How much should a v8 swap cost?

[Street-racer]

Tomorrow I am getting a quote, the guy has to buy engine and tranny and rest is pretty much labor he said. How much do you guys think is reasonable to pay for a v8 swap?

[DowmaceWH99]

the labor is going to cost quite a bit, seeing as the car is probably going to be converted ot rear wheel, and with the unibody it's kind of um odd

[4kQuad]

Swap in what the GA?

if yes it will cost LOTS.
Labor will eat your wallet. Yes it may drop in, but the eletrical system will need a lot of changing. Mounts may need changing.

:penny:

[Lost My Keys]

good luck. the V8 swap will cost more than 2 Brand New Grand Am's

[wiccanferret]

Why would you want to do that? Why not buy a lighter car that doesn't run to ruin?

[VanishingImage]

i think lots is an understatement. AED dropped a LS1 engine I believe,fully blown LS1 and had to redo the chasis to make the RWD work.they said it ran them a total of 100,000 for everything.Now they prolly did a lot more work then whats needed to just do the swap but your still looking over 60K in costs.You could cut that down if you research some on how to do it and do it yourself but I know most people don't have the right equipment to do this.

[voyager]

what V8 are you talking about? RWD or FWD?



why is it i doubt this is going to really happen?

[AznGA]

Yeap, AED V8 Grand AM. It's possible and it has been done, but it will cost money. But once it's done, it will be hell of a street machine.

[SonicTron]

Northstar FWD !

[Street-racer]

i was thinking somewhere between 6 and 8 grand not sure yet.


(you guys got to understand noone is going to do a v8 swap for 60,000 i can buy a corvette and modify it for that much)

[Colin]

Originally posted by voyager
why is it i doubt this is going to really happen? :agree:

[BBT]

Originally posted by Street-racer
i was thinking somewhere between 6 and 8 grand not sure yet.


:roflmfao: You're kidding right? Yeah, you MIGHT be able to jam a small V8 in there, but for that price, I would be wondering about all the other stuff that wasn't looked at. Like strengthen the frame, upgrading the suspension (added weight of V8 & drivetrain), upgrading the brakes, and so on.

Originally posted by Street-racer

(you guys got to understand noone is going to do a v8 swap for 60,000 i can buy a corvette and modify it for that much)

Yes, yes you can buy a Corvette for that much. But then you have a Corvette. Lots of them around. But a killer V8 sleeper GA.......how many of those?

Personally, I think you are dreaming if think you can get a viable V8 swap into a GA for 6 to 8 thousand buckazoids. All I can say is good luck.

[voyager]

why don't you try putting your GA's body on some RWD V8 powered car/truck's frame? like get an s10 and stick your car's body on it? i think that would be more efficient.

[Old Guy]

Originally posted by Street-racer
i was thinking somewhere between 6 and 8 grand not sure yet.

:roflmfao: Here we go again!!! You are a glutton for punishment!

[TA^Guy]

I'll sell you a strong running '83 Camaro Z28.
The car is totalled but it has a healthy SBC, with a T5 manual tranny and a limited slip differental (2.73:1) with alluminum drums.

Perfect donor car. $500 takes it.

[Street-racer]

Originally posted by Old Guy
:roflmfao: Here we go again!!! You are a glutton for punishment!

you people have issues. i swear sometimes makes me not wanna post here.

[DowmaceWH99]

John if you weren't a billion miles away from me I'd probably buy that from you!

[Colin]

:bsmeter: Speaking of issues : So you get the engine and trans . NOW , Go out to your car and open the hood , look at the firewall , the foorpan , the front steering , cross member , suspension , linkages , and tell me how the V8 is gonna go in without modifying all of it big time . Now go to the back and look at the floor pan and let me know where the rear clip is going to mount the narrowed rear end housing and links / springs / shocks . Don't forget the tubs and driveshaft tunnel for the custom drive shaft . Upgraded Brake system . Now how about the entire exhaust system , gee no room for that under a GA . Cooling system , wiring harness / ECM / BCM , fuel system , ALL guages , etc . Yep should be a snap .....

[Old Guy]

Originally posted by Street-racer
you people have issues. i swear sometimes makes me not wanna post here.

I apologize for offending you, it's just that the question has come up so many times.

To honestly answer your question, I would say that the swap would probably run somewhere around $20K or more, if you're doing most of the labor yourself. First off if you look at just the underbody alone there isn't much room for a tranny and driveshaft. You'd need suspension alterations, and not only that, just trying to bring the shifter up where you need it will be a major pain. The computer alone will cost you mega-bucks. From what I can tell you probably can't do the labor yourself so it could be as high as $50K...maybe more. That's why your "6 to 8 grand" has been striking people funny.

Dropping $30 to $40K into a $20K car just doesn't make any sense. When you're done you have a car that's totally unique, but in reality, it's just a novelty that probably won' be worth what a stock GA of the same year is.

If you really want to learn, why not start modding the 3400 that you already have????

Keep asking the questions, but maybe do a search first and see if it's been covered before.

[95-GT]

Ok guys, time for me to chime in.

My buddy has a late 70's, high 9 second all motor camaro. Has a 500 CI motor packed into it. He was talking to me about converting my car into RWD. He said that it can be done for VERY cheap. What it really comes down to is, how much work can you do yourself? If you can do all the custom fabrication with sheet metal, suspension, mounts and more, then it should be a snap and pretty cheap (under $10,000). If your going to have a shop do it, your better off just buying a gun and shooting yourself because its quicker, less on the wallet, and better off for the economy.

[matts]

if you had the time, money, and enough knowledge to do it you MIGHT be able to do it for $10G. i dont think 10G would cover all the parts you would need. then you'd have to figure in your time and equipment of tackling such a project.

anything is possible with the right funding, but at what point does it become pointless?

let's say you build a magical V8 GA, pull out on the street and total it........you know how much money your insurance company is going to give you for all that??? :lol: the value of your car by blue book.......unless you go insure the car for them to cover everything.....which would cost you bunches upon bunches of money everymonth.

street racer, nothing personal, but stick to the 3400 you got and just write the V8 swap off as a dream. and i say that in the nicest way :)

[SikMindz]

Seriously. Have you seen the stuff phantom505 has been working on? HP Turbo kit, fortified tranny and the LSD? Shit...with some tuning you should be able to walk some V8's with your 3.4L.

[VanishingImage]

and think about this......With the money you would be spending on trying to swap in a v8 and all the other parts,which is well over 5K,you could make the 3400 engine you have VERY powerfull.Just take the money you were gonna spend on the v8 swap and put it into the engine you already have.Have it port and polished,get bigger pistons,headers,and just anything that would add power,by the time you got that done you have free time and prolly will end up saving some money.

[4kQuad]

Man I had to Laugh when I saw the Old Guys responce.

Sorry you took offience to it, but maybe in 4 to 6 years you will look back and understand what he was saying.

Take this as you wish... but I'm not trying to ding you, I have lived long enough to understand what he really ment.

[95-GT]

Are you saying that to me?

But I think even if you make a 11 second grand am, for the money put into it, its not worth it IMO.

Car: Approx $12,000
DP Tranny: $3000
HPP Turbo: $3000
Built motor: Approx $2500 including machine work.

Thats $20,500. For that price, I would rather have a 86-89 5.0 Mustang, already forged bottom end from the factory, twin turbo running 9's and be street/daily driven. For my turbo kit, I am spending no more then $3000. And thats for the heads, intakes, exhaust, turbo, toys, tuning, and transmission work. I should be running into the 12 second club, traction dependant.

[VanishingImage]

^:agree: I say just fix up what you got and take advantage of its potential.

[litdevil316]

oh my, why must there be people that want to try stuff like that and then try to make it seem that it would be so easy and cheap?

[RickHigginsHtbr]

Alright guys, the 20 to 50k range in price for labor is a little high... actually, very high. This kid I used to go to school with dropped a 350 in a '96 cavilier and converted it to RWD. He bought the engine, tranny, and drivetrain, and worked it up himself... including headers, 3.73 rear posi unit, and complete rebuild. Now those costs aside, the labor to get the engine in and the whole thing converted to RWD cost him in the $9 - 10K range.
But, the car was jacked up so high so nothing would hit the ground, and was so freaking loud, that his car wasn't exactly a sleeper. It was atleast 6" off the ground in the front, and 8" in the rear. He could of lowered the rear, but it was still sittin really high. That car was a beast til he totalled it.

[Street-racer]

Originally posted by SikMindz
Seriously. Have you seen the stuff phantom505 has been working on? HP Turbo kit, fortified tranny and the LSD? Shit...with some tuning you should be able to walk some V8's with your 3.4L.

no actually I have not, got link?

[Old Guy]

Originally posted by xxkewlguyxx
Alright guys, the 20 to 50k range in price for labor is a little high... actually, very high. This kid I used to go to school with dropped a 350 in a '96 cavilier and converted it to RWD. He bought the engine, tranny, and drivetrain, and worked it up himself... including headers, 3.73 rear posi unit, and complete rebuild. Now those costs aside, the labor to get the engine in and the whole thing converted to RWD cost him in the $9 - 10K range.
But, the car was jacked up so high so nothing would hit the ground, and was so freaking loud, that his car wasn't exactly a sleeper. It was atleast 6" off the ground in the front, and 8" in the rear. He could of lowered the rear, but it was still sittin really high. That car was a beast til he totalled it.

Sure you can do it for 10K, and you end up with exactly what you described. To do it the right way I don't think the 20 - 50K range is high at all.

[litdevil316]

basicly your gonna spend alot of money, and alot of time. i'd just say do what 95-gt did, throw a bigger v6 into it and work from there. you probly could even toss in a GTP 3800 v6 if ya wanted.

[95-GT]

But what if you want a grand am like this

[litdevil316]

Originally posted by 95-GT
But what if you want a grand am like this

way cool. but thats no sleeper. big slicks and wheelie bar shows off too much.

[Xidion]

Well when i got back from wyoming i was going to drop in the small block 305 we took out of the camaro because we are putting in a 383 in it. I dont know about doing that any more though would be to much money when you can just go and buy another car.

[SikMindz]

Originally posted by Street-racer
no actually I have not, got link?

Tranny and LSD stuff:

http://www.grandamgt.com/forum/showthread.php?t=35713

HP turbo:

http://www.turbochargedpower.com/Pontiac%20Grand%20Am.htm

[Street-racer]

Sik that tranny link you posted... is that an auto tranny or 5 spd?

and that turbo kit looks kind of cool for the price. Has anyone before installed it and had good results? Or did it blow a few engines out?

[BBT]

Originally posted by 95-GT
But what if you want a grand am like this

Oh a trailer queen. Even MORE $ i'd bet.

Now you're talking about cutting, tubbing and so on. Not really the same car anymore. Not far removed from being a funny car at that point.

[SikMindz]

Originally posted by Street-racer
Sik that tranny link you posted... is that an auto tranny or 5 spd?

and that turbo kit looks kind of cool for the price. Has anyone before installed it and had good results? Or did it blow a few engines out?

Umm...read the threads and do a search. There are multiple threads about everything. ;)

[95-GT]

I'm not using any of that stuff tho. lol

[03xGAxSE]

Originally posted by litdevil316
oh my, why must there be people that want to try stuff like that and then try to make it seem that it would be so easy and cheap?

MONSTER GARAGE... you know the show where they dump a shit load of money and have PRO fabricators/ experts in the field doing crazy things to normal cars... then the 14 year old watching say hey, my mom has a celica all i need to do is find a jet engine and i too can have a 200+ celica.... actually im gonna call jessie james (old buddy from tha hood) and have him put a 502 in my GA and maby that doughnut maker... im hungry...

[03xGAxSE]

Originally posted by voyager
why don't you try putting your GA's body on some RWD V8 powered car/truck's frame? like get an s10 and stick your car's body on it? i think that would be more efficient.

good idea but the GA is a unibody (frame and body are one and the same) so you would have to mount the frame to the bottom of the floor pan... it would sit a foot higher and you would still have linkage, and engine wiring problems, but it took care of all the mounting of the drivetrain.... if you wanna do a similar project just get a s10 drop a v8 a body kit some suspension mods and it would be a pretty nice fun ride and tons cheaper than a v8 GA

[TA^Guy]

Originally posted by 03xGAxSE
good idea but the GA is a unibody (frame and body are one and the same) so you would have to mount the frame to the bottom of the floor pan... it would sit a foot higher and you would still have linkage, and engine wiring problems, but it took care of all the mounting of the drivetrain.... if you wanna do a similar project just get a s10 drop a v8 a body kit some suspension mods and it would be a pretty nice fun ride and tons cheaper than a v8 GA
If it was done correctly you wouldn't jsut be bolting the unibody floor to the frame, you would use the frame in sections (sub-frame) and weld then together with frame conncetors to make it near the stock ride height.

That or you could cut the actually body away from the vehicle and use just the shell on a full framed vehicle chassis and do a body drop around it.

[XenoWolf]

Want a big block, blown, rwd V8 Grand Am?

http://www.nhra.com/2004/events/race09/photos/friday/Photo4.jpg

Enjoy.

[95-GT]

We can argue back and forth on this, but it comes down to simple answers:

1) How much fabications can you do?
2) What kind of resources for parts do you have? Motor, trans, and electrical already? Then your set on that part.
3) What knowledge do you have?

If you have all 3, then it should be fairly simple, and overall pretty cheap.

[litdevil316]

lol, Monster Garage is a bad ass show. but they have everything they need. like Jessie james' own metal fab shop. if i had that all and a whole team, i'd be set to do a 572cid GA

[BBT]

If I had Monster Garage do my car I'd have the BBQ roll out the back, and the beer tap out one of the rear doors.

Plus the big ass motor and so on.

[litdevil316]

i'd have mine armed and armored and sent over here to Iraq. lol. put a .50 cal on the roof. lmao :shoot2:

[camaros01]

Originally posted by TA^Guy
I'll sell you a strong running '83 Camaro Z28.
The car is totalled but it has a healthy SBC, with a T5 manual tranny and a limited slip differental (2.73:1) with alluminum drums.

Perfect donor car. $500 takes it.

ill take the tranny:D :D

[matts]

for $500 you can have not only the tranny, but the rest of the car to go around it. :D you can't beat that deal with a 10ft. stick

[95-GT]

No, but what about beating the the car with a 10 foot stick?

[Street-racer]

dude can you tell me what works in it and what state are you in? I'd be so interested... does its engine work and can it go into a grand am?

[Colin]

Somebody please LOCK this thread . :roll2:

[BBT]

Originally posted by Street-racer
Tomorrow I am getting a quote, the guy has to buy engine and tranny and rest is pretty much labor he said. How much do you guys think is reasonable to pay for a v8 swap?

That was May 28. I'm curious. Did you get your swap quote? How much was it?

[Old Guy]

Originally posted by Colin
Somebody please LOCK this thread . :roll2:

:lol: I'm watching it.......so far it hasn't gotten out of hand.

[Colin]

Originally posted by Old Guy
:lol: I'm watching it.......so far it hasn't gotten out of hand. Yeah i know , but you'd think a person would take a hint and not to ask the same question at the end of the thread . :banghead:

[Street-racer]

Originally posted by BBT
That was May 28. I'm curious. Did you get your swap quote? How much was it?

Not yet actually. He did not call me. So I guess I will call him back from work and see what he says.

[litdevil316]

lmao. how old are you kid? and what kinda job you running? you'd need some good cashflow to pull it off.

[Street-racer]

I called them today. They said LS1 will not fit, but they are thinking about a cadillac engine and they will get back to me when they find out the price and stuff.

They can supercharge my car for 7 grand they said (parts included).

[SikMindz]

Originally posted by Street-racer
They can supercharge my car for 7 grand they said (parts included).


Seriously man- the thought you modding this car scares me. 2 things- of course the LS1 wouldn't fit. That's a known fact w/o some heavy modification. A Caddy Northstar would be a tight fit but with some ingenuity it will fit- they got one into an Alero, it can be put into a GA.

Like I said, do some research! If you seriously don't find anything wrong with getting charged 7G's for an SC you absolutely should not be putting one on your car!

[Street-racer]

that sounds like too much to me too. I never said it was ok, thats why I did not supercharge it yet. I might just go with that hp turbo kit there is for grand am's you posted above.

[swordfencer]

Adding to Sik's comments, you live in California with SMOG rules. If you do a swap or anything along those lines, good luck trying to get it smogged. Like one person already mentioned, if you wreck it, insurance will not cover your mods and if it is not registered, you just lost a ton of money.

Unless you know a smog shop that will do whatever it takes to pass it for you, it will be pretty much an unregsitered track car without insurance.

[TA^Guy]

Originally posted by camaros01
ill take the tranny:D :D
I have someone else inquiring about it but if it doesn't go though...
$200 and you pulll it and its yours.
IIRC the previous owner said it had a Centerforce Clutch but I personally can not varify that.

[litdevil316]

7 grand for a superchager for a LS1? rksport sells one that will bolt right to the top of the ls1/ls6 for like 4k or so. and its a complete kit