Is it worth the price ? Please help !

[hamad]

Hello everyone,

Hope everyone is having a great week

Lets get down to business

I have a couple of questions

I have a 1987 gmc stepside. It's running on a 454 and sm465 tranny. It runs perfect but i get really terrible fuel mileage, and its not that strong or fast. It has 300 RWHP and 330 pounds of tq. I have looking to do a LS1 swap. I first thought of getting a LQ9 or an lS2 in there. Then i checked the prices on the swap.... hmmm... I have no experience at all so i went to a local shop here in tempe and was told that it would take 7000$ just for the labour to do the swap, all the fabrication and custom tune + harness, the whole nine yards. thats pretty expensive for me! I went to another shop and got a quote for 4000$. But this guy said just get me the motor and i'll take care of the rest (knowing that i wanna keep my sm465). To be honest thats out of my budget. doing it myself is out of the question because i have zero experience. So I started researching through this forum and other LS forums and found a cheaper way that i wasn't aware of. This was carbed LS motors. No wiring involved, no fuel work involved (replacing gas tank or pumps or fuel lines etc.) Was i started researching the idea and realized that to run a carbed LS, i had to buy the intake, carb, MSD 6012, and motor mouts. Sounds pretty straight forward doesnt it?. So i started researching and stumbled upon a motor. Its a 5.3 That is already carbed, but never installed after the conversion. It's cammed (edelbrock 2215) and comes with a LS conversion motor mounts, electric fuel pump, flywheel adapter and all the motor accessorise (Power steering, water pump, alternator, starter, compressor, steering pump, coils and all brackets and pulleys. The only thing thats missing according to him is the MSD. The man is asking 1500. Is that a good deal? Is that all i need or is there something else missing? I know that i'm asking alot but i really need some help.

The other question is, do u guys think the 5.3 is a strong enough motor, or should i go with a 6.0. This is the main this that is stopping me from going for it, i always wanted a 6.0 but this deal looks solid to me.

sorry for all the questions but i know i'll get the info i need.

Thank you in advance Hamad

[BR3W CITY]

IMHO, I wouldn't want to own a swapped truck, if I didn't really know how to do the swap. First, if you pay someone to do it your not getting any closer to learning about the truck or the engine. Besides that, having a firsthand knowledge of what and how things were done is REALLY useful in owning something like this.

There are many ways to do the swap, and so things like fuel filters, specific non-stock plug wires, even little things like AN fittings or special adapters can become huge variable s.

As for the price, 1500 seems reasonable if you can find some proof of the mileage, if it looks good, and if its actually a 5.3 (not a 4.8 being passed off). Also, be careful inspecting the parts he's added and what may or may not be missing. Your already buying a second-hand pullout engine, and now one thats been tinkered with by another guy...there are some places where that could go wrong, and maybe cost you more than you expected.

The 5.3's are fine motors, and though they don't make the same power as the 6L, they are popular for swaps and do just fine from an economy and performance standpoint.

[1970 C10 MJW]

I could not imagine paying someone else to do this much modifying to my truck to that extent... what are your goals to get out of the truck? power? MPGs? or?

[68GMCCustom]

MSD-6012 would be for the 4th gens....must be a fairly late model 5.3

[Clyde65]

after reading your post, the 5.3 with a cam and tune will get you about what you have now...the trans/rear gears are (in my opinion) what is killing everything. I would consider, replacing the BB with a 5.3/4l60e ( or 5.3/5speed)from a wreck, get all accessories and ditch the harness. buy a custom harness and get the PCM tuned. you already had FI on your truck and you can get the in tank pumps for it that will work with an LS. throw some TBSS stock headers on there and you can do the swap in your driveway....I know you can do it, Im a computer tech, If I could do it, ANYONE can do it!

this will get you some power, economy and reliability. this is why I did the swap.

[Xeen]

I'm getting ready to do a 2003 Vortec 5.3L swap right now, and the easiest way to do it is to buy a complete pullout with everything from the fan back to the transmission, you will need the wiring harness, ECM and TCM, then you can send them off to http://www.wait4meperformance.com/ they will trim the harness, reprogram the ECM and TCM and ship it all back to you for between $160-320 they will give you an exact price when you tell them what you want.
Once it comes back you put it in the truck and it runs, no muss no fuss.
Here is some information on the swap, http://www.lt1swap.com/ if you decide to do this have fun with it.
That is the eaiest and cheapest way to do it by far.