fsted

hi guys i have a new project gonna be 1969 trans am clone ls1/6 speed. my question from the guys who have done this what do you think the cost would be ? i am not looking for exact numbers just real world budget oriented cost. i am thinking $4500 ish for eng trans. but the sky the limit on the rest. so what tank/fuel pump wire harness mounts headers etc. for budget build up but not a chince out build? you know a good compromise of big buck and low buck. i havent bought anything but the car so far so my options are open.thanks for any advice.Ed

ls1nova71

iTrader: (4)

I usually use my "x3" method of figuring anything. It will cost 3 times what you think, will take 3 times as long as you think, and be 3 times as difficult as you think!! At least it does for me! But seriously, it depends on how much work you're going to do yourself, if you're going to fab your own parts or buy them, and what your goal for the car is going to be. For example, you can save several hundred dollars by using exhaust manifolds instead of headers, ect. But if you're going for performance, I'd spend the money on headers. Mounts are another thing, I've always made my own, you can save money there too. There are alot of factors that determine the actual cost.

trailwart

for me it would depend on what i wanted the swap to be. what i mean by that is... is this a car that i will have in shows with the hood up, and mirrors under the car?? i would say your looking at 10k depending on what you want. to save money, you could get a 6.0 and find the trans separate. with the money saved, you could do cam, heads and have more hp than what the ls1 stock would have. where swaps get out of hand is when you start getting in to the aluminum radiators and other high end parts that look great, but function the same as cheaper options. are you gonna run manifolds or headers?? that is a big budget eater. its how you want the finished product to look or funtion is gonna depend on what it costs. 1 option if you need the ls1, find a car thats totaled from a rear collision, you can save tons of money that route as you could use everything under the hood.

thunderstruck507

iTrader: (18)

I got the engine/trans for $2000

I've spent about $2500-3k on other parts including a cam upgrade, and it will be $500 to tune, but at least about $600 was getting ripped off on here and buying a set of stock heads I didn't really need

But keep in mind I'm doing it the "hot rod" way, not the "buy everything I need premade" way

For instance I used a modified for $30 stock fuel tank, stock harness, stock gauges, resued my transmission crossmember, made my own engine mounts, stock radiator, and will be reusing my old exhaust (at least for now)

Headers are a killer as mentioned...mine were $600...that sucked. But I couldn't stand the thought of manifolds. Someone has said f body headers will work with mods to the pass collector though...if that's the case I would get the cheap ebay headers and make them work.

olblue51

iTrader: (21)

I think I have somewhere between 4-5k in mine so far. All I really have left is a fuel tank and fuel lines.

I got royally screwed on the first LS1 I bought and ended building an LS6 after I found a great deal on a brand new block, crank and rods with pistons. If I hadn't had to deal with first motor I would probably have about a grand less into it.

I've also come across alot of great deals like trading my old turbo 350 for a complete T56 setup. It just depends on how smart of a shopper you are. If your patient you can come across some great deals... I've gotten alot on from here and craiglist. But if your not patient, like I was with my first motor, you can make some costly mistakes.

Do alot of research and find out what is going to work best in your car that way you can do as much right the first time as possible.

And like mentioned earlier, your exhaust system can skyrocket the cost of the swap. So far my headers are the single most expensive thing I've had to purchase.

67rsss

iTrader: (4)

Check our swap thread for a complete spreadsheet on our costs. A nice swap should run between $7500 and $15K. Depends a lot on what you get your engine and trans from, and how much you can do yourself.

fsted

thanks for all the replies i will be doing all the work myself but i will buy the premade stuff mounts headers etc. i want the car to be nice but within reason. the 6.0 iron block eng looks interesting what do they need to bring the performance level up to ls1 or better.