engine conversion cost to DIY

[td42dan]

Just trying to get an idea on average cost, I have a td42t complete car, what would it roughly cost to swap motor into say GQ or GU ??? Excluding the cost of donor car.. trying to decide whether to pay for good paint job on existing GQ or do an engine swap. Thanks in advance.

[kevin07]

the cost to change over would virtually be the cost of the donor minus the sale of your current tedious job though although a 4.2 gu pulling big dollars

[BigRAWesty]

If you can find a cheap 4.5ltr gu then costs will be low and pretty simple to get rego'd as mounts will line up.

A 3ltr gu will require engineering as mounts will need to be cut and moved on the chassis.

[sooty_10]

I used a donor td42t ute and put it into a 98 rd28t GU. I needed to move the drivers engine mount forward slightly, I just bought a new Nissan mount from nizzbits and had a pro welder come around for $100 cash to weld the engine mount on. You wouldn't even tell it was moved. I needed a new radiator and cowl as donor ones were smashed. Everything else was already on the donor. I did replace the clutch and had the flywheel machined and also the rear main seal. All oils and coolant etc. and there was some misc items such as gaskets/sealants. Apart from the clutch and radiator the only other major cost I had was getting the wiring looms spliced together, as I couldn't be bothered trying to read wiring diagrams and stuff around. Sent both vehicle engine looms off and got one back. Worked out great, and in my opinion worth the price. Overall I'd estimate that it cost me about $2-2500 excluding the donor car (insurance buyback). I did all the labour myself in my mates shed.

As for engineering.... As I used a factory mount no-one would ever know it isn't factory, and it is only moved approx. 10mm (can't remember exactly), the vehicle was unregistered so had to go through the whole process at vicroads to get it re-registered and included engine swap with numbers etc. No dramas anywhere along the process.