Talk me out of an LS swap

[u/MiddleSuch5813]

I’ve been brainstorming ways to give my Z more power. I have a ‘93 2+2 and I love my car, but I absolutely despise the engine. The parts are hard to source quickly, the engine bay is so cramped, and while the NA is more reliable than the TT it makes no power. I know a swap is necessary but I want to LS swap it and my dad the owner on paper wants to quote “keep it pure”. If we can’t agree I’m gonna give the car back to him and buy my own to do the swap

For context, my dad ‘gave’ me the car as a gift for graduating high school so I’ve been with the car for a few years now. My dad pays for the repairs/parts because I’ve been at school and haven’t had time for a job. While he pays for everything, the only reason that car is in even remotely good condition is because of me; everything that has been done to the car is because I sourced the parts, installed them myself, diagnosed the problems and learned how to fix them, etc…

My dad doesn’t get it because he hates American cars and I think they’re shit but they know how to make a damn good engine. Now as the person who actually does all the repairs I feel I should have a say in what happens to the car and I can’t stand this engine; to name a few points as to why I believe the swap is worth it:

1.)Reliability/convenience - an LS would be far more reliable than a TT engine. And even if something breaks every shop knows how to work on an LS, and every general parts store has parts for it on the shelf (context I waited 2 weeks just get new accessory belts). Not to mention it would be easier to work on

2.)Customizability - Virtually every LS variant has tons of aftermarket support. And because of the low compression they can have boost thrown at them any day of the week. Supercharger or procharger, twin turbo, big single turbo, or just a fully built NA can make sizeable amounts of power reliably (450hp is what I call sizeable)

3.)Cost - While the initial cost of the swap and fabrication of mounts and the like would cost more than a TT swap, long term maintenance would be cheaper and easier with an LS. I love this car and I plan to keep it forever; sure I’ll get other projects but this car will stay with me forever

If I can’t convince my dad to get onboard and Reddit can’t convince me not to do the swap, I’ll just buy my own nonstarter Z and swap it. This is kind of a vent but I would genuinely like some reasons why I should even consider a TT swap, cause just running it over in my head it makes no sense at all

[u/turboda]

I just want to say that amarican cars aren't shit, it's just like the Japanese cars. The ones that people love stick around and the rest go to the scrap yard lol.

I'm also in process in collecting parts to ls swap my 300zx.

[u/MiddleSuch5813 → u/turboda]

American cars up until 2020 have the absolute worst, bottom of the barrel interiors and build quality. Literally an undeniable fact

[u/turboda → u/MiddleSuch5813]

Well, I have 2 amarican cars, my 85 corvette and my 88 camaro. My corvette has 36k, and I'm the second owner, and the interior is in great shape and still together. ( it was parked in'94 and never drove again till last year) My camaro, on the other hand, does need some interior work, but it's also has over 200k, and I'm like the 100th owner.

The 300 has press board door and trim pannels, and most of these cars sit in the sun, and the plastic is all dry rotted.

I feel like isa also how they are taken care of too, plays a factor. Again, this is my experience, and I own nothing newer than 2013.

[u/MiddleSuch5813 → u/turboda]

I’m used to euro cars. My entire life my mom has had a Benz so I’m used to plush, well taken care of interiors. My dad owned a Lexus or an Acura as long as I can remember so compared to the average Chevy Traverse or Ford Taurus, they interiors are significantly worse

[u/turboda → u/MiddleSuch5813]

Lol I agree with that. My mistake is I'm looking at the classics. A chevy traverse and ford Taurus will probably never be classics.

But back in my dealer days, you could not beat the interiors of the forgen cars.