Say I wanted an LS1

Hungary Bill wrote: In reply to Strike_Zero: What about that "Coyote" engine Ford makes. What is the details/cost/reliability like?

Ford stuff is always more expensive than comparable Chevy stuff. SBF parts tend to cost more than SBC, mod motor parts cost more than LS parts, and God only knows what Coyote parts cost. They haven't really knocked the new off that engine yet, so you'll pay a lot.

In reply to Will:

And if you get a truck 5.0, which is only tuning and cams different, it's the same motor.

I have to disagree on the cost comparison. If you are already spending $600 for SBC pistons and Ford pistons are $50 more... You are already spending a lot of cash! Of course if you are only looking at the bottom of the CT "claimer" barrel.... I can see the argument.

Stock to stock, I'd have a LS first, but I wouldn't discount either before blowing them up.

So I happen to have a 2000 Camaro SS Convertible with a six-speed. The engine has been rebuilt and has maybe ~20k miles on it now. It goes like a scalded cat. Or it did before the rear went up. The car has under $100k, but it could use paint and some love. The rear end is toast and thus the car won't go. I was going to have the rear replaced, but I'd entertain a serious, non-giveaway offer if you had the inkling to part a car out to get a nice driveline.

Again, this is not going to be "Challenge Friendly" but I understand that it's not exactly a museum piece either...

Strike_Zero wrote: The dohc mod motors and new coyote engines are pretty big. The 4.6 dohc motor while fairly light but are physically the same size of a 460 big block. The coyotes are a bit smaller in size, but still fairly new which makes it $$$. Cams = $$$$, but they love boost!! The sohc motors suffer from similar width issues. http://www.sullivanperformance.com/yvs450/tech/tech1.htm

This. They are frikkin huge.

Seems expensive. Realistically you are paying ~$2,000 for motor and ECU/wiring harness on craigslist. Just a 30 second perusal on loca craigslist:

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/mld/pts/4462700899.html (part out the ls6 intake for $3-400 on ls1tech and get headgaskets) http://baltimore.craigslist.org/pts/4451379047.html

Spend a little time and wait for a deal. I ended up end of last year picking up a LS1/T56 combo for about $2,500 (got to drive the car before it got pulled). I think that is a realistic price if you are not a "buddy of a buddy" or "have a rabbit's foot implanted in your body".

They fit great in everything :)

D_Eclipse9916 wrote: They fit great in everything :)

They sure do!!!

Ranger50 wrote:

D_Eclipse9916 wrote: They fit great in everything :)

They sure do!!!

The Coyote motor is beast as well. You can't go wrong. (Coyote is a much much much tighter fit than LS1, and was far more expensive for my purposes).

I like the "part out" idea of buying a complete (wrecked) vehicle and robbing the goods, and selling the rest to recoup the cost. But from an "easy button" point of view I like what I'm seeing on "Car Part".

Thanks everyone. I'm really just glad to see there is "hope" that I might get an LS for what I'm looking to spend.

nepa03focus wrote: The above comment makes me sad bc I always kinda wanted a Trans am someday. Now I know the there probably won t be any left bc they are all hacked to pieces

This is how I feel when I hear people say things like "wagons are only good for demolition derby".

I KNOW they made big block A-body wagons, but good luck finding a wagon today, let alone a big block wagon.

Killing my Camaro was the best thing I could have done to it. It really was a turd of a car. Definitely not a candidate for restoration.

http://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/ptd/4435202198.html That can't be the price, right?

One more vote for buying a running car, taking what you want, and parting out the rest.

I bought my LS1/T56 with harness, ECU, drive-shaft, pedal assy, etc from Fbody parts on ebay for just under $4k. I think it was a completely fair deal, but if I could do it again I would spend $4-6k on a car that runs and have no doubt about the condition of the parts I was working with. I struggled through some stuff and kept wondering if sensors were bad.