great craigslist ad for 5.3 conversion

[texasfunk]

thought this was a good deal, 1000 for motor and trans, and im sure youd might be able to get the harness frm him as well
lubbock.craigslist.org/pts/1471067615.html

[78-5.3]

Originally Posted by texasfunk

thought this was a good deal, 1000 for motor and trans, and im sure youd might be able to get the harness frm him as well
lubbock.craigslist.org/pts/1471067615.html

for 1000 i would want the harness and the ecm
there around for $450 without trans but with the harness and ECM

[S10Fan]

I'd shop around. I'm sure prices vary from area to area but guys are buying them locally with everything for under a grand. That's a 75k miles motor, trans and ecm.

Excellent swap btw.

[78-5.3]

the 5.3 in these squares are a great swap well worth the effort!!

[ironroad9c1]

I'd take a LT1 anyday over a LSxpensive.

[78-5.3]

each to there own!! i would never look back at a gen 1

[Damien]

The LT1 (gen 2) engines have most of thier parts in common with the gen 1 engines so parts are cheap. The LSx engines have nothing in common with the gen 1 and gen 2 engines. The LS1 engines have been out for 12 years and the more plentiful truck engines have been out for 10 years. The aluminum headed truck engines came in the '02 and newer trucks so only seven years. Compared to 55 years for the gen 1 engines. With time the prices will come down. My dad used to have a similar complaint about the 5.7 in my T/A vs the 396 in his Chevelle until he drove the T/A.

[78-5.3]

Originally Posted by Damien

The LT1 (gen 2) engines have most of thier parts in common with the gen 1 engines so parts are cheap. The LSx engines have nothing in common with the gen 1 and gen 2 engines. The LS1 engines have been out for 12 years and the more plentiful truck engines have been out for 10 years. The aluminum headed truck engines came in the '02 and newer trucks so only seven years. Compared to 55 years for the gen 1 engines. With time the prices will come down. My dad used to have a similar complaint about the 5.7 in my T/A vs the 396 in his Chevelle until he drove the T/A.

the aluminum headed trucks started in 1999!

[Damien]

Originally Posted by 78-5.3

the aluminum headed trucks started in 1999!

Not all of the heads were aluminum until 2002.

http://ls1tech.com/forums/generation...s-details.html

[78-5.3]

Originally Posted by Damien

Not all of the heads were aluminum until 2002.

http://ls1tech.com/forums/generation...s-details.html

like i said aluminum heads started in 1999 you mention in your post The aluminum headed truck engines came in the '02 they started in 99!

[68 TT]

Originally Posted by Damien

Not all of the heads were aluminum until 2002.

http://ls1tech.com/forums/generation...s-details.html

As I understood it the iron block 5.3 got the aluminum heads from the beginning and the 6.0 got them in 2001. Of course all the aluminum block ones like the 5.7 got aluminum heads too.

[clinebarger]

Originally Posted by 68 TT

As I understood it the iron block 5.3 got the aluminum heads from the beginning and the 6.0 got them in 2001. Of course all the aluminum block ones like the 5.7 got aluminum heads too.

You are correct. Besides the odds of coming across a iron headed 6.0 are slim.

[westofb]

Saw one (5.3 w/ trans) with I think about 80k for $750 on KC, MO craigslists earlier this evening.

[blazn79]

It had power, but the LT1 was a horrible design thats why it was only around for 5 years (distibutor behind the water pump, dumbest idea ever,) I owned a 96' Impala SS and believe me, it gave me the most headaches out of all the GM V8's I've owned, I own a 03 tahoe Z71 with the 5.3 and havnt had a problem yet and it has great power!

LS motors are the way to go the technology is unbeatable!
LT1's are good for boat anchors thats about it, I'd use a L98 TPI motor before an LT1 for a second choice!

[68 TT]

Originally Posted by blazn79

It had power, but the LT1 was a horrible design thats why it was only around for 5 years (distibutor behind the water pump, dumbest idea ever,) I owned a 96' Impala SS and believe me, it gave me the most headaches out of all the GM V8's I've owned, I own a 03 tahoe Z71 with the 5.3 and havnt had a problem yet and it has great power!

LS motors are the way to go the technology is unbeatable!
LT1's are good for boat anchors thats about it, I'd use a L98 TPI motor before an LT1 for a second choice!

Having owned several LT1 and LS1 F-bodies and a 02 6.0 truck and an 03 5.3 Tahoe plus dozens of gen-1 small block and mark-IV big blocks I can say hands down the LSx engines are the way to go. Beyond about 350 hp dollar per HP with street manners the LSx engine is the winner.

Yes you can build great power with all the Chevy V-8's but when looking for the best 350+ hp street motor bang for the buck the LSx has no rival.

Try adding up the cost of adding aluminum heads, a hydraulic roller cam setup and direct port fuel injection to a gen-1 small block or a big block just to get it up to the technology of the LT1 & LSx motors. You are easily adding $3000 to the build cost.

The LT1 falls short because of the design flaw ignition system and the poor flowing heads. Do a little work and convert it to coil on plug ignition and install a better set of heads and you are in the LSx ballpark on power but you are typically dealing with a 2-bolt cast crank motor still and it cost you more than an LSx to get there.

The durability of the LSx motors is incredible too. There are dozens of turbocharged 5.3's out there making over 600 hp to the wheels with stock block, crank, rods, pistons, heads and intakes on pump gas.

[oz's74 project]

aside from engine cost how much money is involved doing one of these swaps

[78-5.3]

Originally Posted by oz's74 project

aside from engine cost how much money is involved doing one of these swaps

they are easy!!!
mounts , headers ,harness

[ironroad9c1]

Poor flowing heads on a LT1..LMAO the iron heads are based on the Vortec truck heads..LMAO and there is nothing wrong with the opti, I've seen em last over 200k , and have never had one damaged by the W/p leaking on em.

[68 TT]

Originally Posted by ironroad9c1

Poor flowing heads on a LT1..LMAO the iron heads are based on the Vortec truck heads..LMAO and there is nothing wrong with the opti, I've seen em last over 200k , and have never had one damaged by the W/p leaking on em.

Poor flowing is relative. Yes the LT1 & vortec heads flow pretty well compared to the older gen-1 heads but I am comparing them to the LSx heads. The L92 and LS3 heads flow like rectangular port big block heads and the older cathedral port LS heads still substantially outflow even the LT4 heads.

200k on one opti is not typical or even close to typical.

I had to replace the one on my 96 Z/28 three times. The first one failed within three months of rolling off the assembly line.

Replaced two on my 95 Formula before it hit 90k and one on my best friends 97 SS that only had 37k on it.

These were all on cars with the newer vented opti that was an improvement over the older design.

Opti's are an expensive piece of junk plain and simple. Spending $500 on a redesigned MSD one still doesn't fix the fact that it is low on the front of the engine where it can easily get wet driving in the rain or the fact that it is under the water pump so when that goes out it will dump coolant on the opti and likely kill it too.

[68 TT]

Originally Posted by ironroad9c1

...and there is nothing wrong with the opti, I've seen em last over 200k , and have never had one damaged by the W/p leaking on em.

The water pump going out and leaking through the weep hole is probably what killed my best friends opti on his 37,000 mile 97 SS.

[clinebarger]

Originally Posted by blazn79

LS motors are the way to go the technology is unbeatable!
LT1's are good for boat anchors thats about it, I'd use a L98 TPI motor before an LT1 for a second choice!

LS engine are great. But that does not make a LT1 a boat anchor. Like ironroad9c1 said i think you guys are misinformed. The TPI engines had their problems too (cold start injector, MAF burn off,intakes are only good to 4000 rpm) In fact ive converted a few 3rd gen camaros to LT1s. The LT1 will stomp the sh$t out of a TPI 350.

[68 TT]

Originally Posted by clinebarger

LS engine are great. But that does not make a LT1 a boat anchor. Like ironroad9c1 said i think you guys are misinformed. The TPI engines had their problems too (cold start injector, MAF burn off,intakes are only good to 4000 rpm) In fact ive converted a few 3rd gen camaros to LT1s. The LT1 will stomp the sh$t out of a TPI 350.

They did fix those problems in 89 when they eliminated the 9th injector and in 90 when the switched to speed density and a faster ECM but they still fall flat on their face about 4500 rpm because the runners are so small in area and are so long. They would be great in a work truck because they build great torque off idle. My 90 was rated at only 245 hp but had 380 ft-lbs of torque. My 95 LT1 was rated at 275 hp & 340 ft-lbs. The 96 got a 10 hp boost due to the dual cats.

The smart TPI guys put on a Holley short runner intake and add an LT4 hot cam setup. It really wakes the engine up.

Add vortec style heads and you get the best of the LT1 technology with the reliability of the gen-1 ignition & accessories.

[clinebarger]

Originally Posted by 68 TT

They did fix those problems in 89 when they eliminated the 9th injector and in 90 when the switched to speed density and a faster ECM but they still fall flat on their face about 4500 rpm because the runners are so small in area and are so long. They would be great in a work truck because they build great torque off idle. My 90 was rated at only 245 hp but had 380 ft-lbs of torque. My 95 LT1 was rated at 275 hp & 340 ft-lbs. The 96 got a 10 hp boost due to the dual cats.

The smart TPI guys put on a Holley short runner intake and add an LT4 hot cam setup. It really wakes the engine up.

Add vortec style heads and you get the best of the LT1 technology with the reliability of the gen-1 ignition & accessories.

All the technology but one, reverse flow cooling, allows the LT1/4 to run a higher static compression ratio than any Gen1 chould on pump gas.

Does holley make a short runner TPI intake for vortec heads? And does the holley intake have EGR provisions making it street legal for 3rd gen camaros & 4th gen corvettes?

[ironroad9c1]

I have had a dozen caprices, never once had any problems with the opti whether washing the engine, driving in the rain, or w/p leakage at over 100k miles. Don't like em, thats cool, more for me. but I will NEVER own a LS engine.

[blazn79]

Great! more LS motors for us!