Blown06

iTrader: (32)

Every once in a while I'll do a flip on an older car to make a little side cash. I don't have the time to do it for a living, but it is fun. Sometimes don't really make much. The most important and hardest part of flipping cars is finding the right car at the right price. That said, is there a market for ls swapped vehicles, or are 95% of people who would want such an animal doing it themselves? I could see the market for an older "shop truck" build with an ls swap doing pretty well, but older muscles cars would scare me a bit. I'm more of a purist than anything and it is very rare that I see a pre-1972 car with a ls motor in it and like it.

Just seeing if we could get a nice discussion going on in here.

What are yalls thoughts?

ls1nova71

iTrader: (4)

There are a LOT of factors that go into it. First and foremost I would think would be the build quality of the vehicle. A well built car with an LS swap I think would appeal to guys who dont have the time/skills to build one themselves. Where as a scabbed together mess will usually be worth less than an unmodified car. Just my opinion though.

SenorThumpy

I think there is a niche market for high quality LS swaps. The drive train should probably be brand new or at least a bottom up rebuild, bone stock except for minor bolt-ons. The last thing anyone wants to do is buy someone else's problem. Especially on a vehicle that can't be taken to a dealership or to joe blow mechanic down on the corner. Pretty obvious but I don't think most think about that when considering the sale of a swapped vehicle.

Unless you're buying a roller, I don't think it makes sense to swap a "classic". I just don't think there is a market for "classics" with LS swaps. I feel like the people in the market for a classic is going to be rather particular about the car. You might run into a few people here and there that are interested but I wouldn't take the risk financially. Unless of course you got your hands on a roller cheap and did a decent resto-mod.

Location/demographic/local car culture also play a big role in it. Are you in an area that has a strong hot rod culture? Are there huge meets by you in the summer every weekend? Are there custom shops actually turning a decent profit? If the market isn't saturated by custom shops or on the decline because "i swear everyone in my town has a 68 camaro or a chevelle" than you could potentially help supply the demand. If there isn't a strong car/hotrod culture, you could be the only guy around building decent LS swaps and make money or be **** out of luck because there isn't actually a demand.

I would think the less "shiny" and common vehicles would sell quicker with a swap... miatas, rx7s, older pick up trucks, halfway decent gbodies (although this is pretty common), any s10 based vehicle or colorado.

Example: There is a shop in Colorado that charges 30k for LS3 swapped miatas and that doesn't include the cost of the base miata, you have to send them your car. They've sold a number of them. I wish I could remember their name. When I was getting ready to build a LS1 miata, they were a great resource and people had great things to say about their products.

That's the way I see it anyways.

HISS

iTrader: (52)

I think the market would be strong for sub 8k swapped vehicles. For example maybe a g body that all the hard work is done on and someone could drive and finish to their own taste. Or square body trucks seem to be real popular in Tx anyway.

thunderstruck507

iTrader: (18)

if a person in most southern areas could do nice swaps into older gm trucks I would expect them to be a pretty damn easy sell...everyone likes the late 60s-early 90s trucks and getting a more powerful and reliable drivetrain would be a plus for most people I think

Ach1992880

I started with a clean body nice driver 1971 cutlass with a good paint job. I wouldn't expect to get much more for it now with the lq9 swap than when it had the worn out olds 350. That said, this car isn't as highly desired as a similar chevelle it seems that most people really into Oldsmobiles of this age prefer originality. Since its a keeper, 400 rwhp sounds like a lot more fun than the 350 I took out that I doubt could wheeze out 200hp.

Its easy to pick out the thrashed together swaps if you look on ebay for instance. They don't sell. I say if you try to make money keep the engine stock, integrate cruise control and modern air conditioning and do a very clean job and you will find a buyer... Just don't know how much profit there would be to make.

tfi racing

iTrader: (2)

Depends on your location.Around these parts,you can't pay people to drag away LS swapped vehicles,your time would be better spent burning that pile of $100 bills.The funny part is everyone out here prices their 5.3 and 6.0 engines and parts as if they are made of platinum...

Pocket

iTrader: (22)

The type of car has alot to do with it too. The market is much better for a generally accepted hotrod say a camaro with a new powerplant than someone trying to be different and swapping a volvo. Ill also point out that crates engine sell better than built engines

Appearance is huge to the market, no one pays top dollar for a sleeper

superdave84

With all the blood, sweat and tears I put into my car, I figure it's worth between 2 and 3 million easy.

1975delta88

Since I live in Cali, it's rare to see an LS swapped car on any car newer than 1975. The laws are so strict here that motors get swapped in to your typical F-Bodies and A-Bodies pre-76. The generation of people who like these cars usually are purists and stick with carbed Gen 1 SBC or BBC in the cars of that vintage. I have 2 shops working on 2 different cars, and 1 garage has all Gen1 type engines in their classics that they build. Shop number 2 does the LS swaps on the classics. But these customers pay to have their cars built to their taste and more than likely keep it for themselves, rather than to flip. I myself wouldn't buy an LS swapped car unless I knew what garage installed it and what components were used. I don't want something to go wrong and not be able to order a replacement part because the part was fabricated.

truckdoug

iTrader: (25)

I have found that generally, people tend to have no idea how much time and effort (money) it takes to swap something cleanly and reliably.

I figure I put around 100 hours into my rather basic swap. With bennies and stuff I make a pretty medicore $30ish an hour at my job.
So if I can't clear 3k profit, I'm better off just spending more time at work.

And I don't have to deal with the tire-kickers.

Thats just my own personal math though.

GLWS!

NemeSS

iTrader: (127)

I found a 95 rx7 with a failing rotor (big surprise :roll eyes: )
That I'm looking to pick up and swap in a ls motor. I know those cars are big w ricers n i would get a kick out of dropping a strong running 500rw n/a ls motor with a big dose of spray like torreto (too soon jr.) and trolling the import guys i know. That being said. The ls swapped rx7 fetch quite the premium before race wars.

chuckd71

iTrader: (23)

If you don't have time to put much effort into flipping stock vehicles that appeal to a wide audience then you certainly don't have time to try doing swaps for a small audience and hoping someone might like it some day.
Unlikely to be worth the time or effort.

66Chevellelq4

LOL. Funniest thing iv heard in a while

lt4malibu

iTrader: (39)

actually "flipping" a modified car is tough to make money, as we all know whatever budget we set for our own cars usually gets blown fast especially if you want to do it right and not cut corners. also the car you start with has to be nice enough that someone will want to buy it and pretty much any RWD car that's desirable, in good condition and easy to swap is going to be hard to come by dirt cheap. I sold the last 2 cars I built pretty quickly, I didn't make anything - I broke even, but I also drove them both daily for a year so I guess that was my reward lol.

Rocknrace03

i think it really depends on the buyer. If someones handy and your selling a vehicle that isn't 100% finished, but has a running and driving swap with all the hard work done. then you may be able to get your initial investment and parts back. That being said, i doubt you could make money on your time.