in.
You don't want to spend more than you'll get, but you know you'll never get what you spent. Those statements seem at odds with each other.
Without pics of the car in question there is no way to give anything resembling a decent, relevant sales price. As a complete package I can't see you getting more than 1/3 to 1/2 half of the money back spent on parts, plus whatever few thousand the car might be worth. What would it take for me to call about it with no pics? $4500. Maybe.
Old 02-15-2012, 09:21 AM
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I shoulda figured nobody would just answer with a number...im not building the car custom other than the updated drivetrain everything else is a stock restoration...I'm prob not going to sell it after millions of hours invested, plus it will be a brand new car...I didn't make the thread for people to put smartass comments trying to assure me I'm going to lose money...thanks anyway I guess
Old 02-15-2012, 03:09 PM
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The comments are not smartass comments? But your question is a unrealistic question, then who is the dumbass that posts a thumbnail picture of a "car just like mine but with different rims and spoiler" no one here knows the quality of your work but if it is similar to your attitude and questions I'm sure it is like ****. Here's your number dumbass $100,000 now are you happy is that what you wanted to hear?
Old 02-15-2012, 04:12 PM
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Originally Posted by wildcamaro
I shoulda figured nobody would just answer with a number...
Hey we would be doing you a dis-service if we gave you a number without seeing pics of the car. Even then it will be difficult. Your best bet is to try and find similar make/model car with and LS motor as see what they are going for. Not perfect, but what your asking for is just our opinion and nothing I would base a decision to go forward with the project. It's a hobby and you are probably going to lose some $$$. You just need to determine what your comfortable spending on it.

Originally Posted by wildcamaro
...im not building the car custom other than the updated drivetrain everything else is a stock restoration...
Not being a smartass, but an updated drivetrain is custom, although this a very desirable upgrade.

Originally Posted by wildcamaro
I'm prob not going to sell it after millions of hours invested, plus it will be a brand new car...
If that is your intention then you just need to be comfortable with the amount of $$$ you are willing to spend on it and not worry about what is going to be worth in the future.
Old 02-15-2012, 04:16 PM
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Got a 1966 El Camino with a total body off restoration. Original big block car. There was no SS in 1966 for El Camino but this one is refered to as a Custom which means it's essentially an SS because it has all the SS options. On top of that I threw every trick handling part I could throw at it from the Global West catalog. I'm dropping in a warmed over LS6. If I did all this to a '69 Camaro, it would fetch $30K. I would be lucky to get $20K for mine. And the amount of work I put into it was tremendous, despite it being a relatively straight, rust free example.

Point is second gen Camaros are getting popular but the newer rubber bumper versions can still be had for fairly cheap. If you are after a money maker, you're going to have to really consider what's getting the big bucks. 1st gen F-cars, 59-60 Impalas, 55-57 Chevrolets with a nice restoration and LSX power would be a sure bet. An newer 2nd gen??? Not sure that would be a winner.
Old 02-15-2012, 04:27 PM
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I'm putting a Turbo 5.3L in my 1981 GMC C10, going to have about 12k in it before I'm done. I'll probably be able to sell it for 7 or 8k in a couple years... You don't do this stuff for the money, you do it for the experience.
You need to get a more desireable year if your looking to make money. 73-87 C10s are not as desireable as 67-72 just like late 2nd gen camaro's are not as desireable as 60's and early 2nd gen camaros... If your in it to make money get an earlier year or buy $500 cars off craigslist with blown tranny's, fix them and sell them for $1500...

Or the better option, dont worry about resale and build the car you want for yourself like most everyone else on here.
Old 02-16-2012, 12:27 AM
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Like I said I'm building it bc I love this stuff, I was just curious what others thought...im keeping the color and appearance stock bc I know factory restored cars Are much easier to sell rather than customized to one person's taste...that's the sort of stuff I was looking for as a response even though I can't control what people say I know this...at the same time I'm not expecting people to post $10k just to make me feel good either...

To the guy who said my attitude was ****...it's just irritating that I asked for guesstimates like the one guy said $4500...that's what I was looking for not "the car is only worth half of what you paid to redo it"...I don't think I'm being unreasonable granted I don't have the body work and paint done which is one of the Main Things car buyers look at I know...I guess I was just expecting you guys to assume that it was 7 outta 10 on the body bc I know I ain't the greatest body man in the world but the car was very solid from the start...

Bilateral and nich thanks for the solid comments I appreciate constructive input like that...I wish I could of got a 70-72 split bumper bc it seems they are approaching popularity of the first gens now...I def want to try to get a solid first gen that I don't have to restore but can focus more on the drivetrain, I designed the budget for the drivetrain so I could FINISH the car. I had to seriously restrain myself from all the goodies like fuel injection, t56, 12 bolt, etc. I am expecting a fun car that will get some decent gas mileage when I get it dialed in and will still be able to threaten some new 5.0 mustangs...
Old 02-16-2012, 06:48 AM
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wildcamaro...you are asking too much in my opinion. To ask for a value on a car that "may" get built is not logical. None of us know what your build style is. None of us know if you are going to hide the wiring or leavie it dangling over the engine. yada yada yada. I think what most are trying to tell you that there is no good answer without seeing the car. And we cant see the car until you build it. I say build it if you want and do it with the best budget you can. Then, you will make the closest thing to a profit possible. Thats really about all one can say at this point.

Wish you the best!
Old 02-16-2012, 10:11 AM
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I got the car pretty much wrapped up with the exception of the metal and bodywork so it will be done soon...then I will bring this post back once I have finished it...the hard choice is trying to decide whether to paint the car now or just paint hot rOd black primer and spend more money on the interior...we will see I'm more interested in making sure the drivetrain and suspension are flawless before concentrating on prettying it up...

Here's an "answerable" question....How much have $ have some of you been able to do a DIY complete paint job for material wise? (obviously the bodywork and sanding will be free lol) if I remember right when we painted my buddy's foxbody a few years ago I think it was around $500 for materials...that sound right?
Old 02-16-2012, 10:28 AM
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That sounds do-able. I think we spent closer to six when buying Sherwin WilliamsBC/CC and good primer sealers.

Be sure to post pics! :l
Old 02-16-2012, 11:11 PM
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Yea that ain't bad for good paint, my buddy used nason which isn't top shelf by any means...will do on the pics
Old 02-16-2012, 11:38 PM
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I'd be interested in a car like this at 10-12k if it had a 6 speed and 3.73's and cold air. In my opinion (which is just an opinion so no offense meant) why would you go through all of the effort of swapping a modern motor that will be capable of great mpg's and BIG power and channel it through a 4 speed without OD might as well go full modern ya know??
Old 02-17-2012, 09:17 AM
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Default $50k CAR

That car would cost at least $50k. You should have stopped 24 mos. ago if you wanted to break even. That is one very nice car, enjoy it. There are some things in life that you can not put a price on.
Old 02-17-2012, 10:08 AM
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I'm using the 4 speed because of it availability as well as the nostalgia factor, bc a complete 4 speed setup (trans, bell, shifter, crossmember, clutch, etc) cost me 20% of what just the Trans (t56) would of cost me if I was lucky to find one...I would LOVE to have 2 Overdrives! I did find a tr6060 on Craigslist for 1200, but the cost of everything else would put my project outta business lol ..

By my estimates by the time it's all said and done I should have $4-5k all in which isn't bad at all for a BRAnd new car...that's why I asked opinions bc I think that is DIRT cheap...glad you guys had some interest sometimes you gotta weather the bad comments to get some good ones...thanks

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