Thanks for all the suggestions so far, I will check them out and see what's available.

Not sure if you have any interest in buying a full and complete running car and parting it out. I have a 1999 Firebird Trans Am with a mild LS1 and t56, smogs excellent, currently registered etc. I bought the car withe the intentions of swapping everything into my 67 Bird, but as I am already building a 68 vert for my wife witha LS swap and M6 I am holding off.

Car runs excellent and is registered. Per the previous owner heads were rebuilt previously and lightly ported (I have not checked). The car runs flawlessly, shifts perfect, and just smogged.

I am looking for $6400 for the car. Even if you are not interested in my car, I recommend trying to find a complete running car so you can test drive the engine and powertrain unless you are getting something with a great warranty from a shop.

On my wife's vert I bought a complete camaro and parted out the car; parting the car out you will make back between $3-4K without much effort, and recoup the investment. Your brother will be able to use several parts as I did i.e front and rear 13" brakes, harness, radiator, leather seats, etc for his Nova also saving more on that front.

If interested, let me know, my car is in the East Bay area.

Gui

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Thanks, I actually suggested the same thing. It's probably a little too soon though and farther than I want to go to pick something up, but thanks.

No problem, and that would be my suggestion, get a running car and part the rest out. On my vert bird I was able to net a free engine and tranny, disc brakes etc in the end after parting the car out. I am seeing complete LS1 cars in the $3-4K range (some may need paint or body parts etc), but who cares, you will part out anyway :)

Good luck and cool bird!!

Gui

Give us a call I have a really good guy that I get engines from and have used them in all kinds of cars with no issues. just depends on what you are looking for at the time and what he has.

Appreciate that, Thanks!

So you pay full price in a local junkyard? They expect you to barter with them. Have you priced the shipping costs for an engine lately? An engine weighs 500lbs, and Cleveland Pick a part is in Ohio. 2200 miles away. So, even if they had an engine, you will be sticker shocked at the shipping costs. I recently sold a subframe that had to be delivered to the buyer, because most refused to pay shipping costs. The Rotisserie (Weight was 460lbs) that I sold was picked up by the buyer, but people were shocked at the costs for me to ship these items.

As for the wiring and accessories, then I would suggest getting a harness from Speartech or Ironworks. Ironworks is nice because of the canon plugs. Every engine that I replaced, I tend to buy new accessories.

Jeff

Thanks, I'll probably give them a call at some point. I understand about the shipping, but I've ordered and shipped other heavy/large items (including a motor) and it's still been a better deal. Some of these places think they're selling gold plated parts. The last time I checked for a used T-56 it was in the $2000 range for a 98-2000 F-body unit.

Ahh, but you're not taking into consideration the discounts companies get when they do large volumes with shippers. I can ship a 500lb pallet across country for less than $200. Now whether the company chooses to pass those savings along on to you is another matter...

Do you want me to quote you the price that DSE charged for a subframe that weighed around 375lbs in 2007, that was when diesel was cheaper. Distance was less 435 miles. The price was higher because the skid size, but not based on the weight. I was ready to pick it up, but it wouldn't fit in the back of pickup truck. DSE shipped via Conway, and there was no broken skids like the other vendors that I bought things in the past. You can ship things cheaper, but your customer will pay the price on the other end. Typically, when I sell something then I don't want any complaints on damaged parts.