Engine Swap Cost

[stevegolf]

I think the problem is your original post was too vague to get a good answer. A classic car could be pretty much anything, and there are thousands of different crate engines. So the correct answer could be anywhere between $400 and $40,000 which isn't very helpful. So everyone else proceeded to be not very helpful. Don't get all prosecuted on us, there are some knowledgeable people on here, you just have to give us something to work with.

[das internet]

stevegolf, is it not clear that there is a huge picture of a '69 bel-air in the OP followed by a large picture of a small block chevy. how much clearer could it be? why would anyone think, just because I said "classic car," right above the 722x396 picture of the car, that it would be anything but a 60s GM or similar? it is not my fault that users on this forum cannot read into the context. face it, the battlerabbits of the world are lurking here every night waiting for a chance to post pictures of jay-z, the uberhares want to tell everyone they're 6'8, the other guy talks about global warming all the time, whathisface defends the GM bailout, that's what it's all about to them. there is nothing more to be said, this has ceased to be a car forum and has become merely a hangout for mook know-it-all/know-nothing keyboard warriors and middle aged political junkies.

[The Kilted Yaksman]

stevegolf, is it not clear that there is a huge picture of a '69 bel-air in the OP followed by a large picture of a small block chevy. how much clearer could it be? why would anyone think, just because I said "classic car," right above the 722x396 picture of the car, that it would be anything but a 60s GM or similar? it is not my fault that users on this forum cannot read into the context. face it, the battlerabbits of the world are lurking here every night waiting for a chance to post pictures of jay-z, the uberhares want to tell everyone they're 6'8, the other guy talks about global warming all the time, whathisface defends the GM bailout, that's what it's all about to them. there is nothing more to be said, this has ceased to be a car forum and has become merely a hangout for mook know-it-all/know-nothing keyboard warriors and middle aged political junkies.

So, "das internet" is a sock puppet for which douchebag regular user?

[das internet]

So, "das internet" is a sock puppet for which douchebag regular user?

you don't have to be a regular to see an uberhare 6'8 thread. you can't blink without seeing one.

http://forums.turbonines.com/showthr...6-8-quot-tall&

http://forums.speedarena.com/showthread.php?4528082

http://forums.motivemag.com/showthre...?4651629/page2

http://forums.mwerks.com/showthread....Mille-thoughts

http://forums.turbonines.com/showthr...ved&p=73999320

http://forums.kilometermagazine.com/...715&viewfull=1

http://forums.speedarena.com/showthread.php?3792523

you spend maybe a few days lurking and you see all of the things i mentioned several times over. there's a lot of repetition so you'd don't have to dig very deep to notice.

[Deezy]

If you have to pay a shop to put a small block Chevy into a Chevy car.

Stop. Just stop.

simple swap. Just show up in short shorts and wear lip stick.

[Chris_V]

I hear that, roadtripper. Last night, I had come to the conclusion that posting on car message boards and having helpful or useful automotive knowledge were mutually exclusive.

Acrtaully most knowledgeable people on most automotive forums will want more information before giving out an accurate, knowledgeable response. Sorry, but you're initial post was rather vague.

I put a nearly 400 hp Ford V8 in to a Mazda RX7 succesfully for under $2500 including cost of the engine. Could that be duplicated at a shop? Not for that sort of money. BUT, a straight swap like a Chevy crate motor into a car that came with that family of engines, stock, would be rather cheap. I did a crate 350 into a Corvette that came with a small block already for a couple hundred bucks on top of the engine cost. Ask for a different engine family than stock, or a different BRAND of engine than stock and it can go from dirt cheap to "the sky is the limit." THAT'S why you got the responses you did. Because without knowing WHAT you want to swap, a "ballpark" figure could be anywhere from $2k to $20k to have a shop do the work. And anywhere from damn near free to $10k+ to DIY.

[Chris_V]

stevegolf, is it not clear that there is a huge picture of a '69 bel-air in the OP followed by a large picture of a small block chevy. how much clearer could it be?

Because your WORDING implied "something similar to this era car and something somilar to this kind of engine"

And that leaves a HUGE range of variables. The fact that you are upset about this shows you don't KNOW the variables involved and are pissed that we DO know that there are too many variables to give you a pat answer.

So for your initial post, it could be free, and it could be $10k. Depends on those variables.

[UrlorJkron]

You could spend 10K on a crate engine alone.

[Unkabart]

This is just a personal observation, but you might consider spending the money you are currently budgeting for an engine swap, for some couch-time to help you get over your obsession with Uberhare's vertical dimension. And you probably might want to further discuss you inability to deal with mild, light-hearted sarcasm in responses to vaguely posed questions, especially when you've spent more than 6 months lurking and reading the forum where this occurs.

Usually, when a poster posts some item of personal information, s/he believes it has some relevance to the post, such as whether the poster can fit in a particular vehicle with comfort. I did check your first reference to UH's posting in a different thread, the one where you posted the same list of URLs for us to check about his posts, but what I concluded from that was you are pretty close to internet stalking the guy. That's a mighty strange thing to get your shorts all knotted up over, and it that makes me wonder why?

I recognize that you might be a perfectly nice, normal guy and just are reacting to too much coffee, or to someone peeing on your Wheaties this morning, and if so, I suggest that you step back, do a brief self-assessment and shake the knots out of your panties and then drive on.

Or not. This is the internet, and all this is just electrons zipping around in cyberspace.

But you ought to think about it and choose option a or b. I'm not even suggesting that you tell us which choice you made, but I am suggesting that you make one of those choices.

[das internet]

simple swap. Just show up in short shorts and wear lip stick.

good post, i liked the part where you accused me of being a homosexual for prospectively considering one of several avenues available. if your parents saw this post they would probably remove you from their car insurance.

Because your WORDING implied "something similar to this era car and something somilar to this kind of engine"

And that leaves a HUGE range of variables. The fact that you are upset about this shows you don't KNOW the variables involved and are pissed that we DO know that there are too many variables to give you a pat answer.

So for your initial post, it could be free, and it could be $10k. Depends on those variables.

unless you have an over-analysis problem of OCD proportions, this is mere backwards rationalization of your innate desire to act disrespectfully and sanctimoniously within this community. people that bring actual knowledge to the table do not get pissy and holier-than-thou like this. they don't disparage others at the drop of a hat. you don't see vwlarry in here posting pictures of homicidal butterflies, you see chris_v and battlerabbit and protzel, that's not exactly a coincidence.

[Chris_V]

unless you have an over-analysis problem of OCD proportions, this is mere backwards rationalization of your innate desire to act disrespectfully and sanctimoniously within this community. people that bring actual knowledge to the table do not get pissy and holier-than-thou like this. they don't disparage others at the drop of a hat. you don't see vwlarry in here posting pictures of homicidal butterflies, you see chris_v and battlerabbit and protzel, that's not exactly a coincidence.

Hey buddy, **** off.

I even tried to show you the variables and how much it might be. You obviously have a stick the size of a California redwood up your ass. So again, **** off and die.

[rpmk4]

if you are reusing accessories, intake, carb, and exhaust stuff i can't imagine you would have over $500 in new engine mounts, misc gaskets and hardware, etc. should be pretty straight forward.

[B_artman]

Am not familiar with American cars, but for reference here are some thoughts based on my knowledge of classic minis.
- Honda vtec conversions make use of subframe kits,custom axles, wiring, suspensions etc. Costs easily exceed 10k for diy.
- 1275cc swaps: figure 900-5000 for engine core to a mild build. Easy weekend swap utilizing majority of existing components . Figure 30-50 bucks per hour for shop Labour.

Big factor will be the conditions of the auxiliary parts. Wiring, carb, intake and exhaust manifolds, alternator, starter, distributor, water pump, gearbox, etc etc all may require replacement or upgrade. The engine core could be a small budget line item once all said and done.

[Juiced6]

with what you picked out
malibu and 350 - easy

buy tools and a cherry picker and do it yourself.

[RacerrRex]

I'll do it for seven cherry gumballs and an awesome high-five.

Trust me. I can do it no problems. I watched that RB26 swap into a Mustang scene in Tokyo Drift at least 30 times.

SR20*

[bringtheshred]

.

Ban?

[Corbic]

Cost should be this -


$49.99

[Corbic]

Because your WORDING implied "something similar to this era car and something somilar to this kind of engine"

And that leaves a HUGE range of variables. The fact that you are upset about this shows you don't KNOW the variables involved and are pissed that we DO know that there are too many variables to give you a pat answer.

So for your initial post, it could be free, and it could be $10k. Depends on those variables.

Also shows he is not serious as he does not actually have a car to be swapped nor a crate motor in mind.

[Corbic]

Hey buddy, **** off.

I even tried to show you the variables and how much it might be. You obviously have a stick the size of a California redwood up your ass. So again, **** off and die.

If you read his posts he is clearly Roadtripper.

[Air-over-water]

Are you asking for the cost of just putting the motor in a vehicle or the total cost of motor and car?
As for putting it in the vehicle are you doing it yourself or paying highway robbery for a shop to install suck a simple motor?

[blkgtiberto]

I say let this guy just post to himself and disappear. There are enough things on here to stay interested without responding to someone who came to a VW/Audi forum and ask how much to swap a Chevy motor into an older Chevy.

[Green Panzer]

I say let this guy just post to himself and disappear. There are enough things on here to stay interested without responding to someone who came to a VW/Audi forum and ask how much to swap a Chevy motor into an older Chevy.

This, precisely.

-GP

[Broduski]

I say let this guy just post to himself and disappear. There are enough things on here to stay interested without responding to someone who came to a VW/Audi forum and ask how much to swap a Chevy motor into an older Chevy.

Not a VW forum. TCL is a general forum. He posted in the right area.

[blkgtiberto]

Ok so the fact that he had to click onto the VWVortex.com, then into the forums wouldn't have given him some idea? I know this is general car stuff but as he said himself, he went to another forum and got advice. I know for sure he would have gotten worse at any Honda forum, and likely the same response from many of the more "import" focused forums. After his first response he was just getting the biggest rise out of people here to get a rise in his own pants. Don't defend him just for the sake of it. He had a few serious responses and he chose to focus on the sarcastic ones and that tells me he didn't really care about his original post to begin with.

[das internet]

Are you asking for the cost of just putting the motor in a vehicle or the total cost of motor and car?
As for putting it in the vehicle are you doing it yourself or paying highway robbery for a shop to install suck a simple motor?

If the shop is fair, the "highway robbery" wouldn't be as bad on a simpler swap. By picking the brains of some of the more adult-like members, I can find what a fairer price would be. Again, if you just answer a question with a question, you probably wouldn't be bringing much to the table regardless. If I can potentially drop only, say, ~1 grand to have the job done professionally, why should I spend several weekends and $xxx on engine lift + misc. tools to do the job unprofessionally myself? Think of the opportunity cost - all the time I will miss posting on the internet with you and battlerabbit just to work on some car.

[BattleRabbit]

If the shop is fair, the "highway robbery" wouldn't be as bad on a simpler swap. By picking the brains of some of the more adult-like members, I can find what a fairer price would be. Again, if you just answer a question with a question, you probably wouldn't be bringing much to the table regardless. If I can potentially drop only, say, ~1 grand to have the job done professionally, why should I spend several weekends and $xxx on engine lift + misc. tools to do the job unprofessionally myself? Think of the opportunity cost - all the time I will miss posting on the internet with you and battlerabbit just to work on some car.

Honestly, if you're going from a 283 to a 350 you won't be missing much doing it yourself in terms of quality, as long as you're careful.

But, as much as you bitch about my sarcasm, you ignored the fact that on page one I did give you a serious response. Budget for forty hours. The shop is virtually guaranteed to do better than that, but on the off chance they find something(even something as simple as a broken motor mount), then you have extra money in the budget to pay for parts. If you're getting a fully turnkey crate motor(IE with the intake manifold/carb etc included, unlike the one in your OP) then it will take even less time and money on the shop's end.

[DerSpiegel]

Instead of putting more effort into posting I will just stop posting.

Yet...still posting....

[Air-over-water]

Ok so the fact that he had to click onto the VWVortex.com, then into the forums wouldn't have given him some idea?

You know that the car lounge is accessed through many different sites other than VWVortex right?

[Air-over-water]

why should I spend several weekends and $xxx on engine lift + misc. tools to do the job unprofessionally myself?

It was a question of skill.
Those that can, do.
Those that cannot, pay us to do it for them.
It would be a weekend job depending on what you were swapping.

[BattleRabbit]

You know that the car lounge is accessed through many different sites other than VWVortex right?

Yeah, VWVortex, SpeedArena, Swedespeed, TripleZoom and Fourtitude. Speed Arena comes the closest to being "general interest," but none of them are domestic centric. People here appreciate that stuff, but there are definitely much better places to solicit this kind of advice which the OP could have very easily found through the googler.

[bringtheshred]

approximately what would it cost (labor hours) to perform an engine swap given the following criteria:

:add generic yet vague pictures:

figure crate 350 ~$2k labor ~$2k, can it go much over that? can you get it done much cheaper than that?
thanks

Total cost would be in the ballpark of:

[das internet]

Yeah, VWVortex, SpeedArena, Swedespeed, TripleZoom and Fourtitude. Speed Arena comes the closest to being "general interest," but none of them are domestic centric. People here appreciate that stuff, but there are definitely much better places to solicit this kind of advice which the OP could have very easily found through the googler.

I entered through kilometermagazine.

You can always google, yeah, but you won't get input from Air and Water Do Mix, uncleho, uberhare, vwlarry, etc. It's a tradeoff.

[skin piston]

Would love to see that engine swap.

[gti_matt]

good post, i liked the part where you accused me of being a homosexual

Actually that was analogous to a cross dresser, not a homosexual. Big difference.

[tasty danish]

Hey guys, hey hey hey,

Remember that time some dude came in a car forum LOUNGE and asked a technical question and had absolutely NO sense of humor and acted like a douche that had never seen the internet before?

Yeah... That was cool.