heavy throttle or local?

[240sxdominos]

hey guys since im planning on doing my sr swap this summer i thought it would be a good idea to CHOOSE a place to do it. Heres my deal, I have a local shop thats pretty new (RedShift) and they mainly work on 240's. The guy told me he could do the swap (basic stock setup) for around 4500 including labor. I could either do this and get the stock setup or I could go for the trip up to HT and get their basic engine swap package for 4900 + install but get the power i want (around 250rwhp). I just want some opinions on whether its worth it to pay the extra money and take the trip to HT or should i get the stock swap here and do mods as i go along (I live in northern VA). I appreciate the help and I HAVE searched and read all the great reviews on HT but i want to be sure seeing as this is a large investment for me.

[240guyNY]

FYI - if you search around and do pricematching etc. you can get all the stuff cheaper than if you got the package. i know because thats why i did.but they are good guys there and they know their stuff

[240guyNY]

i mean thats what i did. saved a crap load of money too. ended up getting my stuff from 240sxmotoring.com because i didnt have to pay taxes since it in CT and its a shorter drive from long island than HT is. My swap will be done in 9 days. gonna be sweet to get back behind the wheel of a 240

[240sxdominos]

i mean thats what i did. saved a crap load of money too. ended up getting my stuff from 240sxmotoring.com because i didnt have to pay taxes since it in CT and its a shorter drive from long island than HT is. My swap will be done in 9 days. gonna be sweet to get back behind the wheel of a 240

how much did you get the engine swap done for? how much did you spend roughly after all your mods? what mods have you done?

[justmerging]

almost anywhere you go labor for the swap is gonna be around $1500 so add that to heavy throttle package price. also if your swapping from auto to 5 speed expect to add $300 or so on top of everything else. Why not do it yourself? save a ton of dough and spend it on parts to make it faster. I had phase 2 do my swap and they did a great job but I wish i had done the swap myself and saved a little cash.

[deCksy]

do it yourself and save some cash... if you have some friends that have experience then invite them over and treat them to some food and beer (if over 21). it'll save you a gang of money on labor. But if you cant do it yourself, just drive around to local shops and since Redshift is right around the corner you could check them out and see how the facility is like and the staff also.

i did my swap myself with some friends and my swap came out super cheap. $1390 on the swap itself and i had a bunch of aftermarket parts

[JesusLikesKFC]

Take the trip to HT, went up there for my swap. good rep up there too. when i get it back in bout a week im positive ill have plenty of good things to say too. oh yeah.....Jeffs a nice guy, hell treat you n ur car good

[fullthrtl_tech]

a kid i know had heavy throttle do the swap, and it came out nice, when he had problems they helped him but he would have saved a hell of a lotta money doing it himself, just send the harness out, if u dont like wiring

[fullthrtl_tech]

then all the money u save u can get deals on performance parts, and surpass the 250 mark if u want

[srdrps13]

yeh bro.. if u have a driveway or a garage and a few friends to help u out it should be realli easi.. lol i bought 200 dollars in tools from home depot and after i finished the swap returned them... u save a **** load of money and you know your not doing anything wrong. thats just my opinion though.

[srdrps13]

yeh bro.. i wouldn't mess with the harness if you dont have much experience with it.. save the trouble and send it out.. i got mine for 118

[xsublimefrekx]

i just checked put the site and my car is in the background, the grey 240, i feel kinda special. Jeff is a real good guy and is doing my swap now, he has helped me alot since i have moved o college and knows his stuff, i wouldnt have doubts going with them.

[I ask good questions]

I got an sr swap done... late model redtop, exedy stage II clutch, greddy vspl front mount, and full 3" custom bent exhaust for 3955 total paid. There have been a few problems... but all in all nice work. My shop has taken care of me too!

[95lstegman]

i'd say if you're asking the question of whether or not to take it to a GOOD shope, like HT, then do it. personally i spent 4 weeks from the time i bought a 240 to the time i first drove it. if you have lots of time on your hands to pick up knick-knacks and such for the swap, then do it yourself. you'll get it eventually. just make sure you have another car that works great. for me this was my first nissan ever, and my first real engine swap, and from the time i got the engine to the time the car ran was 2 weeks. the swap itself was done in a few days of spare time, but i had to figure out what to do for an intercooler, wait for parts, etc.

bear in mind that these time frames are from myself only, who was working part-time and took a whole week off once the engine was in to take care of wiring and i/c, exhaust, hoses, etc. i am also a pretty good mechanic and have done all sorts of wiring jobs on my last car and have done plenty of engine work and such in the past. i am also ASE certified. i'm not saying you need this qualifications for this swap; it's a pretty easy swap, as far as swaps go. but GOOD knowledge of cars and friends with good knowledge are necessary.

BTW, going to a GOOD shop like HT usually means you get a short warranty on the swap and all goods. i know XAT offers 30 days full coverage. burning oil, water, electrical problems, bad clutch . . . you name it, it's covered. this can turn out to be VERY, VERY nice. it also comes with properly-working a/c, heat, p/s, etc., which sometimes don't come out right when you DIY or with a no-name shop.

[Rookieca18det]

I would just try and get some of our lovely members on the board to try and help you out. For the most part every1 on here is pretty damn cool (except for the occasional ca18 bashing ), so if you could convince some1 in VA to help ya out who has already done the swap it would save you a lot of cash. There has gotta be some1 within a 30-40 min drive of you. You'd be suprised what ppl will do for free beer and food . Prolly get er' knocked out in 2 weekends. Well good luck bro.

-richard

[95lstegman]

I would just try and get some of our lovely members on the board to try and help you out. For the most part every1 on here is pretty damn cool (except for the occasional ca18 bashing ), so if you could convince some1 in VA to help ya out who has already done the swap it would save you a lot of cash. There has gotta be some1 within a 30-40 min drive of you. You'd be suprised what ppl will do for free beer and food . Prolly get er' knocked out in 2 weekends. Well good luck bro.

-richard

actually, to original poster, this is probably the best thing yet. esp. somebody who has gone through their share of problems with the swap. do this and you'll probably be very happy with your swap. just make sure you're extra nice to people when you ask them and when some people say yes tell them "the more the merrier." if it turns into an SR party don't worry; they'll be happy. it will get done sooner or later, and if they're happy, they won't get bitchy. hell's yeah mean, i'd do it if a few other SR owners were doing it too

[240sxdominos]

thanks for all the input guys, yea it would be awesome if some local owners could help me out but it might get complicated, plus i dont have a garage or anyplace like that to do the swap. But please keep the ideas coming.

[95lstegman]

if you're REALLY nice to somebody, he might let you perform the swap at his place. i would smooth that guy with some cash if you know what i mean. a couple hundred bucks is nothing compared to what you would pay a shop, and would surely sway somebody who doesn't really want to host a swap for a couple weeks.

[srdrps13]

id let u do it at my place for a couple hundred but im in delaware lol...

[95lstegman]

hehe ditto that's why i suggested it

[240sxdominos]

interesting, might be interested in doing that but not until the summer though. ill keep it in the back of my head. thanks buds

[dareo]

if you have space do it yourself. Get the wiring done professionally, and its a very simple swap. Just take out your old stuff, put in the SR, plug in the pro-converted harness and drive away. you learn about your car and save tons of $$$. A lot of shops don't even know how to do an SR swap. They charge you, and figure out how to do it themselves.

[240sxdominos]

do you guys think that

if you have space do it yourself. Get the wiring done professionally, and its a very simple swap. Just take out your old stuff, put in the SR, plug in the pro-converted harness and drive away. you learn about your car and save tons of $$$. A lot of shops don't even know how to do an SR swap. They charge you, and figure out how to do it themselves.

do you guys think that my buddy who is a mechanic could do it? he worked at merchants tire and places like that so he knows his way around a car but no engine swaps before, but if the swap is as easy as take out the KA and put in the SR then he should be able to figure it out. right? would he need experience with turbos or anything? i appreciate all the help guys

[95lstegman]

no, but you need experience with engine swaps and wiring. i wouldn't want somebody installing my motor with no experience with it other than me. i want to make sure it gets broken in very well and nothing is not perfect before start-up. i know sometimes people get forgetful, but if i F my motor, the only one i have to blame is myself. if my friend F'ed my $1k imported motor i'd kill him.