Not Another Cheap V8 Swap... (Pic Heavy)

[Reyhan335]

Is that white e30 bagged?

It used to be. My boy bought the bags off it

[Q8y_drifter]

Subbed!

[White325is]

It used to be. My boy bought the bags off it

I bagged it years ago.

[E30Whore]

Is that white e30 bagged?

Yup... In this picture, sure is. Its on a Airlift kit with V2 management I believe. I don't know very much about air suspension..

[E30Whore]

I bagged it years ago.

Ha then you know more about it then i do.. We pulled it off and replaced with Ground Control. Like Rey335 stated above, his buddy just purchased the kit used.

[E30Whore]

We got everything broken down and pulled from the LM7. I'm trying to salvage what I can use and organizing what I have in attempt to see whats still needed..



After fooling with the motor for a few hours, we prepped the E30 for surgery. Out comes the BMW M20 and transmission for the last time...





Maybe ahead of the game but decided to go ahead and strip out a bunch of dead weight or things that will be getting replaced later on. Now's a good time to really inspect the chassis and condition of the under body, fender-wells and body of the car. A few problem areas have arose but more on that later...





Now, time to spend a Saturday cleaning these parts up, snapping a few pictures and listing them on Facebook to sell. Need to recoup some cash asap!

[jpod999]

Man this car is going to be a beast!

[90e30ls]

Just stumbled onto your build. I have a 5.3 iron block and almost went that route when I found a complete 01 Trans am for $1800. Did a lot of watching and planning myself before chiming in. Just waiting on the wiring specialties harness before I finally start pulling it all out. Looks great though! I'll will be watching.


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[E30Whore]

Just stumbled onto your build. I have a 5.3 iron block and almost went that route when I found a complete 01 Trans am for $1800. Did a lot of watching and planning myself before chiming in. Just waiting on the wiring specialties harness before I finally start pulling it all out. Looks great though! I'll will be watching.


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If I found a Trans-Am for 1800, I would have jumped on it too. Good luck with your swap! So far, besides some minor headaches here and there, this isnt going to bad..

[Reyhan335]

If I found a Trans-Am for 1800, I would have jumped on it too. Good luck with your swap! So far, besides some minor headaches here and there, this isnt going to bad..

Lol I said the same thing. This swap is hard. Deff respect you for keeping at it.

[E30Whore]

Not Another Cheap V8 Swap...

So I got the heads back from a local shop, being that this is my first LS build, id say they look great! It took about 3.5 weeks from the day I dropped them off however, looks like quality work. Let's hope they perform as well as they look. Also made some headway on the 5.3 block. This LM7 almost looks brand new!!

Price: $311 for head work

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SWAP METER: $11,954

[EREKSHUN]

Subd'

[noid]

I like the detail, pictures and price detail; keep it up.

[E30Whore]

I like the detail, pictures and price detail; keep it up.

Thanks Noid. I'm attempting to create something that I was looking for when researching this swap. Hope it will help others.

[E30Whore]

Not Another Cheap V8 Swap...

I know, I know.... Your probably hoping to see some assembled motor pictures? Well, I pretty much jumped in head first and about knee deep into stripping this car. Most everything is out the engine bay now, pulled the bumper and fenders and ready to scrub down the bay, degrease it then, repaint it. Some may disagree with methods but don't fret, it's my car and I have a plan.

My daughter was hanging out with me while we sprayed the engine bay with no less than 11 Krylon Matte Black cans of paint. Considering i'm no paint/body expert, I think it came out pretty good!

Price: Krylon Paint $63

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I took some heat for this on my local Facebook page from several "know it all" mechanics. They disagree with me rattle canning the engine bay but I think it looks 10X better already!

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My daughter Autumn doesn't understand why we are doing so much work to this car because it was a running, driving E30 when I got it. However, she thinks its the coolest thing ever. Whenever I head to the shop and shes near me, she quickly volunteers to come on down and check out the progress.. I don't discourage her!

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