Hello,
i need help choosing my first car. Im gonna get my license after 4 months. I got a choice between a 2002 chevy Lumina with a 3800 v6 or a 93 prelude. Both are pretty beat up and need work. I was thinking about LS1 swapping the lumina and getting a junkyard manual. I know about LS�s cause ive been helping my uncle swap a procharged 416 LS3 in his 72 GTO, but i dont have much experience with my hands. Ive been fixing the lumina and replacing a lot of stuff like the fuel pump and such. Would it be hard swapping and LS1 and a manual making 450-500 whp? I wouldnt be doing it alone, my uncle will help and ill be saving some money for help and such. Thanks. (Its a middle east verison Lumina, so i think its basically rebadged holden commodore and is rear wheel drive)

 

You would have to convert the Lumina to rear drive, and that is a LOT of work. Basically re-engineering the whole car. Better to get a rear drive car and swap it.

 

You may be helping with an ls swap, but check those receipts before you commit to such an expense on your first, cheap car. It's not cheap. Save that money and buy a proper first car. Or do the responsible thing and save the money for a few years while you beat up a cheap car learning.

 

Both of those cars are front wheel drive. You'll be limited to an LS4 swap.

 

The lumina isnt front wheel drive though,
i think its a rebadged holden commodore. Im not from the US, Im from Kuwait If that makes a difference.

 

the lumina is rear wheel drive. I could get a junkyard ls1 for $2000 or a much cheaper 5.3 from the junkyard , but i dont know about the diff and manual tranny. I wont even bother with 4l60e already on the lumina. I really just wanna fun project to start with. Its either that or a get a kia or something for at least 5 years.

 

The Australian manufactured Lumina was basically a rebadged Commodore and was rear wheel drive. It would actually be a decent candidate.

 

im gonna be posting some engine bay pics soon. My main concern is if there is extensive fab work.

 

There will be extensive fab work. And, it's going to take a lot of time- months and months. Meaning that you won't be able drive it while working on it. If you start on it now, and work really hard, you might have it done by the time you get your driver's license. But these kinds of projects always seem to take a lot more time than you plan on. And then what will you have? A modified car that will be worth 40-50% of what you have in it.

My advice is to buy either one of those that seem to be most reliable. Then buy a project car more to your liking; preferably one that already has a V8 installed.

 

Was the Aussie Lumina ever equipped with a V8? If not, you have a lot of work in front of you unless you routinely do this sort of work.

 

yeah there were v8s and v6s, but i unfortunately got the v6 automatic one.

 

i can have either one of the cars for free. But both need work. The prelude has been still for 7 years and the lumina has been still for 5 years and needs a new fuel pump. I was leaning more towards the lumina because LS�s are common here than japanese stuff.

 

I'd buy something cheap and reliable and get yourself a rwd v8 later and not stress over the labor and costs involved in shining up a turd. Too much work and money for a beat up v6.

 

why not get both? get the prelude running as cheap as possible first to have as your daily driver. then start swapping the lumina, since some of those came with Ls's from the factory I wouldnt think it would be very hard.

 

The Aussie Commodore/ Lumina was a factory V8. It's basically the 4 door version of the GTO/ Monaro in the earlier models or equivalent to the G8/ Chev SS in the later models. As you can imagine from a factory car, it's a fairly simple swap from V6 to V8. Not worth it in Australia though, you just buy/ trade up to the V8 version here. The price difference isn't worth the swap. I would have thought the same over there. Even as a project it will always be a V6 swap car so have less value.