This is bound to be the worst post ever but it deserves to be talked about. I will ask everyone to be kind and be extremely reasonable and understanding of the other side. (There are 2 sides like democrats and republicans on this) So lets talk about LS swaps.
I will give you some background, I have been building RV8 engines for 18 years and although I stopped recently due to parts quality and cam/lifter quality (this affects any engine out there) I have done hundreds. So why does everyone talk about LS swaps like its perfect?
My opinion and views.
To start the RV8 is one of the simplest engines to build. I am an old Chevy head and my dad once smacked me for coming home with a hat that said "Friends dont let friends drive Fords" I built my first rover engine in my garage with my wife. My room mate and i installed it in my disco in the driveway. Top hatted 4.6 with a custom cam (Before there were off the shelf cams you could buy) and it is still running to this day 18 years later although it is in its 3rd car. It really is a GM Buick 215 to this day. We did resealed it a few years back. The cost at the time to build it was around 3000 ish. Now costs have gone up tremendously over the years but at todays prices its around 5500 to build a ground up RV8 with top hat liners, performance cam, ARP studs... Building an engine that has plenty of power and will last a lifetime.
So lets talk cost. What does it take to do a RV8? 5500$ on the cheap side building it yourself, 9000$ to buy a decent quality one and install it yourself, 11-13,000 to buy a built up one and install it yourself. If you cant do the work you have to pay someone for the swap and you in another 3-5000 for installation. Your car is all original and you know exactly what parts are what because it is still factory. Everything is just the way it came.
Now for LS swap. Fist thing you need is an engine. Prices on this vary from free to 10,000$ the kit for just the engine swap is 3000. My friend has it and all he does is complain about quality everytime i see him. You need another few thousand in miscellaious parts to install it. You get a huge parts list with a hodge podge of parts that who knows what they came from. Then you have to install it. You can do it yourself or you will have to pay someone to do it for you. Now I have told countless people no but there are shops out there doing them. Tim Scully is the man BTW and he has been doing Nicks LS swaps kits in Defenders for years. I dont know what the swap cost is but i would imagine a 15 to 20,000$ price tag, Someone can chime in with a dollar figure that has done their homework. There is a few hundred pounds of weight added to the car since the RV8 is one of the lightest engines out there and the LS is a damn heavy engine (especially the cast iron blocks). how bout added cost of axles and diffs? What else...
So lets get this on the table. Lets hear from experience not speculation. From people that have done an LS swap not the Armchair bandits. Keep it nice and Keep it informational. this is a discussion i think we need to have.
I will give you some background, I have been building RV8 engines for 18 years and although I stopped recently due to parts quality and cam/lifter quality (this affects any engine out there) I have done hundreds. So why does everyone talk about LS swaps like its perfect?
My opinion and views.
To start the RV8 is one of the simplest engines to build. I am an old Chevy head and my dad once smacked me for coming home with a hat that said "Friends dont let friends drive Fords" I built my first rover engine in my garage with my wife. My room mate and i installed it in my disco in the driveway. Top hatted 4.6 with a custom cam (Before there were off the shelf cams you could buy) and it is still running to this day 18 years later although it is in its 3rd car. It really is a GM Buick 215 to this day. We did resealed it a few years back. The cost at the time to build it was around 3000 ish. Now costs have gone up tremendously over the years but at todays prices its around 5500 to build a ground up RV8 with top hat liners, performance cam, ARP studs... Building an engine that has plenty of power and will last a lifetime.
So lets talk cost. What does it take to do a RV8? 5500$ on the cheap side building it yourself, 9000$ to buy a decent quality one and install it yourself, 11-13,000 to buy a built up one and install it yourself. If you cant do the work you have to pay someone for the swap and you in another 3-5000 for installation. Your car is all original and you know exactly what parts are what because it is still factory. Everything is just the way it came.
Now for LS swap. Fist thing you need is an engine. Prices on this vary from free to 10,000$ the kit for just the engine swap is 3000. My friend has it and all he does is complain about quality everytime i see him. You need another few thousand in miscellaious parts to install it. You get a huge parts list with a hodge podge of parts that who knows what they came from. Then you have to install it. You can do it yourself or you will have to pay someone to do it for you. Now I have told countless people no but there are shops out there doing them. Tim Scully is the man BTW and he has been doing Nicks LS swaps kits in Defenders for years. I dont know what the swap cost is but i would imagine a 15 to 20,000$ price tag, Someone can chime in with a dollar figure that has done their homework. There is a few hundred pounds of weight added to the car since the RV8 is one of the lightest engines out there and the LS is a damn heavy engine (especially the cast iron blocks). how bout added cost of axles and diffs? What else...
So lets get this on the table. Lets hear from experience not speculation. From people that have done an LS swap not the Armchair bandits. Keep it nice and Keep it informational. this is a discussion i think we need to have.
