LS1 Swap Northern California

[ViperBlue68]

Ok guys after much thought I've decided on a LS1 swap for my 68 Camaro does anyone know of a Knowledgable (about 1st gen swaps) shop in Northern California? Im right by Sacramento any advice will be Greatly appreciated!!

[Stuart Adams]

Jody, would know best. Speed Merchant in San Jose. Jody?

[zbugger]

Yeah, Speed Merchant can do it. Once when I was there, they were putting a 6.0 LSx engine in a Jeep, I think it was. That place does do good work.

[TonyL]

http://www.forcefedperformance.com/

these guys used to be based out of Yuba City. They have built some incredible cars and engines. Check them out, look at their site and follow the link to the old site, you can see the cars they have built there.

My brother has dealt with them alot, and they are supposed to set up the EFI for the corvair, when he gets around to working on that thing again.

[camcojb]

http://www.forcefedperformance.com/

these guys used to be based out of Yuba City. They have built some incredible cars and engines. Check them out, look at their site and follow the link to the old site, you can see the cars they have built there.

My brother has dealt with them alot, and they are supposed to set up the EFI for the corvair, when he gets around to working on that thing again.

Just don't let them dyno your car!

Jody

[TonyL]

Just don't let them dyno your car!

bad experiance?

[camcojb]

bad experiance?

Yes, I was in there a couple weeks ago to dyno my Lightning with a friend and his Lightning. Friend gets on the dyno first and they can't make any pulls as the a/f is very lean under wot, at 14.6:1 or so. Tried a couple times and pulled it off, so my buddy figures he got a bad tune. I put my Lightning on and the guy wants to dyno in second gear; I told him it should be dynoed in third gear (1:1) with the converter locked but he says they do it in second gear. So he makes two pulls and the HP numbers seem okay but when he gives me a printout the torque curve is not even close. You have the converter locking halfway through the pull and the numbers and curve especially are unlike any Lightning dyno I've seen. So I re-dynoed the following week on another dyno in third gear with converter locked and get a completely different look. Here's Forcefed's sheet:



And here's the one in third gear with 1.5 psi LESS boost and 30 degrees warmer air!



With the roots style blowers the torque goes straight up and then slowly trails off through the pull, they have instant boost. Keiths sheet isn't even close. And back to my buddys truck, we left there and put on my standalone wideband and he was making mid to upper 11's a/f. So we re-dynoed his truck on another dyno and the a/f matched what we saw on our wideband. Keiths a/f hose must have been kinked or something, but he did not refund his money and my friend would have to pay to get a new pull.

Back on topic, I think the Speed Merchant would be a good way to go.

Jody

[TonyL]

speedmerchant definately has more experiance. And would be my first option as well. I was just throwing out other options. Its good to know though jody. I havent dealt with many of their other customers.

[ViperBlue68]

Thanks guys and Jody I know Keith very well he used to be business partners with a good friend of mine here in Yuba City and is a friend of mine as well IMHO he takes on too much at one time so I'm afraid my car will get lost in his shop for too long tho I have talked to him briefly about it...but he has never done a 1st gen ls1 swap ...and he wants me to buy the motor he has built for their yellow z06 vette its a built "cast" 6.0...I think I'll call Speed Merchant and get some prices from them tho...Can anyone recommend a place to look for the motor and trans and anything else I'll need from a donor car? Thanks in Advance

[ViperBlue68]

Has anyone used these guys? feedback?
www.turnkeyengine.com

[zbugger]

You can send either Lowend or TonyHuntimer a PM and they can probably help you out. Tony still works at The Speed Merchant, and Lowend used to. As for a place to get the stuff from, in San Jose there is GM Sport Salvage. Their prices have been known to be a little on the high side at times, but because I usually walk in there, I haven't had any problems. Oh, and all they carry is basically Camaro's and Chevelles. Yeah, there's a Pontiac thrown in there, along with a few 'Vettes, but it's all GM. Last time I was there they had a good assortment of LS1 stuff.

[ViperBlue68]

Allen,
I gave Speed Merchant a call earlier and spoke to someone... wasnt named tony tho... he told me to call GM Sports Salvage as well and that it shouldnt be a problem doin the swap for me...BUT there was no set price....which is sorta what I was expecting but a ballpark would suffice....when he told me they had a guy bring in his car and his bill was 42k!!! I think I about fell outta my chair. Im gonna go ahead and start gettin the motor,tranny, and parts and figure out what its gonna run to get it in the camaro the guy at gmsportsalvage said it is not a hard thing to do myself...I hate this contradicting crap..

[Stu Seitz]

Try Rancho Recycling in Sac I got my engine and trans for less around 5000. Pretty good deal, I thought being that it's an ls6 block, had 20,000 miles on it, comes with a warranty and it was delivered.

Edit: I have dealt with the people at GM sport salvage and with the people at Rancho; I left rancho with a lot more info and feeling a lot better about my purchase.

[MrQuick]

Hey JT, i'll do it for at least half that price!

Hey Stuart where are you?
I get the same feeling when I leave GM sports salage too, its sot of like eating too much fiber. They priced a LS1 and 60 trans for $4250 not too bad.

[ViperBlue68]

Stuart,
Thanks I been meaning to check with Rancho...are you in the Sac area? if so who is installing your LS 1?

Vince,
That cheap huh... on a serious note have you done a 1st gen LS1 swap and would you do one? let me know your schedule my pockets are gettin awfully warm with this money burnin a whole in them

[Lowend]

I'll step im here being a former Speed Merchant employee who was involved in a ton of builds there. You need to know why you will probably not be able to get anyone to quote you a solid estimate amount on the phone.

First off, you have to understand that we get tons of calls from people asking the same thing you are, 99% of them are just stroking us. It takes a couple of hours to work out a ball park estimate on a project like this. It dosen't make good business sense to work up a full on estimate until a customer shows some real interest.
Second, this sort of project just simply can't be given a real estimate until you really get into it. I was always hesitant to put a $ amount on any project, because that always seems to become the expected amount regardless of what happens during the project (like a customer decides he wants to add in a fancy A/C unit or something).

I would say that you should probably plan on spending around $10K + the price of the engine and transmission. I know this probably sounds like a lot off the bat, but keep in mind, there are going to have to be several hundered dollars in AN fittings alone, not to mention wiring, an ECM ect... This is not a cheap thing to do.
The boys (Ben, Vic and Kevin) at Speed Merchant do not do things half-assed. When the wiring gets done, it is going to be perfect, same with the fuel system. This is great, but it takes time, and time costs money. Time costs $98/hour to be exact, and you can count on being billed for a lot of hours.

I'll give an example - working with a 99 Camaro to pull the engine, replace heads, cam , headers and clutch, and reinstall takes 30-35 man hours to do right. That isn't starting a job and going to the lunch truck hours... that is a guy who has done this 10 times before and is working straight from 8am - 4pm.

...but I digress
I would say plan on spending $10K after the engine and tranny purchase, that should put you in the ballpark.

[Stu Seitz]

Vince, I live in the bay area, San Ramon to be exact.

T.J., I'm doing it on my own. It's taken a little longer then most b/c I'm still 19, full time student and work 40+ hours a week But like Lowend said it's all the little things that take up your time and money; he isn't Exagerating one bit, I think my fuel system alone is over 1000 (I try not to keep track).

I don't know where your located but if you would like to stop by I can show you what I'm doing/ what kind of parts i'm using to give you ideas on how to approach your project.

[MrQuick]

Damn Brett your buddy would die in a flat rate dealer world. My buddy at GM did a head, cam, header, clutch and blower install on a 2001 in 12 hours, coffee break and lunch included...done right and in dealer fashion---> $108 an hour for 42 hour charged. I agree it all adds up.
I haven't done an LS1 swap yet, but for 22-24k I can sure learn quick.
I did do a LTI swap in a 65 Chevelle so I have a pretty good idea whats involved.
Theres a difference between me and other shops, I don't do this for the money, I do it for the fun of building the car and making a customer happy. I don't charge an arm and a leg in labor $$ and it does take me longer because im a 1 man team but i do my job right. I have the oppertunity to take my time and im not pressured by any time restraints. As long as the job pays my over head ,helps me buy tools and material im happy. I can be fast but its gonna cost you. I have 3 projects ahead of a new one so let me know.
Stuart, you are close, hey going to Pleasanton this weekend? some of us are getting together.

[Charley Lillard]

You might give Theo a call in Woodland at Wizard Racing. 530-662-0990. Good guy, good fabricator, one man shop, knows EFI.

[Stu Seitz]

I wish I could but can't because of work.