Stein

iTrader: (46)

Parish ran his at Topeka this weekend, probably was his.

He ran a 11.29. The guys at the track asked him to slow down. He next ran a 11.22. They nicely told him that he was done for the day.

Here's the video.

Stock LS1 on 100 then 125 shot.
http://neufamily.org/images/is300fil...ux%2011.22.wmv

Scrappy Jack

iTrader: (2)

Pricing is generally going to be a matter of competition and volume. How many of those swaps do you think that shops supplies parts for in the course of a three year span?

Opti

Even if your only using a LS1, you can make 500whp with Heads and Cam, supporting mods and a tune.

Dont see how builing the bottom end of a 5.0, and im asuming the top end also, cause who really builds a stroker with stock heads and cam, building a turbo kit and buying and tuning a whole new computer, can be cheaper than a h/c build for an ls1

Opti

Put a 5.3 in a 240z. The 5.3s arent down much hp over the 5.7 in the same trim and you can get them real cheap, **** get a 6.0 if you find one. If your going to DD it dont get into the LS1 my dick is bigger than yours mentality and put a huge cam in it. Something like a tr224 has great mid range and drives really really good.

elesjuan

iTrader: (11)

And you guys see $600 is justified for what is essentially $20.00 worth of raw steel and a couple $80 or $90 pancake motor mounts? My opinion the headers are the ONLY thing even remotely close to realistically priced, yet it makes me wonder after looking at them if another set of lsx headers would work..

Edit: ****, I forgot about that transmission mount.. That's easily like, another $40.00....

Opti

Your not including labor time. If you were doing your own build you could easily spend hours fitting the engine, and making sure everything has the right amount of clearance. So I dont think its overpriced too much. Id fab them myslef but I have more time than money, if it was the other way around Id buy them in a heart beat. Plus its people swapping LSxs into a Lexus, they have a pretty good amount of disposable income.
this is a low volume item so you have to charge more.

Look at exotic parts it the same thing on an extreme level. A radiator for a 355 is over 4K. There are two of them. You can go have a one off aluminum radiator made by a race shop for less then 1K. Same thing on clutchs, I looked up replacement of an Ferrari F1 (automated manual) trans clutch replacement, it was like 8-10K (part was 3-4K cant remeber exactly) and a small shop was selling a replacement clutch that had been reported to last longer and drive better for like 700bucks.

mx5autoxer

iTrader: (1)

Yeah ^^^. Just today on a Top Gear re-run Jeremy was doing a test drive an talking about how cheap it was to replace things on little hot hatches. He said the fender for the RenaultSport Twingo 133 he tore up was 600p while a fender for a Gallardo is 4,000p. I'm sure Lamborghini would still stay afloat if they sold it for only say, 1,000p, but the point is they know you've got money and you want that new fender.

Scrappy Jack

iTrader: (2)

When you say "the entire swap... [minus] transmission" are you talking about just the powertrain components and mounting bits (e.g. full engine, mounts, prop shaft, etc)? In other words, that $5,000 does or does not include the price of the chassis?

Do you have access to the equipment (and skills) needed for minor fabrication like cutting and welding of metal? How about body work?

Side note: some of the smartest financial/economics people I know of live in or near KC.

In that case, something more "boulevard cruiser" seems to fit. The IS300 seems like it might work for you - depending on the answer to the budget and resource questions.

shuiend

iTrader: (24)

I hate you guys. I now want an LS swapped IS 300 for my DD.

gospeed81

iTrader: (51)

Trust me, I'm all for LSxs. Cost can be prohibitive and I thought it was an alternative. I'm just saying a stock 5.0 can be fun.


Not my build...I just tuned it.

Heads and cam are not stock though. I think the forged internals came with a previous Mustang he'd owned, but he eventually plans to get a Dart block and swap everything over, get a bigger turbo, and turn it up. He ordered bigger injectors the other day to have the headroom in the engine management department, all hardware after that.

At the 500hp power level though it is nice to know you can just swap in another $200 longblock if something happens.

elesjuan

iTrader: (11)

I don't agree with you, but I understand your point. I've fabricated engine mounts to put sbcs in chassis that were never meant to be.. My time is worth money, but it took us all of 2 hours start to finish. That included a test fit, some cardboard patterns, a test fit with patterns, cutting the mounts and tacking together, fitting again, modification, then a complete weld. Again, it was $30.00 worth of steel plates, a drill press, miller wirefeed, and dewalt angle grinder which we already had. We sold those mount plates powdercoated in a color of your choice along with new poly mounts for $139.00. Enough of those sold to pay for our 2 hours, all parts, and all tools a couple times over again.

Reminds me once again of a terrible businessman I used to work for. No matter how hard I tried it was not possible to get through his skull that selling one item at 5000% profit made less money than selling 1000 items at 500% profit. My belief is he thought I wanted to lower prices in an attempt to sell more volume and get more in commission. Granted, I would've made a killing off commission, but he would've made a ton of profit none the less.. Idiot. Did I mention his business is no longer under his control? He was involved in a hostile takeover by the landlord for falling 10 months behind in his rent. She GAVE the business and all assets to a couple kids who worked there at the time and they're making damn good money using an intelligent business model.


Oh, yeah, I didn't specify that. Cost of the vehicle I'd like to keep at a minimum. Someone above posted they sold an IS300 for $1500.00 and I was beating my head on the desk!! Guess a better way to put that would be Cost of vehicle + $5000 for swap + Transmission..


Yes. I'm not a perfect highly skilled fabricator but do have access to free labor of a very skilled machinist/fabricator.. Body work, no. lol.

There are some really smart and really well off people that live in this area. Several large corporations are based out of KC so that helps. Just wish I could trade more of them for all the ******* idiots out there....

Back to budget... I don't even know what to do with this because I'm not trying to spend a **** load of money on a chassis, but at the same time I'd like something nice that I'd enjoy driving. You could stuff a big block in a Chevette but I'd ******* hate driving that pile of ****.. One big advantage I have is time IS on my side and no hurry to make a move..

nickt93

iTrader: (5)

LSX IS300 owner checking in. I can't say enough good things about this car/ swap. I didn't even know anyone was swapping LS motors into the IS when I found this car (was looking for an LSX FD) and wasn't crazy about the idea of an IS300 when I first found it. That all changed the first time I got behind the wheel. If I didn't already have one, I'd build one in a heartbeat.

I think Matt/Dedicated Motorsports prices are fair for some of the reasons outlined above, but even if you don't buy his stuff the swap is much simpler than putting an LS in a Miata. You retain the entire front subframe and motor mount locations, plus you can use the OEM differential/carrier/subframe.

The biggest downside to the IS is the initial buy in. I rarely see them for less than $7k, but if you keep your eyes open I'm sure you could find one for less.

If you have any questions about the car, feel free to contact me.

elesjuan

iTrader: (11)

Thanks for your input! I'd love to come check out the car in person but that'd be pretty difficult with my schedule and travel never takes me south, just north east. Think the two things that scare me are initial buy and wiring. Don't recall, but did Matt use a factory LSx engine harness or an aftermarket painless type plug-and-play harness and did he manage to get all of the factory gauges working? Looked like from the threads the water temp was the only non-functional, but I've seen a few pictures which it appeared to be reading.. Didn't they even retain the factory radiator with the swap? Figured the differential would take extra torque, I've never read about someone swapping it out after boosting the factory 2jz which is a HUGE plus..


The minimal amount of weight added with the swap is another big plus especially since I'm considering an iron blocked motor..

nickt93

iTrader: (5)

Not sure about the harness - I'd have to check. The GM ECU is mounted under the hood, so all in all the whole powertrain is relatively self-contained under the hood.

As for the gauges, all work but the temp gauge and the (useless) MPG gauge. A scan gauge is an easy workaround for the temp gauge though, which also provides other data.

The radiator is the OEM size, however it's an upgraded Koyo. No cooling issues so far - I'll have more insight after I do a track event in November (although with cooler temps it won't be as good a test as it would be in May-August).

Found an OEM Lexus Torsen diff for $250 yesterday that has been for sale for weeks. So...if the diff doesn't hold up at least it will be cheap to replace.

Opti

On a normal product I agree, decrease price and increase demand. Make more profit over more units. Problem is in a niche market your never going to sell alot, never. Id be surprised if this guy ever sold 100 of these. Low profit and low units is bad, high profits and a few units is better, and thats how most car parts are, you have a limited market. When you start talking about a part for one certain car your target audience shrinks, then when you start talking motor swap, even smaller, then when you add motor swap from another maker, even smaller, add in the fact its a completely different motor from a different country that seriously couldnt get any different from the original motor you market is even smaller. Especially a car that is EASILY swapped to a different very popular motor (2jz to 2jz-gte), you really have no market at all.

Plus this guy can make his money first then if the market grows and another manufacturer deems it a big enough market to get in, he undercuts the first guy and then the first guy (DM) can lower his price cause hes already paid for his R&D and maid a bunch of money.

Its the same in every industry, the originator gets the charge more.

rharris19

iTrader: (41)

We are spoiled by miata parts suppliers and I feel the LSx swap prices are very reasonable. One guy was making the motor/tranny mount for them for a while and selling them at $1500. Of course his where billet, but still. Also, the clutch master piece comes with more than just that:

"Since the stock lexus master cylinder is too small to actuate the ls1 hydraulic throwout bearing you will need to use an aftermarket 7/8 master cylinder. I’ve put this into a kit with all the parts you need including a adapter bracket and stainless braided pushlock clutch line."

We are seriously considering doing this to a buddies 04 IS300.

fmowry

iTrader: (8)

There is a coolant passage boss on each head (at least on the LS1-6). Use one for the GM sensor for the PCM and the other for the Lexus sensor for the gauge. You might need a sensor adapter from Autometer or egauges for the Lexus sender. Or leave it if you don't give a crap.

Stein

iTrader: (46)

Look at it this way, he is around $600 or thereabouts. The popular V8 swap kits for Miatas which arguably have sold more units is about $4K. As a fabricator who did my own V8 swap, I would be hard pressed see the value to DIY fab the IS swap for that kind of money.

nickt93

iTrader: (5)

Great donor car on Atlanta CL. Plus they already added the Z3 fenders so that's one less thing you have to do!

http://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/cto/2649240210.html


2002 LEXUS IS300 - $2800 (ATLANTA)
Date: 2011-10-14, 10:40AM EDT
Reply to: see below [Errors when replying to ads?]
2002 LEXUS IS300 PASSANGER SIDE BODY DAMGE.180K
RUNS AND DRIVES GREAT

PLEASE CONTACT LEXUS PARTS SOURCE @ 678-748-0167 OR 770-936-8186 FOR MORE INFO.
PRICE IS FIRM,PLEASE DONT CALL WITH OFFER



* Location: ATLANTA
* it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

elesjuan

iTrader: (11)

That poor poor car :(