Hi all,
I am a little premature for this, but I am seeing an overwhelming demand for quality Fiero swaps in the Northeast area. I converted a portion of my shop to focus on just Fiero swaps. Yes, The Haus of Guru. If all goes according to plan, we should be 100% within four weeks.
I don’t plan on taking business away from any other members here. This is a hobby for me that I can use to help fellow Fiero owners. We plan on focusing on primarily 3800s/c swaps, but I will consider doing any custom European based swaps also. We can even pick up and deliver your car on a car trailer at a reasonable price.
I will be doing all the wiring harnesses in house, and the finished product will be “show quality”. We will be replacing almost every gasket on a low mileage used engine or use a crate engine for the swaps. I will not have a fresh swap leave small puddles in your driveway. I won’t do it any other way.
My plan is to have a very high quality swap. My VR6 swap has set my standard and I won’t take shortcuts.
We are currently building our “test car” and I will post up photos of the build once it is completed. I will not be doing any V8 swaps, although I am fluent with them. I feel that Archie has them down to a science, and it is best left to him.
Our website will be launched within a few weeks.
Dave

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1987 GT (my toy-see above), 1987 GT (daily driver), 1986 SE with a VW VR6, certified master technician/shop owner
www.njautobahn.com

how much yould you be charging for a basic 3800sc swap into a 5 speed GT?

I have a price in mind, but I think it would only be fair to wait until I post up pictures of what you would get for that price. Anyone local is welcome to come by and see what we are currently working on (including other cool Euro projects that aren't Fiero related)
Dave

MMMMmmmm 2.0t with DSG swap..........

Yeah right! If I ever win the lottery though, I will be coming to you with that idea!

quote Originally posted by bmwguru: I have a price in mind, but I think it would only be fair to wait until I post up pictures of what you would get for that price. Anyone local is welcome to come by and see what we are currently working on (including other cool Euro projects that aren't Fiero related) Dave

well you deffenetley got me interested. as long as its not somthing outragous like west cost fieros you can put me on your list. hell iv seen your work and i think i can trust you with my baby

That is awesome, awesome news. Now as soon as I see a price I have a goal to shoot for! =D I'd love to drop in just to check out the Haus of Guru part when it's finished.

quote Originally posted by N3M3S1S: That is awesome, awesome news. Now as soon as I see a price I have a goal to shoot for! =D I'd love to drop in just to check out the Haus of Guru part when it's finished.

re as soon as i see a price ill be gettin that money together soon enough.

Damn, So close.... I'd love to stop by every once in awhile to harrass you and the Finger Queen

quote Originally posted by Back On Holiday: Damn, So close.... I'd love to stop by every once in awhile to harrass you and the Finger Queen

i could say somthing right now about his engine swaps and your engine swaps and mesurments but im not going to

Too bad I don't live in that part of the country anymore. I would have loved to drop in and see this.

quote Originally posted by avengador1: Too bad I don't live in that part of the country anymore. I would have loved to drop in and see this.

Joey and Shawn(halolush) will be in your area Thursday to pick up her new truck. She bought it from a dealer in Sanford, FL. I wish I could go, but we have a lot of work to catch up on.
Back on Holiday, you and other members are welcome to stop by anytime.
Dave

[This message has been edited by bmwguru (edited 03-03-2009).]

You let me know how much for a TDI swap and I'll start saving!

.

[This message has been edited by JazzMan (edited 04-21-2009).]

quote Originally posted by bmwguru: I will not be doing any V8 swaps, although I am fluent with them. I feel that Archie has them down to a science, and it is best left to him.

What about non-SBC V8 swaps... for example the Northstar / Aurora, Ford SHO, Land Rover, etc?

i used to love about 45 minutes from Howell in old bridge. Glad too see someone willing to do swaps in the area. I live in Hagerstown MD now but its not that far of a drive. Have you considered doing the ecotech swaps? If not i would be interested in a 3800 sc as well. just need a price to shoot for.

I'll compile a complete price with pics as well as an itemizied list of the parts, labor and the few changes I made to improve the swap...IMO. I am open to do all kinds of swaps, but I don't want to take business away from anyone else on this forum. I'd concider doing a N* swap or other V8, but I'd rather stick to stuff I know and are fluent with. I spent the last year researching 3800 swaps and I have over 17 years experience working as a technician. I've worked at a Pontiac dealer back when I was 20 and then switched to German stuff. I am ASE certified Master technician as well as L1 Advanced engine performance ASE certified.
We also have a dyno shop about a mile from my shop, so if anyone wants their swap done with a cam or needs any additional tuning, we will have the capability and resources.
Also, on my swap (and I would really prefer to do this on all the swaps I do) I replaced every tensioner and idler pulley, new A/C compressor, reman alternator, New starter, water pump and the engines are all disassembled to inspect for wear (from lack of prior maintenance) and get resealed, so there will be no leaks.
Dave
ps...I would LOVE to do a TDI swap, so if someone gets a complete Jetta or Golf, I'll try to make it as cheap as possible to fab a kit to install it.

[This message has been edited by bmwguru (edited 03-04-2009).]

Bump. Saw the test car today for the 3800 swaps when I dropped off my VW for repair (I bought the fox I posted about in TO/T)

Just want to say that car looks AWESOME! The swap is very detail oriented, and I for one will definitely be going to Dave if I need a swap done in the future The wiring harness was all hand built, no cutting or splicing of the wires. Dave actually took the time to pull all the pins from the connectors, use new wiring, and put it back together, making it look stock. Excellent craftsmanship in my book, very good attention to detail. He even went so far as to reseal the 3800 he has in this car with new gaskets, etc., even though it was only a 60k mile engine. He wants to make sure his swaps will make it to the moon and back and still not leak on your driveway

IMHO, the money you'd spend to have Dave install your swap will be well spent He even mentioned he wants to have a turnaround of 3-4 weeks, which is a BIG plus

quote Originally posted by bmwguru: ps...I would LOVE to do a TDI swap, so if someone gets a complete Jetta or Golf, I'll try to make it as cheap as possible to fab a kit to install it.

Do it!!!!!

quote Originally posted by pontiackid86: i could say somthing right now about his engine swaps and your engine swaps and mesurments but im not going to

You can say it... He is a certified Mech with all the bells and whistles of a shop, and im just a shade tree mechanic.... but in reality, what does that make you?

quote Originally posted by Back On Holiday: You can say it... He is a certified Mech with all the bells and whistles of a shop, and im just a shade tree mechanic.... but in reality, what does that make you?

the padawan i know. but yea bmw once you get a price up ill start saving for the swap could i get a ball park price that your thinking of. and also would it be cool if i supplyed the motor?

Awesome news. I remember you saying you had aborted the idea of doing a 3800 swap in the past several times in the past due to anxiety over not being familiar with the hardware.

I guess you got over that. In a big way. Sweet.

quote Originally posted by KurtAKX: Awesome news. I remember you saying you had aborted the idea of doing a 3800 swap in the past several times in the past due to anxiety over not being familiar with the hardware. I guess you got over that. In a big way. Sweet.

That is true, but I did my research, asked a lot of questions and I figured that I used to work on them back in the day and the cars I work on now are a lot more complicated than the GM engines, so I took a shot and everything is working out ok. Fieros are my hobby. BMW's are my living.
Dave

PM sent

quote Originally posted by pontiackid86: the padawan i know. but yea bmw once you get a price up ill start saving for the swap could i get a ball park price that your thinking of. and also would it be cool if i supplyed the motor?

Now Youngling, the Jedi Master must concede one thing... Have BMWGURU do your swap, not me! He is the Master Yoda and im just one of the Peon Jedi's that were killed

I should have paid more attention during Star Wars. I haven't a clue

quote Originally posted by Back On Holiday: Now Youngling, the Jedi Master must concede one thing... Have BMWGURU do your swap, not me! He is the Master Yoda and im just one of the Peon Jedi's that were killed

depending on the price i am gona have him do it he uses mesurments and the car actuley drives straight haha what would i do without you andrew

Guru,
I'm wondering if you would be willing to do a 4.9L Cadillac V-8 swap.
I know that the 4.9 swap is not much in favor any more. But I find the relatively low cost of parts and the intrinsic appeal of the V-8 sound, and 275 lb.ft. of torque very attractive.

~Bob

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"Its nice to be important.
Its more important to be nice."

Yeah, I'll do a 4.9 swap. We should be up and running in a few weeks. The test car should be done within that time and I'll have some prices put together and my website www.hausofguru.com functional.
I do everything 110%, so I won't treat this as a side job. It is my hobby, but at the same time, can help pay my taxes at the end of the year.
Dave

Dave, YGPM on some unrelated matters

Good luck! I hope the cheapskates don't blast you too much for charging for quality work.
You know how cheap Fiero owners can be.

Sneak peak into the Haus. You can see the new a/c compressor, starter and the attention to detail. The wiring harness (not in pic) will really make the difference. I'm not sure how everyone else makes thiers, but mine will be all complete wires and not spliced. I prefer to remove the pins and make the wires one piece rather than multiple splicings.
Anyway, you can see from the cars in the background that we build and service top quality products.
Dave

That is top notch work guru. I look forward to having work done at the haus.

I wanted to clarify a few things. I have been receiving pm's about a few things that can be easily answered here.

With the 7730 swap, honestly, I believe Darth of Sinister Performance is your best bet. He has been doing those ecm swaps for years and has them down to a science. The purpose of my shop is to not take away business from others or copy their ideas and make money on it. If I come out with a better design, I'll market it, but if it has been tested and proven for years, I'll purchase their product and use it for my swaps. That will keep the money flowing around the Fiero community. I purchased a set of WCF mounts and honestly, I could duplicate their set, but their set is fair priced and very good quality. I would feel better about myself if I just used their set. I'm not looking to get rich here, my BMW shop pays my bills and generates money for my hobbies. I need a release to show my creative side and channel my OCD, and the Haus of Guru is just that. I'm also not going to be cheap either. You get what you pay for. My work is very meticulous. My work does not fail 99.9% of the time.
Dave

[This message has been edited by bmwguru (edited 03-10-2009).]

Would you consider doing a Mazda Rotary swap? I have an RX7 (good motor) and an 87 5-speed notchback for parts, I would rather the Fiero be on the road. Just a thought.

quote Originally posted by ClayTonto: Would you consider doing a Mazda Rotary swap? I have an RX7 (good motor) and an 87 5-speed notchback for parts, I would rather the Fiero be on the road. Just a thought.

pm sent

this thread is starting to get WOTHLESS without PICTURES and PRICES ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh i wana see what your gona be doing with my car.
ITS DRIVING ME CRAZY


haha im kidding dude any updates?

also any work on if you mabey would be able to do a 3800sc series3 or are you just going to be doing series 2?

[This message has been edited by pontiackid86 (edited 03-11-2009).]

quote Originally posted by pontiackid86: this thread is starting to get WOTHLESS without PICTURES and PRICES ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh i wana see what your gona be doing with my car. ITS DRIVING ME CRAZY haha im kidding dude any updates? also any work on if you mabey would be able to do a 3800sc series3 or are you just going to be doing series 2?

I should have everything posted the first week of April. I got sidetracked finishing up the engine issues in the 356 Speedster. I'll be doing what the customer asks. If I feel that it is beyond the scope of my abilities, I'll be upfront and let you know. I've had a request for a rotary swap and I didn't turn it down.
Dave

PM sent to the guru

Here is an update of what is going on at the Haus. Currently, we are working on a 3800s/c swap on a 87GT and also a complete suspension overhaul on a notchback. The notchback is getting new poly bushings, ball joints, tie rods, and solid cradle bushings. At the end, we will be doing the alignment on our new rack.
The 3800s/c had to be put on hold for a few weeks while I waited for parts to arrive. As I said in my first post, I'm not going to copy someone else's design and sell it as my own. I'd rather keep the money flowing around the Fiero community.
I purchased Rodney's poly mounts and put in his new shifter cables. (the old ones really made the engine bay look like crap and I couldn't stand it anymore). I used Darth for the tuning, Purple Reign made the low mount alternator bracket and WCF supplied the front engine mount bracket, flywheel, and throttle cable bracket. Not to bash anyone here, but I had to remake the front engine mount bracket because it was off by almost 1/4" and the throttle bracket didn't allow the engine to have 100% WOT, so that had to be rewelded. I assumed it was par for the course because the Fiero cradles aren't all the same.

Dave

[This message has been edited by bmwguru (edited 08-01-2010).]

Dave, the detail you put into your work is nothing short of amazing. I would be willing to bet your shop is also as clean as your installs. With your permission, when I get back in early-mid 2010, I would like to swing by and see your operation. It's nice having someone close-by to do things you aren't set up to do yourself. When the time comes for my install, you've got my business.

Andy