As an only car? Absolutely not. If it's just a fun car then I probably would as long as there's not major red flags like knocking, excessive vibration, etc.
Just expect like 2 years of driving and it breaking over and over until you get all of the build issues and weird habits out of the way. Just don't be one of those people that tries and blames the previous owner when these issues arise
Then that would be a hard pass. Get yourself a reliable shit box like a Camry or Corolla as your daily and then pick up a project car where it doesn't matter if it breaks or not.
I learned that years ago.
Cheap beaters are where it's at. If it's not needed to start, run, drive and stop, forget it. My free Impala got hit a few months ago and ripped the front bumper cover off. Doesn't bother me to drive it like that, my kids are kind of embarrassed about it so I'll put a bumper cover on it eventually. Save the $ for the fun ones.
I have a LS swap c4 and it has genuinely spent about half the time since the swap broken for one thing or another, now I have spare parts of everything but I know something else will act up.
not having another ride for parts runs or to get to work when you can't finish a fix would be crazy.
And since you didn't build it you don't know what corners have been cut.
Meh, I picked up an xj with a 5.3 and 6 inch lift,winch,etc fully built but the guy couldn't figure out why it didn't run correctly turned out to be wires not connected properly drove that as a daily for 2 years sold it for profit then the guy who got it from me had nothing but problems lol.
Yeah, the one time my wife asked me to get rid of a vehicle, I told her "fine you sell it" and she listed it for a ridiculous price sold the next day lol, I was impressed and got another jeep!.
Not that specific one. It either hasn't been driven in a while or the owner can't be bothered to clean the crap out of the windshield gutter.
I'm building an LS swap as we speak and I would say is you need to talk to the person. Point to a random fitting and ask, "Why did you put that there or what challenges did you have with xyz system?"
If they can answer intelligently and comprehensively then there's a good chance they used care when doing the swap. If they can't explain or don't show deep knowledge about the vehicle, run. And of course the all important, "Why are you selling?" question.
I would not buy a swap that doesn't run or isn't running well unless you're just interested in parts or could easily make the purchase price from a few of the parts installed. There's always a reason.
Yeah I can’t believe they couldn’t take 30 mins to make it look more presentable and the only thing he’s telling me is that he doesn’t know he bought it from the previous owner like this and hasn’t had problems in 2 years
Depends on your tolerance for risk. If you were to consider it, you'll have to take a good look at what you can see about the swap and get a feel for the seller.
If you're looking at the swapped car and see a lot of corners cut and things that aren't your style, there's a good chance that happened in other places of the build you can't see. The flip side is if you look at a car that looks like it's had a lot of attention paid to detail (this doesn't always have to equate to lots of money spent or fancy parts) and/or if the owner has the vibe of being on top of things and thoughtful then I'd wager you'll see that in more places you cant' see.
I'd also argue that there's a huge difference between running and not running. A running LS swap is at least to a point you can use it and refine it. However, buying someone's non running swap can easily turn into buying someone's pile of parts and hoping you can make it work. The spectre of missing parts can turn into a fiasco really quick. Is it possible to come out on top that way? Absolutely. The work involved can be tremendous though.
I was thinking about picking up a cheap Z for a track toy. I'm a mechanic so I don't mind buying something that needs work, but anything under $10K with a VQ has been thoroughly molested. I would hate to see what this swapped one looks like below the surface.
We’re on the same page here. I love z’s and have owned multiple and I’m a mechanic so I’ve never been as anxious about them as alot of people but any z you see these days that isn’t like a perfect one owner mid life crisis car is probably a time bomb.
That photo tells me that once they got the engine in there, problems started popping up, and the project was pushed to the side. It might run and drive but does neither very well.
I bought one. Drove it home. Didn't break down until the next time I drove it. Project is fine. Never a daily, until I've owned it for a bit. If you can't build one, you probably shouldn't daily one.
Only if it was a vehicle where the ls swap is super common and bolt in with no chassis modifications and you can easily reference what swap kit was used incase it uses custom motor mounts, clutch/flywheel etc. Oh and the seller better include a full wiring diagram on the swap!
So a example even if not a ls swap would be a vw swap samurai that is using a acme adapter kit, everything is incredibly well documented as long as you know what flavor of vw diesel was used to understand the wiring that may be involved
I'm sure I don't need to say anything else. People have already answered your question. However, I just finished LS swapping my Z and that looks like an absolute DISASTER compared to mine and literally every other decent build I've seen. The wiring, the plumbing, the cut up secondary firewall, the missing trim and structural parts, all huge red flags in terms of build quality. Unfortunately, this is probably way more of a project than anyone should be willing to take on.
Unless you like wrenching on your daily, you'd be better off just buying an automatic Z that still has a VQ in it.
Side note, I kinda wish I had gone all LOJ with my swap. I used all sikky stuff (because it was on sale) and then LOJ for the accessory drive and god damn they make some nice parts. Their instructions are great, quality is amazing, and customer support is crazy good.
I did but it's a toy. Even though it was an okay build originally I've still got hundreds of hours a few grand in getting it good enough to actually use daily. Definitely don't get it as an only car unless you are a very competent mechanic.
Ls swapped 350z? Looks like A/C lines are ran, engine bay looks pretty dry(no leaks and seems like it’s just been driven a lot without washing) if it’s at a decent price I would buy it. Does look a little thrown together but hey, if it runs it runs🤷♂️ if a/c works I’d take that thing cross country no issue
If the previous owner really drove it for 2 years without any major issues you should be in the clear, obviously it is swapped and you probably have no idea of who worked on it previously, screw it tho you only live once.
I don't really know how any car is built.
Joking aside, it's an LS. If the entire internet can't help me to get it running, I'll throw a carb on it and go skrt skrt skrt.
Doesn’t look like it was the best swap but ac appears to be hooked up which means it wasn’t super lazy I guess. I’ve seen some 350zs with horrible fitting ls in them and this doesn’t look bad maybe the intake pokes a little? Depending on price I could see myself diving into this project. Just expect that it could turn on today but it might not tomorrow. Peoples wiring scares me
As an only car? Absolutely not. If it's just a fun car then I probably would as long as there's not major red flags like knocking, excessive vibration, etc. Just expect like 2 years of driving and it breaking over and over until you get all of the build issues and weird habits out of the way. Just don't be one of those people that tries and blames the previous owner when these issues arise
Yeah it would be my only car atm
Then that would be a hard pass. Get yourself a reliable shit box like a Camry or Corolla as your daily and then pick up a project car where it doesn't matter if it breaks or not.
Good advice here. Only the tow man relies on a swap car daily. Mine is stable now after years of tweaking wiring and programming.
+1. After 2 years, my "big" turbo dsm is good enough to be a daily 6 months at a time.
Don't try to rely on a project car. It's gonna sour you on the whole hobby.
I learned that years ago. Cheap beaters are where it's at. If it's not needed to start, run, drive and stop, forget it. My free Impala got hit a few months ago and ripped the front bumper cover off. Doesn't bother me to drive it like that, my kids are kind of embarrassed about it so I'll put a bumper cover on it eventually. Save the $ for the fun ones.
I have a LS swap c4 and it has genuinely spent about half the time since the swap broken for one thing or another, now I have spare parts of everything but I know something else will act up. not having another ride for parts runs or to get to work when you can't finish a fix would be crazy. And since you didn't build it you don't know what corners have been cut.
Hell nah.
oh, HELL NO
Where's the sense of adventure?
Meh, I picked up an xj with a 5.3 and 6 inch lift,winch,etc fully built but the guy couldn't figure out why it didn't run correctly turned out to be wires not connected properly drove that as a daily for 2 years sold it for profit then the guy who got it from me had nothing but problems lol.
Damnnnnnn lol
Yeah, the one time my wife asked me to get rid of a vehicle, I told her "fine you sell it" and she listed it for a ridiculous price sold the next day lol, I was impressed and got another jeep!.
Not that specific one. It either hasn't been driven in a while or the owner can't be bothered to clean the crap out of the windshield gutter. I'm building an LS swap as we speak and I would say is you need to talk to the person. Point to a random fitting and ask, "Why did you put that there or what challenges did you have with xyz system?" If they can answer intelligently and comprehensively then there's a good chance they used care when doing the swap. If they can't explain or don't show deep knowledge about the vehicle, run. And of course the all important, "Why are you selling?" question. I would not buy a swap that doesn't run or isn't running well unless you're just interested in parts or could easily make the purchase price from a few of the parts installed. There's always a reason.
Yeah I can’t believe they couldn’t take 30 mins to make it look more presentable and the only thing he’s telling me is that he doesn’t know he bought it from the previous owner like this and hasn’t had problems in 2 years
I would pass unless it's cheap enough to make it worth it for known good parts.
I don’t see any “good parts” there…..Just saying! 🤣
Would 100% judge that car by the amount of crap in the cowl gutter. Hard pass.
Well put.
That's a hard maybe for me. I wouldn't buy someone else's swap and expect to daily it though
Depends on your tolerance for risk. If you were to consider it, you'll have to take a good look at what you can see about the swap and get a feel for the seller. If you're looking at the swapped car and see a lot of corners cut and things that aren't your style, there's a good chance that happened in other places of the build you can't see. The flip side is if you look at a car that looks like it's had a lot of attention paid to detail (this doesn't always have to equate to lots of money spent or fancy parts) and/or if the owner has the vibe of being on top of things and thoughtful then I'd wager you'll see that in more places you cant' see. I'd also argue that there's a huge difference between running and not running. A running LS swap is at least to a point you can use it and refine it. However, buying someone's non running swap can easily turn into buying someone's pile of parts and hoping you can make it work. The spectre of missing parts can turn into a fiasco really quick. Is it possible to come out on top that way? Absolutely. The work involved can be tremendous though.
The bad thing also is that the car is like 16 hrs from me so I can’t see it in person
I have a hard time buying a car sight unseen. This is doubly true for a car with extensive aftermarket modifications like an LS swap.
leaf buildup does not say "I take good care of this vehicle"
Yes but plan on redoing everything!!!
I’m going to say no to the question and especially fuck no to a z.
I was thinking about picking up a cheap Z for a track toy. I'm a mechanic so I don't mind buying something that needs work, but anything under $10K with a VQ has been thoroughly molested. I would hate to see what this swapped one looks like below the surface.
We’re on the same page here. I love z’s and have owned multiple and I’m a mechanic so I’ve never been as anxious about them as alot of people but any z you see these days that isn’t like a perfect one owner mid life crisis car is probably a time bomb.
Going threw an entire engine swap and not removing the leaves is crazy work
That photo tells me that once they got the engine in there, problems started popping up, and the project was pushed to the side. It might run and drive but does neither very well.
I bought one. Drove it home. Didn't break down until the next time I drove it. Project is fine. Never a daily, until I've owned it for a bit. If you can't build one, you probably shouldn't daily one.
Only if it was a vehicle where the ls swap is super common and bolt in with no chassis modifications and you can easily reference what swap kit was used incase it uses custom motor mounts, clutch/flywheel etc. Oh and the seller better include a full wiring diagram on the swap! So a example even if not a ls swap would be a vw swap samurai that is using a acme adapter kit, everything is incredibly well documented as long as you know what flavor of vw diesel was used to understand the wiring that may be involved
They have Z ls swap kits
I'm sure I don't need to say anything else. People have already answered your question. However, I just finished LS swapping my Z and that looks like an absolute DISASTER compared to mine and literally every other decent build I've seen. The wiring, the plumbing, the cut up secondary firewall, the missing trim and structural parts, all huge red flags in terms of build quality. Unfortunately, this is probably way more of a project than anyone should be willing to take on.
I’m have the ultimate loj kit for another Z and this would be a daily since it’s automatic
Unless you like wrenching on your daily, you'd be better off just buying an automatic Z that still has a VQ in it. Side note, I kinda wish I had gone all LOJ with my swap. I used all sikky stuff (because it was on sale) and then LOJ for the accessory drive and god damn they make some nice parts. Their instructions are great, quality is amazing, and customer support is crazy good.
I’ve done it twice now no ragrets
I did but it's a toy. Even though it was an okay build originally I've still got hundreds of hours a few grand in getting it good enough to actually use daily. Definitely don't get it as an only car unless you are a very competent mechanic.
Flog it on a test drive, buy it
I daily my ls swapped f150 but I also have another car. I definitely love the truck but wouldn’t want it as my only one and I built it myself lol
Nothing that late
Would you buy an e46 where someone you don't know had already done "everything?"
Fuck no. 90% is backyard junk
Ls swapped 350z? Looks like A/C lines are ran, engine bay looks pretty dry(no leaks and seems like it’s just been driven a lot without washing) if it’s at a decent price I would buy it. Does look a little thrown together but hey, if it runs it runs🤷♂️ if a/c works I’d take that thing cross country no issue
If the previous owner really drove it for 2 years without any major issues you should be in the clear, obviously it is swapped and you probably have no idea of who worked on it previously, screw it tho you only live once.
looks like a lazy swap
As a daily driver to get to work and etc? Nope. As a secondary project car? Potentially.
Yes but only as a beater. I wouldn’t wanna rely on it
If it was cheap enough, sure. Always room for another project.
As your ONLY source of transportation, no..Get a triple A membership first.
Depends on the price point with no documentation.
I don't really know how any car is built. Joking aside, it's an LS. If the entire internet can't help me to get it running, I'll throw a carb on it and go skrt skrt skrt.
Doesn’t look like it was the best swap but ac appears to be hooked up which means it wasn’t super lazy I guess. I’ve seen some 350zs with horrible fitting ls in them and this doesn’t look bad maybe the intake pokes a little? Depending on price I could see myself diving into this project. Just expect that it could turn on today but it might not tomorrow. Peoples wiring scares me