LS6 motor swap ?'s

[Psycho71]

OK guys, I am asking a few questions for my boss on this one. He got a heck of a deal on a low milage ls6 with the o/d tranny. He's got a 70 lwb c-10 that he's wanting to put this motor in. He's just about got the whole computer and wiring issues figured out, with the use of a few aftermarket parts out there. But here are a few questions that we need answered while the frame is getting ready to drop the motor in.

Motor mounts? Does anyone make an aftemarket mount which will allow an LS6 to drop right in? If not, can someone point me to a thread where this has been done? Or offer any useful advice?

Trans Mount? This one seems to be a straight forward deal, but I still have to ask if there's anything special to do here besides maybe relocating the crossmember?

Shifting linkage? He's wanting to re-use the factory auto column. IHas anyone done this, and how?

Speedo? He's wanting, if possible, to keep a factory look on the dash. Has anyone been successful in adapting the electric speedo on the O/D to a cable drive speedo?



That's all the questions we have, for now. Thanks in advance for any info given.


Jay

[shifty]

Any of the information on the GenIII (LS1/LM7/LQ4/LQ9) motors here at the forum will suffice for you, they're all GenIII engines, they're all SBC engines - only diff'ce is, the GenIII mount location puts the engine 4" farther forward in the bay compared to older small block chevy engines - and all of the parts that work for one should work for the other, it's no big deal. In fact, the LS1 and LS6 are basically the same platform with a few external parts changed here and there and slightly diff't specs.

All of your questions are answered in the GenIII threads here at the forum - like converting to manual speedo when using electronic tranny (via tailshaft change, $600 is cheapest you'll get), trans mount is no-brainer ; CPP has a great tubular mount, motor mounts - it's a SBC, there are a dozen adapter plates on the market, or you can make your own, or you can get 73-87 mounts to use the stands, and bolt the top-half of the LS6 mount right to them, shift linkage has been covered in other threads.

I suggest you do some reading. If you need a starting point, hit my personal LS1 swap thread linked in my signature. Please check out links to other forum member's build/swap threads on the first page so you can branch out and see several swaps.

Bottom line: There is no single "correct" way to do this. There are a thousand options you can choose. It's up to you to decide what is really important, what works best, and what is in your budget. Nobody here can help you decide that ... except you.

[Psycho71]

Thanks for the info Swifty. I did a search on the swaps here and came up with so much info spread out that I thought it might be easier just to ask a few specific ?'s and get the info condensed into one thread. We are fairly ignorant to the modern motor swaps, and just needed a starting point for gaining the necessary info. But the links you have are giving us the info we need in a much more condensed area than I could find elswhere. So it's a big help.




Thanks again,
Jay

[shifty]

I'd sit here and type all of the stuff I know out, but it would take me all day

Seriously, though, I don't even think it is possible to list all the options for each thing in a thread. It's really fairly simple but with LOTS of options. I highly recommend you sign up @ LS1tech to get help with the swap.

Big thing is this:

Get that joker bolted in (engine mounts and trans mounts). Engine mount adapter plates are cheap, and the CPP tubular xmember is a nice powdercoated piece for the price, if you go that route.

Once it's bolted in, get it wired up and plumbed for fuel and water. Leave the driveshaft off - don't need it till the very end (make sure the tranny is in park, though!) be sure an oil pressure gauge is hooked up to it before starting, you should get pressure within 1-2 seconds of starting.

Once it's bolted in and started, then deal with driveshaft, exhaust and other stuff.

People get overwhelmed - just take one step at a time and you'll be OK. One hurdle at a time.