Tomorrow I am buying a 5.3 truck motor. The engine shop I went to said they would charge me $250 to bore it over to a 7 liter as long as I buy the sleeves for the cylinders. Is this possible to do since the LS blocks are the same except for the bores? And will it be stable and reliable?

 

Can't do it, find another machine shop that knows that they're doing.

The LS2/LS3 Gen IV engines could be sleeved for a 4.125" bore, but you're talking cubic dollars here.

If you get a 5.3, just build that engine and enjoy the LS series power. It doesn't take mega-cubes to be quick with these engines.

 

Im know you cant bore the 5.3 that big but i think you can bore an ls2 or ls3 out that big again not to sure

 

I am really new to this boring engines over. the 5.3 block is an Ls block right then why wouldnt it be able to be taken up that big?

 

I was getting the 5.3 to bore it over because it is cheaper than buying a 6.0 or better motor.

 

There isn't enough meat in the cylinders to take that much out without running straight into a coolant passage or other obstruction. The blocks aren't the same, that's why there's an LS1 LS2 LS3, etc.

 

you dont bore and engine block to get more cubic inches. you bore an engine block to clean up the cylinder walls. you stroke an engine to get more cubes.
if you want an ls7 spend $15000 on an ls7. if you dont have pockets that deep, then youre not gonna be able to build an "ls7" from cobbled together parts, and machine shops that say they can do it for $250.

you can build a 5.3 to make more than enough HP for a daily driver on the street for a fraction of the cost of an ls7.

 

ok in that case I will just buy an LS2 & 4L60E and just be happy. I was just wondering if it could be done. I was reading super chevy and they built a LS6 into a 768 by boring it over and stroking it, and added LS7 heads.

 

look up prices on a set of ls7 heads. you wanna spend $1000 for a set of stock GM heads?

 

I looked the heads were 1600 and the crank was 931 from gm. but I tink I'm going to go with and 6.0 LS block and go from there. I can't get into my rebuild seriously until February. I have to go to a few schools for the Air force next month so, I'm in the saving and palnning stage of my build.

 

The guy at the machine shop is going to do it so cheap in exchange for some free labor at his shop.

 

quit focusing on LS7 ect and going for the name gm hightech took a 4.8 to 1300 hp bone stock bottom get the 5.3 build it right do the research and go out and stomp on the """"LS7s""""unless you are in a 24 hour endurance race or just feel like throwing away alot of cash you dont need a LS anything the LM7 LQ4 are the best bang for the buck out there and if you want to get the LS3 Erod motor 6500 for turn key brand new or look for a l92 (6.2) bore and stroke it and you can call it a LS7.5

 

currently looking for a 6.0 or 6.2 with trans. while I sit here at work doing nothing. But I really want to buy the motor and make it mine by putting my own touch on it. Thats why I am on here trying to get some you you guys opinions because this is going to be my first build.

 

How much money do you realistically have to put towards the build? You need to answer that before anything else.

 

right about now i think i just want to get the new motor and tranny in. with a new coil over set up for around

 

Why try to reinvent the wheel?.
A quick Google will bring up any number of LS (inc truck ) builds with parts lists and dyno results
done by guys with way more $$$ and brains than you.

As has been shown many times here in the past;
guys without the knowledge who did it " their way " often end up with a expensive slug
because they thought they could throw a bunch of miss-matched parts together and have a winning combo

 

As I said thats why I asked the question and have gotten the answer its best to buy a motor and beef it up. instead of buying one motor and trying to make it something else. message recieved a 6.2 or 6.0 will do me fine stock.

 

you mentioned you wanted to use a 5.3 because it was cheaper than a 6.0 although your ready to spend cash on a custom setup and if you somehow got a 5.3 to a point of an ls7 thats exactly what it would be. i dont think your getting that cheap is not what your gonna get if you want an ls7. just keep the 5.3 at a 5.3 or a 6.0 at 6.0. maybe a little bore massaging would be fine. you might be able to make some impressive measures out of a frankenstien block but i wouldnt. senoir year i tried it on a 307 small block. may teacher gave me the okay to use any part or equiptment in the shop to make a frankestien engine. i bored the thing out to a point where i was about to go throught the cylinder walls, i found a 400 crank and machined it to fit and the block and etc. we had two 3800 s/c that i threw on and it made some decent numbers but it blew up shortly after.

 

I don't think LS7 heads fit a 6.0L block because there are more differences than just the bore size.

I have the poor man's LS7 by stroking a Gen IV 6.0L iron block to 427ci with ported LS3/L92 heads. That's as close as I could get without buying an actual LS7 or super expensive MAST heads. The Gen IV iron block is seriously strong and will take more punishment than an LS7 and last longer. Expect to pay between $3200 - $5000 for the 427 bare short block depending on quality of parts. A 408 stroker is another good option and will save you a little money on the short block.

What do you actually want to achieve with your car and how much money are you willing to spend? Anything else been done to the car yet? Seeing that you haven't thought out the engine, I am concerned you haven't thought out the total cost of this project.

 

I want to be able to whip my best friend who is building an '87 Monte Carlo he as a Frankstein motor with 3.73 gears. I want 450-475 @ the rear tires minimum, I like the idea of a 6.0 stroked and some ported and polished LS3 heads should make nice power with a LSX-R intake and throttle body. I haven't decided on a cam yet.

 

I want a nice weekend warrior to go the track and play around with my friends every now and then. I have decided to put around $12,000 into this project over the next 2 years. The motor and suspension work to be done before May of 2012. Then on to the interior and wheels starting in October 2012. Its primary use will be for me and the wife to go cruising down to the beaches in florida when time allows.

 

I don't think $12K will cover a 427 LSx swap in a 3rd gen. Too many high end parts needed to make it all work.

Here is my suggestion: Get a LQ9 6.0L short block. Those things last forever so you're going to save money by not rebuilding the engine. Seriously. Even if it has 100K miles just use it and leave it alone. You need LQ9 pistons if you plan to use LS3/L92 heads in order to maintain proper compression ratio. LQ4 6.0L will not work. Only thing you're going to do to your engine is put in a new LS6 oil pump and F-body oil pan. You'll also need to make sure it has 24 tooth reluctor ring to work with the LS1 Camaro engine controller.

Put on a stock set of L92 heads from Scoggin Dickey. Awesome value and those heads are great out of the box. If you want to go all out then get the Scoggin Dickey CNC L92 heads. Make sure you have double springs for high lift cam. Second spring is to save your engine if one spring fails, which does happen with the aggressive cam profiles used with LSx engines. Use stock L92 rocker arms and LS7 lifters (cheap!) Stock rocker arms are actually better than most aftermarket rocker arms. LS7 lifters are good for nearly anything short of 9 second car.

Buy a complete LS3 intake for $350 from SLP off ebay. These are brand new take-offs and is complete from injectors to intake. There is no cheaper way to get a high flow intake and the 42 lb/hr injectors you'll need. LS3 intakes are awesome and people literally debate whether or not FAST 102 is any better. Put in a good cam. Check out offerings from Texas Speed and Thunder Racing. I've heard very good things about EPS cams too. Higher lift is more important than big duration so you can use the flow potential of the heads. Probably settle on something in the mid 230-ish duration.

If you have an auto trans then get a good converter with 3500 - 4000 RPM stall. With the electronic lockup you won't even hardly notice it is a high stall converter until you nail the throttle and the car launches like shot from a cannon. It's not like the old days when loose converters were a real pain for daily driving. If you use a T56 manual trans there is absolutely no excuse for not having 4.11 gears or something in that range. With the deep overdrive you absolutely would not know those gears were in the axle unless somebody told you, and you'll need it for the cam because you don't want your car to be a dog out of the hole.

I assume you will take care of the rearend and suspension to make your car hook and not fly apart in pieces at the same time. You can have all the power in the world and still be slow if you can't make traction. And your buddy's Monte Carlo can hook seriously hard with minor suspension tweaks.

 

I plan on going with coil overs and 3.73 gears

 

not even remotely enough to get 500hp to the ground without issues. plan on spending 5-10k just on the suspension and axel and wide tires and the like to get 500hp to the ground without slip.

 

got 485 with texas speed head cam on a stock bottom ls1 with a LS6 intake

 

What transmission are you using?

You'll have to use a fairly narrow wheel and tire on the front to clear coilovers.... just be warned. I have a set of new in the box coilovers that will never go on my car after seeing how it mounts. I don't want to blow out the shock tower. I'm using Moroso Trick Springs instead.

 

are you selling them

 

Yes, this thread reminded me I had them on the shelf. Just made an ad a few minutes ago.

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/engi...vers-afco.html

 

An iron 4.8/5.3 block can be punched out to a 3.905 bore like a 5.7L LS1. If you need to sleeve a block, its cheaper to buy an aftermarket block already at the bore you want

 

I would buy them but I can get everything they have from QA1 for around 180
http://www.qa1.net/qa1_motorsports/d...-wrenches.html
http://www.qa1.net/qa1_motorsports/d...over-kits.html
http://www.qa1.net/qa1_motorsports/d...l-springs.html

I believe its what PA does

 

Links don't work. PM me if you want to pursue further or post in my ad.

 

Im 110% planning on making over 500rwhp on my h/c/i ls2... It can be done but its not cheap by any means. Get a 6.0 block, buy ls2 pistons and rods, stock crank, get a set of 243's and have them ported, big cam( vindicator, vrx5 or id go 234/242 ish on lsl lobes but thats up to you), ls6 intake till you can opt for a fast 90/92/102 and 1 3/4 -1 7/8 longtubes. imo you would be close to 450-460 ish hp.

 

LQ4 flat top pistons ditch the 243s and get LS3 or L92 heads far better keep the stock rods they are forged but replace the rod bolts with ARP they are the weak point in the bottom you can get l92 heads cheap and they flow alot better than any of the ls1/2 heads and the ls3 intake flows as good as a LS1/2 fast

IMO fast is not worth the price

LQ4,pistons,l92 heads, and a showroom stock cam from GM made 505 hp and cost less than 3k that was with the edelbrock carb intake and 750 carb

 

Well LQ9 pistons are flat tops..not LQ4's. And as for heads yes the L92/Ls3 heads can be bought for cheap but then you have to mill them to get compression up, then you start running into ptv issues which will require flycutting. I have seen people with rectangular heads pull them and use a cathedral port because of the sensativity of cam timing/duration, but thats jusy my .02...knowtice the top 2 companies tfs/afr dont make a rectangular port head..... Wonder why.

 

Well today I came across a deal I couldn't pass up. A 5.3 for $400 with harness, coil packs, starter, all accessories, intake and throttle body and plugs. So now me problem has been solved on motor because I got that one for pocket change. Now on to deciding how to beef this **** up. But first I will tackle the suspension after reading some of you guys post.

 

i was gonna build a 5.3. took some advice from white devil but upgraded cam a little i was gonna go with a 224/224 112 lsa i think? 243 heads ls intake, etc

 

I had a 5.3 before I bought my ls2.. Stock 5.3 shortblock, shaved .020 243 heads, 224/228 .581/.588 112+2 comp camshaft spec'd by me and a fast 90, made 352/344 on an unlocked automatic which isnt bad at all.

 

my friend has a 5.3 and he wants me to do like him and get an ls1 intake, ls6 cam, with lS1 injecters on stock heads. I'm no gear head but that doesn't sound like it will work.

 

define work.

 

LS6 intake will bolt right up to 5.3L heads, but the intake will be blocked by the truck accessories. That's really of no matter though since the truck accessories won't fit under your hood and you'll need to change to car accessories anyway.

Ported 5.3L heads are sought after for many LS1 performance builds because they deliver excellent low speed throttle response for a well mannered street engine and flow good numbers on the top end too. I'm not fully certain, but I think 5.3L heads have smaller chambers than LS6 (243 casting) heads and produce greater compression ratio. That means if you put LS6 heads on your engine the compression ratio will drop and that's not good. Basically what I'm suggesting is that the heads you have are the right heads for your engine. LS3/L92 heads are now completely out of the picture unless you install different pistons to bring up the compression ratio.

 

I think what tylercamaro is getting at is that won't work to get you to the power level you initially set as a goal (> 450 RWHP).

But I don't think any of that matters any more because your practical side is going to win and you'll end up just making minor tweaks to the 5.3L for a sensible, fun, reliable hot rod.

 

If he is using a 5.3L, the L92 heads wont fit due to the small 3.900 bores.

 

just out of curiousity what is the biggest i can bore that 5.3 to?

 

And and I may stroke it too since I got it so cheap what the hell! Its a learning process.

 

So if I am understanding this correctly LS6 intake, fuel rail, and injectors. how about LS6 cam?

 

have you looked into ls motors at all?

 

some what

 

You seriously need to do some more research and figure out what YOU'RE doing. Please take the time to read through the sticky threads as they lay the foundation of what you will need to accomplish the swap (fuel, wiring, fitment, etc.) Help yourself out, and read (other swaps, other forums, etc.) as they will provide you with many answers to all sorts of questions.

 

LS1tech.com is very useful and even has an engine swap section. Performancetrucks.net will give you insight into what the truck guys are doing who actually have these 5.3L engines.

So.... what is this mystery engine your friend is building?

 

yea with these engines you have to take more time to research, they really are much different than your small block chevy. and if you dont understand those then you really need to do some reading. no offense bu i personally think your going to dig your own grave if you try to do whatever you want with a 5.3. like Qwktrip said theres many great resources lstech being one of them. also others like fullsizechevy you can dig up some info on ls based engine if you look at the right threads.
its great that you got a complete 5.3 for the price but your gonna end up screwing it up or throwing tons of money at it if you dont know what your doing