I am incredibly amazed by the build. I really thing you have done a great swap. My only quam about this is that you put a stock ls1 which is 345hp. I have some experience in building LS engines as I've recently done one last year for a pontiac G8 with my friend. Was a great build, 10+ grand invested even in the engine alone with a 402 stroker only put down 420hp on a 6.9L LS block. Great but kinda disappointed after the fact with the route we chose.

Do you plan on building the engine? I feel that even with the swap, other than for originality, it would have been easier just swap in the IS-F engine in.

I feel like I've posted comments *****ting on your swap but I am really not. I think its a great swap, and you have done an excellent job so consider me as constructive criticism.

Also when your done, do you plan on taking this car on the Power Tour? I went this past summer and it was a blast. Kinda annoying though that every car was a swapped LS1, or a GM V8 car

Yep, the rear end is all still stock. I'll give it a shot for a while and see how it holds up.

Based on the looks of the engine I would have said the 4GR weighed more. the DOHC setup makes it look significantly bigger then the LS1 which was also apparent by the extra room I had in the engine bay after the swap. However, I just found 2 sources that say the 4GR weighs around 400 and the LS1 460, So I guess that's the answer.

Dry sump would have been nice and probably would have worked without modification to the pan since they are so slim but they are way out of my price range. You're probably looking at 2K+ just to get going.

Thanks for the compliment. I have been a mechanical engineer for about 10 years now during which I have done design, analysis, testing, prototyping, etc... I have been working on cars since I have been driving but nothing to this level. I worked as a mobile electronics installer at Best Buy through college so that definitely increased my understanding of auto electronics.

The good thing about the LS1 is the amount of documentation available. I have 3 books that I used during the engine build and swap, How to Rebuild GM LS-Series Engines, How to Build High-Performance Chevy LS1/LS6 V-8s, and How to Swap GM LS-Series Engines into Almost Anything. All of them were really helpful.

For the Lexus I only had the wiring manual for the IS which was necessary to do the swap.

I didn't really use any engineering books for the swap but in general my go to books are The Machinery Handbook which has everything from sheet metal bending to screw threads and also The Mechanical Engineering Reference Manual for the PE Exam which I didn't know existed until a few years ago and is basically a 4 year engineering degree in 1 book.

Your feedback is well taken and you make some valid points except that there is some back story to the engine. I got the engine from a good friend of mine who hydro-locked it several years ago and bent a rod at ~100k miles. He swapped his out with a crate engine and I inherited the long block. I spent a year rebuilding the engine not knowing what type of car it was going in. I have worked on cars for year but never performed a ground up engine build so it was a good learning experience for me. What started as a basic rebuild with new piston rings and gaskets turned into a complete overhaul. Essentially when I was done I had a mildly modified 0 mile LS1 that should last me for years. Here is the complete parts list from the engine build:

Block: 2001 LS1 three pass honed to 3.905"
Crank: Stock LS1 ground .010" under
Connecting Rods: Stock LS1
Rod Bolts: ARP 134-6006
Pistons: Mahle LS1314905F04 Forged Pistons w/ Rings
Heads: 241 Castings - DIY Ported and Polished
Intake Manifold: LS6
Injectors: 28 lb Injectors from an LQ4
Throttle Body: Smoothed Stock LS1
Intake Valves: Manley Race Series Stainless Steel Valves
Valve Springs: Trick-Flow TFS-16918-16 Pacaloy Beehive
Pushrods: Stock
Rocker Arms: Stock
Camshaft: Trick-Flow TFS-30602001
Timing Gear: Trick-Flow Dual Chain
Clutch: LS7 Clutch and Flywheel
Transmission: T-56 fully rebuilt by Astro Performance
Oil Pump: Melling High Pressure
Oil Pan: Modified Corvette LS2
Power Steering Pulley: Turn One Billet Aluminum Pulley
Rod and Main Bearings Bearings: Clevite
Camshaft Bearings: Sealed Power
Fuel Pressure Regulator: Aeromotive 13129
Holley LS Fuel Rails
Holley HP EFI, ECU And Harness Kit

With that said, and with the money I ended up spending on the project, you’re right. I probably could have swapped in an ISF engine or even bought a high mileage ISF. Except I love the uniqueness of the car, I love the confused looks people give me when I am stopped at a light, and although I probably have a comparable powered car to the ISF, I have to imagine that the brute feel of the LS1 is a completely different experience.

Additionally, and I’ll leave it at this. Considering all the LS engines have the same mounting configuration, I built a platform that has endless possibilities. I can swap it out with an LS7 with minimal effort, get heads for my LS and add another 150 horsepower naturally aspirated, or add on one of the many supercharger or turbo kits available. The options for LS engines as well as upgrades are mindboggling.

I wasn't planning on the power tour but it looks like a blast. I live near Palm Beach International Speedway so I'll definitely be hitting up some of the event out there. I also would love to make it our to LS fest next year.

Sounds good! See how much power the open diff can handle, then perhaps down the road you can upgrade to an LSD?

Thank you so much for replying back. I appreciate you spending the time to respond.

I will definitely look into purchasing the last books you mentioned and perhaps the LS related ones when I get to that point. I'm currently going through Automotive Technology: A systems approach by Jack Erjavec.

I'm a car lover but I'm not sure I want to devote my life to it, and from what I understand, getting a job in the auto industry can be difficult unless you have years of personal experience which I do not.

Regardless, I'm not sure what field of engineering I want to pursue anyhow (Electrical is becoming very intriguing to me and since I live in the Silicon Valley, I'm thinking it'd be a better option over mechanical). I've always been fascinated by machinery though, and cars obviously, and would think that if I can get one engineering degree, then I could study another discipline after. Its not like the math or physics changes, right?

I hope I don't come across as some ignorant fool that feels his opinions are correct. They are insights I've gained from teachers and former engineering students (that have tried to get into the auto industry and have a significant amount of automobile related knowledge) but no engineers that specifically work in the auto industry.

Again, thanks for replying. The car sounds great on the Dyno by the way!

EDIT: I was looking for information on the Machinery's Handbook - Is this book mainly a reference book, or is it suitable for just plain ol' reading as well?

Hello, my name is Josh, And I just want to say what an awesome job you've done with this build. Owning an IS-F, this makes me want to get rid of it and drop an LS7 into a 2IS lol.

Anyway, I write for LSXTV.com and wanted to share with you the article I did on your build. I pretty much creeped on this thread after I saw your YouTube videos. The article was published a few minutes ago and I just thought I'd share it with you!

http://www.lsxtv.com/features/car-fe...oor-mans-is-f/

Once again, thank you for giving me something awesome to write about!

I showed my buddy who's not really active here (Duder06) and he said if he pays for your flight, can you come install one in his car!!!???? He's actually serious. It's so awesome and I kinda like that the car looks stock! Plan on taking it to the 1/4 mile?

Josh, I've been on LSXTV.com a lot in the past mostly checking out the latest swap insanity entry so it's really cool to see my car in there. Thanks for taking interest in my project.

I will be taking it to track soon. Probably within the next month.

I would definitely be interested in helping out Duder06 however it might be hard to fly out there in person. The questions that he should answer before we have any follow up conversation are what he is looking to spend on the project, what is his level of mechanical aptitude, and how long can he be without the car. Maybe from there we can talk about what level of involvement is needed of me.

PM me after you talk with him and we can discuss offline.

Have any dyno numbers yet? Any shots of the dash all done?

once you post up some videos from the track, I can do a follow up on the car. looking forward to seeing dyno numbers too!

Very cool build. While I am not a fan of the LS engine's sound, I can respect their power to money ratio. Nice work.

I want to see those dyno numbers