55.2-59 WIW 5.3 drivetrain for 3100 pickup

[Vicente Aceves]

Hello. I’m going to be checking out a drivetrain for my pickup. My truck is a 57 step side shortbed I bought as a project.

I came across a gentleman pretty close to me that is selling his project truck. I told him that I was interested in the drivetrain etc. He is willing to part with the motor, trans, brand new aluminum radiator and electric fans, brand new exhaust, brand new wiring and brand new aluminum tank and fuel system.

I’ll try and post the pictures. It’s a 5.3 lm7 with 110k miles and 4l60 trans that was pulled from his brother’s sideswiped 2004 Silverado.

What do you guys think the parts are worth?

Thanks -Vinnie

[Vicente Aceves]

Here are the pictures from the listing

[mr48chev]

Hard to put and exact price on that stuff as prices for and engine and trans like that with those miles (not a lot in LS speak) might tend to go with what the local market for them is in an area and how many are available.

This one is on the local FB marketplace with 96 K on it for 2900. https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...2686622420442/ That may or may not be a tad high but Usually they have 4x4 transmissions around here when you find them for sale.

Value of the radiator depends a lot on what brand it is and same with the fans and other pieces. Still if most all the pieces are there and you don't have to hunt, chase or pay shipping that has some value.

[Vicente Aceves]

Thank mr48chev. I agree a lot of price has to do with where the location is. A lot of things seem to be a bit more expensive in California. I agree that there is value in not having to hunt down something and or pay for shipping. Thanks for the info.

[mongocanfly]

Around our area that would be a $1500 engine/trans combo..with the other stuff he has probably around another 1500...so around here that would be about $3k for all...but like you said ...zip codes change prices drastically...

[Vicente Aceves]

Thanks for the info. The seller said he had a company CBM in Colton Ca time the ecu for the 31 inch tires he has on it. I don’t know much about the ecu or LS motors in general but I’m assuming it has to do with shifting at a certain rpm.

I was curious if I’d have to get it retuned for my setup. Which would be 16” wheels. I don’t have the exact size. It’s sitting on just roller wheels/tires right now.

[mongocanfly]

Wheel size wont matter...tire size does..
And yes ..no matter the setup, it will need tuned when completed..and I'd recommend a dyno tune...well worth the price to optimize the setup

[Vicente Aceves]

I didn’t know that. Good info. Thanks

[Vicente Aceves]

I ran it by a buddy of mine. He said that the motor/trans and harness with computer tuned is worth close to 3k, if the motor and trans are in good shape of course.

He’s local to me so maybe that’s more of the going price around here. Thanks again for the help guys

[joedoh]

I have "heard" from local guys who do truck 5.3 swaps often that even a $500 5.3 engine is a $2600-3k swap by the time you are all in with hoses and rad and tuning. so your buddy sounds like he knows the same stuff.

[layinrocker65]

There’s normal prices and then there’s CA prices. That’s probably a $1500-$2000 combo in CA. Your buddy who says $3k is smoking something and need to stay off the craigslist ads. The LM7 is not a hard combo to find as GM made more of those than any other motor. Also, it’s hard to see in the picture but that exhaust looks bad.

For reference, I bought a wrecked 2500hd with a more desired 6.0/4L80e combo with 150k miles for $900. That’s for the entire vehicle.

Tuning for the computer can be had for $100 for many places. It’s a stock motor, not a big build. Cost me $96 in HPTuner credits and 15mins of time every time I tune a “simple” swap.

[Vicente Aceves]

Gotcha. I’m glad to hear all info. I do see a lot of 5.3 setups for sale on Craigslist and Offerup.

- I have another question. If it made more sense to buy the whole truck and sell the truck myself separately, how much would a 1955 Chevy 3/4 ton 2wd longbed go for. Looks like the rust issues have already been patched. Clean title. ***no bed and missing left fender***

I know I’m throwing a lot of scenarios out there but I’m just kicking around different ideas that would make the most sense for the money. Thanks -Vinnie

[Vicente Aceves]

I’m going to post in a separate thread. Thanks

[joedoh]

vincente the left fender is in the pictures!

Originally Posted by layinrocker65

There’s normal prices and then there’s CA prices. That’s probably a $1500-$2000 combo in CA. Your buddy who says $3k is smoking something and need to stay off the craigslist ads.

even with the new gas tank, fuel pump and system, engine and trans mounts, and 4 wire harness and tune? around here a 5.3 with a accys and uncut harness/un tuned pcm is 5-700. I can easily see a couple thousand in trans, exhaust, mounts, and all the rest.

not disagreeing by any stretch, I just think this is more of a drop in kit.

[Vicente Aceves]

Oops! Right fender. Thanks for the info. Ya i’m seeing that there are quite a few 5.3 set ups for sale on Craigslist and offerup. Pretty inexpensive.

[mongocanfly]

Just be aware to get a complete pullout...one you could hear run is preferred...
If you wind up with a engine with no accessories, ecm..etc etc..it can get expensive
Same as with a dbw....be sure to get everything...

[jweb]

The last 5.3/ 4L80 w harness I paid $1500 for. There are a few things you should consider with this "complete swap":

1: Does he have any proof of the mileage and condition? I have bought a few that "came out of their brother's wrecked truck" ( really I have heard that story a few times)

2: How many things on the complete setup would you possibly change? You might end up paying for headers, exhaust or other components just to replace them later.

Not trying to discourage you, I've just had a few bad experiences buying used and rebuilt engines.

[Vicente Aceves]

Ok. Thanks. It may be falling through anyway. Good info to know. I really would like to keep it as headache-free as possible. It never seems to happen that way though

[e015475]

You're doing it wrong. Try this-

Go to the website car-part.com and you'll find a Hollander-based search engine for wrecking yards in the US. Enter the vehile year. Scroll through the next box and select "Engine" Then put your zip code in the last box. Leave the "Area" and "Distance" at the default/wildcard settings. Hit 'Search' and the search engine will come back with all the engine options for a 99-02. Pick the one you want.

Say you want a 5.3 with the mechanical throttle - then search a 2001 Silverado with the 5.3. The search engine will return all Sierras, Silverados, Suburbans and Tahoes from 1999 to 2002 that are in yards across the US.

Scroll to the very bottom of the search results and look for "Additional Results Pages" and click on the page that is grayed out with an asterick next to it. This will resort the results by the asking price for the engine.

Go to the column header to the far right called 'Dist mile' and click it.

The search results will give you a list of available engines by asking price and distance from your zip

Start going through the list and look for notes that say "complete pullout' or words like that. (Even if it isn't a 'complete pullout' you can often buy what you need for a few bucks more - ask them.) Look at the milage on the car it came out of. Look at the condition rating - A,B or C. You can copy and paste the results into a spreadsheet and start editing it down to the good prospects. Start calling and running them down.

I just did what I described to you on car-part.com for a 5.3 for a 01 Silverado and got prices from $250 to 900 with distance of up to 250 miles from my zip. Pullout complete? who knows, but you have to start calling and asking questions

I did this a couple of years ago when I was looking for an aluminum 5.3L LS for my project. I paid $600 for it with 94K miles. We had a little disagreement as to what 'pullout' meant and I ended up giving him another $75 for a PCM, harness, MAF, alternator,pump , and a bunch of other small stuff I needed.

The engine before that was a 65L mile iron block 5.3 and a 4l60. Paid $1200 complete.

The engine before that was a 01 Camaro LS1 with about 100K on it. Paid $1400 shipped from Texas for that.

The price you're getting is 2-3X what it is worth.

[e015475]

There's a couple of other ways of doing this too.

You can by complete vehicles out of the insurance pool in your area. The one here in Phoenix requires you to be a member, but it's free to the general public if you want to go to the auction. I know a few guys that have gotten their engines for 'free' by buying complete and parting it out on CL. The problem is always the space to dismantle/store the vehicle, dealing with CL flakes and what to do with the carcass. My wife would kill me.

Another option is the self serve junkyards. They post new arrivals daily on Row52.com and you can put in an alert in to notify you when the make model you're looking for comes into a yard. I've looked at a couple of motors on CL where the seller said that that's were they got them. The problem is you need to go there immediatly and pull it yourself, you're competing with a bunch of guys trying to make a quick buck, and its 115F here during the day, so screw that.

I did buy an LS1 once from Texas, sight unseen. When it arrived, there was dirt and dead grass in a substantial hole in the pan. Must have been a hell of a wreck. LKQ took it back and had another one shipped form one of their yards.

The other engines I bought were less than 30 miles from the house. Before I buy them, I always ask if I can pull a valve cover and inspect the valve train. You can tell by looking if the motor has had regular oil changes. There should be no sludge and everything should be a light golden color inside

Headers and that Spectre intake the OPs first post would have spooked me from the get go.

[R&B51]

These are more expensive options but are clean, tested stuff (many have videos of them running) and come with everything you need to plug in and go:

https://www.clevelandpap.com/product...gine-packages/

I got one from them and like it.
You can PM me if want details what I’m doing with it.

[Vicente Aceves]

e015475, I’ve been busy at work for the past few days. I just had a chance to sit down and read your posts. Man, that’s a lot of good information. I appreciate the help. I’ve never known that you could search for motors like that on the internet. I’ll bet a few other guys are saying the same thing too.

A problem I have with some folks is that they want to keep information like this to themselves. Thanks for sharing with all of us!

[Vicente Aceves]

Thanks R&B51 ! I appreciate that.

[Vicente Aceves]

This is the pickup I want to get finished. I bought it as a project. Already painted. Crappy picture, but there it is. It’s pretty dusty in these photos

[mongocanfly]

Here ya go..nice truck..