maybe you guys can help me make a decision. i'm bout to tear into my vert right after christmas. i'm positive that i'm going with a 5.3 vortec and t56, thinking about a twin turbo setup. there is twin-turbo setup on ebay for roughly $1150. of course there will be some fab work on the kit but im ready for that-i think. is there enuff room under the hood for this? i'm thinkin 12-15 lbs. of boost. plz dont try to talk me into a ls-1 or bigger. i chose the 5.3 because i can get them for $500-$700 bucks all day long.steer me in the right direction guys. thanx in advance.

 

The 5.3 is an excellent choice. I usually do not like smaller displacement engines, but I cannot deny that it's a good engine. They make a stout 320 overall Horsepower, and 325 FT.-LBS of torque.

Why go with a cheapy chinese eBay turbo kit though?

http://www.ststurbo.com/universal_turbo_systems

STS rear mounts start at $1,650. They're a far better choice for you, considering the fact that you're concerned about engine bay room. Yes, a turbo will fit, there are people running BBC's with stock hoods. They also will greatly reduce engine bay temperature, compared to an engine bay mounted turbo kit.

You're already going in the right direction, Vortecs are some of the best engines out there, and turbochargers are the most efficient power adders, producing typically far more HP per PSI than superchargers.

 

thanx shadow, i was going with the ebay kit for sheer price. i knew about STS, but didnt know they were that affordable. i know i wouldnt like my air filter that close to the ground. do u think the turbo will be enuff muffler or should i put a muffler on there? it would be alot cleaner under the hood w/o all the piping. would i need to run a inter-cooler or no? i love the 5.3, ihave a 6000 lb 05 tahoe that will move along pretty good. any other info would be appreciated guys.

 

There are air filter shields, incase you're worried about road debris of any kind, or water. I've also thought about purchasing the STS universal kit once I have my 383 built, and running a very modest 6 or less PSI, since I will be running about 10.5:1 compression, and wouldn't want to run into any detonation. But anyhow, I was talking to a guy at the DMV in my state (Delaware) and he's familiar with Camaros, Vettes, 'Stangs, and all of the general mods, he told me that an STS setup with no muffler would be slightly too loud.

However, it may not be legal, but you could get away with running no muffler after the turbo on the street, you would just have to pick up a Dynomax bullet to pass inspection. They're only $39.99, since you mentioned affordable, and reduce sound by 4 dB's.

http://www.jegs.com/i/Dynomax/289/24215/10002/-1

An intercooler? No, you wouldn't HAVE to, but it would not be smart at all to not run an intercooler once you're pushing more than 10 PSI. Diesels can get away with running 20+ PSI through stock turbochargers, without running intercoolers, but then again, they're Diesels. They operate on heat and compression. The PVC piping that STS uses acts slightly as an intercooler, it cools the intake charge enough to cause a .5 PSI drop in pressure from the turbo to the manifold.

 

I forgot one thing, air filter shields. I believe STS sells them, or you could search the net for a stainless steel cover, like what's in the pictures. I don't know if STS sells a steel air filter cover, I only saw their cloth-like one.

 

Yes, you can get 5.3's for less than a grand.

But, to fit one into a 3rd gen, you're going to have to replace the intake, oil pan & pick-up, and front accessories. By the time you do that, you'll be up in LS1 territory.

Not trying to "talk you into a ls-1 or bigger", just providing a dose of reality.

 

Yep, very true, if you dont mind the cheaper parts, the LS1 stock intake would eb great if max power is not an issue.

But remember, while looking for the 5.3, the GEN IV is the one with the longer crank that the T56 will not work behind, BUT they have 799/243 heads, the ones everyone wants that is not going to the L92 head.

So, just make sure it is the right one, same for the 6.0 like i got, the 99-00 iron head 6.0 has the wrong crank for the T56 swap.

 

thanx for the help on this lil bit of info. i didnt know the part about the crank. i was gonna use a 99-01 or 99-02 engine. there the ones that are dbc i think. thanx five7 for pointing that out to me, this kinda makes me wanna go with an lt1 in a way. i just dont think i could come across a ls-1 at a price that i can afford. i have a t56 lined up for $600 out of a 98 or 99 camaro ss. i have found a complete lt-1 setup for $1600 for everything to do the swap, and i mean everything. i wanna stay with the ls based swap though.

 

It depends on how thrifty you are. LS1 intakes can be had very, very cheap... $50 or less many times. Used stock cable-operated throttle body shouldn't be more than $50-100. Used oil pans & associated hardware, though somewhat hard to find, usually won't cost more than $200. The accessories, like the oil pans, are a bit hard to come by, but you should be able to put together a full set of used accessories for about $300. That brings you in at around $600, plus the cost of the motor. I'm sure there are a few little things here and there that you'll need to swap as well, but overall, that should still result in significant savings over an LS1, especially if you can resell the truck oil pan, intake, & throttle body for a few bucks.

 

A few bucks is all youll get if you can sell them at all

Get the trans with the engine if you can even if you arent going to use it. 4L60E prices have shot up over the last two years and junkyards usually dont charge much extra for them plug you get a pile of useful parts that you dont have to track down like flexplate, flywheel bolts, starter, bellhousing bolts etc

Modifying the truck harness will work just as good and save you some coin tracking down a LS1 harness that must also be modified

 

just search ls1tech and ebay regularly, and look specifically for any part out cars. i got accessory brackets with bolts, for $75 shipped. a guy had a wrecked car, and thats all he wanted for all the brackets. new ones a rediculously priced, but if you contact a lot of people, and have a little patience, there are definitely deals to be had.

throttle bodys are available too, i actually have one sitting in the garage if you need one.

intakes are cheap, but if you can score the ls6 version, its pretty good bang for the buck. i just did that, because i knew i would eventually and i didn't think there was a point in buying a ls1 if i would end up swapping it out anyway. it might pay to measure if the truck intake with the car throttle body would fit though, mine looked like it might, but i didn't put the hood back on to try.

if you can get the k member off and mount everything up, and then lower the car back on, it looks like it'll be much easier overall. its tough to get everything bolted up with the engine in the car. when i drop my engine out again, thats definitely how i'll do it. ghettocruiser's second car build thread (the one thats about 4239 pages now) has good details.