Keep an eye on the clubgp classified sections if you are looking for a cheaper turbo kit.
It seems like guys demod turbo cars fairly often, and if you don't mind a used kit you can find some good deals.

 

I didn't even think about clubgp! Thanks! What year grand prix's turbo would fit a 2000 monte carlo ss?

 

The turbo kits are made to fit any L36 w-body generally, so anything from 97+

I'd consider what Montess2k said though, the reason that turbo cars get demodded so frequently is that people get tired of blowing through transmissions.

 

Top swaps can be done even cheaper- I've seen people get all the parts for the top swap for well under $500 (plus gaskets and fluids obviously)- but other than the supercharger, the rest of the parts are dirt cheap.

Comparing a top swap to a turbo kit is apples and oranges though. With a top swap, you're buying used stock parts (off an L67 vehicle) of which GM built thousands and thousands. So you typically pay little over junkyard prices for the parts. With a turbo kit, you're getting a brand new turbo, wastegate, BOV, boost controller, etc- and custom fabbed tubing to mount it- and all of this stuff costs money. Plus, on top of that, you're paying a little extra for the time it took them to design the parts to simply bolt on to your car. Used OEM parts and new aftermarket parts will always naturally be a world apart price wise unless the OEM stuff is super rare (which isn't really the case with these cars).

There is, but it requires fabrication ability (at the minimum a MIG welder and the ability to properly use it). Obviously you'd be looking at a ton more labor too than just bolting up a pre-built kit.



Two great points were touched on above- the transmission issue is a very important point. With just sticking the turbo kit on, and not really railing on the car, you shouldn't have much problem- but if you keep modding and turning up the boost, you're going to get into problems really quick with the transmission. Obviously any increase in power will decrease transmission life though- as will racing it at all. I'm glad they made the point about it though- if you only managed to scrape together enough to buy the turbo kit- what will happen if the trans does blow? Also, what happens if you're racing someone stock tomorrow and it blows (not totally impossible)? You definitely need to have some reserve funds in case something breaks on any car- and its much more important if the car is modded and you're racing it (which you obviously are if you want more power- why add more power if you never use it).

The second point about clubgp is good too- there was just a really nice CSC kit on there for $2k a couple weeks back, and there are turbo kits on there pretty regularly. One thing to watch out for with a used turbo is shaft play (the center shaft has slop to it)- and two is the turbo leaking oil into the intake (blown seal). Obviously you save money buying used, but you also have the possibility of it having problems when you get it too.

 

Im actually having the same delema as tyler.
I'm a kid and i want my monte to go fast!
I have been reading an awful lot on both the turbo and the l67 top swap.
Im torn between Cost and my ability to actually do the install.

Sticking with the l36 i can do easy bolt ons but in the end ill just be spending more for equall or less power then if i just did the top swap. which then im open to many more options in mods. I have the money for a top swap now but i dont think i would be capable of doing the swap and finding the parts i need. Thats why a turbo seems like a better option since it a bit easier than rebuilding part of my engine. But them comes the issues of tranys and what not.

The more i think about it and calculate the cost for performance, the more i just want to put an exhaust kit on and pretend like i go fast. then later on buy a better car.(which would be a while away)

And with the ricers who brag about thier cars, those guys arnt in my area. Unfortunaly i live in a wealthy town where a bunch of rich kids are getting 350Zs, mustangs, and Camaros from their mommys and daddys and didnt have to pay a penny. Then brag about a car i dont think they earned.

Sry if im making it sound like this is all about me, i just shared my situation since it was close to Tylers and i understand his situation.

Edit: Btw bumpin96monte, that guide/thread you made as been a big help in layingout mod plans and answering some of my questions

 

The more I hear about all the transmission issues with a turbo, the more I lean toward a top swap. With an l67 engine, parts seem to be more available, and easier to install at a shop (which means less custom work).

I've gone from top swap, to turbo, back to top swap. I think I'm sticking with the l67 idea for the reasons stated above.

Is it possible to get l67 parts from clubgp if they're available, or are supercharged grand prix engines different from monte carlo engines?

 

Yeah im sure you can find some parts on there for sure.
From what i understand they are generaly the same. since alot of times when people sell the l67 supercharger they say for grand prix, put its the same iteam used in the monte carlos.

Hope that helped

 

OK Here's is my advice having been down a similar road.

FIRST and FOREMOST! You must stop comparing yourselves and your cars to others and there cars and what they have. You have to really sit down and see what fits for you, not just with the car, but a realistic ammount you can spend without going broke and not being able to live life outside the car....

THEN sit down and really think about how much you want to spend and how much you really Love your car...Figuring a god transmission and a power adder could cost you between $4K-$10K in the long run, which is a decent down payment to put down on a newer RWD car that would probably be as fast, if not faster stock then just about anything you do to a Monte.

Although this may sound like I'm trying to talk you out of doing this, I am not, I am just trying to make sure your aware, adding a power adder to these cars and going decently fast is NOT CHEAP...and even after you calculate what you wanna do, and how much it's going to cost, add another $1K-2K to cover anything else that could pop up.

Do research, and honestly for me, the "correct" path to take imo is doing the transmission first....(tripleedgeperformance) this is the hardest...why? Not because of install or parts, but the hardest part is saving all of that money, probably over a long period of time, and installing a really good transmission but getting little to no real gains after spening so much money. (I also recommend doing a Torsen LSD)

Now after you saved all that money, you get to have all that patients again, and saving even more to purchase and add the power adder.

I also recommend finding a good mechanic in case you are not to sure how to do things...and even if you do know, it's always good to have a backup plan in case things don't work out.

The hardest part is watching everyone else spending $ on there cars while your saving, but again if you can get past all this, you will have your day when it will be your turn...

It took me over 10 years to get mine to this point...and even doing it "right" I went through some transmission issues which almost caused me to get frustraited and almost give up on the whole thing and go back to stock.

Honestly if you decide to go for it, I'd recommend buying the parts new, even though it is a great idea to get things used, I'd be very wary of what the condition of the parts will be...you know these are performance parts, so they've probably been used and abused and don't have any warranty, so unless you know what your for/at to know what your getting, i'd steer clear of this as an option, just saying.

Another thing to consider is what do you need the car for? If it's for work/school as a daily driver then take a second to thing how much down time the car may have, both with the install, and with issues that may occur afterwards....the last thing you want is to not have a car to get to work, where you make the money for the car...lol..A cheap Daily driver maybe an option...perhaps one of those Hondas....

Just my advice, be patient, think it through, save the money, do it right, and in time it will all come together,

Simpel Equasion:
Cheap + Fast = Not Reliable
Cheap + Reliabe = Not Fast
Fast + Reliabe= Not Cheap

Joe

 

About how much do you think a shop would cost to install the top swap?

 

Even with a top swap, you will probably need to upgrade your transmission, there are different transmission parts in your N/A (4T65-E) then in a Stock Supercharged Car (4T65-E HD). Again anything after intake/headers/exhaust you'd probably need a transmission upgrade.

Joe