need help. rebuild my 5.3 or get used with mods
03-09-2018, 06:35 PM
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need help. rebuild my 5.3 or get used with mods
i have a 90 rs with a 5.3 swap. its all stock with just a dtr stage 3 cam and a tune. it has bottom end knock. mated to a new 700r4 trans.
question is..... should i rebuild mine leaving stage 3 cam in it. maybe some 799 heads and 4.8 pistons.
OR
should i get a low mile used motor, have my cam installed. and save money for other mods?
OR
is there something else i should consider
im shooting for 380-400hp.
looking for it to be a driver not a track car
question is..... should i rebuild mine leaving stage 3 cam in it. maybe some 799 heads and 4.8 pistons.
OR
should i get a low mile used motor, have my cam installed. and save money for other mods?
OR
is there something else i should consider
im shooting for 380-400hp.
looking for it to be a driver not a track car
03-10-2018, 06:52 PM
#2
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Car: Yes
Engine: Usually
Transmission: Sometimes
Axle/Gears: Behind me somewhere
Re: need help. rebuild my 5.3 or get used with mods
Cams are cheeeeep. In the grand scheme, either use what you've got, or buy another; no sense in using the same one if it doesn't fit whatever motor.
That said, given what you have now, you could just grab another stock 5.3 from the buzzard nest and jam your cam in it, and you'd be right back to where you were.
Or, go get a LQ9, stick the same cam in it, and ... go faster.
Either of those things would be cheeeeeeper by far than "rebuilding" (new pistons, bore & hone, etc.) a 5.3.
Alot depends on what you want the car to be; and of course, what the car IS NOW. Converter, gears, usage, and so on.
That said, given what you have now, you could just grab another stock 5.3 from the buzzard nest and jam your cam in it, and you'd be right back to where you were.
Or, go get a LQ9, stick the same cam in it, and ... go faster.
Either of those things would be cheeeeeeper by far than "rebuilding" (new pistons, bore & hone, etc.) a 5.3.
Alot depends on what you want the car to be; and of course, what the car IS NOW. Converter, gears, usage, and so on.
03-10-2018, 09:36 PM
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Re: need help. rebuild my 5.3 or get used with mods
Cams are cheeeeep. In the grand scheme, either use what you've got, or buy another; no sense in using the same one if it doesn't fit whatever motor.
That said, given what you have now, you could just grab another stock 5.3 from the buzzard nest and jam your cam in it, and you'd be right back to where you were.
Or, go get a LQ9, stick the same cam in it, and ... go faster.
Either of those things would be cheeeeeeper by far than "rebuilding" (new pistons, bore & hone, etc.) a 5.3.
Alot depends on what you want the car to be; and of course, what the car IS NOW. Converter, gears, usage, and so on.
That said, given what you have now, you could just grab another stock 5.3 from the buzzard nest and jam your cam in it, and you'd be right back to where you were.
Or, go get a LQ9, stick the same cam in it, and ... go faster.
Either of those things would be cheeeeeeper by far than "rebuilding" (new pistons, bore & hone, etc.) a 5.3.
Alot depends on what you want the car to be; and of course, what the car IS NOW. Converter, gears, usage, and so on.
so bought a .30 over freshly rebuilt 5.3 with ls6 cam springs and 243 stock heads
im running 3.73 gears with posi rear
new 700r4 from aamco sour stock new torque converter.
I want car car to be an easy driver but haul ***.
My blowen 5.3 has a btr stage 3 cam I can swap over if needed.
What cam cam and torque converter should I be running?
03-11-2018, 08:53 AM
#4
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Transmission: Sometimes
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Re: need help. rebuild my 5.3 or get used with mods
Those springs aren't enough for any kind of really aggressive cam.
You could probably run the cam you have, if you liked how it ran in the other motor. Probably would work fine. Or, call BTR, Vinci, CamMotion, Texas Speed, etc. and see what they have to say. But in any case you're going to need to upgrade those stock springs.
Once you pick a cam, then choose a converter. My guess though is that for a DD you'll probably want something in the 3000 - 3200 sort of range, probably smaller dia than stock.
Out of curiosity though, if you're buying a motor anyway, why a 5.3? Why not 6.0 or 6.2?
You could probably run the cam you have, if you liked how it ran in the other motor. Probably would work fine. Or, call BTR, Vinci, CamMotion, Texas Speed, etc. and see what they have to say. But in any case you're going to need to upgrade those stock springs.
Once you pick a cam, then choose a converter. My guess though is that for a DD you'll probably want something in the 3000 - 3200 sort of range, probably smaller dia than stock.
Out of curiosity though, if you're buying a motor anyway, why a 5.3? Why not 6.0 or 6.2?
03-11-2018, 10:05 AM
#5
Re: need help. rebuild my 5.3 or get used with mods
As sofa said, most likely the true cost of a rebuild will be more than the cost of a replacement. 400 horsepower is easy to accomplish with a stock LS so there would be no reason to build an LS. I wouldn't build one unless you wanted big turbo power or an engine that sees lots of higher revs.
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