is250 LS1 swap
#32
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I had an 07 is250 on lease that i have already returned. loved that car! I currently have an sc300 that i wanted to do an ls1 swap in. I have the complete drivetrain sitting in my garage right now. Thing is i really want to swap this into an is250 and would love to buy one just to swap in the ls1 t56 manual combo. Thoughts and opinions please.
If you decide to do it, post a build thread!
#33
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Last edited by 8lastoff; 06-02-11 at 06:43 AM. Reason: added more info
#34
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I'm also all for this, and am hoping the words soon turn into actions. I should preface that I know nothing about engine swaps, but one thing I'd be considering is whether the SC would be a better option than the IS, even if you like the IS a lot.
There are a few reasons for this. One is personal, in that I love the earlier-gen SCs and they're fairly rare (side-note do you have a pic of the SC? has anything been done to it?). I've owned 2 LS400s, both first-gen, and I liked having 4 doors but always preferred the SC - everything was about the same between the two save for the body style. Two is that it sounds like from what I'm reading above that one of the most difficult parts of a wholesale engine and transmission swap (apart from the actual physical labor involved in performing it) is getting everything to play nicely with the remaining stock components. This would be an especial issue with the IS compared to the SC, given the former's much more sophisticated, complex, and extensive electronics and sensor components. From what I've read, you have virtually no chance of getting everything to work correctly in the IS once the swap's done, and might be doomed to a life of warning lights, etc. In this respect, it would seem the SC might be a better option since there's much less to try and make compatible - fewer electronics, sensors, etc. Lastly, if one of your goals is to build a sleeper, I think the SC would be as good or even better an option than the IS, given its rarity and age.
Just some thoughts. Obviously there are myriad other concerns and considerations here as well. Keep us updated.
There are a few reasons for this. One is personal, in that I love the earlier-gen SCs and they're fairly rare (side-note do you have a pic of the SC? has anything been done to it?). I've owned 2 LS400s, both first-gen, and I liked having 4 doors but always preferred the SC - everything was about the same between the two save for the body style. Two is that it sounds like from what I'm reading above that one of the most difficult parts of a wholesale engine and transmission swap (apart from the actual physical labor involved in performing it) is getting everything to play nicely with the remaining stock components. This would be an especial issue with the IS compared to the SC, given the former's much more sophisticated, complex, and extensive electronics and sensor components. From what I've read, you have virtually no chance of getting everything to work correctly in the IS once the swap's done, and might be doomed to a life of warning lights, etc. In this respect, it would seem the SC might be a better option since there's much less to try and make compatible - fewer electronics, sensors, etc. Lastly, if one of your goals is to build a sleeper, I think the SC would be as good or even better an option than the IS, given its rarity and age.
Just some thoughts. Obviously there are myriad other concerns and considerations here as well. Keep us updated.
#35
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I think i would be a seriously cool sleeper. If you have not figured it out yet, and you will, there are very few gearheads in this forum that could even comprhend what you are talking about doing(not a knock, just a fact). So be prepared for a bunch more of "buy an ISF" or "it's a waste of time" or it's a lot of work, why do it?".
If you decide to do it, post a build thread!
If you decide to do it, post a build thread!
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My Impala used to set off car alarms. At idle.
This will a lot of work though, assuming he wants the rest of the car to work.
As to the idea of using a 1st gen SC... it's a beautiful car... my wife has one... but it's WAY easier to make a sleeper out of one by swapping a 2JZ-GTE in.
(and doing so to 1st gen GS rather than SC makes even more of a sleeper car, plus lets you seat actual adults in the back).
Last edited by Kurtz; 06-02-11 at 07:11 AM.
#40
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u should put the ls1 into the 250, make sure to make 2 parts of every fabrication you make. so that way you can replicate the parts in order to make a swap into someone else's IS. some serious cash you can make in the future. let me get 50% off, cuz of my great idea. GL!
#41
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Sometimes if it was a long light I would quickly look under their car in case they had a full quiet exhaust so I wouldn't get fooled, lol.
#42
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Yeah, whenever I rode around in my low 11 second Mustang I always turned it off when I came to a stoplight next to a 4 door import just to listen to the exhaust, just to make sure it wasn't a sleeper.![Egads!](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/smilies/pat.gif)
Sometimes if it was a long light I would quickly look under their car in case they had a full quiet exhaust so I wouldn't get fooled, lol.
![Egads!](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/smilies/pat.gif)
Sometimes if it was a long light I would quickly look under their car in case they had a full quiet exhaust so I wouldn't get fooled, lol.
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#43
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Yeah, whenever I rode around in my low 11 second Mustang I always turned it off when I came to a stoplight next to a 4 door import just to listen to the exhaust, just to make sure it wasn't a sleeper.![Egads!](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/smilies/pat.gif)
Sometimes if it was a long light I would quickly look under their car in case they had a full quiet exhaust so I wouldn't get fooled, lol.
![Egads!](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/smilies/pat.gif)
Sometimes if it was a long light I would quickly look under their car in case they had a full quiet exhaust so I wouldn't get fooled, lol.
Pull up next to a properly built V8 and you won't need to turn your own car off to hear it at a stoplight.
#44
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Feel free to keep posting in every thread how great and fast and powerful and awesome and special and superior your Impala is/was.
Back on topic, just to correct myself: I say do the swap it would be pretty cool and would be a great sleeper(except for this one guy that has a powerful V8 and knows all).
#45
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Those folks probably also know that they don't generally sound like anything that'd be called a sleeper though.
Lemme illustrate-
Here's an IS350 at idle:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjpgL...eature=related
(listen for the idle parts, not when he revs it- though that's not super loud either)
Now here's a cammed LS1 at idle-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7EBu4pCvZs
The only people who'd hear that second sound in 2IS and think it's a sleeper probably wanna get their hearing checked.
And that's not even a particularly "built" LS1.