ok so i am on the verge on selling my camaro for 8 and and really dont want to put more then 4k into a ls1 converted 240. i have a freind trading me my moser 9 housing and axels for his ls1 motor and auto trans.found a local blown s13 for like 600 bucks. i was thinking bout going with the sikky oil pan kit comes with basically everything other then headers, serp asembly, wiring harness, fuel set-up and pcm.

price list-
car-600
sikky oil pan kit-1750
1 7/8 headers- 700
wiring harness-400
pcm-150
fuel- i got told a 255 pump and vette filer- 150
serpentine assembly-?????

im guessing around the 3500 price range... but then idk what im going to do about exhaust. please share some of your guys built sheets and suggestions!

thx seth

 

Double your costs. The small stuff really adds up

You completely left out the trans, DS and mounts. Expect $2-400 for your header back system depending on how complicated it gets. More if you dont DIY

Swaps get expensive fast

 

4l60 comes with motor, ds, and mounts all come with kit. does anyone make offroad y pipes for them? and 2-400 is alot cheaper then what i was thinking.

 

4L60 is the updated 700R4. You mean it came with a 4L60E. Night and day difference there

Mounts, DS and other camaro stuff likely wont fit in your nissan. Expect to shell out to make stuff work

The $2-400 estimate was for a simple box of bends, a few strait pieces, handful of hangars and cost of wire/gas/power for the day youll spend building the exhaust. Any kind of kit will be more

 

When in comes to a budget for a car build you will think you have everything accounted for and you will still spend another 20-30% I budgeted 14k for my Lsx FD RX7 And have spent 20k and I'm not done, and I bought a lot of things used that I thought in the original budget I would buy new, these things have a way of nickel and dimeing you to death except its more like $50 and $100ing you to death. Motor and trans $2500, mount kit $2000, fuel system $400 Headers $1000 exhaust $400 computer retune $100 wiring harness mod $500 infinity rear diff $250 dakota digital $100 thats just off the top of my head.... Many other expensive things needed.

 

as long as you do a bunch research and include everything you can think of, like every little thing, clamps, fittings, gauges, fuel lines, stuff to secure fuel lines, any brake lines/ fittings, tuning, or any other little thing you can think of there is no reason why you would have to double your budget... but add like 10% if you dont include tax

 

This sounds ridiculous, and I never believed it... until I started my swap haha, it's too true.

 

that oil pan kit is way to much money, many guys have done that swap with out that oil pan kit.

 

It really will nickle and dime you to death.

One thing to think about on the 240SX is brakes. The stock brakes suck with stock power. It gets much worse with V8 power. I have 300ZX brakes on mine and with the lines, used calipers, new rotors, new pads, and parking brake assembly I have right at $1000 in my setup. I also found out that once I got into it that my stock brake lines were rusty and were not safe. I ended up installing stainless lines throughout the car which obviously were more than steel but there would still be a cost associated with the replacement.

Also consider suspension. These cars are old. The bushings are more than likely worn out as well as the ball joints. I spent $300 on poly bushings and about $100 on ball joints.

The rear can also be an issue. You can get junk yard rears with VLSD for anywhere between $100 and $300. If you put a mechanical LSD in then you can be in for close to $1000. The Q45 rear is better for the V8 power since it is a 3.54 gear. This is what I have in my car but it ran me nearly $500 for it.

My car also needed wheel bearings. They come as an assembly from Nissan. It was about $800 for all 4.

Oh and EFI fuel line is expensive. I had about $50 there and you need several Russel fittings to go to the Vette regulator and to the fuel rail.

Exhaust can eat you up quick too. I built mine out of mandrel bent 3" stainless with V-Band clamps and long tube headers. After it was all said and done I ended up with about $2000 in it.

Then the hose clamps, heater hoses, vacuum lines, cold air intake, wiring, Dakota Digital box, and all the other crap adds up quickly.

Now obviously I spent a lot more than I absolutely had to but I wanted a car that was reliable so I replaced anything that I thought was worn.

Personally I would save a little on that kit and do some of it yourself. I bought Hinson headers, modified my cross-member myself, and used Vette motor mounts that were donated by a friend. Also built my own trans cross-member. It really isn't that hard. The driveshaft can be had from the driveshaft shop for a reasonable price. Oh I also bought the Hinson radiator and some electric fans.

I really wouldn't go at this swap without $5000 to $6000 to spend. I honestly have about $40,000 in parts in my 97 240SX which has a book value of about $7000. All that and I still need to do more suspension work, finish my A/C, and work on my cooling system some more. Oh and my T-56 is about to die so I'll be spending another $3000 on a trans real soon.

I don't want to talk you out of the build I just simply wanted you to realize where the money can go and quickly. Hope you build it though as its a blast to drive.

 

got to agree with sierrac3

my budget was 16k then it went to 25k and am at around 35k now
only 2k in labor having long block assembled(blueprinted and balanced 327 sbc, torque plated, etc.).
not done. but i also had to convert to fuel injection which alone is costing 4k
to make it legal.

things add up quick
radiator? radiator hose, fans, relay(fan controller) primer if you are welding or using any mild steel, cutting grinder bits, nuts, bolts, washers,

fabricating the trans crossmember is not hard like sierrac3 said.

if you are going to stay with just getting the motor in then the budget can stay close to what you are hoping for but chances are you are going to want wider wheels for traction, some sort of limited slip diff(even J30), at least q45 brakes in front with upgraded pads and rotors in rear. the bushings given that they are old as hell now. I personally replaced every bushing on the car including the the one in the steering column, it is now aluminum.


I left out a lot of mods i would like to do and went cheap on things like seats for now. megan racing instead of bride.

good luck

 

building my s13 Lq9 turbo with built motor, I soent weay more than 5-6 grand with upgraded t56, clutch, guages, pipe, wireing, which sucks, turbo, inj, tune, tires, cam, valve springs, pistons bla bla, the list goes on. Its a great project but its pricey

 

Check out the pricing for just the mounts

For that much, Id buy the $30 in steel and build my own

 

I agree with doubling what you "think" it will cost. I did an LS1 swap in a 1994 S10, and 1.5X my budget. So when I started my 240 swap, I took the number I "thought" it was gonna take and 1.5x it, and I am already at that number and dont have exhaust or paint done yet. So it will end up being 2x what I thought. All together I will have about 14k in mine, but that was COMPLETELY torn down and rebuilt everything that was servicable on the car was replaced.

Also I agree the mounts for these cars are CRAZY easy to make yourself. i have a whopping $35 in steel to make BOTH the engine mounts and trans mount. Add the Urethane Trans mount ($40) and some Flexane and metric All-Thread for the front motor mounts ($60) and the steel to mod the X-member ($10) I have a total of $145 plus the cost to powder coat it all. WAY less than the 500 or so people ask for the "Kits" But if you dont have welding knowledge or access to a welder then I guess the kits are an OK way to go.

 

I am also in the process of building an LS powered 240. From what Ive read, with buying an LS1, A T56, and all the supporting accessories for the swap, you should expect to spend between 7-9k. You already have the motor though? Hinson Supercars, Daft Innovations, and Sikky are the most popular swap-supporting companies.

Here's a few examples of the higher-priced items:


Hinson Cooling kit: $575
Aluminum Double Pass Radiator
High Output Electric Cooling Fan (2)
Upper & Lower Radiator Hoses
Steam tube Hose and provision
Radiator Cap

Hinson Engine Harness simplification- $315

Headers are going to run you between $650-$950, on average. Unless you go custom-built.

The fuel system will be around $500 most likely.

I am personally going with the Sikky mount kit, oil pan, and headers. My exhaust will be custom from the downpipe back... The Dakota Digital Speedometer correction is $80.

If you have money to spend, I say go for it. I cannot WAIT until mine gets finished! It'll cost a pretty penny, but you gotta pay to play right? Good luck man!

 

this may help you out some,
www.silviav8forums.com

 

check into daft for the mounts he had a really inexpensive mount kit, I should have bought a 97-98 s14 I would have saved a boat load over the FD If its something you really want just do it, but budget and project car can not be used in the same sentence.

 

Man I really just depends on what your plans are and how much work you will do yourself. I just finished the swap in my 97 240sx and right now I'm at just a hair over 6k. Now, I went with a L33 5.3 instead of the LS1 so I saved some cash there, but again this is just to get the car rolling. I plan on working on this car for a while, and will tackle 1 thing at a time. Tomorrow, the car goes back up on jackstands to replace the bushings, ball joints, tie rods and such that Sierra was talking about. I built all my own mouts, modified C5 manifolds and researched for days before I bought each part, but I have to be extremely budget minded with 3 kids.

And when I say I research for good deals I mean it, my costs of 6k include buying the 97 240sx and even tagging. But I did find my Kouki for $400.

 

oh, also don't listen to sierrac3_s2000 that guy is freaking insane. His car is so sick it should be illiegal.

 

You can do it cheaper using other stuff than the Sikky stuff, but that stuff is good. You need to double your cost for sure. You can use the stock driveshaft with hybrid U-joints. Mine dynos 400/380 and stock driveshaft is holding up fine. You dont have to touch the brakes, but then again it depends on what you are using it for. For drag racing the stock brakes are fine. Also they are fine for the daily drive. But you seem on the right track.

 

Yes driveshaft you can use the F-body or GTO D/S and just use the U-joint Hybrid, or if your like me my car didnt come with a stock 240sx DS so I had to buy the Spicer Nissan Flange and it uses i believe regulat 1350 u-joints.