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I found nothing easy about working on this car. I almost junked the car after running into a VATS problem that I never figured out. I wouldn't think about doing the swap again. It may have been easier if I would have used a stock CTS V engine cradle but I used the V6 cradle and had to make mounts. Wasn't easy.
Or a ford GAA engine. I mean, if you're gonna swap why not go with an all aluminum 32 valve motor. Nice and torque-y. Just what that chubby little C needs. 500HP bone stock insane torque. They came in Sherman tanks.....
It displaces 1,100 cu in (18 l) and puts out well over 1,000 pound-feet of torque from idle to 2,200 rpm......
I mean if you're going to do a pointless swap...??...??...??...??
Or a ford GAA engine. I mean, if you're gonna swap why not go with an all aluminum 32 valve motor. Nice and torque-y. Just what that chubby little C needs. 500HP bone stock insane torque. They came in Sherman tanks.....
It displaces 1,100 cu in (18 l) and puts out well over 1,000 pound-feet of torque from idle to 2,200 rpm......
I mean if you're going to do a pointless swap...??...??...??...??
Find a cts v parts car/ erepairable ..copart buying a good 90% what you may need , have gone this route several times , and or just got stock oem make engines for budget engine replacements.
This is not even worth discussing. Turning a cts into a V would require electrical (wiring harness), complete drivetrain (motor, trans, rear), suspension, complete interior as well as exterior (facias, side skirts), paint to make it all match and look good, etc. Not worth the time or money spent doing it.
However, if someone wants to waste their time doing it to "prove it can be done", knock yourself out and enjoy paying way more for a fake V than you would pay just buying a real one to begin with.
If price is an issue, I would find a CLEAR TITLE V with super high miles. A running and driving high mile V can be had for $12k or less if u look hard enough. Even a V with a blown motor would be much more worth while than a cts to cts-v conversion.
that’s the dumbest thing I ever heard he’s not trying to make a “fake v” he’s trying to drop a bigger engine in his CTS which isn’t a big deal😂 it’s not going to be a 1000hp car you don’t need to upgrade the breaks or rear end and if you can find a cts v for 12k lemme know and I’ll buy one those cars are junk before 2012 they have tons of problems rocker arms always break and destroy the Motors so if your going with anything under a 12 then it’s useless and you’ll have double the price it would cost to just drop an LS into a cts then if your looking for a 12 those go between 30-40k do what you were going to do learn while you go and drop an Ls into the cts it’s the same identical car as the cts v only difference is motor trans breaks and a couple suspension parts for cornering people tend the forget it’s a cts with the premium performance package from factory it’s almost the identical car as a ctsv those engines will drop right in there your better off doing your own research because guys who think they know wtf they are talking about are just going to hate on you I dropped a 350 Chevy small block in a Ford ranger with minor fabrication it’s not hard get the motor trans and wiring harness guarantee it’ll be easier then you think
that’s the dumbest thing I ever heard he’s not trying to make a “fake v” he’s trying to drop a bigger engine in his CTS which isn’t a big deal😂 it’s not going to be a 1000hp car you don’t need to upgrade the breaks or rear end and if you can find a cts v for 12k lemme know and I’ll buy one those cars are junk before 2012 they have tons of problems rocker arms always break and destroy the Motors so if your going with anything under a 12 then it’s useless and you’ll have double the price it would cost to just drop an LS into a cts then if your looking for a 12 those go between 30-40k do what you were going to do learn while you go and drop an Ls into the cts it’s the same identical car as the cts v only difference is motor trans breaks and a couple suspension parts for cornering people tend the forget it’s a cts with the premium performance package from factory it’s almost the identical car as a ctsv those engines will drop right in there your better off doing your own research because guys who think they know wtf they are talking about are just going to hate on you I dropped a 350 Chevy small block in a Ford ranger with minor fabrication it’s not hard get the motor trans and wiring harness guarantee it’ll be easier then you think
Thank you for joining this site so that you could respond to a comment from 2012 with a nearly incomprehensible stream of text that demonstrates your amazing knowledge of the CTS and CTS-V.
This is the only thread that comes up when searching swaps. I want a wagon but I want to keep the awd. PLEASE DONT SUGGEST JUST BUYING A V WAGON BC ALL THE FEW AVAILABLE ARE 6X WHAT A 3.6L COST! Okay now that that’s out of the way. I’d ideally like to take a complete drive train from an awd car and replace the 3.6l. Would this be possible?
This is the only thread that comes up when searching swaps. I want a wagon but I want to keep the awd. PLEASE DONT SUGGEST JUST BUYING A V WAGON BC ALL THE FEW AVAILABLE ARE 6X WHAT A 3.6L COST! Okay now that that’s out of the way. I’d ideally like to take a complete drive train from an awd car and replace the 3.6l. Would this be possible?
After being in the 1st and 2nd gen CTS circle for over a decade.
I can say only two swaps make sense economically and logically.
5.3 aluminum swap into base CTS with an AR5.
Cost of everything involved is cheap from the junkyard, from the base roller to the engine and trans. And if down the road you want to sell or it crashes or whatever, it's not a big investment anyways.
I don't know if one can get all features to work that a V has but it's definitely a better powertrain than whatever the 3.6 was.
LS2, LS3 swap into a base 2nd gen wagon with a manual because we all know manual V wagons are a money printing machine and therefor out of reach of most.
However, I have serious doubt that a V6 wagon haldex system will handle 400 lb.ft of torque or more without some serious modifications.
There are many who have done or currently are doing LS swaps into wagons and I haven't seen an AWD one yet.
What I want to know though is why has no one tried an SRX-V or a cheaper version with a 5.3 into a 1st gen SRX and perhaps do a 5.3 AWD too if possible?
Currently my 07 3.6 is my winter car (with snow tires), I would love to swap it out for a 3 row SRX with a 5.3 and a manual
If I didn't have my hands busy with a V I would definitely take on that project.
I'm even tempted to buy an SRX V8 AWD and driving it in winter and if ever the Northstar kicks the dust do a 5.3 swap.
I'm doing the swap on a 2003 right now. I might even do a build thread if there is interest. I'm using the stock v6 k member and isolators. Here are a few pics.
I am throwing around the idea of picking up a CTS on the cheap and putting a T-56, L/Q4/Q9/M7/33, etc. in it. Given that most GM vehicles are a breeze to swap things in--especially due to the similarities the platforms have, I am hoping the CTS is similar.
Unfortunately, unlike a good majority of GM's vehicles, I'm not seeing any real build threads or similar where somebody has tried it.
Can it be done (within reason), or would I be wasting my time?
I don’t think it would be to difficult especially sense the cts-v has an ls. If you have a manual trany you just get CTS-v parts like trany and engine mounts as well as wire And ecu but I only think this would work with 1st and 2nd gen
01-11-2018, 08:12 PM
