Conversions & Hybrids - Reading recommendations

Hi all,

I have been wanting to do a V8 swap for years now and it looks like I will finally have the garage space/cash/time necessary to do so in a few months.

This is beyond ambitious for me. I have very little experience or knowledge with working on cars and I have no tools. However, I do have 1) patience, 2) time, 3) money, 4) the internet, and 5) some nice friends that know more than me.

I want to get a basic level of understanding in the next few months while I shop around for a roller. There is lots of great info here and elsewhere on the internet, but I feel I would get a lot more out of it if I had a better basic understanding of what everything does, what I need, etc. Sometimes I feel like most of the stuff I read here goes over my head.

Are there any auto mechanic type/hotrod types of books or other resources you guys would recommend that would help lay the groundwork for someone who has no experience in working on cars?

Thanks for any help! Sorry if this is a dumb post/repost/etc. I didn't come up with much via forum search. :usa:

Well, first of all, WELCOME ABOARD!!! Gotta say, I admire your willingness to just dive in to a project like this! I'll tell you up front, that working on cars can be really frustrating/aggravating, but it's also really rewarding when you fix a problem & think "HA! Didn't have to pay someone else to take care of that!"

I don't know of a lot of sites that show the basics (since I've been doing this for a little while), but the one that I've sent others to is HowStuffWorks (http://auto.howstuffworks.com/). Poke around there, & you should be able to pick up at least a little bit. :nod:

Hope this helps!

Frist of all.. can you tell us a little more about what you goal is.. Classic Hot Rod, New Muscle, Straight Liner, Corner Carver, Off roader, Daily Driver, etc..

There many book out there you can buy or go to the Library to check out. Or what many do.. go to the book story, grab a few book, head over to the Coffee counter and sit down and check them out before buying. Or buy them from Amazon, try searching on "gm ls swap books". There are few of them.

But down be afraid of jumping to anything, just be aware the it might take longer and more cash than what you might have expected. But Researching is you best friend.

BC

Thanks for the welcome!

I ordered GM-LS Series: The Complete Swap Manual and How to Swap GM-LS Series Into Almost Anything. They should be here in a few days. :)

As far as my goals, I'm looking for a fast and fun daily (or every other day) driver. I'm somewhat open on what frame to use, but I'd love a 240SX, RX7, Miata, or something similiar (RWD, small). I had an old Toyota Supra back in high school and wouldn't mind finding one of those, but I haven't found any resources on it and the fabrication stuff would probably be too hard (plus that car is real heavy - I'd have to really gut it). The 240sx/RX7 seem really hard/expensive to find, so not holding out much hope for that. I think I'll be patient and see what I can find for cheap. I'm not in any big rush.

Any recommendations on places for finding rollers? Tips for what to look for when I find one? Craigslist seems like the best bet, but I was also considering calling up some junkyards.

As far as an engines, from what I've read, the Chevy truck engines are a great bang for the buck. That seems like the best path for me. Anything that pushes ~300hp sounds like it would be a good starting point, and with some modifications, could easily push 400.

That's about as much as I have sorted out at this point!