Ok... So the dude rips out a functioning M96 to swap in an LS1 that he bought from the swamp people... He needed to do the clutch anyways, so why not try an LN bearing and go from there?

Oh and what else did he rip out? It lost 600lbs in this transformation? I'll believe that the LSx is lighter, but by 600lbs? I'm calling BS...

Oh and he has a Murcielago? Something smells fishy here.... :rolleyes:

I think the LS motors are around 150 lb lighter. Maybe he ripped out all of the stuff that he couldn't get working?

Like I said... I smell fish! ;)

Nothing fishy about it. He's a very smart dude....and clearly likes to have fun with his cars.

...but not smart enough to put airconditioning in a black on black car. I think I would pass. Even at $15K.

This. :)

I think they are strictly ABS based on that car.

Total hack job. I read most of the thread posted on the bimmer forum. Running large currents straight to toggle switches, no a/c, rats nest of cooling tubing, cut up panels etc. Something to buy for LeMons racing maybe. ;)

Guy sold the good running engine out of it to do this. Haha. That way he was "funding" the swap. I would very much imagine he'd have been better off selling the running car and buying one with a dead engine.

Moved to CA - see, there you go. :D

G

And the engine he sold had the IMS done. It just needed a clutch. He's a moron.

Thinking a car that new in that price range needs:
1) Air
2) Power steering
3) Cruise
4) Smog comply, etc

I'd put the money toward a 996 TT for sure.....

Like I said, he could have sold that car and gotten one with a blown engine for $7k instead. He got punished though, if you read his thread. There was a lot of not so fun times in the engine compartment, and he even had to go to the shop because he was too stoopid to get his clutch right ... :)

Don't get me wrong, a great engine swap into a 996 would be a lot of fun to do, but you have to do it right, even on a budget.

G

Dude has a Murcie... I have a hard time believing his "budget" was restrictive on this project...

The 996 was going to be his winter 'beater'. Not uncommon to have a winter car that's worth 20% of your summer car, I reckon.

That points me to another thing I learned in his thread. He didn't get the car done in time for winter. ;) Totally in over his head. Can't say that I haven't been off on my car project timelines before.

G

Rather than press out the trans mount, he decided to fill it with what looks like RTV or epoxy. Clearly, he didnt think things through.

A winter beater in San Diego? I didn't think they got winter...

I still kind of like the idea of an LS3 (or LSA) swap, but not his execution of the task.

Would a Renegade "kit" have been a cleaner install?
Or are all of these transplants "hack jobs"?

Very few motor swaps in modern cars have OEM levels of assembly and function. Those that do are often swaps of a different OEM option, such as swapping a Japanese market diesel into a Land Cruiser that was never offered with a diesel in the USA. To get it right you not only have to have excellent fabrication skills, you also have to be able to figure out the various integration issues like A/C, power steering, cruise, and getting the gauges to work. The more modern the car, the harder the swap. If you swap a 3.6 into a longhood, you don't exactly have to fake out any ECUs to make your ABS work.;)

So... maybe viable as a racing option, but not as a comfy DD option?

He was living in Michigan at the time.

He will end up reading this so I will say one thing: Good for him for taking on a somewhat challenging project. I'm not a purist or a snob, but I think he started with the wrong car. That was dumb.