Any swap shop recommendations?

[essi1553]

Looking to price out how much im looking at to get a s52 installed into and e30, on a budget but done professionally. I got a quick ridicioulous quote from a reputable source in philadelphia and im looking for much cheaper.

Price for labor, and misc, I can source the engine and trans myself. Really only looking for a reference in the pa/south NJ area, who know wtf they are doing...

Thanks..

[frankie591]

how much was this ridiculous quote?

[RobertC]

Depends on what kind of a swap do you want?

Do you just want to take a used engine and do nothing to it and simply pay to have it installed. Also keep in mind there is quite abit to do in converting from OBDII to OBDI, intake manifold, wiring harness, sensors, oil pan, pickup, cooling system, etc etc.

Or,

Do you want the shop to go through the engine, replace all the maintenance items such as gaskets, swapping over the oil pan, OBDI intake manifold, etc rebuilding the VANOS, water pump, T-stat, cam, crank, detonation sensors. Clean and flush the transmission, do the required TSB repairs to the shift detents (G320), rebuild the driveshaft, swap in proper differential, etc, etc..

So you can have a swap only and have a unreliable swap that ends up having all kinds of issues, or do you want a complete 100% reliable turn key swap?

So just to toss in the provided engine, trans, driveshaft, wire it up and get it running in its current state, $1,500-$2,000. (ignoring the labor and parts costs to convert from OBDII to OBDI)

For the whole complete turn key deal expect to pay upwards of $5,000-$6,000. With added engine, trans, differential costs, expect upwards of $8-$10K. I think that is being somewhat conservative as well.

how much im looking at to get a s52 installed into and e30, on a budget but done professionally.

Ever heard the term, 'You can't have your cake and eat it too'. Same applies here, you either got the cash flow to pay a shop to have the job professionally done, Do it yourself, or don't do it at all.

Curious as to what this "ridicioulous quote from a reputable source in philadelphia"

Not trying to bust on ya, I have a shop and have done a few S50/S52 swaps, its what they cost. As a shop owner time is money, if a customer can't afford to pay for the time, then the work doesn't get done.

im looking for much cheaper.

Might want to see if you can round up some members in your area to help you do the swap yourself. You would save a huge amount of money and most of these guys will work for fun, food, and beer.

Good Luck with the project

[JRKOUPE]

Looking to price out how much im looking at to get a s52 installed into and e30, on a budget but done professionally. I got a quick ridicioulous quote from a reputable source in philadelphia and im looking for much cheaper.

Price for labor, and misc, I can source the engine and trans myself. Really only looking for a reference in the pa/south NJ area, who know wtf they are doing...

Thanks..

Pm me if u can....i have a 90 i swapped w/ an s50. It was done by a shop in NJ. Im in NY.
I can tell you a few things.....

[RobertK]

Looking to price out how much im looking at to get a s52 installed into and e30, on a budget but done professionally. I got a quick ridicioulous quote from a reputable source in philadelphia and im looking for much cheaper.

Price for labor, and misc, I can source the engine and trans myself. Really only looking for a reference in the pa/south NJ area, who know wtf they are doing...

Thanks..

Its not an easy job someone is going to do for $1000~$2000 out the door. Many of the shadetree mechanics that tackle their own swaps usually spend a few weeks planning, collecting parts, and hammering out the small issues that come with doing an engine swap.

Here in Knoxville E30 bros have formed sort of a co-op. They help you with your swap / maintenance needs in exchange you help with theirs. Its not always 100% balanced but it works out for the guys who enjoy wrenching on cars. If there are some local guys like this in your area that might be the way to go but you will still have to get your hands dirty.

Either way you're going to trade time for cash and/or sweat.

If you want turn key Guten Parts + Service is the only place up in NJ I would have a car done. Levent and Joel take pride in everything they do and will not put their name on something they do not feel is 100% quality.

[MrSlacker]

I am curious to know what is your budget and what needs to be done. There are many little and not so little things that go into a 24V swap that people don't always know about. There are also many optional things that you could do while you are in there. I know there are people who do these swaps for $1500 or less, but this would be a kid doing it in his mom's backyard.

There are plenty of horror stories on these forums about bad 24V swaps done on the cheap. This is not something I would cheap out on.

[328ijunkie]

Also wonder what the quote was lol

[essi1553]

Well for those who waited, I said ridiculous I was astonished to hear and rushed price of 10k without me even describing the details of the swap.

Ideally id like to run the engine obd2, and have done some light searching in the 24v section. Truth be told its to avoid sourcing many different parts and frankensteining the motor, imo.

Time is not an issue but its a matter of whether or not its worth investing into for the cost.

Ideally id like to get the price point as low as possible say including the engine and install equpment about 6-8k depending. I request it be run obd2, major maintenance (rebuilt/gone through)or low mileage engine and trans. So by your terms I guess im looking for a turn key operation.

Oh yea just to be a jerk, id like the car to also retain ac and power steering. Maybe im aiming high, or then again maybe i'd rather just sink 10k in a tii and attack the mountains.

[e30polak]

It really depends on YOUR ability to wrench on cars, YOUR ability to source parts and information, and the amount of tiem YOU are willing to invest. Many people forget to include that in the cost or planning of their swaps/projects. As Robert said, shop time is shop money. I've had countless hours wasted with customers calling about information on a swap, which they could've searched for themselves on the forums. Over 60% of these would be customers never do it when they find out how much it really costs.

Also when putting the shops labor rate into perspective, you have to count in that that hourly rate includes shop overhead as well. Backyard mechanics don't have employee salaries to worry about, or the cost of a shop for that matter. Those 2 factors, along with factoring in the cost to benefit ratio on one job versus another, brings the final cost of the swap to a happy medium for the shop AND for the customer.

For those that are comfortable wrenching on a car, pulling a motor, and sourcing the parts and information, I don't feel this swap is difficult at all. Harness adapters are available from reputable members on this forum, which takes the scary wiring aspect of the swap out of the picture. However, many think it's easier then it actually is, which is why some end up taking their unfinished projects to professional to have them completed.

[e30polak]

Well for those who waited, I said ridiculous I was astonished to hear and rushed price of 10k without me even describing the details of the swap.

Ideally id like to run the engine obd2, and have done some light searching in the 24v section. Truth be told its to avoid sourcing many different parts and frankensteining the motor, imo.

Time is not an issue but its a matter of whether or not its worth investing into for the cost.

Ideally id like to get the price point as low as possible say including the engine and install equpment about 6-8k depending. I request it be run obd2, major maintenance (rebuilt/gone through)or low mileage engine and trans. So by your terms I guess im looking for a turn key operation.

Oh yea just to be a jerk, id like the car to also retain ac and power steering. Maybe im aiming high, or then again maybe i'd rather just sink 10k in a tii and attack the mountains.

$8k will be your minimum realistic budget if a REPUTABLE SHOP does the build. You also have to factor in the fact that you will need A/C lines made if your car is still running R12 gas, you should replace the seals and the dryer while you're at it. Also OBD2 wiring coupled with A/C is a more involved swap then an OBD1 equipped motor without A/C. Power steering requires nothing extra.

You have to figure that a good condition, low mileage, complete s52 will run you anywhere from $2,500 - 3,500. Forget about factoring in a rebuilt motor into that budget, as a rebuilt s50/2 fetches $4-5k on average. factor in a minimum of $1,500 for the actual swap labor, not including exhaust work or exhaust components.

Also, you have to factor in transmission and driveline components, which potentially includes a clutch kit. On your budget, you will either have to find a great deal on an s52 WITH the ZF trans, or retain your factory getrag 260, and modify the trans brace to get it to fit.

Don't forget the cost of the brake booster.

[328ijunkie]

Ideally id like to get the price point as low as possible say including the engine and install equpment about 6-8k depending.

Somewhat feasable.

[JRKOUPE]

a Tii....?

I have an 02 also, dual carbs tho, not injected........and they are 2 very different animals..not even close.

I think some1 should do a swap if thats the car they really want...do u want an apple or an orange?.....big diff.

6-8k is doable...and doable correctly.

nice Tii?......7k on up........and she will need more money...lol

10k will be a solid tip.....but they are so very different.

you never pm'd me..so Im wondering how serious you really are?..

some good advice here for sure from peeps in the know......but don't only rely on internet jabber....itll get u into trouble.

[essi1553]

MY whole concern is that I don't want to have to pay the tax for reuptation for this project. I just want to source the engine and drivetrain myself, with a mechanic also to look at it. I've seen 95 engines and trans go for as low as 2600 still running in car, some with pretty low miles. Although I feel as I should be looking at a newer model for a obd2 setup.

I guess AC could be skipped for the time being and id rather do it right the first time especially with a conversion. Want PS.

I just want to hand the s52 with the ZF trans(im assuming stock to that motor), and the car to someone and get it back without surprise costs and without them goofing it up.

Id also buy a new clutch kit since it's never a bad idea, waterpump thermostat, plugs, belts, and valve adjustment. I'll figure that in after I understand the actual costs to get it in the car running cleanly and correctly.

So what we are looking at here is WITHOUT including the purchase of the engine, trans, diff (if needed), all maintenance items, and new exhaust system.

The costs of sourcing the correct mounts, wiring adapters (obd2, with new ecu/dme (which i would provide)), driveshaft, fluids, shiftlinkages.. and whatever else I don't know about, and actually installing the engine would be 4-5k?? I would like the installer to manage the sourcing of the correct parts and doing the necessary modifications.

Sorry for the long post.....

[essi1553]

a Tii....?

I have an 02 also, dual carbs tho, not injected........and they are 2 very different animals..not even close.

I think some1 should do a swap if thats the car they really want...do u want an apple or an orange?.....big diff.

6-8k is doable...and doable correctly.

nice Tii?......7k on up........and she will need more money...lol

10k will be a solid tip.....but they are so very different.

you never pm'd me..so Im wondering how serious you really are?..

some good advice here for sure from peeps in the know......but don't only rely on internet jabber....itll get u into trouble.

I'm hoping to get a general consensus or a realistic price range and maybe a tad more info before I go waste anyones time on a personal level. Truthfully I'm not even sure what to ask yet besides what I stated in the first post, feel free to pm me with any pertaining details, but I've stated about as much as I know. I see great potential but I dont want to overreach my budget, like I have so many times before.

My father just got a regular 02 75' and shes just a ride all her own, id probably get a carbed model just to hear her scream anyways, we've found some nice shells around here, and working on those motors are much cheaper options than s52's.

Just met a guy who has a shop in south jersey that has an amazing 75 tii with a built s14 in it with just about all new parts, everywhere you look (upgraded too) I cant even describe it, it was too beautiful.

I'd rather have an s52's e30 for the sake of reliability for distance driving and the amenities, the 02 ride can be taxing over distances of less spirited driving.

[MR 325]

I would highly recommend talking to Levent at Guten Parts about doing your swap. He's a great guy and one of the most trustworthy and honest people in the business.