How much would you pay for a SR swap?

[Hksuperman4000]

Doing a swap soon and kind of want to you how much swaps are going for or maybe how much some people spent on swaps. Got a quote for $1000 for swaping the motor in and 5 speed swap and swaping the clutch. Any suggestion thanks!

[jrmiller84]

$1000 for a full swap? It's going to be a horrible swap unless that is just the labor(I assume it is).

I just spent over $7000 on my swap. I could have saved some here and there though.

Do some research, the information isn't hard to find.

Enjuku will charge you a bit over $6k for a good solid swap. I believe their labor rate is $1000 for the swap.

[qwikspool]

^^^i agree. do your search. rnd factory have a swap package for $2800. check them out.

[91rps13]

locally i got quoted $500 labor. $120 hoses,fluids, filters, sparks. And 110 for optional intercooler piping....

but i think am gona swap it myself and go get it tuned.. Ill save some $$$ for power adders plus ill expand my knowledge(huu fancy!)

[Irukandji]

$5 .

[s13speeddrft]

Each place is going to be different, doing a little calling to different shops to get a ballpark idea wouldn't hurt. But 1k better be just for the labor and not the complete swap.

[Hksuperman4000]

Opps should have stated that I already have the motor with me and its just for the swap in and 5 speed swap. So pretty much just for labor for taking my old and puting the new in and swaping it to 5speed. Any more thoughts?

[95zilvia]

i'd do it in my garage for $600 just labor
but i don't have a garage :(

[opticfilms]

i do have a garage i can do it for $800.00 give me two days.

[Farzam]

$3-4k pending what modifications i'd like to do at the time.

A good friend of mine supposedly can get a full swap for $1k from some dudes in Japan, but I honestly don't want to risk it and lose $$.

[wootwoot]

I'll charge you the typical 90 dollars an hour thing. If you really want we can look it up flat rate in the book and charge that but that'll hurt you

[sleepy_s13]

if you have everything needed it shouldnt cost any more than a grand, or just read some threads and do it your self. or at least pull out the ka then take it in for the swap, maybe the guy will charge you less.

[clean_s14 (VIP ed.)]

1500 for labor alone or D.I.Y but i'd send out the wiring...

[clean_s14 (VIP ed.)]

sorry, double post...

[Max_PSi]

You get what you pay for.

[Mathetai]

Ya I did it myself, but $1200 is what I charge. Im a rip off :)

[Wahl 136]

I paid $7500 for all install parts and my front clip when I first got it.

['90RPS13]

I charge $750 to pull, drop and wire. Can have one done as quick as a day or as long as 5. Depends on the car. Wiring is easy guys. No need to send it off. Shit, if you want send it to me, i will wire/solder it and send it back.

[Cash]

There's a place in Mexico that's giving sr's away. You should move down there and check it out.

[steve shadows]

If i did a swap I'd charge at least 1,000 in labor.

+ all parts.

[bardabe]

Bring me the car, bing me the parts you want installed along with the motorset, drop it off friday night pick it up sunday afternoon. all for a nice price of 500$

[jspaeth]

You can always find someone that is capable of doing it, but doesn't have credentials, to do it for relatively cheap....pay more if you want someone reputable and a guaranteed perfect job.

I had mine done by Nick @ builtperformance in NY.....came back clean as a whistle, I literally would have licked any part inside my engine bay....they detailed the whole car and engine bay and the thing runs like a charm, never any problems....

Pay less, get less.....do a bootleg job, you might end up with electric problems keeping your car in the garage for weeks

[arkive43]

im sorry but if you payed over 3000 for an sr swap u got raped....again i apoligize, but dam thats way too much.


to answer the thread 0.00 pulling a ka is pie swapin in the sr same. wireing is a cinch cause now you can buy the harness allready wired or just ask some one like '90RPS13 to do it.

[steve shadows]

im sorry but if you payed over 3000 for an sr swap u got raped....again i apoligize, but dam thats way too much.


to answer the thread 0.00 pulling a ka is pie swapin in the sr same. wireing is a cinch cause now you can buy the harness allready wired or just ask some one like '90RPS13 to do it.

you gotta pay to play.

3500 is about where i would put everything with parts.

most of the car swapping for 2500 dollar range have problems, that may not be apparent immediately but get worse over time, and are in general slow and shitty because even the base timing wasnt set right to begin with.

then theirs the whole idiotic and satanic practice of hacking apart nissan engine harnesses to wire in 'piggy back' ecus because you cant fucking get a decent tuned rom or buy a standalone, and now everytime you turn hard left your maf signal goes to shit etc...

[s13gold]

ballpark labor is any price for sr swap from 700 the cheapest i've seen or 1800 for labor from signal auto down here in socal...

dont do any shop with the cheapest. or if they're cheap, ask around first.

[suberi_RPS13]

Local place here charges 1k for labor and fluids for a swap and manual conversion.

[tknbkthrsdy4anfg]

Wait, they dont pay you for the privelage of putting a SR in such a sweet machine? Fuck, I didnt budget for that.

[sil80dreamer]

i paid a friend $200 to swap my motor, but he normally charges $500-$600.

[Max_PSi]

My swap ran me $5300.

S14 front clip, and install. Sold stuff off to re-coup my costs.

My swap cost as much as it did because I wanted all the options I had with my KA. AC, cruise, and ABS....etc.

Mind you my swap is 4 years old now, and I've had zero problems.

[Chez]

You can always find someone that is capable of doing it, but doesn't have credentials, to do it for relatively cheap....pay more if you want someone reputable and a guaranteed perfect job.

I had mine done by Nick @ builtperformance in NY.....came back clean as a whistle, I literally would have licked any part inside my engine bay....they detailed the whole car and engine bay and the thing runs like a charm, never any problems....

Pay less, get less.....do a bootleg job, you might end up with electric problems keeping your car in the garage for weeks


Nick is the man...I met him when i went out to his house to pick up some parts he had and he is as genuine as they come. im a newbie to everything 240 related so i had a lot of questions and he was like dude ask me anything you want to know, and we must have spent an hour just chatting. the man is an encyclopedia with 240's he really knows his shit. his prices are a bit higher than others places ive seen, but not unreasonable, and I would have no problem taking my car to him for work.


Im a big fan of the DIY method. If you read JRMiller's thread on his sr20 swap it will tell you a lot of the ins and outs of how to do it yourself. Also there is an infinite amount of information on the internet about that swap.

So to answer your question. I would only pay the cost of the parts needed for the swap, and the beer required to get some friends with tools to come over and help, and id get it done with out paying for labor. Although i highly recommend professional tuning if you dont know what your doing. other than that, why pay labor for someone to turn a wrench. think about that 1000 dollars in labor. that is a nice full exhaust, or an upgraded turbo, or a really nice front mount with huge piping and a good boost controller. Labor is just throwing your money away as far as the mechanicals go. All it takes is some research, some tools, and some patience.

Just my .02 -Chez

[steve shadows]

i paid a friend $200 to swap my motor, but he normally charges $500-$600.

without papers? haha

[Avante]

a pack of cigarettes and a 12 pack of cherry coke.

[jkgaddis]

Im not trying to be a dick here, but have you really thought about this any more than "i want an sr". i say this because i feel that if you are going to get an sr you should swap it yourself along with the wiring and everything else. otherwise you are gonna screw yourself. if you dont do this you wont have as good of an understanding of how everything works and where it goes. than, everytime something bad happens, and it will, you will have to pay a shop to attempt to fix it and if they fail you will pay for them to try again. just do it yourself or wait till you have the resources to do it yourself, then you will have saved yourself money and gained a heap of knowledge.
just my 2cents.

fwiw, i did my first swap myself recently. ran into some road blocks, knocked those fuckers down and now i can take my car apart in under an hour with a 10mm,12mm,14mm,17mm, and visegrips. and the wiring is ridiculously easy. just use the frsport.com writeup.

[djp.]

rnd is a good one have friends that have done it there.. good place http://rndfactory.com .. directtuning does it to but i think there a little bit far for u http://directtuning.com

[sblack13]

Im not trying to be a dick here, but have you really thought about this any more than "i want an sr". i say this because i feel that if you are going to get an sr you should swap it yourself along with the wiring and everything else. otherwise you are gonna screw yourself. if you dont do this you wont have as good of an understanding of how everything works and where it goes. than, everytime something bad happens, and it will, you will have to pay a shop to attempt to fix it and if they fail you will pay for them to try again. just do it yourself or wait till you have the resources to do it yourself, then you will have saved yourself money and gained a heap of knowledge.
just my 2cents.

fwiw, i did my first swap myself recently. ran into some road blocks, knocked those fuckers down and now i can take my car apart in under an hour with a 10mm,12mm,14mm,17mm, and visegrips. and the wiring is ridiculously easy. just use the frsport.com writeup.

I agree with this guy, When I first did a sr install. The only thing I knew how to do was change my oil. Though I did run into stupid things, but eventually I learned from my mistakes. I am 1000x glad I did it myself, it never hurts to have a good understanding about your car. These cars are soooo easy to work on.

[dct223]

a pack of cigarettes and a 12 pack of cherry coke.

totally agree... but the times ive done swaps with friends i always had the diet coke.. too much sugar is badddd

[Chrischeezer]

the swap is cake and the wiring is easy as hell.. no reason anyone wouldn't be able to do it with hand tools and a hoist.

maybe 1000 at most i would charge someone..
should take about 4-5 days

[mdigiamm]

You should pay as much as its worth. NO more, NO less.

[DoriftoPnoy]

interesting. I'm only charging my friend with a set of injectors for his swap. Swap was for a legend. Auto to 6 speed, type I to type II.... V6's are not engine hoist friendly lol. but yea like everyone says ask around or do it yourself.

[fliprayzin240sx]

S13 SR in a S13, cake...make friends with some people whos done SR swaps before. Ask them to hang out for a couple of week ends, get them drunk and show them a good time, then ask them to help you with the swap. People cant say no to somebody who gets them drunk...

[myriad]

My swap ran me $5300.

S14 front clip, and install. Sold stuff off to re-coup my costs.

My swap cost as much as it did because I wanted all the options I had with my KA. AC, cruise, and ABS....etc.

Mind you my swap is 4 years old now, and I've had zero problems.

Did you do it yourself or did you have a shop do it?

[wannabe_drifter]

1000 seems alright especially with the 5 speed swap...

But I'm a big fan of the DIY method too
And it seems like a fairly easy swap to do for a beginner
There are like a ton of websites showing you how to do
(like heavythrottle.com) or other that I can't remember

[fliprayzin240sx]

Shiet better yet, aint there somebody selling a DVD on how to do the damn swap? I think thats a worthy investment if you've never done it. All you have to do is find a engine picker and a couple of friends to help you out.

[Cash]

S13 SR in a S13, cake...make friends with some people whos done SR swaps before. Ask them to hang out for a couple of week ends, get them drunk and show them a good time, then ask them to help you with the swap. People cant say no to somebody who gets them drunk...

Very true. I've tested this theory on a few girls. Works like a charm!

[Zane98S14]

I'm hopefully getting close to getting my swap started and just looked at the R&D Factory site. Everything looks good but hows the quality? I was going to buy my motor from Heavy Throttle but their's is a little cheaper. I've also heard from a buddy who works at a speed shop that some front clips are missing hoses and such items. Can anyone confirm or deny or have any such stories?

[azndoc]

^^^ Check in the Business reviews forum for reviews on R&D Factory. Or if you have questions you can pm me directly.

[djp.]

good friend of mine got his engine and silvia front end from there, all the parts came with it, and they replaced his fuel pump for him to.. lol

[TheS13kid]

Well i know this guy that does clean swaps for about 2,300 thats including pretty much everything (labor too), But i would rather go with R&D Factory, they have a real good SR redtop swap for 2800 and thats including labor.....NICE!

check em out.
www.rndfactory.com

[jrmiller84]

I'm hopefully getting close to getting my swap started and just looked at the R&D Factory site. Everything looks good but hows the quality? I was going to buy my motor from Heavy Throttle but their's is a little cheaper. I've also heard from a buddy who works at a speed shop that some front clips are missing hoses and such items. Can anyone confirm or deny or have any such stories?

Missing hoses? If I'm buying a motor that's travelled halfway across the world, I wouldn't mind buying a few hoses. I probably spent less than 30$ on hoses for my SR swap.


Back on topic, my swap will be done tomorrow and with that in mind, I recommend doing it yourself. After finishing my swap, there's no other way to do it in my eyes. You will have a perfect understanding of your car. You will know it's strengths and weaknesses, whereas if some dipshit at a shop does it, who knows what he slacked on. You can read my build thread (http://www.zilvia.net/f/showthread.php?t=136986) for reference. It was my first swap ever.

If you absolutely have to get it done by a shop, at least make sure it's a reputable one. Spend the extra money to have it done right.

[cgtdream]

hmm after shopping around for prices, i would pay 3k max, for an s14 engine set, or clip.......and oh yeah, you better belive i would do it on my own :rawk:

[jkgaddis]

Shiet better yet, aint there somebody selling a DVD on how to do the damn swap? I think thats a worthy investment if you've never done it. All you have to do is find a engine picker and a couple of friends to help you out.

DO NOT BUY THIS DVD!!! its useless, i bought it for review purposes and its horrible. It shows you how to do thing insanely wrong. it also does not have anything on wiring. then the rest of the video is this dude going on and on about his JDM fetish. its fucking dumb.

just my review.

[cgtdream]

DO NOT BUY THIS DVD!!! its useless, i bought it for review purposes and its horrible. It shows you how to do thing insanely wrong. it also does not have anything on wiring. then the rest of the video is this dude going on and on about his JDM fetish. its fucking dumb.

just my review.


a dvd??? :wackit: when most of you guys who had never done a swap before, actually swapped in an sr20 on your own, what was your approach? cause i would think that just jumping right into it and just "doin it" would be the better approach.....btw, i love monkeys ^_^

[jkgaddis]

i actuallly did my swap before i got the dvd. for the price of the dvd you can buy enough beer to get you through the whole swap.... J/K dont drink and wrench. but seriously all the information is on the web. look at heavythrottle and stuff. the video is this guy with absolutely no experience doing the swap. so you can imagine the depth of his advice, worthless. they should make a different dvd with people who have done it and know all the ins and outs and THAT would be worth it. maybe with a little common problems section with parts on how to fix it. hmmmmm...... i do need money.

[zoototheyork]

ill do it for 790 cash and have it done in 12 hours

[s14sx]

S13 SR in a S13, cake...make friends with some people whos done SR swaps before. Ask them to hang out for a couple of week ends, get them drunk and show them a good time, then ask them to help you with the swap. People cant say no to somebody who gets them drunk...

I will get you drunk tonight!! lol

[street240]

I think you should throw a zilvia swap party for everyone. Get a keg and some pizza and im sure some people will show.

[Vision Garage]

ill do it for 790 cash and have it done in 12 hours

That will probably cover your plan ticket and food. In all honesty, you should really try to do it yourself. Its pretty straightforward. Just take out and drop back in. Only thing you might have trouble with is wiring but that can be done quick. If you need help, PM me. Always down to help a zilvian. :wiggle:

[Chez]

I think you should throw a zilvia swap party for everyone. Get a keg and some pizza and im sure some people will show.

This is probably the best idea I have ever heard. So lets say you have one person who has a house with a garage that can handle two cars. Four people meet up at said house with their cars.

Day One, two cars are pulled in and the motors are removed. Then the next two cars are pulled in and get the same treatment. Next all four cars get their engine bays cleaned and new engine mounts replaced and other smalle items. Finally, each person preps their engine to go in.

Day Two, one car at a time, all four people help drop the engine in. After two cars have the engines in two people each work on one car at a time, getting everything hooked up, and filling fluids. Then the other two cars get the same treatment.

End of day, Start up all cars. Check them over and compare results. Collectively trouble shoot any problems. Then go for a drive

-Chez:ughd:

[apexhumper]

That ^ is a nice idea lol every month or so I'm sure ppl would need a swap, could be like the BBQ's ppl always have, show up, get food do a swap, drink, have fun, shoot I'd show up just to learn more, I'd love to know how to swap my own.

[Vision Garage]

Only a good idea if you have cool neighbors. If not, you might have to deal with the local police. Just a word of advice, get to know your neighbors and find out how cool they are. Dont want police to raid your house while you are dropping in your SR20s.