So I was recently at the junk yard looking around for parts that could be of some use. Then i discovered a fresh vortec motor that was still sitting in a silverado. Guy that owns the junk yard says its the 5.3 L engine and that it still cranked over and turned on. Badass I thought. So to my suprise he said if i pulled the engine myself i could have it for $200. So would this engine be worth a rebuild of trying to reach my goal of 450 hp.? Also what would have to be changed to make this engine fit right

 

What year is the truck? Very possible its of the LS series of engines... so yea, probably just cam and tuning will put you close to where you wanna be.

Pretty sure you'd have to swap out the intake and oil pan for F-Body parts though.

 

take everything! the intakes are different than ours so you will need that, as well as the exhaust. and take every wire that goes from the computer to the engine, and take the computer too. the entire box.
DONT CUT ANY WIRES. you will probably need to go into the right fender well area to pull the wires through CAREFULLY.
it will probably have a vats - does the key have a resistor in it? if it does take the key and the vats unit which should be under the dash, drivers extreme left side near the fuse block. the computer is programed to look for it. but then it only want to see a yes its the right key response before it allows the engine to start.
so you either get a new chip and remove the look for vats command, or you keep the chip and make sure the vats you have in your car and key match.

 

It would be illegal to put a truck engine in a car.

 

The legality issue is easy. The 5.3 block can be bored to 5.7L. New pistons and rings, rebalance the crank. cam: getting a good used Camaro one is easy and cheap. heads: just hafta have a machine cut them for the 2" intake valves. computer: not hard to get the truck computer reflashed with a stock LS1 Camaro tune. This is the route I'm taking. An iron-block LS1.

 

If the truck has a working automatic trans and is not 4 wheel drive, take that, too.

 

Yes, this is an LSx swap. So, moving this to that subforum.

 

I know that's true in Kalifornia but I seriously doubt that it is in Texas (where the OP is). It would be a very good idea for him to confirm that there aren't any local regs to be aware of though...

BZZZT. "Thank you for playing, please enjoy our lovely parting gifts..." In the GPRK (Glorious People's Republic of Kali), they check the casting number of the block against their list/DB, so the bore size is totally irrelevant. If the casting number says that it was made for (or originally in) a truck, then the swap is illegal - end of story.

EDIT: Note to the OP - $200??!?!? I'd jump on that like a pit-bull on a T-bone!!

 

awesome. What size of cam would go great with this engine? I just got home right now with the whole computer harness and tranny pulled in the garage. Engine should make it here tomorrow. Would making the swap be a pain in the rear and also i'm not too great with the whole computer wiring. From the looks of it, it could give some pretty bad head aches. It's the first time i've actually messed with this kinda stuff. so excuse the knowledge that i dont have yet.

 

If you get a factory harness, you don't really have to do any "computer wiring". Just electrical wiring.