Should I buy a whole car for my LS swap?

[Vdubnut]

Hello, I was curious if people buy a whole car or just a motor? I have a 68 Chevelle with the stock drivetrain that I want to swap for an LS. A friend of mine has a 2000 SS Camaro with a new Texas speed built LS1. Is it worth buying the car for $7500? It has all forged internals and a aftermarket intake, I believe the rest of the car is stock.
thought and opinions welcome. I am also debating on selling the Chevelle and buying something already done.

[raustinss]

Never hurts to have all the parts then either sell the Camaro as a shell or part it out and recoup some cash

[dhutton]

Parting out cars is a PITA imho. Takes a lot of time dealing with Craigslist flakes etc. An LS1 is not going to add a lot of value to your build. Better to go with an LS3 or even an LT1 imho.....

Don

[BMR Sales]

Depends on your time, space and patience. A built LS1 is good, but what can you get for the SS Camaro after you do surgery? As Don said, Parting out a car can be a PITA. Some people enjoy it and can make a good PT income, but

[79 Camaro]

Maybe buy the LS1 and not the whole car? Let the owner part out the 2000. You get the LS1 with all the front engine accessories and ECM for maybe $4000. You didn't say what trans is included. T56 is worth more than a 4L6OE.

[Interceptor5588]

+1 re: the T56. If it's a manual car and you plan to use the seats and maybe a few other bits the deal is OK. Just the ability to lift out the whole darn thing and swap it over is worth something vs scrounging up parts (ask me how I know.) If it's a 4L60 though the price is high.

If you're doing an auto you'd be further ahead buying a 2500 Express van for the 6.0/4L80 if you can find one with decent mileage.

[badazz81z28]

Hello, I was curious if people buy a whole car or just a motor? I have a 68 Chevelle with the stock drivetrain that I want to swap for an LS. A friend of mine has a 2000 SS Camaro with a new Texas speed built LS1. Is it worth buying the car for $7500? It has all forged internals and a aftermarket intake, I believe the rest of the car is stock.
thought and opinions welcome. I am also debating on selling the Chevelle and buying something already done.


All too many times people think “ah” I can make my money back and pay really pay nothing for the swap. Truth is...it can happen but very unrealistic. Parting a car takes time, space and effort.

Even though the LS1 is forged...it’s still an LS1. If I had $7500 I would be looking for a used LS3 or even consider an iron LQ or LY. With the big Chevelle, you’ll want more torque. The LS1s can make big HP numbers with a radical cam, but the power band is like a V8s Honda Civic with a 7000 redline. I had that in my Camaro and really hated it. One of the reason I have a 427 LS7 now.

[Vdubnut]

Thanks for all of the advice. To be honest I don’t have the space and time required to part the car out, and it is an automatic. I think it will be easier for me to just buy a motor and transmission without the hassle of trying to part out or sell the car. I might still offer to buy just the motor and see if he wants to pull it out. What is the difference between the LS1 and LS3? He said the motor makes 535HP to the tire. Will it not have enough torque?

[Whiteghost66]

Just depends how far you want to go with it and what your budget is. I got lucky with a 6.0, 4l65e, and everything i needed(harness etc) out of a wrecked 01 yukon denali. Guy towed it to my shop, let me pull the eng/trans at my leisure, and then came back to tow the chassis out. Took me 3 days and gave him a thousand bucks. Then immediately sold the transfer case on craigs in 2 hrs for 250. Only in it for 750 and i was able to start it and make it run before pulling it even after it sat for a year and a half....bad gas and all. Im doing a complete rebuild on both eng & trans so didnt care lol. There are deals to be found out there...just keep your eyes open. If you want a turn-key, high hp swap you will definitely pay for it. 5.3's are dime a dozen and are cheap. Seems the consensus is most will hold out for a 6.0 or 6.2 if the price is right. I got lucky and mine was solid. Ive already priced my entire rebuild from respectable shops in my area and will still be alot cheaper than doing a ls combo from gm....just my .02

[grambo]

Ok, I gotta add my dissenting $.02.

I bought a complete car, and It was a lot easier, you have all the parts (aside from some mounts) it is very nice. I also was able to sell a lot of the remaining parts, and my drive train (including motor, trans, accessories, rad, drive shaft, wiring, and a bunch more) cost me less than $600 all in, and I still have some parts for sale. I would however like to throw in an additional option, copart.com is an insurance wreck auction site. I bought my mustang donor (2015 gt, manual with 44k miles) for $4350 after fee's and shipping. A lot of the time you will need to hire a broker to actually buy the car, it is not a big deal, and you can get much better ls swaps than an ls1 for a lot cheaper than $7500, still sell the spare parts, and not feel bad chopping up a car that is in good shape. I could have made more back I am sure but I mostly just sold the high value parts and scrapped the rest, it was easier and kept the neighbors happy. I can help walk you through the process if you are interested.

[79 Camaro]

535 hp to the rear wheels? Must have some really good heads, aftermarket intake and BIG cam. I would want to see the build parts receipts and a chassis dyno sheet.

[John McIntire]

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/c6-parts-for-sale-wanted/4364544-2009-ls3-engine.html

Here's a good example...

[badazz81z28]

535 hp to the rear wheels? Must have some really good heads, aftermarket intake and BIG cam. I would want to see the build parts receipts and a chassis dyno sheet.



No way would I believe a NA, Cathedral head, small bore LS1 is making 535hp to the tires. I had the kitchen sink in my LS1 and it made closer to 460 to the tires. To get to that #, you would need a very aggressive cam and lose all bottom end power and have the engine to spin to 8000 rpms+. I'm calling BS there...Even NA LS3s are not making that power and being great street engines.

[Vdubnut]

I just called him and got more information on the motor. It is a Texas speed built 418 stroker with all forged internals and weisco pistons. The motor was build for nitrous but he never installed it. It has an aftermarket intake manifold. And it is an LS3, he said he would sell me just the motor for 6k, it was a 9k to build and has 2000 miles on. Just street driving, and he has a build sheet for it.

[79 Camaro]

That makes more sense hp wise. Still must have pretty big cam so vacuum for power brakes would limited. If you purchase the engine get him to throw in the computer which has the tune for the engine. Might save you time and money if you don't have to tune it once its in your car.