2JZ Swap - Looking for Labor Info from Swap Shops/XP'd Members

[Cookiemonster]

So let me qualify this thread by saying I've already tried getting in touch with Pure and a couple of local shops (Central FL & Southern FL) to no avail.

I'm trying to figure out ballpark labor costs of the following:

• modifying the trans tunnel to fit the cd009

• running A/C lines/heater lines/radiator lines with FBM's upgraded radiator w/ fans and shroud

• teardown/rebuild of 2JZ seeing what needs replacing to get motor back to 100% stock operational capabilities. NOTE: I'm wanting to use the stock 2J engine to make around 600whp over the next couple of years...if I want more, I'll upgrade the internals, larger single turbo, and whatever other custom work will be needed at that time)

• Custom driveshaft work

Any other fabrication-based work I haven't listed for a 2JZ GTE swap with CD009 trans that those with XP or knowledge see I missed, please let me know so I can add.
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Before people start flaming about searching this forum before making a new thread - I have. Threads with pricing have mostly been situated around full turnkey solutions - that's not what I'm after. Other threads with pricing are over a couple years old and no longer reflect things like plug and play ECU solutions and other pure fab'd pieces.

I just want the fabrication and basic engine work done, but for the rest of the bolt-ons, I'm good with doing that and actually enjoy it. Would like to start getting a budget together so I can figure out how much extra I'm going to cushion when more is needed (as it always is). I'm planning on this build taking the majority of a year to complete with the ultimate goals not met until several years down the road, so I don't have unrealistic expectations about this being 'easy' or 'quickly done'.

Lastly, does anyone have a good, reputable dealer for sourcing decent 2JZ's or is it really just a crapshoot from places like jdmenginedepot (if they ever restock the 2JZ's), suprastore, jdmengineworld, etc.

[spitfire481]

You can’t modify the tunnel without installing an engine and trans. You can’t do that without doing everything involved with mounting the engine and trans. There are a bunch of parts that need to be mounted to route ac and heater lines. There are far to many variables that make doing a very partial install not worth it. One thing could change during your install and stuff we have done would be wrong

[Cookiemonster]

Originally Posted by spitfire481

You can’t modify the tunnel without installing an engine and trans. You can’t do that without doing everything involved with mounting the engine and trans. There are a bunch of parts that need to be mounted to route ac and heater lines. There are far to many variables that make doing a very partial install not worth it. One thing could change during your install and stuff we have done would be wrong

Ok, let me tackle it from the other angle, then...what can be left out while doing enough (mounting the engine and trans, modifying tunnel, etc.) to get the engine and trans mounted and operational? Do the stock twins, stock turbo manifold need to be ditched and swapped out with the single that will eventually go there? Are you saying all bolt-on's need to already be placed by the fabrication shop to mount the engine/trans and therefore modify the trans tunnel?

I appreciate the clarity, but just seeing how 'complete' the install from a shop (like yours) needs to be just to get basic functionality with A/C, heat, radiator hoses routed/added seems to be the only unclear variable when asking the next question, which becomes: what's the labor cost for those elements, or rather, how much time (again, ballpark, not looking for something like 18.75 hours) would that take in labor hours?

Thanks for your response!

[spitfire481]

first off, sorry if you contacted us and someone forgot to get back. we are a small shop and this is the busiest time of the year. the last couple months have been hectic with our small crew.

to get the trans tunnel properly fit, I would suggest engine mounted, front cross member notched (depending on which crank damper you use) and an intake manifold installed. intake manifolds get very close to the brake booster and clutch master so you take it as close as you can so you can get the drive shaft angle as close to in spec as possible. the cd009 is so large in the center that the floor can barely be manipulated enough for it to fit. the metal just doesn't have anymore stretch to it. some spots can be 1/8" clearance or less when finished. the poly mounts all around limit movement well enough that 1/8" or so is enough of an air gap.

we have not done a swap without using our custom motec firmware to retain all of the factory functions, so im not sure what it would take to keep ac functionality with another setup. The hoses end up routing a few different ways depending on exhaust manifold and turbo setup. we build them to spec once all of the hot side parts are installed so we can route them as far away as possible. Heater lines are a little tricky, but do-able. also routing depends on hot side parts.

we usually have a cd009 in and out 7 or 8 times during the floor modification phase to get it right, and get the angles correct.

every 2jz drop out we have received had almost useless factory twins on them. from shaft play to crumbling vacuum hoses. fitment is much easier and way cleaner/easier to work on with a single. there are a ton of budget singe turbo exhaust manifolds out there, and a 62-66mm borg turbo can be had from $200 used to under $1k new.

[Cookiemonster]

Originally Posted by spitfire481

first off, sorry if you contacted us and someone forgot to get back. we are a small shop and this is the busiest time of the year. the last couple months have been hectic with our small crew.

to get the trans tunnel properly fit, I would suggest engine mounted, front cross member notched (depending on which crank damper you use) and an intake manifold installed. intake manifolds get very close to the brake booster and clutch master so you take it as close as you can so you can get the drive shaft angle as close to in spec as possible. the cd009 is so large in the center that the floor can barely be manipulated enough for it to fit. the metal just doesn't have anymore stretch to it. some spots can be 1/8" clearance or less when finished. the poly mounts all around limit movement well enough that 1/8" or so is enough of an air gap.

we have not done a swap without using our custom motec firmware to retain all of the factory functions, so im not sure what it would take to keep ac functionality with another setup. The hoses end up routing a few different ways depending on exhaust manifold and turbo setup. we build them to spec once all of the hot side parts are installed so we can route them as far away as possible. Heater lines are a little tricky, but do-able. also routing depends on hot side parts.

we usually have a cd009 in and out 7 or 8 times during the floor modification phase to get it right, and get the angles correct.

every 2jz drop out we have received had almost useless factory twins on them. from shaft play to crumbling vacuum hoses. fitment is much easier and way cleaner/easier to work on with a single. there are a ton of budget singe turbo exhaust manifolds out there, and a 62-66mm borg turbo can be had from $200 used to under $1k new.

All good on the lack of response, didn't intend the initial name drop as any kind of commentary for you guys as a shop, I think the forum all know you guys are top notch people. I meant it so any would-be dbags wouldn't just say 'why not contact X shop?' as a useless response.

Anyway, I would DEFINITELY be using your plug n play solution with MoTec, $6k well spent IMO. I just didn't know if using that system A/C would work since A/C is not listed as one of the retained stock features from the Motec plug n play page.

Now that I'm getting more and more clarity on the dirty side of what is needed to make this work outside of simple part lists...a few new questions if you don't mind...

-Do you recommend another tall(ish) geared 6 spd trans robust enough to handle 600+whp and torque that fits better than the CD009? T56? V160 is too rich for my blood : ( And do you think 1/8" clearance is enough to not experience rattle from the trans or a large amount of heat through the floor (yeah, this seems a bit nit-picky, but just seeing if there's a better option I should be looking at for clearance)

- Does the CX Racing turbo manifold you offer flow enough to support 800whp with a larger T4 turbo? That's probably the max I'd want to run on this platform personally, and even though I plan to swap out the initial turbo with another to support that power, if you say you guys have to fab lines to fit around that manifold, I'd rather do it once and be done on that part.

-With everything discussed above, how much time (labor-wise) do you guys allot to these builds? Knowing that I can calculate a ballpark $ figure to add to the parts list I already have going.

Thanks, again!

[spitfire481]

No problem at all, I just feel bad missing messages from people. We get so many emails and calls sometimes it’s tough to keep track.

We currently retain:

Full working cluster
Abs
Traction control (Motec) with oem button and dash lights
Fuel pump controller
Fan controller
Push button start
Digital and manual hvac
Drive by wire with stock pedal
Cruise control with all oem stalk functions and dash light
Launch control, rolling anti lag, etc can all be setup

I personally made 750+ whp through a gm th400 auto trans with that manifold and a precision 6766 t4. That’s like 900 through a manual trans lol

Honesty no other trans fits that well. T56 is a littler better than a cd009 fitment wise, but truthfully they all suck.

We have only done full builds at the shop. Start to finish. It’s easy to rack up $30k+ including all parts and labor by the time it’s done. Most people start with a budget, they get out of hand adding parts as we go since it’s already apart

[Cookiemonster]

Would you rather me PM you or e-mail you about additional parts required other than every part listed on your swap page and the labor cost involved if I'm running a stock 2J block/head?

I hear you on the 30k+, but I'm pretty strict about researching part costs and what those parts will grant me, what I need to have installed during the main build vs what I can do down the road (hence my long list of questions). I've already got an excel file with every part list on your page, cost and the CD009 trans from Z1 in addition to a possibly questionable 2JZ GTE engine.

In the end as far as engine parts and go-fast bits go, I'm really just looking for the stock long-block to be rebuilt back to good working condition so I can start out making good power reliably and then add more expensive go fast bits/eventually build the engine later down the road if need be.

[spitfire481]

There is no full parts list unfortunately because every one we have done has been different. We sell the main parts that we know fit and work on the site, but a lot of the stuff is all per case and on the fly. The LS car we just finished had about $1k in ptfe hoses and fittings alone for fuel. But you could make a much simpler fuel setup for half the cost of just those hoses and fittings themselves

[Clash0901]

Just to chime in and re-iterate some stuff. It is definitely near impossible to "clearance" the trans tunnel for a CD009 without going in and out with the engine and in and out with the trans a few times. By then, you've already figured out where it all has to go anyway and you need to be settled on mounts as well. Weirdly enough sometimes each car is different. I had to cut 2 notches recesses in my tunnel. Clearancing it was not working and after 2 months of bottle jacks either breaking or falling on my face, I was done trying.

One thing you should keep in mind, the T56 is slightly smaller than the CD009 and the bmw ZF 5 speed and 6 speed transmissions are even smaller than a T56 (small enough to possibly need NO clearancing of the tunnel).

And the stock twins are trash in many ways. Ideally going to a single turbo is the best route, even if you don't spend thousands on a manifold right away. I personally went with CX racing and a new borg warner s364.5 turbo. Both cost me around $2300 with the added tial wastegate, oil feed and drain lines, and comes with a downpipe.

Regardless of any route you choose, you're in the right place for any questions you may have. There isn't any other forum with more information.

EDIT: If you PM me, I will send you my spreadsheet which contains damn near every single part I had to buy for my 2JZ swap. You could use it as a reference.

[Cookiemonster]

Not going to lie, I didn't think I was being 'cheap' by thinking the build would cost 25-30k on top of the cost of the car itself, but it seems based on several members' experiences that it is more like 50k. These are not 'no expense spared' builds I'm talking about. I'm currently re-thinking my plan based on my parts list that was originally in the neighborhood of 24k in parts alone, then accounting for 5-6k labor....but apparently that was VERY off from what's needed real world.

I know everyone's goals are different, but come on, there are ballpark figures that aren't going to be 10k difference from each other when considering 90% of the parts list is done for you. The variance that does exist can easily be discussed for cost estimates, yet that doesn't appear to be happening...I just don't get why. If I can produce a parts list that has ALMOST every part in a build, save custom fabrication of a few key items, the cost of those items + fabrication should be relatively easy variables to account for in a generalized build cost estimate.

For those that aren't weird about discussing $ spent on this swap, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PM me. For the few that have already, THANK YOU for your openness and transparency in an area that seems to be very vague and almost shameful to discuss the cost spent on these swaps, but instead love to gloat of the end build awesomeness for all to drool over. Not saying don't be proud of your builds, but this is a community forum, why not share the knowledge to help those looking for a similar path...knowledge including cost.

**EDIT** I'm talking about the 2JZ swap in particular, not LS, K24, etc. Those threads, for whatever reason, seem to be more open about costs.

[spitfire481]

We usually quote $32k turn key for a 2j vvti, cd009, single turbo, single 485 pump fuel system with Motec and flex fuel. Plus all the other goodies like rad, fans, driveshaft, etc. there’s a ton of other parts obviously but that’s the main components. Most customers rack the price up rapidly by adding more. Cams, if not a built motor. Bigger turbo, twin disk, surge tank and triple pumps, etc

I wish I could help more but every swap we have done is spread across like 20 invoices per customer, so compiling a simple list would take a while. Nobody has really done a simple swap either. They have all been quite intense in the end

[Cookiemonster]

Understood on the 2 dozen invoices per customer. May I ask what the tabs for your 'budget' builds that you posted here a while back amounted to and what exactly made them budget builds vs a normal build?

[GrabTheWheel]

Originally Posted by Cookiemonster

Understood on the 2 dozen invoices per customer. May I ask what the tabs for your 'budget' builds that you posted here a while back amounted to and what exactly made them budget builds vs a normal build?

32K for an installed 2J with single turbo is a great deal! If you go all new parts on an LS build you are easily at 25K just in parts alone excluding stuff like brakes and suspension etc.

[spitfire481]

Originally Posted by Cookiemonster

Understood on the 2 dozen invoices per customer. May I ask what the tabs for your 'budget' builds that you posted here a while back amounted to and what exactly made them budget builds vs a normal build?

As budget as we go is with a vvti engine with single borg turbo, drop in single 485 fuel pump, cd009 with a single disk, Motec, stock motor with fresh timing belt/tensioner. All said and done you end up just over $30k including all parts, labor, tuning, etc. most people end up more towards $40k+ by adding more things. You can do a low budget swap and get a running car, but we will only do it in house from start to finish if everything OEM works, with a single turbo setup, full aftermarket fuel system (injectors, lines, rail, pump, reg, etc) and a minimum of a cd009 (no r154, w58, etc).