quadabaum

Well, after years of going without a thirdgen (had to seel my first one in college due to funds) I have finally gotten another one. Its a diamond in the rough, needs a bit of work. Bought the car back in August 2016 and have been working on it on and off but the oil pan finally gave out and begun leaking like a sieve. So I decided to do what Ive always wished I could, swap in a LSX motor/trans. Yesterday I picked up a 4.8/4L60E from a 2006 truck, mileage unknown due to cab fire. Tore it down today, let me know what you think.

End goal is somewhere in the 300CHP range ( I believe I have a 285 horse). This will be a budget build using truck accessoires to save money. I know the hood clearance is an issue but I want to see what I can do. Ive been reading up a lot, I will be tracking all of the cost to see what the end result is.

So far:
Total: $2,300 In progress

Sold 5.0L/700R4: -$500
Sell 4.8 truck intake, throttle body, and fuel rail: $???
Sell 4.8 truck exhaust manifolds: $???

06 4.8/4L60E with computer and complete harness: $1,100
4th gen exhaust manifolds: $115
4th gen oil pan: $85
1" set back motor mount plates: $36
LS1 Intake, Fuel Rail, Injectors, and Throttle Body: $200
Spohn LSX Swap 4L60 Transmission Crossmember with Torque Arm relocation mount and Torque Arm: $335
LS1 oil pick up tube: $35
No Lift motorsportd harness rework, convert dbw to dbc, and ecu reprogram: $300
Knock sensor and gasket: $59
Valve cover gasket and oil cap: $17
Idler pulley relocation bracket: $18
MAF sensor: $???
Fuel Pump: $???
Corvette FPR: $??
Fuel lines/fittings: $???
Cold air intake: $???
Hood: $???
Exhaust work: $???

quadabaum

Does anyone have a recommended fuel pump for this application? I was looking to go external because the car is currently mechanical fuel pump with the carb so I dont have an in tank pump and I would like to avoid dropping the gas tank. I saw some people using the walbro 255 external pump with a corvette regulator/filter.

obeymybird

iTrader: (4)

Something like this could work not what i would buy but gives you a basic idea.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/LS-GM-LS1-LS...BXmQ0X&vxp=mtr

92BLKL98

Looks like a nice project car. Not too bad shape, I've seen some real turds on here turned very nice. The truck motor looks to be in good shape. Heads are clean. How are the bores?

quadabaum

Everything inside the motor looks good. I am sourcing parts right now. Namely the oil pan and exhaust manifolds so I can get moving. Also in contact with a guy to do the wiring harness. Punkmaster helped me source him.

quadabaum

More parts on order today. Big thanks to Punkmaster98 for helping me determine which motor mounts to use. Found a set of the 1" set back adpater plates so I can maintain the stock SBC mounts on the 5.3 ($36). I found a set of 4th gen manifolds ($115) and oil pan ($85) on facebook. Currently talking with Kenny at LS Wiring Harness Conversion for the standalone wiring harness work and PCM flash.

obeymybird

iTrader: (4)

Sounds like your off to a good start not sure why guys on here dont use the cheap set back plates more I got a set from ICT billet for my swap.

cypris09

iTrader: (1)

I used a walbro 255 and the Vette filter/regulator. Everything so far looks pretty much up to part with what mine cost. I used the cheap setback plates and no issues at all. The 4l60e crossmember from hawks worked good as well.
As far as wiring goes. I had pocket do mine. Not sure if he does them still as life finally caught up to me and iv been off the forums for a few and away from my car for even longer unfortunately. But if he still does them. They're great quality and straight up plug and play for our cars.

quadabaum

I dont know why more people dont use the mounts either, you get to keep the SBC mounts our cars were intended for, you get the engine/trans in stock location (adjustable), and they are less than half the price. Seems like a win win but we will have to see how the swap goes.

Ill have to message pocket, I couldnt tell you if he still is or not. Kenny Cash seems to have high quality as well and is reasonably priced. Seems to be a win win here also.

Oil pan and exhaust manifolds were delivered today. Have to order a new pick up tube and modify my windage tray to work with the 4th gen oil pan.

I am still looking at trans crossmembers Since I have a truck 4l60e, there is not a torque arm mount. So il\m going to mount the tq arm on the xmember but cant decide which is best for me. Looking like Hawks given exhaust clearance and comes with a tq arm for $100 over competitors which may not include tq arms. A beefier tq arm is always a plus.

quadabaum

Does anyone know if the BMR TH700/4L60 mount will work for a LS 4L60E? It says it was designed for the 93-97 4L60. not the 98-02 4L60 but I didnt know therer was a difference in how the two 4L60's mounted.

Party #TCC017 http://www.bmrsuspension.com/?page=p...413&superpro=0

Maybe a BMR rep will reply?

quadabaum

Well, went with Spohn since they have a specific crossmember for my 4L60 swap and the torque arm is mounted to the crossmember. With the torque arm included it was $335, lets hear it for Black Friday sells!

quadabaum

LS1 intake got delivered today. Also sold my 305/700R4 to a guy building a studebaker pick up. Looks like my swap cost went down today with that sell.

92BLKL98

If the cross member is the same as in the pics good luck with the exhaust system. That system in the pics is a custom set up with custom headers. Plus turndowns under the car you mean have to live with that on a daily driver. Talk about rattling your teeth. I also looked at his installation pics the X member hangs lower than the original X member for the SBC set up (I had one before the LS swap looks like he changed the design). Looks about 2 inches lower. As low as these cars are, we don't need to sacrifice any clearance on the street. Steve's parts are good stuff but most is built for the strip with street as a sideline. sorry but I don't think you will be happy with that design. Good luck.

quadabaum

I will let you know how it works out. My car will be a daily driver and may see some autox or drag strip type stuff. Mostly daily and cruise the US. My car already has custom true dual exhaust routed down the passenger side then behind the trans and over rear axle so I am not worried about exhaust clearance. I may lose some clearance on the crossmember but it certainly wont be the lowest point on the car. Once installed and I actually get to driving ill post some "reviews" on this thread. I will post some pictures once installed as well.

92BLKL98

I look forward to seeing it, I do like Steve's components, he makes some top of the line stuff. I see you are not using long tube headers like many on here do so that may help.

obeymybird

iTrader: (4)

I think the issue you will have cause i planned on running my exhaust from drivers side to passenger side like factory is that with the new motor there is no gap to run the cross over pipe so to make it work you would have to run it under the oil pan.

92BLKL98

Unless maybe you use the Holley 302-2 oil pan and a tubular K member the cross over may work. Good luck finding headers to fit plus you would also have to build your own custom head pipes no big deal if you are a decent welder. Isn't hot rodding fun?

quadabaum

Crossmember and torque arm showed up. Looks pretty beefy to me. Also got the ls1 intake and the engine mount adapter plates.

3rdgenlsx

Any updates?

Captainfernny

In for the updates aswell im doing my first LS Swap and im having issues trying to find what to do with my power steering and AC as i want to try and keep them. I was also wondering about the transmission mount.

cypris09

iTrader: (1)

I used this crossmember and I'm pretty happy with it.

http://www.hawksmotorsports.com/transmission-crossmember-84-92-camaro-firebird-hawks-4l60e-conversion-transmission-crossmember-4l60e-automatic/

As far as trans mount I think I used a 4l60e mount. Also I ended up using fbody accessories to include the power steering. The lines if I remember it right were for a 4th gen? But the stickies should tell ya on that. Hopefully that'll help you while we wait for some updates on this.

quadabaum

Sorry I havent updated this in a while. I am trying to figure out if I want to tackle the harness myself or not. I have been working 12 hour shifts since November so I havent worked on the swap in a while. I am about to start picking it back up though. My plan was to use the truck accessories, they have a idler pulley relocation mount that will help fit it under the hood. I am using the spohn transmission mount with the torque arm attached to the trans xmember so that I can use the truck transmission. I am using the stock transmission bushing. I will work on some more updates.

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

Somehow I missed seeing this thread when you started it. Have a few questions and observations.

About the BMR transmission cross member you linked: for the record, LT1 and LS1 4L60Es have different mount locations, so no, it won't work with an LS type 4L60E. The Hooker cross member will, though (and although more expensive than Spohn, it allows for easier exhaust routing).

The thread title says "2006 5.3/4L60E", but in your first post you said you picked up a 2006 4.8/4L60E. What am I missing? Are you getting a 3.62" stroke crank and 6.092" rods to make it into a 5.3? Don't see that listed.

If I recall correctly, a 2006 will be DBW throttle body. Are you going to mount it on your LS1 intake, or switch to cable TB?

The only successful use of truck accessories in a 3rd gen I've seen used a Ram Air aftermarket hood to clear the high mounted alternator. It'll be interesting to see if you can get it to work. Another typical problem is the truck water pump outlet interferes with the passenger intake TB, but that can be avoided by getting a later VVT pump with a front outlet.

quadabaum

Nice observations and thanks for the feedback. The tite said 5.3 because that what I was "Sold" but I later found out it was actually a 4.8. After being pretty upset I decided to stick with it so i changed the intro but no the title.

It is indeed DBW, I am undecided on that so far because I would have to buy a new harness and pcm since my pcm is not DBC convertible. So I am trying to figure out which route to take there.

I am not positve I can make the truck accessories work but I figured I would at least try before buying f body ones. Ive found a few threads with a few tricks that others have used to get the most out of the truck accessories.

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

Ah. Understand now. Again, missed this when you first posted. The title appears to be changed now.

And I see the "482" crank casting #. Yep, 4.8.

If you're not out for max power, the 4.8 will be fine.

I assume you didn't get the DBW pedal.

I haven't been too keen on the idea of DBW myself, but my donor engines have all by DBC, so I haven't had to fuss with it. Since then, we've gotten a '08 Grand Prix GXP that my wife drives (and I drive when we're going someplace together), and I've gotten more comfortable with it. Besides, my '95 6.5 turbo diesel Silverado was DBW, too (which I recently sold, and my '99 Silverado 5.3 that replaced it is DBC...).

In your situation, I'd probably stick with the DBW.

Keep us posted.

quadabaum

Yeah, I wanted more power than a 305TBI but I dont need to be racing new corvettes. I wanted something reliable with good power I could have fun with. I plan to cruise around more than race. Maybe turbo down the road if I am not satisfied.

I am trying to get in touch with chevy thunder right now. He seems to have the best value when it comes to buying a standalone harness and pcm together so I wont have to use the DBW. Its a nice stack of cash but I dont want the pedal/tac module to be what holds me up even longer since I will have to source both and hope it works with my set up. Seems a lot simpler to spend extra now for less headaches later but I will let you know which way I end up with.

I found a nice link on here for fuel components so I will be ordering that soon. Changing that fuel pump without an access door is a decent sized job so I figured I can go ahead and get that out of the way.

quadabaum

Started working on this again, looking to go DBC. Currently pricing having my harness modified to be a stand alone DBC (looking at ls1 wiring conversions on FB) vs the cost of a new DBC harness (looking at psi). Only other major system left to buy is fuel and I cant decide the best method there. Id like to keep my tank and use the corvette regulator but dont want all the pricey AN fittings. Working on this, suggestions welcome.

quadabaum

Made some progress, the LS1 intake is on. Had to slightly bend the LS1 fuel rail to work with the truck coil brackets. Also had to rotate the water pump inlet to work with the LS1 drive by cable throttle body. I bent the steam line and will run it to the throttle body or water pump so I can keep the truck steam lines. Once I figure out the fuel system I should be rolling smoothly.

quadabaum

Sent the wiring harness and ecu off today. No Lift Motorsports is doing the rework and programming. Looking forward to see their work. I updated the original post to reflect costs. They are converting my DBW harness to a DBC stand alone harness. They are also reprogramming the ECU to be DBC, delete VATs, set tire size, delete emissions/rear O2s, etc. All in I am around $300 for the work. I will post images of the product and review it once it gets shipped back to me.

quadabaum

Bought the LSX innovations idler pulley relocation bracket tonight, this will relocate the truck accessory idler pulley so that the LS1 intake/throttle body can be used with the truck accessories. I also have to remove the clutch fan assembly from the water pump and figure out which route to take for the alternator. My two options for the alternator are use the truck alternator and modify the hood or buy a power bulge formula hood, or I can install a smaller car alternator and it should clear the regular hood (maybe a little persuasion with a BFH).

quadabaum

Since my car was a 305 quadrajet I dont have the inline fuel filter underneath and my fuel lines come out on the passenger side. To accomodate this I put the fuel inlet on the LS1 intake on the passenger side and I will mount the corvette FPR/Filter in the engine bay and run high pressure fuel line from the FPR to the fuel rail. I will be installing a new fuel pump into the thirdgen gas tank.