Hey guys, so I'm considering an ls swap and so far I have done some homework and I think I got a pretty good direction as to where I want to go. I'm thinking an h/c/i lm7 build. I don't have anything yet which is why I wanna stop here and figure different stuff out from ppl that. Have experience. I'm on a budget so I can't get the expensive parts yet.. lol

So a 5.3 vortec motor idk which one. Is there certain years to stay away from? Or pretty my h any is good?
A 4l60e for now till I get the money for a t56
Ported stocks heads, from what I've read an heard the heads already are great. But with a cam they just need to flow a little bit more.
The cam 0.571/0.573 228/230 112 lsa
I'm still looking for a harness I'm pretty sure I can find a ls1 harness easy.
I'm looking at the ls6 intake for now.
One of my concerns is the dash, because I have the gta trans am with the digital dash. I'm just curious as to what ill need to do with it? Such as splice into wires or just completely switch to a fourth gen dash?

My goal for the car is a good rolling racer that will do its job at the track.

 

I hate it when people do this to me but....

This has been done a lot Loogle is your friend

 

I have been searching a lot of googling and going on different performance websites and out of all the Info that's what I came up with for a budget build.

My question was to see If I was on the right track and if there is anything I left out or if there is anything I should change or some advice before I jump into it.

 

Whats your budget? Do you know what to do with the accessory drive?

 

I'm doing the same swap only adding a turbo. i pretty much came up with the same conclusion you did. ls6 intake, better throttle body, upgrade injectors(for turbo) I'm upping the valves and having it ported as well. from what I've read the bottom end is pretty bullet proof. hotrod as done a few builds on the 5.3. actually printed them out and put them in my garage just cuz each did some neat things that i will try and incorporate into my build... anyway sounds like you have plan in place.

 

Well my budget is around 2000 hopefully. I'm still looking into the price for the porting the heads I can't seem to find that around where I live. My plan for the accessory is to swap it out with the fbody while I'm at the junk yard getting the motor. The motor will only cost me 220 bucks at a local junk yard. Which was another question I had. Is there a yr I should stay away from or all 97 to 2005 should work?

 

89fbrestor I read and heard from people that messed with them and.they all said the bottom end is capable of handeling up to over 1000 on stock block so I hope that's true lol would I need to upgrade the injectors to for the cam n heads that I'm adding? I know I had to on my TPI I just don't know about the ls1 fuel system

 

Unfortunately dude, that really isnt enough to cover the swap itself, let alone the "mods" you want to do. Sorry.

 

ya i gotta agree. I'm setting aside 4k just for the motor mods I'm planning. that's not including the turbo, trans, k-member etc.

if you keep it pretty basic and do the work yourself though I'm sure you'll get a lot farther with your budget.

 

I'm going to do the work all my self so that's going to save me a bit of money. The cam and intake I priced out and it'll be about 800 bucks so far and the heads is the only thing I can't find a price on yet. But I'm getting the motor for 220 so that puts me over 1000 already I just don't really. Haven't found a price on the tank or anything like that yet. So that's wat I'm shooting for is 2000 I'm aware it'll go for more probly but I'm just trying to prove a budget build is capable of doing more than well around where I live lol

As far as saying keeping it basic what are u talking about like which parts or what? Lol

 

by basic i was referring to reusing as much as you could, stock injectors(unless u get a good deal with your intake), stock coil packs, etc.

have you considered doing the heads your self? porting/polishing isn't really that hard to do if you have patience. you could have better valves job done and save a good junk with the porting, just a thought.

 

The 2005 motors were the last of the Gen III (LS1 24x) 5.3's and came with 799 heads (same casting as the 243 LS6 heads). 2004+ also came with the stronger LS2 rods and floating pistons. Even if you find an earlier LM7 don't waste your time on the heads. Look for a set of 799/243 take offs. They can support a ton of power for your goals and porting won't be needed. That money will need to be spent on other items for the swap (pan and pick up, wiring, accessories, etc). If you get lucky, you might find an L33 motor which is the all aluminum 5.3 that was offered in certain 4X4 models. Although the stock parts on these motors can support a lot of power, they still have their weaknesses. Namely, rod bolts.

 

not trying to jack in on tkr's thread but i read the aluminum blocks were not as good as the iron for the 5.3... can you elaborate? I'm pretty new to wrenching myself so info is great, also good tip on the heads that's news to me I'll have to check that out as well.

thanks

 

There is nothing wrong with the aluminum block. You see folks go to iron when they blow up their aluminum motor under boost or some other crazy set-up that exceeds 99% of the typical builds out there. Often times, the block wasn't the weak link, it was something else that let go in the motor causing the piston to ram through the cylinder sleeves. Collateral damage. The iron blocks are easier to rebuild in that regard because they are not sleeved and can be overbored .05 to .010 at a time up to .040 in some cases. The aluminum 5.3 is basically an LS1 block with a thicker sleeve. It can be overbored to an LS1 bore which is more forgiving than an LS1 block which can only be overbored .010 or so).

 

$2K is going to be a tough one to reach. I am keeping my transmission and I am slated to be at $2K. Even doing my own work. Once you get into the little items you will bust that budget. If you stuck with a stock build you could hit the $2K number, then later down the road upgrade the cam and heads. The one thing I would upgrade first, as Shifty pointed out, are the rod bolts. Everything else can hold up. Here is a quick breakdown on my build.

2002 5.3 - $250
LS1 intake (rails, injectors, throttle body, etc) - $150
Truck accessories (07 water pump, power steering pump, alt., etc.) - $300
Harness - $50
Stuff to make harness right - $50
Computer - $30
Setback plates - $30
Manifolds - free
Y pipe - $100
Cold Air Intake - $100
MAF - $30
Fuel pump - $100
Fuel lines (lines, fittings, filter) - $150
Coils - $40
ARP rod bolts - $75
F-body pan (pump, pickup, etc.) - $200

That is $1,700 and I haven't even touched the really little stuff, sensors, bolts, etc. or the transmission or shipping. I am just trying to give you some realistic expectations, nothing else.

 

after seeing so many lists of parts for cost purposes and building my own LSx swap car, my advice on a future swapper would be to get a donor car thats been hit in the side. Cheaper, 80% of parts included and quite some kickback from the un-used 4th gen parts like seats, interior pieces, wheels if you dont want them etc. My LSx part of my build (i rebuilt almost the entire car) cost me around 5K. I got nickle and dimed to death near the end with nuts, bolts, sensors etc. The only main difference in my swap which added a hefty $2K to the cost was the MN12 6 speed from the GTO. My .02. Good luck.

 

Check this out, this is my FS thread for the car, inside is a link to another board with 90% of the swap/resto. Give you an idea of parts needed and some cost ideas...

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/fire...ird-5-3-a.html

 

Capone.. didn't know that about the different years and how the heads differ from one another ill try and look for those heads instead. And I never noticed or took into consideration why they always went with the iron blocks does make sense and actually know now lol

Drkhrse... I know 2k is gonna be tough but I didn't know about those rod bolts so I got to put that on my list too. But as far as the engine goes I can get the complete engine for 220 that includes the accessory drive components and the sensors on the engine it self, and also the coils and maybe the pan not sure yet tho.

Formula killer.... I never thought to get a whole donor car I'm thinking maybe an auction that happens once a week over here I could go and start keeping my eye out for that. Now my question for that is would it be reasonable to go either way? Such as looking for a 5.3l truck or looking into an fbody car. If so which model should I look out for that would be most helpful do you think?

Thanx all for the info so really helping a lot, I'm still aware it could go over 2k though I'm just trying to do what I can at the cheapest lol just a little off topic but with a stock 5.3 does anyone know what they actually put down to the wheel? Lol

 

Not sure if you missed it or not, but you will not be able to use the truck intake. You have to use the LS1 intake, the truck one is too tall. That means the injectors and fuel rails are going to need to be changed as well. The truck throttle body will work, as long as it is a DBC and not DBW, as well as the truck coils. Also the oil pan from the truck hangs too low, you need an f-body one. So your $220 complete motor is now a $500-$600 one.

 

those pars are all over so don't spend big money on them, wait for deals and watch craigslist/ebay. i'm looking for the same stuff so if i see some extras i'll give ya a heads up.

 

If you decide to piece together LS1 parts to swap onto the engine id suggest adding these sites as favorites and dedicate a couple hours per day to finding what you need:

car-part.com

search tempest (CL search engine, use paypal for all transactions to avoid scams/shady people)

LS1tech.com part classifieds

Theres no reason to pay a ton of money for LS1 stock engine parts, especially over on LS1 tech, the guys over there are always upgrading intakes, TB's etc and sell off their stock parts dirt cheap, just be picky and when a deal comes up, jump on it. example? i got a set of LS1 injectors for $28 shipped on the tech. on Search tempest i got an LS1 stock oil pan w/ pick up for $75 shipped that was in Florida (he was only asking $25 bucks but i offered 50 more for the trouble). Gotta be patient.

 

I knew the truck intake wouldn't work that's why I'm looking for the ls6 intake. I was aware the of the oil pan as well. I didn't know the fuel rails and injectors weren't interchangeable, why is that? Also why wouldn't I be able to use the truck coils? I have seen threads on here where the truck coils were used. I found a guy on Craigslist that has a bunch of ls6 parts. How much should the intake injectors and heads be? I messaged him and he has all kinds of stuff left over because he did a whole new build.

 

Ok honestly dude, you need to research more about this entire swap. You don't even have the basic fundamentals down, and with your 'set' budget of 2k you sure as hell better know what is going to work and what isn't.

You best bet is to have 4-5k saved up, and then attempt the swap for 2k. We're trying to save you the hassle of stepping in the "quicksand" of this swap, only to wind up with a bunch of parts, an empty bank account, and an incomplete project.

 

Agreed, if you want to keep it in a 2K budget, LS6 shouldnt even be part of your swaps vocabulary. Cheapo budget right here, stock high mileage 5.3 LM7, change out pan, keep top end stock truck and run no hood, do your own wiring, use SBC set backs w/no A/C, re-use all 3rd gen cooling parts including fan, hi mileage 4l60 auto tranny, re-work the x member yourself, run a stock tuned ecm. Thats the cheapest i can think of, off the top of my head. No hood = retain all stock parts except the pan.

Edit: orrrr, the real shady tree solution to hood clearance??? throw the hood on w/truck intake, trace intake contact area, cut the square out, find a suitable cowl piece to cover hole and attach over new hole. lol

 

You can use the truck coils.

I think 88FormulaKiller hit the nail on the head in the post above. But if you really want a different intake than the truck intake, I think you should stick with an LS1 intake since the LS6 intakes are usually quite a bit more expensive. Maybe you could find a complete one with the injectors, rails & TB for a good price if you look around. Seems to me that you are going to have a tough time doing this swap with that small of a budget, but I guess anything is possible. Good luck.

 

I echo Dprest68's advice.

Another option would be to use an LS2 intake. They are the exact same as an LS6 but are not desireable due to some welding seems in the ports (that the LS6 doesn't have). However, a few minutes with a sanding wheel gets rid of that. You also get a 90MM 4bolt TB opening.

 

If Someone Who's Done An LM7 Swap Doesn't Mind Can They Make A List Of Every Single Thing An LM7 Swap Requires For A 3rd Gen? Every List I've Seen Has A Couple Different Things Than Others So Can Somone PLEASE Specify Every Piece Needed?

 

seriously? i spent countless hours compiling a list in an excel spreadsheet and researching with price comparisons and what was needed. There is no such thing as a complete list and i think its laziness for someone to ask for that.

 

Lol... Im thinking of doing the 5.3 swAp also... Allready have the engine... Question is.. It has 90k miles... Planing on runing with turbo.. Should i rebuild it or replace something in particuler? I read conection rods? Or something

 

Nice... Dig up an old thread and then try to change the subject lol.