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Its a cruiser and unlike your goals, I wasn't interested in huge power, rather I just wanted something different in a garage project. Actually, I sort got backed into doing this swap. I missed my old TT that I had sold, and bought another one to play around with in the garage. A neighbor had this old beater, and offered him $2800. Then after a few weeks, I realized it just to slow and worn out. I have always liked chevy small blocks; and wanted to do an LS swap in an early Studebaker coupe before they became too expensive. But now here's this Z sitting in my garage, and it needs more get up and go; so swapped just sort of happened. Worse for my bank account, I decided to start assembling parts, even before I had any realistic estimates on what the final costs would be. Everyone spends at least $10k for the basic swap; more if you need to rebuild the driveline. I spent close to $30K; however that number is misleading as I rebuilt the whole car: Interior, paint, chassis and suspension, etc. One company in particular, LOJ, makes well engineered kits with prices ranging from $3000 for basics to $7500 for everything you need to bolt in the new motor trans dropout. My engine trans combo was $6000, so you can see the engine is not the big expense in these projects. The LS motor is smaller and more powerful. We weighed the LS6/T56 combo and removed parts, and it was 150 pounds lighter than the NA/Z32 trans, plus parts, that came out. The finished car weighs in at 3250 with almost perfect corner balance, which is plus for handling. But the LS motor is not that much better than the VGDETT. Yes, the LS blocks are everything they say: They're easier to mod, can make big power, have tons of support and aftermarket. But its not really a cheap alternative. Personally I would NOT do it again. But then, I was looking for something different, a project, and not something that made sense. Like many 'projects' once I passed the point of no return, I had no choice but to finish it at the same level of quality and finish as it began. IMO if you already have a nice running twinturbo; and your car is already built with quality parts and setup to run; discounting all that to get the lumpy V8 rumble and extra low end torque is not worth all the extra money. On the otherhand, if you want to go for big power, like 800 plus HP, an LS turbo is the ticket. However, I wouldn't use your existing car. your car is already built with solid quality parts, and it's set up by some very talented people. My advice would be to find a beater chassis, because you'll have to cut it quite a bit. The front radiator support needs to go, you have no room for a new radiator to stand vertical, but have to lay it down; there is no standard way to mount the turbos and route the piping. Every conceivable layout has some major disadvantage, such as turbos half sticking out of holes cut in the hood, exhausts w/o mufflers poking out the fenders, etc. The iron blocks are stronger... and cheaper, so that aspect works for you. The other route is an LSA motor, meaning one of the LS series with an OEM GM supercharger. However, those are hard to find and pricey. Used units run $9,000 sans transmission, and you still have a huge bubble on the hood to deal with when you're finished. As for the money, others will have a better idea on how much you can expect from selling your upgraded parts; but if you can't reasonably expect to get $8-$10,000 for them, then you'll already be starting an LSZ turbo swap underwater. Lately I'm seeing some "unfinished" LS turbo projects for sale by under-financed, overly optomistic members for sale in the $6-$9,000 range. Depending on build quality and parts, that'd be my starting point. If you do decide to look further into an LS swap, email me, and I can link you up to the appropriate sites.
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