I would say Budge range avg is like $1500 - $2000 and that is usally cutting corner and using alot of old parts.

Most Swap are like $2500-$5000, with better swap parts and newer accessiors and parts as neeedd (Fuel pumps, Lines, wiring, etc).

With new engines, more Performance mod's and Shinny Blink stuff. start with $5000+ and it goes too ????

But that all depends on what you start wtih. The budge one are usually are 4.8 or 5.3 for line $500+ for the pull outs.. and only adding what you have to.

Other pull outs, 6.0L (LQ4/9) usually go from $800 to $2000, Aluminun 5.3 (L33) or 5.7 (LS1/6) $1500 - $2500, and the newer 6.0 and 6.2.. well. it just goes up from there !

 

For a mostly stock LQ4 swap, with a hotcam, zo6 springs, hooker long tubes, and T56 with a monster stage 3 Im looking at ~ $4k. Though I didn't sell the old engine/trans, I gave it to my dad.

If I did it again I could probably do a 5.3L/auto swap for less than 2k.

 

You said your goal was to spend > $2500. That means.. Oh well, nevermind!

 

I got killed by stuff like hardware (hidden costs) and shiny things (autometer gauges). I have an embarrassing $7k into mine.

I think that the single biggest thing I could have done to keep cost down would be to not be in a hurry. Taking time to collect parts on the cheap (ebay, swap meets, etc) would have helped me a lot.

 

Your cost for just about any swap can be calculated pretty easy. Just take the initial cost of the motor and then add up all the small things you need to install it. Now double that number. If you are paying someone else, double that estimate and add that too. Now don't forget the other incidentals like divorce lawyers and child support, etc. But following those simple rules should get you close...

 

i've found in any project i've done, they've landed in the 7 to 10k range. that includes the car. if you stay away from the crazy expensive body styles and stay in the g body, s-10s and so on its fairly easy to do.

 

OH. haha. HUGE fail on my part

 

I'm right at $1500 for a stock 5.3L, with an LS1 intake and stock truck accessories, including an aftermarket harness.

Still need to buy fuel parts, and get the ECM tuned.

 

For my LS3/6L80 swap into a 65 Malibu, I was really hoping to keep under 10k, but its going to end up closer to 12k then I would like. My ‘I am only going to do this once’ attitude has made this much more expensive than when I first hatched the idea. Which was originally going to be an LS1. Damn my hunger for more power!

 

you'll have more than that in it before your done
Fuel system, regulator, fittings, headers, guages.

 

Oh yeah for sure! $4k is where I'm at now, roughly. I'm hoping that with another $3k to $4k this thing will be a reliable driver. That would cover fuel system, gauges, brake system, and rear suspension upgrades, and some interior things like repairing the small holes on the floor pans and paint with por-15, carpet and insulation. Wow, its still a lot of work, but hopefully it works out.

 

What brakes and what suspension? I have about 14K in my swap not including brakes or suspension. I used a new LY6 crate motor, but that was only $2500. Built 4l80E trans $1500. torque converter $400. Harness $575. Ecu and TCU $575. Fuel tank $450 Intake $350 fbody conversion(alternator water pump powersteering idler and pullies/brackets $900. Regulator $95 driveshaft $125. fittings(various)$150 Headers $575 plates $70 Trans mount mod $125. Exhaust mod $300 Cam $300 LS2 timing chain and cover 150 valve springs $100 ctsv oil pan $125.
So you see its the small things that nickel and dime you to death. In retrospect I should have went with a used pullout rather than going with everything new. I MAYBE could have saved 40-50% who knows but I would say at least in the neighborhood of 8k(deending on which motor and mods you plan to do) unless you are very mechnically inclined and have plenty of time and tools.
Good luck with whatever you decide

 

Well, I really want the c6 brake setup from kore and keep the rears as a drum setup, but I may just do a stock replacement for the whole front and rear brakes for now. The same goes for the rear suspension, maybe just lower it. Headers I can use whats on the motor right now(pacesetters) or I can use the stock manifolds that I took out of my WS6. Plus I can sell the k member that the motor is on right now, it has from wheel to wheel(brakes, springs, shocks, sway bar etc.) and make some money off of that. I will be saving quite a bit of money by doing all the work myself and maybe just get an aftermarket harness and sell the one I've got. Paint will stay the same for now since its not bad, not great, but better than a lot of most 30 year old cars.

The good stuff will have to wait, plans for it are adjustable upper control arms from spc and lower control arms from them as well, big brake set up front and rear, better coil overs, bigger sway bars, sub frame connectors, and torque arm suspension from BMR. After that, IDK, but we will see as these type of cars are never done. This will take some time, but I plan on keeping the car for as long as I can.

 

Engine (2004 LQ9): $1150
Intake:$275
Carb: $150
Carb Kit: $45
Fuel Regulator: $65
Fuel Pump: $150
Headers: $500
Motor mount adapters: $60
Motor Mounts: $30
Frame stands: $35
Steel Fuel Lines: $30
Cam: $285
Valve Springs: $130
Timing Chain: $100
Corvette Accessory Drive system: $300
Belts: $40 ?
Hoses: $30 ?
Soft Fuel Line: $10
Mast Oil Pan: $500 ?
clamps, fluids, paint & misc. $200 ?

$4085

I suspect if people really did an accurate accounting, they would find they spent more than they thought.

 

car: $400
motor, tranny, cooling fans, radiator, leathers seats, harness, pcm, and a lot of other crap: $2000
steering rebuild kit: $350
qa1's, por-15, and 1 gallon metal ready: $380, IDK what happened ther, should have been more.
control arm bushings, body mounts, ls1 block plates:$250

If my brain is working correctly, $3380.

 

You might want to check PTFB for all of your suspension needs. They have by far the trickiest stuff and most reasonable prices. They also do brake systems. Helpful too!

Pro-touring fbody(PTFB)

 

I bought my LQ4 for $500 and sold the 317 heads for $100, so I am only in it for $400
To be honest, I started to track money but realized that I really didn't want to know what the final cost was going to be. I save money on used parts when it makes sense, I do my own work, and I pay as I go. On the other hand progress is slow, and my quality doesn't hold a candle to Nelson or Trepanier. But I am OK with that. I know my twin turbo 408 will top 10K before all is said and done...

 

Interesting thread, I see a lot of budget builds in here for cheap, I don't know how you find the parts sometimes. I know this stuff is generally reliable, but how long will some of it really last. I get these motors are cheap in the jy, but man, it's an effort to pull it out, even if it's cheap.

But this looks to be the reasonable way of looking at it. If I was doing it, I'd go this route (as much new) for piece of mind.

 

My CARB LSX swap was a little over 5k the first time... but I had to farm out some labor custom mount and mod to set motor in the chasis. Second time... no labor costs but the new motor was a chunk of change! 418 LSX !! and TH400

 

~$7,745 and counting, probably $8-8.5k when complete. But, that's not motor alone.

My spend detail is quite high for my project. The car is will be a fair-weather daily driver- not a race car. Lowest possible cost was not my goal, nor did I want a hacked-up finish. Had I loosened my constraints I could have saved a few bucks, but I wanted:

• no-cut installation
• retain factory gauges
• Air conditioning
• maximum use of OEM parts
• emphasis on safety and reliability
• no investment of go-fast parts
• purchase 'guaranteed good' donor engine from reputable seller
• minimize parts scrounging

So, for my '84 Monte SS with '01 5.7L LS1/4L60e swap I bought:

$3200 LS1/4L60e drop out (radiator to driveshaft) from Cleveland Pick-A-Part
$375? RetroLSX Oil Pan
$200 Kwik AC bracket
$175 Sanden AC pump
$25 drive belt
$500 BRP mid-length conversion headers
$75 Spohn motor mounts
$20 OEM radiator nipple mod
$20 Cutlass radiator bracket
$60 misc Silicone Intakes hardware
$400 Shiftworks tail housing
$120 trans x-member (used)
$300 Borgeson steering shaft
$320 custom drive shaft
$325 Wait4Me harness mod and ECU flash
$500 electrical fabrication
$250 Buick GN fuel tank, pump, sender
$40 'vette filter/regulator
$150 fuel lines and fittings
$50 upper and lower radiator hoses
$50 misc fluids, filters, etc
$20 for '84 coolant temp sensor (got it machine for free! lol)
$50 trans lines to cooler (re-used cooler)
$90 Current Performance fuse box
$150 mufflers
$150 battery
$130 for F-body shifter asy (used) and shift cable (new)

Last big-ticket item is exhaust system fabrication. I have a couple minor brackets to build but material cost is free. Except for the electrical bits I did all the swap work myself. I'm almost home-free. The car is alive, so at least my build spending is almost finished. . . until that itch for go-fast parts really kicks in.