I am starting to see this question a lot already at the shop. We have a Nissan 300Z getting a 5.3 (LM7) and T56 swap at the shop now, my MK4 VW Jetta RWD conversion thats 80% completed, an S10 waiting to be swapped, a V6 pull out LSx put back swap in an Fbody, a GMC Jimmy… and a bunch more in the making.
So to answer the “How much to LSx swap my car?” question, 3 words come to mind… It all depends!
Basics: 5.3L ($450), car intake ($100), Fbody or GTO (depends on if front or rear sump fits the chassis better) ($150-$250), I can also use the stock truck oil pan and section off 3-4 inches off the bottom then shorten the oil pick up for the cheap. EFI Live license and tuning ($150+ tuning labor) so we can delete the bullshit off the motor. Radiator, hoses, if the stock manifolds fit make some down pipes and connect to the rest of the exhaust or make it at that point, bunch of msc things to run the motor $300-$XXXX. Motor mounts, $150 to make them.
So to install and start the motor about $1300-$1450+.
Trans:
- Auto 4l60E or 4l80E is cake and cheap, bolts up and ready to go for about $400 with a stock converter.
- Manual a T56 6 speed itself is $1000-$1300, $350 for a clutch & flywheel, $150 for a hydraulic throwout bearing, $50 for wilwood slave, $65 for wilwood pedal. So 6 speed would be around $1615-1915.
+$100 for a trans cross-member to mount either choice above.
+/-$350 for a custom drive shaft.
That’s with more or less a “stand alone” wiring and GM ecu stuffed away. So no factory gauges will work with the motor. Easiest solution is aftermarket electrical (analog/manual suck) gauges, like Autometer’s. Speed, Tach, oil pressure, water temp, voltage will start around 400-500$ off the top of my head.
That’s a good start. Always put money aside for snags or additional items needed along the way. Like stock manifolds not fitting, now I need to make headers ($600-1200), truck accessories not fitting under the hood or behind the radiator, so Fbody, vette or aftermarket solutions can be used ($200-$700+). Radiator itself ($200-400), e-fan ($20-100), wiring nightmares ($100+/-), fuel pump ($80+), fuel lines ($40-$300), brake lines ($50+/-). And what ever else I may have missed or uncovered along the way.
BASIC PARTS ESTIMATE:
$2150+ 5.3L, automatic in and running.
$3365+ 5.3L, 6 speed in and running.
+/- $1200 for a buffer to address “snags” along the way.
BASIC LABOR ESTIMATE:
+/- 40 hours @ $75/hr = $3000
This can go WAY down or WAY up. Bring me a roller with no motor/trans, CLEAN engine bay, rust free, no BS… knock off 5-8 hours. Bring me a junk yard rusted, greasy, hacked up pile of scrap… add on 5-8 hours. Want nice TIG welded headers add 10-15 hrs. Custom radiator, fans and front accessories? +2-5 hrs. This is where an open minded customer and an honest shop sticking to a plan/budget comes into play. I am NOT out here to put junk together. But at the same time, I am willing to put in the extra “free” labor to take my time and do it right the first time, to impress the customer, people who see it, and more importantly MYSELF!!! Yes, I like to be proud of my work. 
While I dont expect to be paid full rate on something I methodicly put together at a snails pace, I will be efficient when I need to be to make the customer happy for what they are paying for. This is where an honest work ethic comes into play.
Projects like this are good when they are planed out in phases. Best way to do it shop/customer wise can be done in payment phases too. Drop off car and $2000 to start on Phase 1. Parts and labor are accounted for as the work is completed, and the balance is depleted. When the balance and/or the phases are completed, customer comes in, check on progress, we take a look at the drawing board and review the next steps and what payment should be made to move forward. This keeps the shop and the customer honest. You SEE where the money you spent is going into the project. Not all of us have $15K to drop off with the keys and say see ya in a few months, things can come up mid project and blow the budget from unforeseen issues. This also allows for points along the way for options we didnt think would work at the initial drawing board. Maybe their is more room under the hood then we thought, a tubo could fit in there… instead of make a $1200 set of long tubes, just to send them to E-Bay 4 months from now when the “Man I should have put a turbo in there” thought comes up, save the time and money and do it NOW. We all agree on a pace of work and pace of payment then the project stays on track till completion.
:CLIFF’S NOTES:
$5000-$7500+ TURN KEY
Thats a good starting point. Keep in mind we are NOT here to put a hodge-podge of parts together and call it good enough. If that’s what you want dont even bother asking for it. Thats as simple and blunt as I can put it. I personally want to enjoy my work, and to enjoy it I must be proud of it…
This will get a lot of the redundant time wasting questions out of the way when a potential customer comes to the shop and sits down in the office to get the ball rolling. If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask. I am sure I may have missed something along the ways, and can add to this as you bring up questions.
