I have beein toying with the idea of doing a relatively cheap project. I think I would like to start with a v6 cause their cheaper and in better condition a lot of the time. I would like to make everything work with the existing gauges if possible. I love the 3rd gens appearance and the handlingis good but as we know they were lacking in performance. I would like to swap in a 5.3 because they are plentiful and seem to make good power I thought perhaps a cam swap and tune because the heads flow well already. What do you think? also I would like to get the transmission that came with the motor as well. I will probably need a read end as well. Any input would be appreciated.

 

No more work to swap from v6 to ls than v8 to ls. All the same steps and principles apply.

 

The only difference is the v6 engine mounts. No biggie. Maybe finding a rolling body would be the way to go man.

 

I guess I dont know about that part would I have to have 3rd gen v8 mounts welded in I mean thats doesnt sound so bad. Or do I have to get new motor mounts no matter even if the car was a v8. As far as finding a rolling body probably be a lot easier to find a good condition v6 and I think most of the car would be there. If someone has taken the engine and trans they probably have take more I would think at least in my area.

 

You need to do plenty of research here. I use the V8 stock pads with polly inserts or solid mounts. Others use a LS swap pad and mount. Depends on if you want AC or what works for your application and needs.

 

i swapped a 305 into a V6 car with minimal effort- it's just a matter of swapping the mounts..
and since a swap to an LS engine wouldn't use any factory V8 parts, you wouldn't be in for any more work to swap from a V6 to an LS than an old school 305 or 350, so i'd start out with whatever car you can get the cheapest.

 

If I were to do it again I would have found a Pretty v6 car to start with. I started with an ugly V8. Get a 91 or 92 if you want all the factory gauges to work.

 

The engine mounts are bolted in, not welded in.

Technically, you can use both sides of the V8 mounts (engine and K-member) with adapter plates on the LS engine side. Did that for one of my swaps.

If you're starting with a V6 car and a truck engine (the plentiful 5.3's come out of trucks), you'll need the swap mounts that bolt on the K-member, and the LS1 f-body mounts that bolt to the engine.

You've got a lot of studying ahead of you. Start by reading the LS1 swap sticky in the top section of this forum. Pay particular attention to the link within it that discusses starting with a truck engine. You may find that by the time you buy all the stuff that has to be changed on the truck engine, you could have gotten an f-body LS1 engine and tranny drop-out and saved yourself a bunch of hassle.

 

five7kid I do have so studying to do. I think I would have to find a pretty good deal on a LS1 Imjust looking at junkyards in my area they're very plentiful. One thing that would be a definite advantage to finding one would be that I hopefully would have to find the intake and all its stuff plus the accessories which seem to be a big cost. Thanks to everyones input so far.

Although one question also what kind of rearend should I be looking to get if Im correct other than posi the v8 and v6s both have the ten bolt rear which seems isnt that strong. I could probably baby it for awhile though what do you guys think.

 

Thats exactly what I'm doing right now. I started with a V6 car because thats what I had sitting here. Everything has been straight forward so far, however I will say if you fix and upgrade things along the way nothing about it is cheap.

Also, you wont be able to use the V6 trans. The 2.8/3.1/3.4 are 60 degree engines and have a different bellhousing.

 

Yeah that I knew I figured I would try to get a 4l60e to start although of course a T56 would be ideal. If I did get t56 and found a v6 with a clutch I could still use the pedal and stuff I believe gotta look that up probably not the hydraulic booster though.

 

Where in WV are you at? Clarksburg here, and I know what you mean about cars being picked clean. Ten years ago 3rd gens polluted the scrap yards. Now they are pretty hard to find with anything worthwhile on them.

 

Beckley southern wv. Yeah you used to see em a lot you dont really see 4th gens that much either. Not to many good junkyards anymore either theres a pretty decent one near me but the guys pretty hard to deal seems like a real richard.

 

With an auto trans, they are reasonably strong if beefed up a little. V6 and V8 rear end strength are the same. I put 28-spline aftermarket rear axles, aftermarket posi, aluminum support cover in mine, welded the axle tubes all around to the center section, and it's doing fine. Runs high-12's regularly here, has run low-12's and high-11's at sea level, and is daily driven. No issues so far.

If you go with a T56, a 10-bolt is okay if you beef it up as above and don't do high-RPM clutch dumps with sticky tires. If you want to do high-RPM clutch dumps with sticky tires, then I'd recommend getting an S60 from Strange Engineering. A 9" from one of several sources is probably also okay with a stock 5.3.

 

Nah I wasnt planning on doing any clutch dumps with it really just going for a low buck cruiser. Might spin the tires a little bit though.

 

I just finished upgrading my rear a little bit for my hot cammed 5.3/4l60. I went budget and got 28 spline axle's for a 90/92 rear, then found a torsen differential online from an 02. I also added a support cover. I think for mild power, auto trans and street tires it should do ok. Also put the ls1 brakes on it. Remember what I said about not being cheap, lol.