5.3 swap ?s

[BIG ORANGE]

I know this has been ask a lot, however I.ve never considered the task until now.
My son and I are strongly considering pulling the 350/350 combo out of the 69 and going with a 5.3 swap, with the classic look but the modern motor and drive train. Who has the best informative link on the forum that has done this with best results????
Thanks
Donnie and Buck

[OldCreek]

The best? Good luck on that one.

Go to the Engine, LS swap section…tons of info and some awesome swaps.

In my opinion, it's a great setup…but takes some work and the "little things" add up and sometimes a pain.

Having done three, I don't know if I'd do another. There's something simplistic, easy and comforting about staying with an old 350 setup. 350/700r4, 454/200r4 or something like that is appealing to me nowadays… I'm tired of working through all those little issues.

Good luck!


(The swap would give great bragging rights for your son!)

[Andy4639]

Donnie I'm fixing to swap a 6.0 in my 71. As stated go over to the LSx motor threads and look around. There are several.

[Heavymetl]

Be warned, the LS koolaid is delicious. Leak free, smooth, effortless power with 20+ mpg.

Stock they're great. In my Camaro, a stock LS1 with long tube headers and a tune ran within two tenths of my previous 383/Dart head/hyd roller engine. But once you start doing a few mods....the LS family really wakes up.

Ls1tech has a conversions and hybrids section, all you need to know about a basic fuel injected swap you'll find there. Good luck and have fun!

[Kennuck]

Lots of good info here http://www.lt1swap.com/
Real easy once you have done one.

[ekgguy]

There are lots of good posts in the LS section. The guys on Powerblock did a LS swap and even though it was glitzed up for TV, there is a lot of useful information and links for things like fuel pumps and motor mounts as well as AN fittings and such.

http://www.powerblocktv.com/episodes...ls-engine-swap

[BIG ORANGE]

Thanks guy's. I'll check these links out, humm the 700r4 swap might help me also..............
Donnie

Good luck Andy....
Hey they canceled the car show at jr motorsports, that sucked..........
see ys soon bud.

[joesgreen67]

Originally Posted by Heavymetl

Be warned, the LS koolaid is delicious. Leak free, smooth, effortless power with 20+ mpg.

My 2009 5.3 LS swap gets 15 mpg......you got a secret to get 20 +mpg???????

[faribran]

yes, i am curious about what the secret is to getting 20+ mpg....

[superchomper2003]

20mpg a secret? I don't think so. A good tune and the right gearing. I have done 3 ls swaps 2 in chevy trucks and always gotten over 20+ mpg.

[71K20chevy]

I would advise to pick up a few books. I read them at night when I can't sleep.

Some people have swapped stock 5.3's for less than $2000, while others end up over $10,000.

It seems with these LS motors, you spend just as much as you would rebuilding a small block, but you get so much more.

[joesgreen67]

Originally Posted by superchomper2003

20mpg a secret? I don't think so. A good tune and the right gearing. I have done 3 ls swaps 2 in chevy trucks and always gotten over 20+ mpg.

Speartech did my computer. 3.73 gears...
Maybe tyou could enlighten me. I was under the impression that Speartech knew their ****.

[Andy4639]

Originally Posted by BIG ORANGE

Thanks guy's. I'll check these links out, humm the 700r4 swap might help me also..............
Donnie

Good luck Andy....
Hey they canceled the car show at jr motorsports, that sucked..........
see ys soon bud.

Thanks Donnie.
I will be droping mine off right before Christmas to have Hawks do the install and tune.
Jr car show wasn't worth the drive for me again anyway's.
Hope so man.

[Heavymetl]

Originally Posted by joesgreen67

My 2009 5.3 LS swap gets 15 mpg......you got a secret to get 20 +mpg???????

Only 15? That's interesting, no overdrive at all I assume?

I've got a 347 LS1 in a Camaro, and even with 2 passengers, a trailer, and the car stuffed full of gear (estimate 4300lbs total with trailer) I averaged 20mpg on Drag Week. With 4.30 gears nonetheless and a T56.

I do the tuning myself and was running OLSD (open loop speed density) and even ran ~14.0:1 AFR all the time. At part throttle and transition the slightly richer AFR seemed to make the engine real happy as opposed to stoich.


Anyway, I just picked up my 70 Stepper last month and have been cruising the L6 since. I'll be doing a 4.8 or 5.3 swap this winter. And a turbo...muhahaha!!!

[joesgreen67]

[QUOTE=Heavymetl;6372924]Only 15? That's interesting, no overdrive at all I assume?

QUOTE]

Yes, it's the entire drivetrain "liftout" from a 2009 Silverado....5.3/4L60E, Speartech modified the stock harness, programmed the ECM/TCM....and I'm only 15 mpg's on the highway. I made (2) seperate 400 mile rount trips running 75 down the highway so I'm sure of my mpg's.

[dec010974]

to all the lsx guys on this site, its very much doable to avgerage 20+ mpg. first off a good tuner must found. the mail order tunes basicaly gets the car/truck to run/drive. any good tuner will take your setup, analyze the readings from the pcm such as afr, gearing, timing and other stuff and tune from there. trust me, in my first lsx swap, my 8'7 c10 with a 5.3/4l60e set up ran better than the 383/700r4, w/3000 stall, 11.1 to 1 comp. track times proved it. i spent a lot of moneyon that set up.

[67 chevelle]

Take the plunge , you wont regret it , got an ly6 in my 68 , my only issues were motor mounts and headers , now cpp makes a "revised" motor mount set dont get their older style tubular motor mounts

[Andy4639]

I have a 2003 6.0 with 4l80 out of a 2500.
Bruce who happens to own Hawks 3rd gen camaro's in Easley Sc is doing my din-o tune once he gets the truck done. He stated around 22MPG are better.

[superchomper2003]

Originally Posted by joesgreen67

Speartech did my computer. 3.73 gears...
Maybe tyou could enlighten me. I was under the impression that Speartech knew their ****.

Wasn't trying to sound rude man just stating that 20+ mpg is easily possible. Has been for me anyways. I have hp tuners and have always done my own tuning. I am by no means a great tuner just learned from messing with my own stuff. These were 91+ octane tunes. I would get 22-23 mpg highway in both trucks. I think they both a 3.42 gearing. I also got about 26 mpg highway in my 92 fbody with a 5.3 swap.

[RManson]

5.3s are cool, especially supercharged...

[nobolt]

I made (2) seperate 400 mile round trips running 75 down the highway so I'm sure of my mpg's.

my '05 does 18+mpg running that speed. I think 15 would be about right with 1970's aerodynamics.
that being said, I average over 20mpg all summer long on the local roads(35 - 50mph)

MPG is 75% where you drive and how you drive.

[eldogg]

Originally Posted by RManson

5.3s are cool, especially supercharged...

Looks great and your doing a killer job on the mag. Keep up the good work.

[chuckmc8]

The deal is that most of us do not have an accurate odometer with these swaps so actual mpg is a guess. My 67 with LS and my 2wd Blazer with LS gets MUCH better MPG than my 69 with regular ole small block with 350 turbo, and has mucho more power.

If you do the swap yourself, get everything you need from the SAME DONOR vehicle. Dont be afraid of the drive by wire, its no problem, just get the pedal assembly and wire harness from the TAC (throttle actuator control). Take time to find the RIGHT donor, hear it run before its pulled out if at all possible. Dont be afraid to pay more for a better eng/trans combo. Bargains on LS parts dont always turn out to be the best buy. JMO

[RManson]

Thanks!

[sublime1996525]

I'm amazed at how popular the LS swaps for these trucks are. I've had 2 LS cars and love the motors. Had an 02 Z06 with the LS6 and now have an 06 Z06 with the LS7. I seriously thought when I came here it'd be all about the big blocks.