Ok, who's done the cheapest LSx swap?

[sixnine]

LSx donor engines, either new or junkyard pull-outs, seem to be getting cheaper every day, but all of the necessary bits (headers, engine mounts, fuel pumps, fuel lines, wiring harness, ecm, accesory brackets, etc) can make the cost of an lsx swap sky rocket very fast.

I've been thinking of an LSx for my '72 pickup to replace the tired straight-six and was wondering how cheaply it could be done for. Surely there are some folks out there that have "been there, done that" when it comes to a small budget lsx swap - so let's hear what you've got!

[RaceAGMC]

I know that you can pick up a 4.8/5.3 with trans and harness for under a grand if you look hard enough. I have seen people make their own mounts and such. I would speculate that a handy, frugal person could have a running swap for under 1500 maybe...

[LuckyHenriksen]

Ya especially if you are able to sell/trade your existing parts, you can probably do it pretty cheap. I see the 5.3's going on craigslist all day for like 500 bucks. Just try wheelin' and dealin' with people. And alot of guys make their own mounts, and just use the new truck manifolds that come with the motor. The fuel system is one place where you want to spend enough money to make sure that it is safe and reliable, but you can probably do it pretty cheap too

[MeanYellowZ]

We bought 12 5.3's this year from the same local wrecking yard for $300 each. The swap I am almost done with in my 69 C-10 will end up right around $1000 total when done. Quick breakdown:

5.3 $300
Car Harness $150
Ecm $35
Car intake/ rails $100
external pump $130
filter/ reg $50
manifold flanges $50
exhaust bends $50
misc $100

I have never done a swap this cheaply, I usually spend a lot more making it nice, but this needed to be extremely low budget. I used stock 5.3 manifolds, with light frame clearancing, built the exhaust, I modify my own harnesses and do my own computer work. The entire drivetrain swap with a FRESH TH400 ran about $1500 total.

[LuckyHenriksen]

man yellowz that was cheap! good job

[MeanYellowZ]

by the way, if I would have stayed with the stock (ugly IMHO) truck intake I could have saved the money for the car intake, rails and the regulator assembly, knocking some bucks of the swap. I also would have saved the money of cleaning the engine bay up because I would have never opened the hood with the truck intake on there....

Im kidding, they aren't THAT bad

[grancuda]

" with a FRESH TH400 "

What is required to hook up at old turbo 350/400 or even a 700R4? Does it bolt right up? Do you use a 350 flex plate or the LSx flex plate?

[LuckyHenriksen]

double post

[LuckyHenriksen]

Originally Posted by MeanYellowZ

Im kidding, they aren't THAT bad

Yes they are!

[70rs/ss]

Yellow, can I send my PCM and harness to you to modify, if not how about a really good diagram/schematic to show us igits how it's done?! I have a 5.3/4l60e and do not really want to spend the $$$ to get a painless kit, nor do I want to spend $4-600 getting a shop to do it either, and lastly I hate electrical/wiring!? Help, I'd love to plop my 5.3 into my 2wd Blazer, and I am OK with the truck intake, it is a truck after all, right??

[MeanYellowZ]

70 RS/SS I responded in my other thread. If you have any other questions email me @ MeanYellowZ@Hotmail.com and I would be glad to help....by the way, I have been looking at moving to northern Arizona for a while...gonna try and roadtrip out there in the next couple months!


As far as the trans question earlier, hooking up an LS engine to a Th400 or 350 etc is very easy. If you are starting with a 5.3, most should have the concave style flexplate and I have found some with extra set of converter bolt holes that fit one of the old school patterns perfectly, otherwise you have to slightly elongate the three ls torque converter holes in the flexplate which is no big deal as the converter is still centered by the snout anyway. Other than that you need a GM spacer and bolts regularly used on 6.0 engines, the part numbers can be found all over with a simple search, off the top they are 12563532 and 12563533 I think....thats just off the top of my head. Anyhow with the dished flexplate you install it first, then the spacer, then the bolts, the spacer is what holds the converter snout in place. This method uses a standard old school TH400/ 350 converter and is that simple. The trans bolts up with 5 bolts instead of 6 and its works fine.

sorry for the long wind

[sandking]

MeanYellowZ hook a brother up!! What kind of miles does the $300 motor get you? High miles? Is that complete? Wanna ship one to So Cal?

[MeanYellowZ]

$300 if what I get them for We sold a couple for around 5-550. They have around 100-115k miles. I bought one for $250 with 160k on it and put it in my turbocharged Chevy II and ran 132 in the quarter with it