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240sxONE Tech » Blog Archive » How to Swap an LS1 into a 240SX Part 1

People hate because it's true. LS is a very, very, very good engine.

Weigh the pros and cons.

Pros: Kills everything. So easy to tune a baby can do it and they do. Chicks dig v8's.

Cons: Dont even worry about those.

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Just another broke ass drifter

Mr.Clerc

HAHAHAHAHAHA thumbs up i feel you.





Now, I dont want to come off as a cheap bastard but I am kinda on my own with funds being 17 years old. Where would be the best place to find an LS motor, like local craigslist ads or are there some not shady websites on the internet I can scoop one for cheap?

S14DB

Look for wrecked cars to pull one out of.

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Comments should be taken as Opinions not as Statements of Fact

surge s14

Just go all turbo no motor!

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Vitzio240sx

There's no replacement for displacement...

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"Men with guts attack those corners!"-Keiichi Tsuchiya

Mr.Clerc

Hahaha nar


Thats not a bad idea though, im bout to go hit up some local junkyards lol

ivantheterribl3

Many of us have been in your shoes guy. I have a car I got all crazy with and started building a mtor for when I was 17 and moneyless. It now sits in my garage collecting dust. It'll get done one day once the drifting bug subsides (if it ever does) but my best advice to you, is to be patient, save your money, spend then next couple years polishing your abilities by maintaining your car yourself and becoming a better driver with less power. Read up as much as you can on alll kinds of motors, and make a decision on a build when you have the proper knowledge to have a complete opinion on what kind of engine you desire.

Just my .02

PureRush

VH45<===LS1

Way more affordable if you just want a stock V8 with good power an torque. Swap can be done for less than $2K

Mr.Clerc

I hear you man, that what my two dads and moms keep telling me but my plan after my last year of high school is to join the Marines, and im 100% serious about joining too so i have a very little amount of time before im gone for a while. But as for right now im getting the car where i want it and learning about it before i even touch my engine. The point of the thread was to just get my bearings on what i want to do with her but i do respect and appreciate your opinion and understand where you're coming from

hotlavaflow

The VH45DE is nice esp if you don't feel like going internal and if you don't mind cutting your hood. Shoehorn it in there and drive and it sounds nasty.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOBDN...eature=related

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ivantheterribl3

Well in that case, just LS it. Or do a honda motor. Imho there's no other motors worth doing an n/a build with. And hondas are super ghey

feito

this is actually not bad of a thread. It keeps pushing me to put a 20v on a aw11, but this is 240 talk... im probably gonna read more on that sr20ve, it sure would be nice to have a 200hp high revving n/a 4 cyl on an s13

eek

SO TRUE it hurts all the JDM fanboi followers. Like I said before, LSx variant is the best way to go. Its reliable, easy to source parts since its a domestic and parts from the dealer are not insane. Lets not forget oh the NICE abundant wonderful aftermarket support for these motors. VH45 if your on a tight budget and want to hack-up your front support to squeeze it in there. Not to mention if you want to go bigger than the 5.7L LS1/LS6 there's other options if you have more $$$ like 6.0L LS2 and the 6.3L LS3 both you can leave stock and have loads of fun oh did i forget to mention you CAN make it a CARB LEGAL swap if you spend the time like a few people have.

Mr.Clerc

When you say carb legal...you mean it is legal to have a carburated 240?

This thread blew up more than i thought it would and i recieved A LOT of input so thanks to errrybody!! But I've come to the conclusion that eventually there will be an LS motor varient in my car

Thanks again thumbs up Zilvians!!!!

S14DB

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Comments should be taken as Opinions not as Statements of Fact

Croustibat

Only on markets that have V8's though

I'd love to get an LSx in my S13. But importing one from the US and getting the transmission would cost 2 or 3 times what i already paid for it. So sticking with my OEM CA18DET

Om1kron

In a nutshell, you probably don't have the money to make any of your ricer dreams come true. This is the reality that people can't seem to face when they think that a car is some kind of return investment. Once they make the realization that they can't afford to make the version of their car they hoped and dreamed for even slapping every fake part to make up for the slack of their budget on it. doing a couple of shit events and realizing you need to move on with life and grow up.

You'll quickly realize that the people replying to this thread with advice have not made the jumps with their builds or projects their suggesting because they too have realized they don't have the money to go through with half of the shit they post on these forums. And the few that do add up the stresses of spending the money vs the fun they're having with the car and silently disappear from here just like you will until we get the next wave of people who just bought a 240, want to get an fd license, or be the next senna.

And the few who are actually doing what they post on the forums are still building their cars, will never finish building their cars, and even if it seems done there is always more to do.

In the end it depends on where you're sitting in life.

That's pretty much the best answer you're going to get in this thread.

I can tell if you can't afford an LSX swap which will run 10 grand for everything to get it running out the door, anyone who tells you otherwise hasn't done it or has an LSX swap sitting around uninstalled because they're waiting for more parts to get it working. OR CAME UP.

I can tell you won't be able to afford any nissan v6 swap because those run around 7-8k for everything and not a lot of people do them, very few and you're not going to be able to take the car to someone and have them press a magic button to make everything easy for you and if you do find them you can't afford their time.

If you don't want to bother with a 2500-6000 dollar sr20 swap with a turbo you can always just keep the car KA and enjoy all of the natural abilities of that motor it has to offer and focus on making the car nicer in other areas.

Making power, sustaining that power, and maintaining that power all cost a lot of money.

And when people post "what should I get, but I don't think I can afford this" then the thread stops right fucking there and this should be quoted in EVERY thread someone posts about what should they do to their new car while working extra hours at the dairy queen thinking that they're going to have a team burst car with 6 months of paychecks and tons of free labor from awesome friends.

Because that's not reality.

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Wayne

KiLLeR2001

^ Wayne T. Edwards speaks the truf.

I think you have to be a little insane to go from start to finish on a car build. All my friends and family that aren't into cars look at me like, "Why are you doing all this to your car?"

Most people wake up one day and go "Enough is enough." Then you'll see the car for sale or a part out thread. As for me, there is no stopping. The goal has been set, and the goal will be achieved.

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Croustibat

Agreed on everything you posted.

Still, sometimes it is nice to dream a bit

I have "somewhat finished" my S13, after something like 4 or 5 years of work. And my goal was quite simple; no engine rebuild nor swap, circa 300HP (my car came with a CA18DET as it is a european one, so thats a basic "stage 3" design running e85) and a chassis that can handle it.

And it really feels good now. But it frustrated me for 4 years, working on it every week, breaking things, learning and so on.

The thing is, no stock car feels like that. Not even porsches i tried. And i cant afford them anyway.

It runs and i am quite happy with it
Still you are right, it is unfinished. I need to glue the spoiler, change some bushes, find faulty couplers that sometimes leak, and so on.

I know it will never be finished. And it probably will end its life in some tyre walls on a track. When that happens ... i will get/build a true race car, because i like that, and because i acquired some skills when buliding the S13. Oh, and because i know how much its costs, and how much money i have to spend. That is a very important thing

Mr.Clerc

Again everyone is entitled to their opinion and yes that is reality. But the reality for me is I work my ass off every day for 11 hours weed whacking at 17 years old. When I Want to do something I get it done or i try my hardest and dont give up. And yes thats what everyone who has been around my car is saying "Oh you'll never get it done, your a fronter ect." blah blah blah I know what my abilities are and how to use them so when I say there will be an LS in my car....there will be an LS in my car. Believe me or not, hater or realest thanks for sharing man.

Matej

Please do teach me more about this, or point me to some literature.
I have been seriously considering selling my SR20DET and finding an SR20DE.
Mainly because I do not really feel like dealing with turbo stuff, and the SR20DE seems like an even simpler, smaller, and lighter KA.

codyace

I mean this in the nicest way possible, but if you can't handle working with a simple det, than an involved DE isn't the way to go (having had MANY friends do the same)

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Matej

My aspirations are nowhere near that motor, I am only curious. Mainly about the Reytec ECU.
If I do go for the DE, it will just be a plug-and-play swap with some generic bolt-on parts.
And it is not that I cannot handle my DET, I just do not really care to anymore.

Croustibat

Ok i am going to try to say it another way.

As you say, you are working every day for 11h and not getting a lot of money for that.

Why dont you just wait until you get enough money per month to do it without having to sell an arm and a leg, and spend your hard earned cash on something else ? Chances are that in a couple years, you will earn in a week what you now earn in a couple of months. And when you will think back about it, you'd think "i was stupid to use all my money on a stupid car that needed even more money to just run".

You are 17, have fun with your car in the current state, get tyres and chassis elements to drive the crap out of it and have an overall fun in your life.

When you hit 20 and get money in an easier way, make the swap. What is the point in spending maybe 1 year worth of hard work on an engine, when a couple of years later it will just be a 2 month bill ?

Better enjoy the fun of being young while you can. Because it does not last.

codyace

Ah, I misunderstood you then on that one. I was under the impression you were having issues.

Maybe even consider a Calum ECU for the setup too, or Nistune.

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Want Air Conditioning in your SR20 Swapped car? Check out www.sr20acbrackets.com for more information!

Quest Alternator Conversions for SR20! Check my Group Buy!

Tired of lousy internal gates? Go external wastegate with one of my manifolds, Check out my group buy

Matej

As tempting as it has been to sell my DET and buy a complete SR20DE setup, lately I have been more and more inclined to keep it and try out the SR16VE/SR20VE head swap.

Unfortunately information on it is scattered all throughout the internet, and a lot of it is false. It would be neat if Zilvia compiled a guide for it, including a list of necessary parts, accessories available to make it easier, and et cetera.

I am sure the swap will only keep becoming more common.