Calling all LS1 converted trucks.

[jkade]

Lets see them!!!!!!!! How hard was it?? What trans are you using???

[franky69c10]

Originally Posted by jkade

Lets see them!!!!!!!! How hard was it?? What trans are you using???

[jkade]

Is this anyone's truck??

[BustedTruck]

That red truck is a sweet truck. I just got my donor vehicle last week & finaly got the motor and trans out. I will be starting a build thread before too long. Everything will be included in there.

[jkade]

God lord that is furcked up. You going the 5.3 route I see. Keep us posted.

[BustedTruck]

Yeah I want to put the LS2 intake and engine covers on it, but I dont know if it will work yet.

[franky69c10]

how hard is that swap, and how much money do u think u gotta put into your truck to have that swap.....

[BustedTruck]

It really depends. Just about everything is made already for this conversion. The biggest expense is going to be the engine & trans. The 5.3l is easier to find and cheaper than something like an LS1 or LS2. If you do the work yourself and with a 5.3l I am estimating around 4K doing it right.

[franky69c10]

Originally Posted by BustedTruck

It really depends. Just about everything is made already for this conversion. The biggest expense is going to be the engine & trans. The 5.3l is easier to find and cheaper than something like an LS1 or LS2. If you do the work yourself and with a 5.3l I am estimating around 4K doing it right.

[shifty]

Link in sig. The more money you have, the easier it is. The more shop space you have, the easier it is. If you go automatic, it is much easier to pull off than manual (still haven't got the clutch stuff done). Also, don't decide to get married when 85% done, or the last 15% becomes an I'll get to it later - "Oh, what's that? YES, HONEY!! I'll install the lighting fixture and finish helping you move your crap in!"

Almost there. Just one more fuel line, two radiator hoses (custom flex billet hoses), three wires from the battery, two more ground straps, battery install, and wire for the fuel pump (+5 gals of gas) and I'm there. I just wish I had more time and motivation. I'm in the same place I've been for months.

[Americanrider]

http://www.classicperform.com/tech_a...ngine-Swap.htm

some reading for you

[jkade]

I think motors cost more where you guys live. I originally bought a complete 5.3 and 4l60E from a 03 tahoe for $750.00 and ended up selling it. My dad has a lq9 in his vette he is building and he paid $750 for a long block and has put 241 heads on it, ls6 intake, rods, mains, rings, arp bolts, cam, billet fuel rails, coils, gaskets, harness, computer, I am missing things also and he only has around 2 grand in his motor. Ebay and ls1 tech is the place to buy parts for these motors cheap. I can get a complete lq9 to my door for $1500 to $1800 to my door around here.

[Frizzle Fry]

Not your typical install...

[jkade]

Daddy likey

[HarrolLS1]

ttt

[onetonk5]

what rad hoses are yall running with stock rads??
Non custom hoses.

[shifty]

Custom hoses here. Basically, the same as "flex cool" hoses, only I got them from some hotrod shop online for like $20 each (36" length?)

I tried to fight through several different hoses, wasted about $25, but the reality was, using the LS1 in particular, the stock rad inlet/outlet were a quarter inch larger than the LS1 inlet/outlet. I was uncomfortable with the stretch, and the flex cool style hose came with adapters to shim it up or down in size.

[SchreinerM]

I'm curious about the overall cost you LS1 guys estimate the complete swap will run you?

Second, with so many Gen IIIs out there, how did you decide which you wanted to go with?

Last, Shifty I read your post (the whole thing!) at LS1tech awhile back. Thanks so much.

[68Mike]

Originally Posted by Frizzle Fry

Not your typical install...

When doing this type of mod, is anything ever typical? Nice pics and love the "burb".

Mike

[shifty]

Originally Posted by SchreinerM

I'm curious about the overall cost you LS1 guys estimate the complete swap will run you?

I need to crunch my receipts, but I am expecting in the end it will be near to $6500-7000 total. I know, I know, that probably sounds insane to many, but when you figure the enter drivetrain with engine/tranny/harness plus every conceivable additional part cost ~$4250...I dunno. Gas tank was another $600 (with pump), then I had it coated in Line-X, new larger radiator, tried about 15 diff't kinds of intakes, five different radiators (took a hit on one or two), and the miscellaneous parts really add up. Just the braided fuel hose was almost $100 (not incl. fittings, which were another $50)...it's the little things that bite you in the ass.

If I would have either A) went with a carb'd setup instead of EFI or B) went with a truck engine, I could have easily kept this swap in the $3500-4000 range, I think. The swap has stretched on for so long now that I don't notice the cost, as sad as that probably sounds.

Originally Posted by SchreinerM

Second, with so many Gen IIIs out there, how did you decide which you wanted to go with?

Man, you asked for it. Do you realize what a freaking loaded question that is?!? I bet you didn't expect a novel out of this, but you're going to get one

Listening to other people, and my own ignorance and pigheadedness.

My pigheadedness: I "had to have" a stick, I was dead set on it - I would not go any other way. And I was absolutely dead set on purchasing a pre-assembled engine/tranny combo so I wasn't needing to buy them separately and pay more, and have more expense in adapting them or time spent figuring it out and hoping I didn't screw it up. Unfortunately, what this meant was I had to get a car engine, because trying to find a truck engine with a T56 (or any other manual floor-shift tranny) is an impossible feat. If someone were more mechanically inclined and didn't mind shopping around, mroe power to you.

Ultimately, in my eyes, I got my entire drivetrain for what a T56 costs brand new from the factory or if you buy a TKO unit (~$3999).

My ignorance: I didn't understand the difference between an LQ4, LQ9 and an LS1, and any of the other GenIII engine variants when I got into this (now I know more than I ever could). I primarily was listening to Josh and Jason (cableguy0) in IRC chat and getting their feedback, and I was really frustrated with the work I was doing on my inline not producing results I wanted....and, lo and behold, I found a pretty good deal on an engine/tranny combo @ eBay with no bids, I bid on it four days before it closed and somethow won....hence where it all started. If I were smart, I would have been shopping at LS1Tech, I could have saved and picked a similar setup up for ~$3000-3500. But, this is all retrospect, you live and learn with these kinds of things - patience is a virtue with this stuff, and I hope you can learn from my mistakes. I would have probably purchased an LS1 the next time around as well, but ... man, it would be a lot easier to buy one without a throttle cable next time! I envy the guys doing 2003+ LQ9 swaps with 4l80e's!! I could have been done 6-8 months ago if I didn't have these obstacles like the hydraulic clutch that cause me to lose interest for a month or two when it's time to tackle them.

Motivation is a bear!!

A lot of people look at at raw gas mileage and HP/TQ figures when making a choice. This is really the wrong way to go about it!

[Mt Man Chad]

I'm sold for my 68 SWB.
Just talked to the local yard he has a few he said.
6.0 liter Cadillac Escalade engine, Hummmmm!!!!!

[billyjo]

I don't think it's all that hard, more money and time than anything. But all that is easy to say now that it's done.

Bill

[shifty]

Yeah, but Bill - admit it - if you had to do another one, after this experience with yours, you'd be able to do the next one in a couple of weeks, know exactly what to buy, and zip right through it with much less time and money spent!!

[jkade]

You guys are paying a lot more for motors than what I can buy one for. I found a lq9 yesterday with brackets, intake, heads, throttle body, for a grand and I can get a complete lq9 for $1500.00. If you shop around and stay off ebay you can get a decent deal on these motors and trans. My brother bought a t56 a week or 2 ago for $1050 and a fully built one with viper internals for $1500. I hope to buy a lq9 or a lq4 and put some 243 or 241 heads on it, ls6 intake, billet fuels rails, larger injectors, cam, springs, and all the electrical and have no more than $2500 in it. I am sure I can do it for that price also if I shop around and buy from ls1 tech or performance trucks. It is good that my old man is on his 2nd genIII conversion and my brother has done 2 also, it should make mine very simple. Shifty I feel for you having that much tied up in the swap but you live and learn and you could save yourself a lot of money I bet if you could go back and do it over. Post up some pics of yours.

[shifty]

Like I said, if you want to do piecemeal, you can get a great deal. Me, personally, I don't want to futz with all that extra crap, I want something pre-assembled that requires little to no effort at all.

As a point of note, I bought an LS1 out of a TransAm WS6, aluminum block weighs much less than the LQ9 (LQ9 is beefier, steel, better for boosted setups).

LQ9 stock is rated at something like 345HP/380TQ, pretty sure the WS6 is 380HP/400TQ stock. I've seen at least one shop in TN that pulled just a nudge over 400 RWHP and 400 RWTQ out of a stock WS6 with no power add-ons at all...at the flywheel, those numbers would probably be closer to 430/430 or something.

Like I said, it's all in what you want. I'm not boosting, and I don't want to screw around with anything more than exhaust, a Z6 cam and springs to get into the 425HP/425TQ range and smoke the tires off most anything out there. You can screw around with your LQ9 and boost it later to catch up to me

Bottom line: I paid more for an assembled unit with more power and lighter weight that doesn't need any add-ons. You paid less for something you need to assemble with less power and more weight and can handle lots more add-ons.

Like I said, it's all in what you want. No single setup is perfect for everyone. You need to knowledgably sit down and decide what you want before you get it. I don't think it's wise for anybody who never deals with the GenIII setups to just go to the local junkyard and plop down $2k on something only to realize there was a much better option for their specific needs at nearly the same price.