So I am attempting to go in blind rebuilding a 5.3 lm7 motor and I will be monitoring my progress on here as to a guide to others attempting the swap. Tell me if you all are interested the rebuild will probably begin the end of may or as soon as I can find a usable block.

 

Is any one interested in my project... think it will be possible?

 

Sure, post what's going on.

Are you having a particular problem finding a block to rebuild? Perhaps finding an engine that actually needs to be rebuilt???

 

I sure will man!!! To be honest though I haven't really looked that much yet. I was hoping to find a good block for around 500 dollars. Let me know if this is realistic?

 

For that price you can find a good running 5.3 that doesn't need a rebuild!

 

A couple of years ago my son picked up a running with warranty 5.3 longblock plus manifolds/injectors/TB/starter for $325. He ended up bartering it when the vehicle he was going to put it into got totaled, and he found one with the swap already done. The 5.3 went to a tuner who did some additional tuning for his swap purchase, and the tuner did a cam/turbo treatment to the 5.3 - never went past the cam before putting the boost to it.

So, yes, you shouldn't have any trouble finding a 5.3 that doesn't need a rebuild for $500.

 

Alright thanks for the info man!!! My plan right now my rough plan is to put a cam in it and fabricate some kind of turbo and run around 5 psi. I want this to last because I plan to daily drive it what kind of upgrades should I plan for the engine to make it reliable

 

So kinda bummed out... I went to a junkyard around where I live and the guy told me he wanted 700 dollars for an engine with 185 thousand miles on it. I thought he was crazy until I went to another one who told me 800 dollars for just the block no intake or accessories!!!! needless to say I walked..no ran... noout of there!!!

 

eBay, craigslist, racingjunk - they are plentiful, and you don't have to pay $700 for one.

The one my son got had 125k on it.

 

Check car-part.com it is an online junkyard search. You should be able to find one cheaper than that!

 

well I did check car-part but I did not find much I think I will just keep looking on craigslist or just buy one on ebay.

 

Could also look for a wrecked truck, then you would have most everything you'd need.

This lists the different variations and the vehicles they came in. Good to know anyways if you're in the market.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GM_Vortec_engine

Get one that doesn't need to be rebuilt, you'll be farther ahead and can concentrate on the swap.
FWIW, I've found that the junk yards don't always have what they say they have, so flat out calling places listed on car-part might scare up an engine, or possibly something that just came in that they haven't listed yet.

 

Found my LM7 on craigslist as a long block with no accessories for 500 bucks. Only 87,000 on it too.

 

God damn those are some high prices! I got my old 110k mile 6.0L complete intake to pan with wiring for $500 from a yard in detroit! That was before junkyards caught on. I recently paid $500 in canada for my complete 4.8L with around 100k miles. Accessories, pcm, harness and truck harness/panel.

Jay

 

I am pretty sure they know how in demand they are. The thing I hate is how they just rattle off a price seemingly of the top of their head.

 

So I have a big update... I picked the motor up on Friday. Looked like crap but I was pleasently surprised when I pulled off the valve cover... I will let the pictures speak for themeselvves though

 

here they are

 

Thanks man!!! I used your advice and found on for $655 dollars with everything but the alternator and it was only 50 miles away

 

clean as a whistle!!!! and only 122 thousand miles

 

Good for you man! Looks like a nice starting point for a project that you can really get your feet wet on. Just promise me you will clean all that up before it goes back on the engine haha.

Good luck with the build and keep posting some pictures so we can follow along.

 

Best cleanup Ive found:

Duct tape the openings with a rag stuffed inside
Hose it down with foaming degreaser until its a big puffy cloud
Wait an hour or two
Pressure wash it on the highest setting until it looks brand new

Brake cleaner and a wire brush works too, but slower

 

Well that is exactly what I did thanks Man!!! Worked Great.
SO I have ordered the intake manifold because I am waiting on it before I paint the engine. I have deided I am going to modify the stock fuel rails to work with my intake and I am going to mock up a new alternator bracket that sits it lower. My friend has a good t5 that he will let me have so I am going to put it behind the 5.3l. I also am going to be making my own emblems for my car and the throttle body using a 3d printer at my college. Let me know of anything I should do before dropping this baby in

 

Ok so here is the cost so far of my swap keep in mind this is a budget swap.

Engine & harness-$450
Sensors and accessories-$200
Ls1 intake Manifold-$100
Intake manifold bolts and gaskets-$50
Turnbuckle (alternator bracket fab)-$7
Filter and tubing-$35

So far I am in $842 not bad

 

Things I still need

Headers-?
Cam (maybe)-about $400
Computer Flash-$85
Gauges-$40
Clutch-$350
Fuel Pump-$80
Fuel, Vac, and Coolant lines-$100


might have missed a few things

 

Well guys I have a huge update So far the motor is ready to go in I ended up buying a 95 camaro to use the t56 out of it but I ended up wrecking my 92 camaro!!! So new plan i'm putting together the 4th gen!!! I guess thats how life is but i'm going to use this opportunity to test the 5.3l and t56 combo and see if I like it. So until I can find a nice 92 z28 I'm going over to the Dark side guys also thinking about getting a e36 but thats another story.

 

Also I decided to go the route of modifying the stock harness and it is definitely not as hard as it looks just followed the guide on lt1swap.com also got my computer flashed with them definitely great guys. I will get some pics of the harness after I get it wrapped. And yes that is the same motor

 

Ok so in regards to the motor I ended up leaving it stock just to see what the power is like. I ended up pressure washing it while using some foaming degreaser . I am also using all the stock sensors (except for the o2's) and I only replaced one ignition coil that is prob still good but got cracked when they pulled it. I used the car intake with the truck accessories. Its definitely not that hard to get it to work basically what I did was used a reciprocating saw on the alternator bracket and mounted the 92 305 tbi alternator directly to the head by making my own brackets out of some 1/4 steel I had laying around. I just used some cardboard to mock it up only took me like three hours to get it where I wanted it to be it may not be the prettiest but it sure as heck works( I will get some pics posted up. I am also using the truck water pump just used a rubber mallet to bend the water neck out of the way being careful not to dent the opening. More updates coming soon will hopefully matching the 95 t56 to the 5.3l next week!

 

Update coming soon!!

 

I am in a similar boat as you. I got a 5.3 from 2003 with 120xxx on the clock which looked like it was burning oil. Correction was burning oil. So I took it down to a short block and I have replaced as follows:

Ls1 can
Ls7 lifters
Ls2 timing set
Mehle gasket set
Rockauto reman heads
Arp head bolts and that's it for now

 

Wow that is awesome have you thought about throwing a cam in it to see how much power you can get it?

 

lol, I wrote ls1 can, I meant ls1 cam

That and the timing chain is the only thing that is performance oriented. Heads are reman, and lifters are new and the oil pump too, because, well why not, as Pocket put it its cheap insurance. I simply cleaned up the gasket surfaces and took the black layer off the tops of the pistons because I did not want it to flake off and score the walls.
Other than that, LS1-F accessories and oil pan stuff and intake. After wards all new plugs and sensors and in the car it goes. I have about 3800 in and I still need to do finish the fuel system, exhaust and do the tranny. A little here and a little there and it adds up quick