Right now i have a 305 in the car but its coming out soon. I have a 350 sitting around that i planned on doing a decent performance build on. But lately Ive been seeing all the lsx engine swaps and wondered if it would be worth it, and if so which one to go with.

 

the old 350 can make just as much power but the lsx engines are more daily drive friendly with the same power numbers. also if you put in an ls1 you are looking at twelves out of the box It would take alot to get the old 350 there without juice

 

You'll always be behind with making power with a Gen I SBC.

The LS1 will cost you more up front, but upgrades will produce more bang for the buck, and long-term costs will be lower.

As another member warned me, once you drive your 3rd gen LS1, you'll be cursed with a permanent smile.

 

thats what i like about the lsx motors is there daily driving habits. The only concern i have is that i know very little about ls motors. but i do know a whole lot about the traditional sbc

 

Then you're about where I was 3 years ago.

 

which ls motor do you think would be best to go with? If i do go with an ls im going to find one in a junkyard and rebuild it.

 

Reasonably low mileage '98-'02 Camaro/Firebird engine/transmission/harness/PCM drop-outs are fairly easy to find on eBay. I've found 3 that way. Or, check with your local JY; they may have one, or can get one in for you. It will have to be pretty thoroughly abused and/or neglected to need a rebuild.

Also possible are the '00-up light truck engines, the 5.3l LM7 or 6.0l LQ4. They are usually a lot cheaper, but come with "issues" - such as often only being the engine (no PCM or transmission), and needing different intake & exhaust manifolds, front accessories, and oil pan to fit in an f-body. They also have a cast iron block instead of aluminum (except for the more rare high-end SUV's, which may have an aluminum block), although the extra weight isn't that big of a deal (because it'll still be lighter than a cast iron block & heads Gen I SBC). One advantage of cast iron over aluminum block is the cast iron can be bored out more at rebuild time, but the good news is these engines will go a lot of miles without need a rebuild.

So, a lot of options. Now you need to go do your own research.

 

The ls engines are not rebuild friendly they only take a light hone.
Unless you are going the high dollar route then by all means punch out the liners and build a 427.

 

i thought they could be rebuilt the same way as a sbc. Towards the end of the gen 1 sbci know they can go to atleast 250k, how much can an ls1 go for?. i was looking at getting a 5.3 motor because i thought it would be easier. But now i think it would be better just to find an ls1, do they also have the fly by wire, or use the cable mechanism? Also how much would it run to build a 427?

 

427 = about $20,000 You would start with a ls1 then the liners are bored out and new larger liners are pressed in.

The aluminum blocks are the only ones with liners so if you get a 6.0 from a truck you can build that like a sbc with a old school .30 over bore.

the older ls1's are cable driven and the ones that were in cars with traction control are fly by wire compu crap.

A ls1 that has been well taken care of can go forever I have seen a vette with over 350,000 on the factory stock engine.

A 5.3 will be cheaper from the yard and they can be built to make great power but if it were me I would take the cubes and go for the 6.0.

 

All of the f-body LS1's had a cable throttle body. The traction control was a box that operated a cable that operated the TB. Vettes came out with DBW first (if you aren't counting diesels), and it was carried over to the light trucks around 2004.

Putting a limit on LSx mileage capability is a nearly impossible mission. A lot depends upon maintenance and usage, which varies greatly from vehicle to vehicle.

 

I wasn't expecting that much to make a 427. Ive thought about the 5.3 and 6.0 mostly, and i was leaning more towards the 5.3 or a ls1 out of a 4th gen. lets say i find one of three of these motors, with 200,000 miles on them, could i make an honest 450hp reliably if the motor wasn't too badly abused? Just keep the short block, but give it a good intake, cam, and heads?

 

Only the 97-98 aluminum LS1 blocks had this problem. You get .005" hone before the hardening is done and you need a new block

99+ fixed this problem and can be punched out (within reason)

I wouldnt bother swapping in an engine with 200,000 miles on it without an overhaul. Heck, as new as the engines are, its no stretch to find a cheap dropout with under 75,000 miles. Be aware that using a 5.3/6.0 truck engine may seem like a cheap alternative because the engine is a fraction of a true aluminum LS1, but the cost of making it fit inside a 3rd gen pushes the cost nearly to the price of a LS1 dropout

Read about those in one of the numerous cost threads

HCI LS1's easily make 450hp and are reliable enough to be daily driven. Dont expect it to be cheap though

 

If you want to take nearly all the guess work out of the equation and remain emissions legal, may I suggest you look into this:

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/NAL-19244805/

It comes with the harness, ECU, and exhaust emissions stuff as well. Its expensive to say the least, and you would need to get the accessories and a new K-Member for it to fit, but to me its the best bang for the buck.

 

That is an interesting development. Even comes with a DBW accelerator pedal.

You wouldn't need a new K-member, but you would need new or adapter engine mounts. And you'd still need a transmission.

 

Whats a resonable price for an ls1 at a junk yard? At the local one the guy wants 3,000$ and the engine has 182xxx miles. On a side note my stock t5 wouldn't be able to live very long behind an ls1 would it?

 

Just get the 5.3 and put the cam heads and intake on it and you will be within 20 hp of the 6.0.

 

$3k for just an engine? Or a "drop-out" with engine/trans/PCM/harness?

And, which transmission? The T56's go for more than the 4L60E's.

 

the ls engines are amazing.

as someone mentioned earlier they can go clear up to 250k-300k miles and still work properly.

these engines respond very well to bolt ons. with just a cam you could make it into the 12s

if you wanna go cam and heads then texas speed performance has a combo for about $2,000 dollars. swap that, and the ls6 intake with headers. get a good tune and you could easily make that amount of power.

 

3 grand is to much check out the price of a new crate.

 

you can go on the classifieds here or on ls1tech.com i've seen quite a few pop up

 

I found quite a few of complete 5.3's on ebay and craigslist for under 500, I think thats the route i am going to go with unless i can find a cheap enough ls1, is there a good market for performance parts for the 5.3?

 

I got my complete 5.3 with harness/ecu/etc for $350. They're a great, inexpensive way to get into the game. You will still need to get the f-body oil pan, LS1/6 intake, and accessories though. I think I'm right about $1000 for all my goodies for the swap, but I still haven't completely tackled the fuel system (carbed car) or exhaust. i also managed to score a LS1 long block for $400 w/ trans, so i have something I can work over once the swap is done