this is to jjlt1 how much cash am i looking at on doing the lt1 swap and wut should i do about stroking the lt1 need some suggestions i really want to be fuel injected this summer and this will b my daily driver soon depending on the cash it takes:poke:

welcome S:texas:
that all depends on how many of the parts you got with the motor/trans/harness/ecm or the whole doner car??
and how much of it you do yourself or hire out,,and how far you want to go with the swap..

with 66k miles,,id just put it in and run it first,,get all the bugs out,,then plan my build..
if you want to be driving this summer?
what year is it?? run the numbers on the block,,just to be sure..

how much cash am i looking ...... lt1 swap :poke:

Last year I finished swapping a V6 - 3 speed manual tranny for a "built" 358 ci SBC with a 5 speed manual tranny.

If your going from a factory V8 to an LT1 with the same tranny type your "headaches" & "wallet headaches" will be less painful.

The V6 to V8 swap requires a lot more than one might think.... including me....HA!!! Both fab/mod-wise and money-wise.

Another factor is the "add-on" stuff that always happens with any hot rod project. The "add-ons" can "add-up". Sometimes MORE $$$ than the money it takes for just the swap.

So my advice is once you come up with a dollar amount that you think it will take to do the swap ..... EXPECT to spend even more!!!! In some cases MUCH MORE!!!!

My swap took TWICE as much $$$ than I figured. In fact there is still some add-on loose-ends to do associated with the swap.

Such is the ways of a "hot rodder"!!!! :smileyb::smileyb:

Larry, I have a spreadsheet that details what I had to put into doing my TPI swap. While it is apples and oranges, it should give you a good starting point to plan what you need, and what it might cost. Send me a PM with your email and I'll forward it to you.

thanks fam im workin with about 4500 bucks and alot of paint work so its the best time of year for me to build a car and swap some work ive been searching the members list for elky owners here in shreveport la wish i wus already running to be amazed in belton and again thanks !:You_Rock:

By the time the smoke had cleared and all the parts were paid for and all the shop labor taken care of I had a bit more than 4k in my swap, not counting on the cost of the motor and trans.

By the time the smoke had cleared and all the parts were paid for and all the shop labor taken care of I had a bit more than 4k in my swap, not counting on the cost of the motor and trans.

It ADDS-UP in a hurry!!!! Like I mentioned before there is a lot more things that have to be done when swapping a V6 to a V8 than I planned on.

i'm thinkin we had about $5k in our swap including the motor/trans.

one of the most expensive parts was having the wiring harness prepped. however, it was worth EVERY penny as everything was perfect.

we added a cam and replaced basically every gasket/seal on the engine except what was on the long block. a friend of mine swapped an lt1 into an 80 malibu wagon for less than $1,500 including the engine/trans. just depends on what you want.

the elcos are very receptive to the swap. you can most likely reuse all of your exhaust and there is tons of room in the engine bay. does your donor engine/trans function properly at this point?

If you want EFI why not get a kit for SBC? Is there a huge difference with LT1? I was considering doing an SBC swap instead for it's simplicity compared to a different generation.

It ADDS-UP in a hurry!!!! Like I mentioned before there is a lot more things that have to be done when swapping a V6 to a V8 than I planned on.

Your right it does, even a simple 305 to 350 swap can cost a decent amount.... Off the top of my head I've prob got over $9,000 in my big block 4 speed swap, and that was all my own work and building the engine. Only farming out machine work

Don't get me wrong.... I REALLY DO enjoy working on cars. Been doing it all my life. But with the economy and the over abundance of completed & project cars for sale it is almost impossible to build a hot rod, custom or restore a car for less than you can buy one - turn-key!

For the money I have invested so far just doing the engine & tranny swap in addition to purchasing the El Camino I could have bought one completely done.

There is a great amount satisfaction designing, chasing down all the parts & "fixing up" a car. But "dollar to dollar" it's a lot cheaper to buy one completed.

There is hardly any car (there are a few) at Barrett Jackson or Mecum that sells for what the owner/builder has invested. A sad commentary about the times we are living in.

In addition to builder-satisfaction the other advantage of building your own car instead of purchasing one that is already done is the expense of building a car can be spread out over a longer period of time. Whereas buying a completed requires the buyer to have ALL the money upfront.

There is hardly any car (there are a few) at Barrett Jackson or Mecum that sells for what the owner/builder has invested. A sad commentary about the times we are living in.i wouldn't agree that this reflects the condition of the car market. any vehicle worth it's weight in salt will have 2x invested in it than what it can be sold for. 50 cents on the dollar is what one should expect in return when selling a vehicle they have highly modified, especially anything performance oriented.

i've always spent money on cars and lost my ass when i sold them. dwelling on it does no good as it will never change. it's the nature of the lifestyle. this is not a hobby, it is a lifestyle...one that my wife is very slowly getting acquainted with hahaha.