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Need Advice on current project, gen 4 chevy and 4L80E turbo

lshaven

New member
Joined
Jan 31, 2016
Hi all, I have been a part of the volvo community for a while. I am trying to figure out if the shop is stringing me around (which I am sure by now is,) and need advice on how to proceed.

In October 2018 I had a turbo civic that I was looking to sell that was going for roughly 8-10k, however with how specialized it was, it was going to sit there for a while. I had a shop that I have had work done with before and commented on how he wanted that civic. Essentially, the trade was the civic and my donor vehicle a 1990 Volvo 740 GL and he would supply the LS1, transmission, and all fab work to be included. He gave me a written agreement signed by himself that the volvo would be done by Feb 2019 and dated on his shop's letterhead and envelope. During the first week, he sold the civic (rumor was it was the person I bought it from 1.5 years prior but I do not know.)

Fast forward to Dec 2018 we talked about how a turbo would look really good in the volvo, however, due to the automatic and such it may be a little more issue. I paid 4k for turbo, parts, fuel pump, tuning, and install to have that done as he reassured me that it could be done. I do recognize that this added work would not reach the Feb deadline.

After months, I have had the same excuse of it was not ready per 2 weeks. Come May 2019, the issue was the original LS1 was not rebuilt correctly so we went with a Gen 4 6.0L and 4L80E. Two months pass and the comment was the engine was has not been prepared and redone yet and to ensure the car was done correctly. Another issue was A/C lines which they did solve.

Come Oct 2019, a new manager came along and told me he would be updating me. After November 2019, I was getting frustrated as a shop with welding, tools, and a lift, I would have expected this project could have been completed. He told me to give him until December 2019 to get acclimated and figure out what was going on. Come first week of Jan 2020, he told me it would be completed for sure by end of Feb 2020.

Come the last day of Feb 2020, it was still not done. I do understand in March there was a shut down in my state so I can understand an additional 5-6 weeks delay from this.

Come May 2020, still not finished. June 2020 is when I am losing faith in the shop. The issue is there is a grounding issue and the car would turn over but not start and it was an electrical issue.

It is now July and I have lost faith in this shop. I am intermediate with cars, but not a master craftsman fab guy. Am I unrealistic in the length of this project? I wish I just held out to sell the civic and not modify this volvo as I love it, it is near mint condition with 100k on the chassis and no tears, dents, etc.

If I am completely wrong or if I am unreasonable then I would be less frustrated with this process. In 2018 the shop was very reputable at the time. I am just unsure if they saw an opportunity for easy money and took advantage of me. I can bite the bullet and get the car myself and finish it, however I do not have the time which is why I agreed to this nonsense in the first place.

Thanks for reading
 
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Below are some pictures of the build

https://imgur.com/a/ye6YmDe

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Kind of sounds like they really don't know what they're doing.

I really don't know what I'm doing and it took me less time to get my turbo LS swap up and running.
 
With a full work shop a basic na swap could be done in a weekend. So yeah these guys were definitely not the right choice. I would cut my losses because even if they manage to complete the car, you'll always have a sour taste about the whole ordeal. Even a novice guy could do an ls swap. The swap parts are readily available which really save you time/headaches/money.

After seeing pictures, I'd recommend you get the car back and find another shop to finish it off if you don't feel confident in taking on the project yourself.
 
A lot of shops will take on more than they can handle in a reasonable amount of time, it is hard to turn down money. Maybe tell them it is time to put up or shut up, not in a threatening way, just you are gonna pull the project.

Where are you? Maybe one of us knows a place that will wrap it up for ya and get you rolling asap.
 
How current are those pics?

Also, certainly no LS expert, but will having a long runner equal length header on one side and a log manifold on the other be an issue? I know flow in a turbo exhaust isn't the same as an NA, but still. How big is that downpipe? What ECU?
 
How current are those pics?

Also, certainly no LS expert, but will having a long runner equal length header on one side and a log manifold on the other be an issue? I know flow in a turbo exhaust isn't the same as an NA, but still. How big is that downpipe? What ECU?

I think the downpipe is 3 1/2 inch but not sure. I am going today to get all the details. It is 2 hours from where I live and I have issues driving on the freeway lol.

Pics are current, the one with the polished is less than a month old.
 
any new update with this?

Update is as follows. The project is likely to be scrubbed as the shop I went with basically decided to say F*** it and lead me on. I will have to get an attorney and try to prove in court what the build is worth. I plan on going after the owner, wife, and actual LLC. I took some pics of what I found already. Will upload them in a few minutes
 
that really sucks, i've been slowly working on my car for about 2 years now, it's not easy to stick a v8 turbo 4L80e in this chassis, and i didnt do a/c in mine, and i can tell you that radiator will never work for the v8 among alot of other issues i see going on there...too bad you're so damn far away! (tampa,fl here)
 
that really sucks, i've been slowly working on my car for about 2 years now, it's not easy to stick a v8 turbo 4L80e in this chassis, and i didnt do a/c in mine, and i can tell you that radiator will never work for the v8 among alot of other issues i see going on there...too bad you're so damn far away! (tampa,fl here)

Yeah, I am going to have to take him to superior court, which sucks as I just wanted what I paid for. If they would have said, we can't do it and made reasonable refunds or accommodations, I would have accepted it.
 
Yeah, I am going to have to take him to superior court, which sucks as I just wanted what I paid for. If they would have said, we can't do it and made reasonable refunds or accommodations, I would have accepted it.

so, you paid then cash upfront for the whole job?
 
so, you paid then cash upfront for the whole job?

I had a civic with a k24/k20 with a huge turbo, 2000cc injectors and such, wire tuck and all the bells and whistles that roughly approximated to be worth about 11k, it was going to be forever to sell so he made a deal and I paid for the turbo parts.
 
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