Lookin good Dan, im thinkin of doing this swap myself..maybe i can come check yours out since im about 15-20min away from you! (Lunenburg)

its still a mess and a work-in-progress, but i have no problem sharing. i actually bought my G8 from out your way (chapdelaine).

Dan, what do you feel is the slowest/tedious process of this swap?

money. followed by wiring.


I'm doing this as I have the time and money for it, so it comes in spurts. I've got a house and a newer car to pay for, so after bills, I don't have too much to play with. Best word of advise on doing this kind of swap: do NOT charge it. Keep the credit cards away. If you can't afford to do it now or are impatient, you're going to regret it. I'm still paying off credit cards from a swap I did almost 10 years ago.

I'm taking a lesson from my father; I just started up a part time job to keep car funds out of the house/living funds. Yeah its gonna stink to work 7 days a week, but its better than being in debt that doesn't end. And it means I get another car part discount (grabbed my old position at Advance Auto ).

Now that its getting dark, I've got a shot of some of today's progress.



Up and in place. still a little bit o tweaking to do, but all in all its pretty close to completion. Also managed to get the transmission bolted in place (minus 2 bolts to the engine due to a miscalculation). Will have the stock crossmember modified for the trans mount bolt in the next week or so.

Don't know if I missed it or not, but did you keep the 5.3 pan on the motor?

I had a question i was poking around for an answer to, when you swap to the 5.3 and in my case im using a T56, can you retain the 3rd gen dash set-up, im leaning more towards the speedometer with my question, does a Dakota box solve the speedo issues? this stuff is somewhat new to me...

The LSx PCM outputs the proper signal to drive your stock speedo with no interface. Hook it up directly and make sure the conversion factor is correct for your tire diameter and rear gearing

may have forgotten to note it, not sure, but I did swap to a fbody pan. got a good deal from a local guy for $150 pan/pickup/windage. I plan at some point getting some 1-2" drop springs, so I'd rather not risk cracking a cast pan on speed bumps or pot holes

Thanks, I have a 5.3 pan and was debating on using it.

gotta love this year's winter up here in Mass, haven't seen my car in at least a month due to snow. No build updates, but the part gathering continues. Since the last check-in:

-sfc's
-drop springs
-new bushings (energy suspension) and ball joints (moog) for the front end
-cai
-36mm front sway bar
-wonderbar

can't wait for spring, more parts on the way and storage room's starting to get a little slim

Amen. I pretty much had my whole car parted out before I started my swap for that reason. It also seems like all of the parts you listed above are pretty much standard on the Lsx swap list.

The motor mounts you used look very interesting, but now you have less room to put a turbo in.

looks good just wen through the whole thread cant wait to see the finished results

i've been drooling over a maggie, but the prices pretty much make it off limits. I'm sure we can still find a way to massage a turbo in place.....

Build your own maggy kit!

update!
-car has finally been spotted in the driveway - snow's finally almost melted. almost.
-just put a deposit on a low mile 6.0L shortblock, should take delivery later this week.
-final batch of fuel line goodies on their way from summit
-ls1 front calipers are waiting

Awesome. Sure is nice all those parts swap freely from 5.3 to 5.7 to 6.0

Snow is the worst enemy of progress... We haven't had any in quite some time now fortunately. Even when there was snow on the ground and the car was in the garage, I still didn't want to do anythingin the garage because it was too dang cold.

my attention span's too short for just one engine option . so the ls1 that was sitting aside is going up for sale shortly....

i hear the weather argument, my g/f and i have been hoping to get into a house that has a huge 2 car garage, perfect for doing my swap but its looking kinda grim (short sale) so i might just have to start on it---outside, which i dont mind but i certainly need to wait for all the snow to melt and the flooding to recede. Hows the "gathering" coming along Dan? i have only a few parts left, but my list includes the shot-to-the-kidney T56 purchase...

i bought my first house 2 years ago and it was a short sale; almost got a different one on short sale, but it fell through for me. good luck with you purchase!

almost done getting the little things (i think), still need to grab a fuel pump, starter, and an alternator. oh, and need to get my pcm programmed (tuned by frost seems to be a good start from his reviews on LS1tech)

thanks man, if you want a used alt and starter i have an alt for 45 bucks and a starter for 25, let me know. i work at LKQ in leominster.

you may be hearing from me after the paycheck's cashed later this week

Take a 30 min road trip up to Harbor Freight store on 101a Nashua/Amherst line.Spend some more of that hard earned money Its a cool store.Mines going on 3rd year and I want it done

Good call on the 6.0!
That's going to be boss.

something about that 6.0 you just cant stay away from.

i think the tentative plan for LSx swap, round two (already got the 5.3L in place, that'll be where i work out all the kinks and bugs this year) will be:

LQ9 bottom end
L92 heads
LS3 intake

let the dreaming and empty wallet continue

The difference from LQ4 to LQ9 was the pistons. 9's got pistons/rods from LS2s. Everything else about the engine stayed the same

Take your common LQ4, buy a $120 set of LS2 pistons/rods and install with bearings and rings. Viola, LQ9

The GEN IV top end is another story, get out your check book. Also keep in mind youll need to modify the wiring to account for the new intake/injectors

I think you can buy adapter mini-harnesses for the injectors.

atleast the L92 heads are cheap..... after i finish my 5.3 swap im going to start on the 6.2 i have in the crate The cost for the LS3 or L92 top end wont be much for for whats already spent on the swap

between the lsx swap and the 4th gen dash, i don't think there's a single wire i haven't modified in one way or another.

there's a guy on 'tech that does low mile heads and intakes. another $1k and I should be in good shape. whenever that becomes available. time to start recycling cans again

they used to be cheap. GM doubled the price not long ago on them.
still a decent deal for the money, but not giving them away like they were priced.

couple quickies:

I'd like to welcome the new addition to my Gen III family




LQ9 (flat top pistons like the LS2); the LS1's sitting in the background jealous, but she's going to a good home in the next week or two. A fellow 1A employee is tossing around the idea of putting it into a 60s Impala.

As for my other new project - I got the moped bug. Grabbed a '77 Lazer Sport 50; made in italy 49cc's, and cheeeeeeeeeap.



Rebuilding the motor (that's whats left of the trans and engine once the the cylinder and head have been removed



should be a fun little thing to get to and from work or grab parts for the rest of the fleet

im also waitin for warmer weather!



nice thread man keep up the good work and pics!!!

heads and intake are on their way - L92's and LS3. time to go hunt a cable TB....

will a stock truck TB work for you off a 6.0L ? If so I have a spare and could sell it off, it even has the stock sensors in it still, would just need a cleaning from carbon buildup.

the LS3 intake uses a 4-bolt TB, where as the usual drive by cable stuff is a 3-bolt setup. i've got one of those on the 5.3 right now, but thank you for the offer.

The name brand stuff is $400+ for one of the DBC 4-bolt setups, but there are some cheap ones on ebay for around $200. There have been mixed reviews from what I can find, but I still gotta do more digging around; may just be worth buying the DBW stuff and calling it a day

That's pretty funny I was working on a suzuki moped last sunday too! My brother in law bought it cause he's too worthless to afford a car lol

Something about the DBW stuff that just doesn't sit well with me. And the LS3 intake also has a 90MM TB, as compared to the LS1/LS6 75mm.

2 days off, lots of parts stock piling up, expect some updates (and most likely photo) to come. here's to no more snow!

Yay!

first to the list of additions - *finally* got the crossmember modified to work with the 4L60e. still need to drill a hole for the mount, but that's the easy part (still like yours better Pocket, if you ever need to part with it, I'm here!)



and since the stock 15" rims won't work with the LS1 brakes, here was yesterday's Craigslist find



need a little cleaning and new tires, but $250 for a set of 18s couldn't be beat

Im sending my old trans mount with the exhaust. Its not pretty but it works

I know, I'll take both! Didn't want to harass ya, seeing you seem to be having some issues with the other exhaust you're working with...

Dan!! Those wheels are sweet! And for that price, you can't beat that deal with a stick!

so to anyone looking to do the plate-style mounts, get yourself the 1" setbacks. You can use the non-setbacks if you notch the kmember, but its a really tight fit. This should give you a good idea of what I'm talking about; the 6.0's getting the setback mounts later today

Wicked deal on the wheels Dan. Look forward to seeing your build come together.

wow that oil pan is very close to the crossmember. those wheels look very nice!
keep up the good work!

she's empty (again)



the 6.0 waiting for the oil pan and harmonic balancer to be pulled from the 5.3



and my other recent purchase - a 3.27/posi/disc 9 bolt. may not last too long behind the new setup, but it beats the open/drum rear in the car currently. will be cleaned up and painted up to look a bit nicer

please paint the firewall and clean up the engine bay while the motor is out, these cars look so much sweeter with a detailed engine bay. my .02

I figured I would have to replace my rear eventually as well until I talked to the guy who is gonna tune my car. He has an '88 GTA that has seen 9 second passes on the 9 bolt with upgraded axles and a 3.90 gear, stock carrier too. I was like