Actual SFI Conversion Costs and Gremlins

[BeanSS]

Alright I know this question has been probally been beat to death ressurected and killed again..But I can't find any "real" or "hard" numbers on how much a conversion would actually cost? I see the ballpark figure going seems to be around $1,000. Is this number far off?

Also is it cheaper to do a "Hot Air" conversion (Besides the fact that there is no intercooler) I know it's not as fast as some of I/C car but there a few board members who might have come up with a very good solution for that

What if you used FAST for the ECM and some of the wiring? Would this make it more complex or easier? What would have to be the wiring and fitment gremlins I could avoid or upgrade so it wouldn't be as troublesome?

If I were to go this route I would be starting with a 4.1l block built with the 4.1 recipe from the "other" site. I would grab all the sensors and wiring harness before hand as well. What makes this swap so "difficult" and expensive? And what canmake it easier (Besides buying a SFI Buick! haha)

 

[charlief1]

The best way is to have a donor car. This way you have all the parts and you just change everything over. Remember that you need a new gas tank as well as the pump and sending unit. Then you need to get the correct fuel lines and plumb them through the car. It will cost you more than 1K to get the parts unless you've made some friends that are willing to sell you the parts cheap.

 

[usetaboost]

I would say at minimum 2k by the time its road worthy. Wasn't there someone selling a hot air setup and trans for 1k???

 

[85Dan85TType]

Alright I know this question has been probally been beat to death ressurected and killed again..But I can't find any "real" or "hard" numbers on how much a conversion would actually cost? I see the ballpark figure going seems to be around $1,000. Is this number far off?

It depends on what you're doing. If you're just doing a swap, stock for stock. I would think you could probably do it for right around $1500, assuming you don't have any hookups. I know I didn't/don't. But I caught the modding bug without the car even running, and ended up making quite a few costly mistakes.

If you decided to go one route, GO WITH IT. It's far more expensive to change your mind half way through. It sounds like you're on a budget. So before you even start; decide what it is you want out of the car. Get an idea of the scope of the project.

Things to think about:

I saw you're doing a 4.1; are you going to want an upgraded turbo? Which one? I hear a TA-49 acts like a stock turbo on the 4.1.
Is there an injector upgrade you're doing?
Are you going to swap cams while the car is down?
Have you done something like this before? I ask because I had not, and had no idea how big a project it is
Will you be using stock headers?

If you know there are some things you won't be using, try to get a conversion kit without these things, to lower the cost. For instance, I didn't need an intercooler; since I'd picked one up a while back (when I was younger and dumber; not that I'm not still young and dumb).

The thing to learn from me is:

Spending thousands on parts can save you whole hours of planning!

 

[BeanSS]

Nope I've never done this before at all..im a noob!

Yes Im upping the turbo...still doing some reading on the best selection...cam will be swapped out as well. Looking for a fast street car...maybe a little times at the track for some time slips and bragging rights haha nothing heavy..thinking about really low 12's high 11's.

I heard that the stock headers are fine into the 10's so I will stick with those....I've grabbed other various parts along the way already ..like the gas tank from 86 Turbo, and you see the check list in my sig. My tranny has already been beefed up by the previous owner..not sure by who but I have a laundry list of reciepts and parts from him. Im going to check this weekend to see what rear I actually have as well just to see if it's stock or he upped it to another one.

You can say im on a budget..but not really..My car runs and I will be aquiring all the parts ai need before hand...Im trying to minimize down time more than anything. Im not in a rush to get this done so im doing ALOT of reading and asking and trying to plan it out right if I go this way (Which im pretty sure I am unless something drastic changes my mind) This way im not out of alot of money...just time and I can sell the parts back If I decided to stay carb'd. (But im keeping the 4.1 regardless)

Im still trying to figure out the whole XFI thing..seems like it would be the better way to go ECU and wiring wise because it seems the 109 ECM is a bit of a brat?

Thanks for all the help guys seriously!! It's really appreciated!