Power for Pennies: How To Score a 500HP LS Engine for FREE

Power for Pennies: How To Score a 500HP LS Engine for FREE

Cool article very GRM

excellent article

Very cool, but I'd like to see the time sheet on hours spent. Selling off all that stuff must have taken up a chunk of time, and are they including shipping/packaging?

When I opened the link and saw the GM van I expected the article to be written by PatGizz.

It does take time, but listing and shipping things isn't as complicated or time consuming as it used to be. With eBay having integrated shipping options (Fedex and USPS) it's two or three clicks to generate a packing slip and shipping label. The hard part is packing and if you keep a neat and organized packing area it's literally single digit minutes per part. Things like doors and differentials it makes more sense to sell locally.

So much win in that article. Gives me guts to try.

Hey, I kinda did this!

I traded my Roadmaster (Challenge budget $1,038) for a Lexus SC300. I ended up with $1,400, a 2JZ mated to a 5-speed trans and pile of useful parts for the Rice Rod build.

Combination of craigslist for the big stuff and eBay for the little stuff. All sale prices include actual shipping cost, Paypal transfer fees, and those gouging eBay seller fees. Shipping wasn't bad, and tearing apart a perfectly fine automobile was somewhat therapeutic. I still have a few odds and ends to list.

So is there going to be a part 2 where he shows us how to get 500hp from an LQ2 for $141? Because right now he has a 325hp engine at most.

Edit: Oh I see an aftermarket cam that he bought and is in the budget is supposed to get it to around 500hp.

That is pretty cool. I am surprised he was able to sell that many van parts. Hard to sell parts around here at any price.

Different cam, different heads, heads have been milled, different intake. That could be a 500hp engine.

Dave wrote: That is pretty cool. I am surprised he was able to sell that many van parts. Hard to sell parts around here at any price.

Tis true. Especially when a Pull-a-Part is local.

Ha, doing exactly this to my Camaro right now.

As of this instant, I'm just under $300 in the hole on a 109k mile LS1 and T56 - bought the car back from insurance for $1100 and I'm just over $800 in net profit, including shipping costs. Still have a few big ticket items left to sell, such as the Konis, so I'll have no problem breaking even and then some. Car is maybe half way to fully stripped and I got an offer on the shell yesterday that I'm considering, so that may be all the further it goes. Weighing the choice of less profit and get it the hell out of my garage, or make a few more bucks and sit on the damn thing forever. Leaning towards the former.

I'd estimate I've got somewhere around 40 hours into it so far, really not that bad.

I wish I had the room to store an old junker to part... (stupid HOA) I could've parted my ls400 more. Instead I got a whopping 26$ for it at the scrapper.

I did this to get a free T56. I bought a college kid's S10 with a 5.3L/T56 swap for $2000. I drove the heck out of it for three months before TX required me to register it after purchase. At that point I started pulling things out.

The engine brought $450.
The LS carbureted intake and MSD 6LS spark controller brought $600
Then I sold the truck with all the LS swap parts as "S10 with LS1 swap parts" for $1000 and it sold in 6 hours.

I kinda got paid $50 and a free T56 for an afternoon of labor. Plus I kept the Holley 650 DP carb that was on it.

This was the exact truck. Single cab, short bed, 2wd, manual steering, vinyl seats. Originally a 2.2L manual stripped down base model. The radio was removed for gauges and it had zero options. The only thing keeping the 7.5" rear alive was the 4.10 gears and the totally stock 185mm donuts. This thing would get sideways in 4th gear at 60 mph.

Quite honestly, one of the funnest things I've ever driven. The 3" duals and Thrush race bullet mufflers were fun too. No need for a radio when you couldn't hear it anyway.

Aaaannd crap. Now I want another box S10 V8.

In reply to curtis73:

You even have a nice T56 to put in your next S10 V8!

JohnRW1621 wrote: When I opened the link and saw the GM van I expected the article to be written by PatGizz.

Fyi i have the same van he started with for $725 less.

patgizz wrote:

JohnRW1621 wrote: When I opened the link and saw the GM van I expected the article to be written by PatGizz.

Fyi i have the same van he started with for $725 less.

Oh, don't worry. I do already know this. I just need to finish my current challenge build first.

And also need to decide if an LS is going into a 1987 full size ford wagon, 1987 caprice, 1987 5/7 series, or 1987 jag. Decisions, decisions.

I am trying it with a Corvette

He scrapped the shell for $344.00? Here that is by the pound and a shell with no motor might get you $50.00. And I also note he sold the fuse box and wiring. He may have found the only guy in the universe looking for some of these parts.

In reply to bearmtnmartin:

As for the scrap price, the date on the article is Aug 2013.
There was a time when scrap was much, much higher. Maybe that was '13.

In reply to bearmtnmartin:

Around here steel is about $.10/lb. I don't know what the scrap ban body weighed but I'm sure it was more than 500lbs!

Clean steel and scrap cars sell for different prices. Make sure you don't leave any non metal parts on it and profit!

I tried that whole parting out a donor vehicle thing once...Key word, once.

I applaud people with the time, energy, patience, and space to put into a dealing with a high volume of low value items and 'customers'. Rather, I have found that my limited quantities of those resources are better put into the vehicle I'm keeping rather than the one I'm scrapping, even if at some reasonable financial cost...Fortunately for me, She-Who-Enables-Every-Thing-Automotive wholeheartedly agrees.

In reply to Driven5:

SWEETA. I like that better than SWMBO.

Completely different vehicles but I bought 2 WRX wagons -05 with a good body but lunched engine and an 02 with a low mileage engine but serious rust issues. I paid $500 for each. Swapped the good engine into the 05. Parted the 02. I sold enough parts to pay for both and make about $1000, plus sold the 05 for $6500. Let a couple of young guys take the 02 shell with what was left (they wanted the turbo wiring harness for their Rally car)

Used funds to buy my Honda Rally Car.

Parting isn't always fun, but it can be profitable.