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Reasonable amount of time to do swap?


Linc5.0

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what would you guys consider a reasonable amount of time to do a swap such as a lsx into a rx7. or 5.0 into something. what is considered a reasonable amount of time for a shop to do this?

 

many factors go into place... does said shop have all the parts needed an partial payment in?

 

givven the final ok on what needs to be done. ie what direction, what parts, setups ect?

 

if its a full custom job then it coudl take a while but if its jsut swapping out an existing motor an replacing with teh same then ide say not very long. but then again im not a mechanic

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Too many variables, to the extent of how custom the drivetrain will be and just how the owner intends to use it. I'd say at least a few weeks to a month, but a well built car would take longer. This is assuming the direction and parts are there and all planned out.
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An FD one can be done well using a kit in a weekend.

 

While I've no experience on RX7 swaps I have used so called "kits". It's not simple and straightforward to do a great job, most kits just supply the few hard to fab parts and leave a lot to be desired.

 

Just getting a car running in over a weekend doesn't mean that the quality of work is there.

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With all parts Ive seen a miata and rx7 get a 5.0 done in 2 days running and tuned with a nice cam.

 

Its more on the customer part getting all the parts then showing up at a pre notified date. And having the shop ready to focus on just your project.

 

If a shop is focusing on just 1 project, they're not doing something right.

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what would you guys consider a reasonable amount of time to do a swap such as a lsx into a rx7. or 5.0 into something. what is considered a reasonable amount of time for a shop to do this?

so many different factors play into this. so i'll try to cover some of them. so here goes

that would depend on alot of factors. the rx7 and 5.0 are both return style systems. the lsx can be modded to be rather easy.

 

the later rx7 needs a full kit, the first gens can be done with a $405 kit(mounts ,cross member, and drive shaft)(but still lots of other parts to it, liek radiator, exhaust and so on) while ones like your's have a complete k member and so on. but both take some custom wiring, and plumbing and mounting.

 

and the time line would also be along the lines of how much of a custom install is needed. and how long it would take to get it all sorted out. if building a motor from a bare block, it takes time. if your dropping in a drive train from a running donor car, it makes things much nicer and faster IMO. and if you have a few buddies that know what they are doing, and have done it before, it can be done in a few days. but may look like monkey butt if its just tossed in the car.

 

look at this car http://www.columbusracing.com/forums/showthread.php?t=70141

there is a ton of time and effort into making this car look the way it does. granted, a shop, spending X amount of hours a day, just working on that car with one or 2 guys, with every last part sitting there. would IMO, take atleast a few weeks to perfect. ie working around all the down falls you find(it happens). and making sure the customer is getting what he is paying for in the long run , is really what he wants. and if would also depend on how much fab work is needed aswell.

 

like cams car. it took me 3 days from start to finish(14 hour days at that,if not more) and cam and kurt helping.and all this stuff was almost, a direct bolt in. ok mainly kurt helping, but still and most of the donor car was already apart. and alot of it had to be modified and some things i found out, that were just not in internet write ups, that i found in doing the swap.plus the only part of that car i didnt touch was the rear end and suspension. everything else was. from painting the under hood area, to building a completely new exhaust for it, using parts from both cars.plus covering the wiring issue i came across.

 

like the older first gen car i have here. i am integrating the ford harness into the car like mazda/ford would have put it there. plus some custom touchs to help clean up both factory wiring harness of whats not needed. plus with having to redo some of the former work that is already there, just add's to my time. normally, something like this could be givin a rough estimate, but you really wouldnt know final cost till its all said and done. hell im told the engine is fresh in it, but not sure how well that will turn out, with it sitting out side, and nothing capped off. but i guess when i go to fire it up , i'll find out.

 

now , most know, i'll be the one to spend the time talking to a customer, and helping them understand what all is done and why. but most shops are normally working on more then one project like that at a time. and also have smaller jobs that make money. unless, you have said look, we have a dead line for this, and most shops will say, then it going to cost this XXXX much more for us to drop everything else, and rush yours. but i always find, when rushed, things dont always go as you would like them too.

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$XX/Per hour until it's done?

Advertised time for an install isn't always the case. Advertised install time is obviously in a perfect world, under perfect circumstances. In the same aspect, it does take time to do things right and not rush it. Slow and smooth with installs, tends to lead to a lot better quality build, than something on a time rush.

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Really depends on the level of attention to detail you are after. Whats acceptable to one person may not be to another. It is hard to estimate something like that unless you have done that swap before and know exactly what to expect. The hardest thing is that you are bound to run into unexpected obstacles that will pop up and take up time and it is almost impossible to plan for all of the unexpected hurdles.
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would you guys say that a year is too long for any swap? keep in mind my car took 4 months...

 

well , if you was stripping the car down to a bare shell, and doing a completely one off build, then yes a year is about right. but if your starting with a rolling car, shouldnt take that long at all....

 

i almost hate to ask, but whos car in what shop?

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would you guys say that a year is too long for any swap? keep in mind my car took 4 months...

Wtf??? A year? It had better be more than just a ls or 5.0 swap. Hell I repair semi trucks three to four days a week and still crank stuff out my shop a whole lot quicker than that.

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