New place to look for an LS

[hugger6933]

Chevrolet W3500 and Isuzu 3500 and 4500 truck. I don't know if y'all are aware, the little cab over trucks made by Isuzu [who is majority owned by the General] are not all Diesel powered. Some of them are gas Some have 4.8's but I found out today that some have the harder to find 6.0. The way I am learning this I bought one today at the sale I use. I t has a box body that I figure I can store some parts to make some more room in the shop then the other[motor trans and wiring stuff] I'll offer to some of my customers who want a LS in their truck. This isn't me trying to sell anything here just thought I would drop that info if someone wasnt aware of that little tidbit. Jim

[3767]

Know a few guys how use this very set up. They say for what they do, the gas powered trucks are just cheaper to operate. The cost of fuel & maintenance is higher with the diesel. I suspect as these trucks age out with the miles, they will b more for swap projects.

[hugger6933]

Yeah the truck I bought had the name of a furniture store on the box, you know that that truck hasnt worked very hard carrying sofas and bedroom suites to new owners. Or at least that is my thoughts on it. Also I have had great luck with wrecks ove the last 32 plus years very rarely are they getting worked on in the shop when they get wrecked. The ones I have had drivetrain problems with are the ones i bought at the salvage sales without body damage. You cant count on the fact if you buy one without damage it needs at least a motor or maybe as much as motor and trans. Jim

[clinebarger]

And the pre-2003 Workhorse chassis have 5.7L Vortec's in them. All 2003 & up W4500's have 6.0L's in them far as I know.

The 4L80E in these have a trans mounted E-Brake along with a roller output making them not exactly swap friendly.

[Rich84]

My 6.0 donor was an Isuzu NPR box truck. It has a f-body oil pan and exhaust manifolds which made it swap friendly for my lowered truck. If I remember correctly I think that I just swapped the tailshaft on the 4l80 to remove the e-brake. The truck had a recent gm rebuilt transmission before it was t-boned. I am running it with the Isuzu tune and I love it.

[notsolo]

Thanks for sharing, I have been looking for a 5.3...LM7...for about a month....contacted American Pickups in Paragold, have not heard back....getting harder to find low mile dropout engine and trans. Like you said a furnature truck would be a good candidate.

[MDPotter]

Originally Posted by notsolo

Thanks for sharing, I have been looking for a 5.3...LM7...for about a month....contacted American Pickups in Paragold, have not heard back....getting harder to find low mile dropout engine and trans. Like you said a furnature truck would be a good candidate.

car-part.com seems to be a good resource - it searches all junkyards in whatever radius you set. But yeah, finding a Gen 3 engine with low miles is hard to do. I saw a brand new 5.3 on FB marketplace awhile back but he wanted a lot for it.

[Killer Bee]

Originally Posted by clinebarger

And the pre-2003 Workhorse chassis have 5.7L Vortec's in them. All 2003 & up W4500's have 6.0L's in them far as I know.

The 4L80E in these have a trans mounted E-Brake along with a roller output making them not exactly swap friendly.

we have several groups of '07 - '08 workhorse w62 19,500gvwr step vans with 8.1 vortecs..

they have Allison hs1000 trans with driveline parking brakes..

while not an LS, could possibly be a good swap option for a work truck..

our older step vans do have the 5.7 and noticeably underpowered in the heavier gvwr category..

[notsolo]

How much direct front end damage can these trucks take without causing a problem. I know your taking a chance with not actually hearing it run etc.

[clay68c10]

If it didn’t continue to run post-accident with a big coolant/oil/atf leak OR hit the crank pulley you would probably be ok.
That’s the gamble with not hearing it run.

[hugger6933]

That truck above I would say that the motor isnt even touched. That what I use to call a Walmart door ding. I have built Hundreds of those and cant recall a motor problem Now when I'm at the sale and see one that is not wrecked I get scared and only price the truck like the drivetrain isnt even there cause without damage there has to be a reason to be at my sale. The only time I have had drivetrain problems are ones that I would buy with little to no damage I have recently run into truck wrecked on purpose causer of trans that wouldn't shift and got it out only to find it was brand new. But the truck above they hardly ever get damaged sitting in a shop cause they dont run meaning most all wrecks the people were happy with them until they got hit. Jim

[SierraMtns]

Originally Posted by notsolo

How much direct front end damage can these trucks take without causing a problem. I know your taking a chance with not actually hearing it run etc.

Our local source still has a lot of cars/trucks with good engines but the owner said its harder to find them at actions. The owner said with people working from home they are not driving as much so less cars are crashing. Our prices are really high out here. I am not sure why since there is so many engines. Full takeout LQ9/4L80e runs about $2,800. You don't want to know what a LS3 cost.