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Price of Top Swap?

S

sickofsoyo

New member
I want to do a top swap on my monte carlo, but Im kinda afraid of the costs. The car is in excellent condition, I just want more pep out of it. I checked out the process in the write up. Im just curious how expensive your top swaps were and where you got your parts from this way I can get together a list and get a final figure. Im planning on goin to the junkyard sometime and looking for a parts engine, but would like to know online retailers you used besides zzp and wbodystore
 


Morad want's about $700 for all the parts. Then you need bolts, gaskets, fluids, etc.

It's hard to put a final figure on the total cost because everyone can source parts for different prices. Also keep in mind you'll be putting used parts on your vehicle, so things like a valve job, checking heads for cracks, milling, etc to renew these parts will add in.
 
well initially what I was going to do it go to the local junk yard and pull the parts myself if I can find em. And then buy what I need, such as missing parts, gaskets, etc. But incase I cant do that, I want to know how much it would cost to buy the stuff online. I was hoping to keep the price under 1000, but it doesnt look like it will happen. I'm just tryin to see if there are places online where people have bought parts that are cheaper than the norm. Morad I checked out and I will still need some parts because I have a monte carlo and for some reason they decided to change even more things on our cars.
 
sickofsoyo said:
Morad I checked out and I will still need some parts because I have a monte carlo and for some reason they decided to change even more things on our cars.
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I have an Impala (same as a Monte) and things are more or less the same. The only thing I can think of is the coil pack bracket that is different, but you need that anyway for the top swap. What are you told is different?
 
i have some parts lying around....
harmonic balancer
coil pack bracket
i went with the ZZP M90 kit, ill be in the 12's in the coming weeks on a 3.4 pulley
 


Sabrewings said:
I have an Impala (same as a Monte) and things are more or less the same. The only thing I can think of is the coil pack bracket that is different, but you need that anyway for the top swap. What are you told is different?
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well from what I can see...

MC's need the iron coil bracket and ignition module adapter plate. And for larger injectors I have to get injector connectors.

And Qwik GT, whats the story on those parts? You have em for sale?

Another question for you guys, did any of you contact your insurance company and alert them to the changes? Did this affect your rates at all? I have to do that and get clearance before I do anything. I am not the primary driver on my car, it is in my dads name as I am still a minor.
 
sickofsoyo said:
MC's need the iron coil bracket and ignition module adapter plate. And for larger injectors I have to get injector connectors.
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You need the coil pack bracket anyway since the L36 coil pack bracket won't work for the L67 pulley system. If you get the right coil pack bracket, you don't need the adapter. And, as for larger injectors, no matter what car all 00+ L36 engines have to use injector connectors.

They didn't build the engines to a particular car, so what car you have doesn't really matter.

sickofsoyo said:
Another question for you guys, did any of you contact your insurance company and alert them to the changes? Did this affect your rates at all? I have to do that and get clearance before I do anything. I am not the primary driver on my car, it is in my dads name as I am still a minor.
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My insurance company doesn't care. Then again, I have USAA and they're one of the best companies to work with period. They say as long as I notify them so the parts can be claimed in the event of an accident there will be no other changes.
 
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Honestly, I would look around at your local junkyards. Some people find complete L67's for $500. Or just look for a totalled (preferably rear-ended of course) GTP or something. You can find cheap parts if you look in the right places.
 


sickofsoyo said:
well initially what I was going to do it go to the local junk yard and pull the parts myself if I can find em. And then buy what I need, such as missing parts, gaskets, etc. But incase I cant do that, I want to know how much it would cost to buy the stuff online. I was hoping to keep the price under 1000, but it doesnt look like it will happen. I'm just tryin to see if there are places online where people have bought parts that are cheaper than the norm. Morad I checked out and I will still need some parts because I have a monte carlo and for some reason they decided to change even more things on our cars.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I got a real good deal on my hard parts, and I shopped around for the bet prices on the Bolts gaskets and fluids, and the total for that part was Prob $1100, add tools and the tuner and it was $1700ish, I could have built a turbo setup for that much:th_shakinghead2:......But it was worth it, the smile you will have the first time you see boost(and everytime after that) is simply awesome.....


silverbullet said:
check with trannyman95 someone here bought a top swap from him awhile back.
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Yep, that was me, It was extra from a project he was working on, so I doubt he has any just laying around, but PM him incase..........Oh and Trannyman95 FTW
 
i bought everything for a top swap, the heads came with 130# springs, and i got OER lifters, oil restricted pushrods, and a TEP cam with it.

$600. beat that.
 
im switching to the new ZZP ssm90 rails soon, so the ones i have now would be for sale after the holidays. if you dont wanna pull the heads off why not go SSM90?
 


QwikGT said:
im switching to the new ZZP ssm90 rails soon, so the ones i have now would be for sale after the holidays. if you dont wanna pull the heads off why not go SSM90?
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Though, pulling the heads gives you the opportunity to have everything cleaned and refreshed at a machine shop. That way you have a practically brand new top end to play with, and not heads that have 60k+ miles on them. The heads I bought were off a 80k mile bonnie, and they're not pretty.
 
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