Chevy LSx engine swap Chim 500

[Blown2CV]

I have heard various stories about the above being done, and I think Sportmotive do an LS1/LS2 conversion but what are the surrounding things that need to be considered? I imagine it's not as easy as slamming the new engine in as the gearbox etc wouldn't be able to cope even with the LS1 output... for one

[grahamw48]

I'm sure engine and matching gearbox would be the way to go. Everything aft of that should cope, would have thought.

[SteveW8975]

I've seen a Griff in Sportmotive the last few times I've been there that is having an LS engine put in it - although it's also having a full ground-up rebuild of the car though.

I'm putting mine in there in the next week or so for its MOT prep and test so I can ask Ian for a bit more info on it when I'm there.

[oblio]

Maybe drop Per (Pete500 on here) a line as he did the LS conversion on his Griff. Very nice fella and a very nice job too and 408bhp from memory at the Growl last year...

[GreenV8S]

Jellison and his Dad did a very tidy looking conversion which I think was sold recently, I'm sure Jon would tell you what was involved. You never know, they might even be tempted to do a second one if you pushed enough money at them.

[gemini]

Theres a Chevy engined Chimaera in West Yorks
It was at Cars in the park

[shpub]

I've been asked about this many times - you can do this for a Cerb for around 7K what about a Chim/griff?

The answer is yes it can be done but it works out around twice the cost. The reasons are that the following need addressing:

1. New ECU/loom to run the engine.
2. New bellhousing, clutch slave, flywheel, clutch, pilot bearing.
3. Potentially an upgraded T5 or alternative gearbox.
4. Custom exhaust manifolds.

I would uprate the cooling system as well. Then there is the question of the braking system and suspension which is also an issue.

The amount of work needed should not be underestimated.

Also bear in mind that the crate engines are incomplete. No ancillaries, bracketry or even a dipstick. So what on the outset is a cheap engine can rapidly increase in price.

Do the costings and it isn't as cheap as people think.

[TVR_owner]

gemini said:

Theres a Chevy engined Chimaera in West Yorks
It was at Cars in the park

Thats Jelli's old car Rich. Do try and keep up - I do worry about you sometimes

[shpub]

For the Cerb it includes a new crate engine. There is also VAT on top. As for turnaround time... biggest delay is the queue of cars at the moment. Currently have four cars being worked on at the moment so there is a queue. The costs are low because of the component reuse that effectively keeps the only parts that are needed to buy as the basic engine. Don't have that option with the Griff/Chimaera so that's why it is a lot more expensive to convert.

For a Grif/Chim, I would think about 10-12K for parts and a lot more for the labour.

[Mad Mitch]

Amazing conversion as far as performance and noise but also on quality. If you want advice on LS6 into Chim contact Jellison. Top bloke................To answer a question from a previous thread as to whether the weight distribution is changed the answer is simply that the car is phenominal and handles brilliantly...........

Mitch.

[GingerNinja]

Full details of Jon's conversion on the Chevvy engined Chim below - makes for a really interesting read.

Enjoy.

http://www.freewebs.com/faster-tvr/

[BJWoods]

ls2 into a griff

http://www.thegriffithpages.com/modifications/engi...

Edited by BJWoods on Tuesday 9th June 10:44

[JR]

BJWoods said:

ls2 into a griff

http://www.thegriffithpages.com/modifications/engi...

A very neat installation.