Hey everyone. I know I know, this question has been beaten to death but I have a couple more outlooks on it and I just can’t quite find the answer I’m looking for. Just like it says, would a 383 or ls1 swap be better for an almost daily driver? I’m not looking to bust everyone I run into but I want it to get down when I want to have some fun (and be able to beat my buddys mustang&#128517. I may take it to a track once or twice just to see what it does and what I can do but street driven other than that. I have another vehicle to drive but what I mean by that is if I want to hop in it and cruise to the beach and cruise down the strip (dirty Myrtle if anyone is from SC) it would be a pleasure rather than fighting the car and having to fuel up constantly. Or if I decide I’m bored driving my truck and decide I’m driving the car all month, it won't change my mind halfway through. I wanna build the car so it’s a pleasure to drive (easy on fuel and plenty of power). I know what all goes into the ls swap and wiring doesn’t scare me a bit nor does the additional parts to make it work, I just would like to hear input on real world fuel economy on a 383 and on a ls1 with a cam, headers, exhaust, etc. Also going to swap to t56 from an automatic so that also depends on what engine I go with.
Thanks for any input!

 

How fast is the Mustang?

 

Its a 2015 5.0 6 speed. That's all I know. He's never opened it up with me in the car

 

LS engine is going to get better fuel economy than a comparable 383 small block.

A 383 is basically the same as saying custom built engine. It can make power. The LS basically just needs a cam swap.

I'd skip right over the 5.7L LS1 go to the 6.0L or 6.2L engines. More bang for the buck and more low end torque for nicer driving experience, especially with a cam.

 

My main reason for going with the ls1 is I can buy a donor car 98-02 so ill have motor and trans and ill have everything as far as accessories that fit. Or are you saying it would be worth it to go with a 6.0 straight from the start? It just seems like accessory brackets a stupid price in my opinion

 

Depends on what you are looking for as far as performance I suppose. My cammed Ls1 has plenty of get up and go to satisfy my need for speed. A lot boils down to the setup you are able to find, afford, and what condition it is in. BTW my Ls1 gets me 20mpg (when I behave), has very good street manners, runs cool and is dependable, all things I was looking for in a swap. Good luck to you.

 

I was in your shoes once many years ago. I built a 383 hsr with a 280xfi cam and stalled 700r4. I wanted to fun daily with grunt and sounded rowdy. But I felt for the money spent..the performance was lack luster. Torque was fun to light up tires light to light but still eve with a hsr intake the motor ran out of steam quickly uptop. Not to mention gas mileage was also absent lol. Not that we try to build cars to maximize fuel vs power. Once the 383 kicked the bucket I decided to g ls1 route with 6spd. And for what a 383/auto combo was probably putting down to the ground vs a stock ls1 with headers and 6spd put down my butt dyno says the ls1 was the right choice for me. I had way more fun driving the ls combo than the gen 1 sbc stuff and gas mileage was a huge jump up. The stock ls1 a yr later failed the piston slap on #7 and then I threw together a 6.0 and cam. To me..thas where I should've stopped and kept the car at this power level. It was rowdy..made 400hp/400tq at the wheels..getting 22-24mpg with hard abuse .I had no issues spanking things at random either.

Don't get me wrong, I still love a gen 1 sbc and they can be built cheap and the ease of swapping them in our cars is what makes this ultimately the easier way to go. But a gen 3 stuff can be had very cheap also..its on the level to build as cheap as the gen 1 and parts to swap them into anything now are readily available.Its not nearly as expensive to do anymore. You don't need a donor car etc but its nice to have. I found using a standalone harness easier to deal with.

If I were to do a gen 1 motor again with todays tech available..it would be running a holley ecu or equivalent with a crank trigger for more precise tuning

 

I used an ICT Billet alternator relocation kit and it took the place of the factory F body accessorie brackets. Looks great and cost about $120 or so. I don't have air conditioning, but they have kits to accommodate. I had a complete donor car and as someone else mentioned that approach has its pros and cons. What is the price and condition of this donor car ? Are you going to rebuild this engine or just run it ?

 

I planned on just buying a wrecked donor with no more than 150k on it and I was thinking just reseal everything and check main bearings and all while I'm in there since it would be out. To be honest the whole idea of a donor car just seemed nice for the fact that my car is an auto now so I'll have whatever I need to swap to manual and also for the fact that when I'm done with it, I can sell body parts, interior etc. to recoop some of the money. As far as costs and all, that's why I'm trying figure out now to figure out how much I need to set aside for this. From what I'm getting it sounds like my best bet would just be look for a 6.0 or 6.2 straight off the bat because when its all said and done, I'm hoping to have at least 450rwhp/450tq and seems like that could be done nearly stock on the L92. And buying one of those manual swap kits from hawks separate.

 

I daily drove my ls swapped 92 for 3 years. 6.0/60e i was getting 24 mpg highway with the stock 3.23 rear

 

Those are some of the pros, getting the proper oil pan, pedals, seats, gas tank, extra rear end, brake components, wiring harnesses. The cons are that when you spend less on a donor car, a lot of those items you want to resell are not really worth the trouble for the return. You also end up with the rest of the car to have to get rid of. My 4th gen was nice when it got rear ended and totaled and I used it as a donor. I was able to get some money back selling parts. If you spend more on a nicer donor you end up spending what you would to rebuild that junkyard 6.0 or 6.2. The t56's that I see for sale in my area are just ridiculously priced, $1800 and up for used and unknown history. A magnum is a much better value if you can swing it. Also if you upgrade your torque arm mount to the crossmember you wont need to spend extra on the f body tail housing.

 

I have a G-van with a heads/cam 6.0L, a Tahoe with a 450 hp cammed 8.1 and a ~500 hp 383 in an Express van. Fuel mileage is similar in all of them. The 6.0L does not do any better even though it has 3.08 gears. The 8.1 is by far the most fun to drive. Straight line acceleration, the 383 with a 2,800 stalled 4L80E and 5.13 gears is the quickest closely followed by the 3.42 geared Tahoe. The 6.0L runs really strong upstairs but lacks the low-end punch the other two engines have.

 

I did a stock ls1 about ten years ago in my TA and it has had no issues all this time. If I had the money, these days 6.2 would be a better choice.