rickpaw

With my luck, I will be thinking "Where did I put that ziplock bag?" Been there.

I've only done one swap (67 Firebird with 5.3/4l60e drop out) so not a whole lot of experience. If I were to do over, here are a few things I learned in my swap:

a proper fuel system is a must (vaporworx)
cam swap at a minimum
better planning on the wiring
doing it right the first time, as doing over is twice as expensive.

MustangLS

iTrader: (5)

About the only thing I would have done differently was getting a bolt on hood versus the pin on hood, which I have since done. It's minor in the grand scheme of things but that's about it.

I took the two tier approach to my build due to learning lessons with previous builds. First tier was to complete the swap and drive the car, spending money on important things for long term but not so much that it would hold me up. That also meant leaving the exterior alone. Second tier was paint, cage and turbo set up. The parts I had left over from the nitrous to turbo swap I recouped most of my money on and I got 6 months of use out of it. I know that if I had gone for a completely car from the start I would have parted it out by now. It's hard to keep going on a project for more than a year or two without any kind of rewards for your effort.

Sarg

iTrader: (6)

Haha, I had my turbo and engine before I had the car I put it in! The probably is a good approach though. I had been buying parts for a couple years before doing my swap though.

ion05

From my experience a swap is well worth the money, time and wrench time but you need to do your research. If you can fabricate and weld that will save you tons of money. plan plan plan try to set a budget for the build and add about $2000 to $3000 on top of that the small things add up from starter, alternator and battery and turns into a snowball effect quickly. I had to go to a performance shop to fabricate my turbo system in hindsight should have taken a welding class
Buy quality parts and forge what is necessary the first time around.
Finally going fast costs money and lots of it

Sarg

iTrader: (6)

I actually bought a cheap chinese tig welder and taught myself to weld from videos on weldingtipsandtricks.com. I actually have used it on a lot of other projects too. Best $700 I ever spent on a project.

74CHEVC10

iTrader: (1)

I just did my first swap with help from my buddy at his shop. I learned a lot from it but the only thing I wish I did differently is I should've went with dirty dingo plates instead of buying the cheap ebay ones. And I wish I have more time to clean up my engine bay before I put the motor in.

ckpitt55

iTrader: (4)

granted my build isn't done - but for those planning out there, be aware of what scope creep is and how to prevent it. Layout definitive boundaries for the scope of work for the project and DON'T cross them unless it's going to affect something important like safety. I can't tell you how much extra work I created for myself with the simple phrase "well, while this is apart I might as well ______".

I'm not giving up but I have to admit that there are times that I look around my garage and think "I should have just kept it stock". Lol.

casias

iTrader: (1)

My project:



Chassis: 1999 Dakota R/T

Drivetrain: Complete LY6/6L90 drop-out from 2007 GMC Sierra. Stock.

Mods: 255 Walbro in-tank pump, Corvette fuel filter/regulator, 3/8 fuel line, custom adapter plates and transmission spacer, custom driveshaft

Driveability: Excellent. 30K miles on the swap in 2 years. All of the little bugs are worked out.

What would I change:

1) I wish I had ditched the DBW throttle body and pedal assembly. I spent way too much time fabricating a franken-pedal. The original dodge cable would have worked just fine. Now I have quirks on occasion that I don't like. Just a loss of pedal feel and response.
2) I wish I had chosen a better transmission: I chose the 6l90 to play with the new features. Now I wish I had gone with Tremec 6 speed from the start.
3) I wish I had ditched the leaf springs for 4-link rear end
4) I wish I had spent more on exhaust. The drone was awful. I had to start over, which wasted money.

What would I recommend

1. Give the project a real home. It will take longer than you think. Tripping over it is frustrating
2. Spend money on the wiring and fuel systems
3. Set your goals and stick with them. I think we all echo this. Decide what you will use it for, and plan for that.
4. If in doubt about accessories, belts, hoses, etc, replace them with new.
5. Clean and paint anything you are keeping.
6. Set aside actual time to work on it. Like a job. Otherwise you get drawn in, or can't get going. Either way is bad.

Project GatTagO

iTrader: (7)

This thread is full of win. Any newbie that is contemplating a swap should read this thread three times before embarking on their build. There is a lot of distilled wisdom here...NIcely done gentlemen.

Andrew

Sarg

iTrader: (6)

I love #1 and it is so true. What I thought was going to be a month or so ended up being a couple years and it is still not 100% done (although should have some track results in a little over a week weather permitting).

As for #6, what I did was try to dedicate an hour or so a night even if I did not feel like it. Grab a rag and clean something off, or something. It will help. It all adds up and will take more time than you think if you actually care about the project.

merim123

iTrader: (11)

I should have sprung for a 4l80e vs. the th400 seeing what denmah does with his stuff.

Agree with the advice of finish college and focus on life first, this is a hobby.

You could always buy someone else's finished project at substantial cost and time savings, these project take forever if you have a job and family. Sometime it's a full time job chasing parts and seeing what fits/doesn't and you end up with a lot of spares. oh well, it's still fun as long as it's not getting in the way of life

nichoms

iTrader: (1)

My project snowballed a lot, but I did it in phases. That way I could drive it some in-between, that kept the interest alive.

Started with suspension then drove it for a couple months.
Then did the engine/trans/wiring and drove it and tuned it for a couple months.
Then cut out the floors and welded new ones in and redid some interior and drove it a little more.
Now I'm down again for 4 link and dana 60.
After that I will drive it, then converter, then turbo.

On the budget, I made a pretty detailed spreadsheet but one thing I didn't account for was the cost of consumables and misc items. If your going to paint the firewall and everything else you can hit a couple hundred dollars pretty quick in degreaser, filler, primer, paint, sand paper, tape, etc.

Also if you can fab/weld, don't just assume "I'll build a trans crossmember so thats $0" because you will spend money driving to and from the steel yard, buying the steel, welding gas, welding consumables, etc.

All that stuff adds up quick so add in a $500 misc item to your spreadsheet

Patro46

It's because of guys like you that I have spent far too much time on the wiring. After hearing all the horror stories and gremlins that rear their ugly heads, I soldered and shrink wrapped all the connections, paying special attention to being neat and tidy as I could, from pcm location to relays and power distribution blocks and quality wiring. I'm still a bit out from firing up, but hopefully because of those that paved the way before me, I'll get lucky and it will go without a hitch







Build Thread:http://www.digitalcorvettes.com/foru...d.php?t=210313