I hope this is an okay post for me to make. if not the mods can go ahead and delete

I've been following different facebooks groups, talking to people, watching yt videos etc, trying to learn everything I can about doing LS swaps and engine swaps in general.
It's all a bit much for my brain. so I was hoping the collective knowledge of the forum could help.
currently the swap is a future hope, as I am only 21 and more interested in buying a house than having V8 fun
my car is currently a 1989 RS 2.8 v6 with a 5 speed manual, and a drum brake rearend 51k miles, I this about 4k of which are mine, rest was the original owner
it has cruise control, and power locks, and AC. no other options
this is a very base model RS
I bought it because other than having a v6, it was a very nice well kept car.
the plan was and has been going well, to (not winter) daily this car.
she has been doing phenomenal at this. and I have window shopped FB market, and never found another car that matched this one in miles and quality, price, but had a V8. so still no regrets
but, it is a V6
I know things can be done to get power out of these, but I don't want that, I want V8 power. and I've been more so leaning to LS1 because by the time I can get around to doing a swap, the 350s that belonged to third gens will be even harder to get
so some day, when the time and my money is right I would like to, over winter while she's stowed away, swap in the V8 /T56 / maybe even 4th gen plastic tank?
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this was a lengthy opening statement, so if you don't care, please start reading here
what I am asking of you smart and seasoned members of this forum, is to help me create a to do / shopping list to make this swap happen.
some of this may be picky, but I prefer to get it all correct the first time, then enjoy my life with her as long as we both shall live
If its down to a level of basic functionality, then I will totally accept "just do *this* its easier". but for some things that just wont do and I will spend time and money making it the way I'm dreaming of
so, the wishlist is
- LS V8 (from my understanding a dropout from a 4th gen f body is the easiest)
I really don't care too much what LS it is, but I understand the LS1 fits most naturally, I don't really care to make more than the LSs stock power, and if I do I can do that later
- T56 6 speed
really whatever bolts up to the LS thats going to end up in here, and fits into the shifter hole the car has.
I want the shifter on the inside to look the it does stock, not being taller or shorter or at some weird angle. although I might get one of those decals or whole plastic pieces that makes the H pattern diag be correct
-4th gen tank
this one isn't critical, but my understanding is the stock 3rd gen pump can't make the correct fuel pressure (I did once think a regulator could convert it up, but, do tell me if thats dumb and not how physics works)
if I need a 4th gen pump, I might as well get a tank too, since you do get slightly more volume, and it ages better
I do not have the heart to cut a fuel pump door into this car, I just can't do that. I was raised to respect cars better than that. (that sounds like im insulting people who do it but I swear im not is just will not fly when its my car we're talking about)
the stock gauge must work, so I have to do the mod for the sending unit
-All stock gauges must be made to work
this is one I will not budge on. I don't want any aftermarket nothing. stock only for me. I do have to look at this a lot after all
I will happily spend the money that makes the mechanical speedo work
I will need to be told how to make a 89 v6 tach read a LS properly, haven't picked up on anything on that front yet. my brain is still learning this world
oil pressure
temp
fuel level as mentioned a minute ago
volt meter
-AC
my car currently has AC, though it doesn't work, may be because of a lack of refridgerant, idk. but its obviously the lovely and definetly not harmful original stuff from the 80s so I'd have to get it recharged or modded to whatever they mod this stuff to to make it less deadly ( I think its currently R-12 or something but I can't be bothered to google that)
anyhoo, yea I want AC and heat and all of that to work, again, using the stock interface of my 89
-K Member?
I have nothing against using tubular only issue is the price. so if I can be guaranteed to have oil pan clearance with whatever engine I get and motor mounts, I can trust my father to do the notch weld
My understanding is that the wrong combo of engine, engine mounts, and pan can cause fitment issues on the stock K member. so in the better interest of my wallet, I think it'd be best to get a mount/pan combo that clears the k member and won't
rattle into it or something.
-Cruise Control
I can give or take this one tbh, at least at first. I do have it now, and it totally works. but that can (probably?) come later. I'll just keep the parts for it after removing the v6
-fluid containers
I've seen some people get really creative with using diffent tanks and putting them in creative places, but I'd like to just run through (I guess mostly the coolant tank) the stock ones. if they can stay put, I'd like that. makes it look more like it was built that way
-air intake
I kind of dig the look of the stock intake, with the two square filters. I'd like to keep that, and since I am not planning on making any more power with this LS than it makes in its original state (what is it like 300hp something? thats good enough for my dumbass)
if its just not feasible and will cause the LS to make less power than it did when it lived in a 4th gen f body, I will concede and do that thing with the 90ish degree bend out to a cone filter thing (that sentence should give you an idea of who you're talking to)

this is my list of hopes and dreams and what I am asking of this forums members is to tell me what is all needed to get from here to there. what is needed to built that bridge
things I do know about, but not in good detail
-current radiator is useless, need a different one. idk if I'll need a LS one, or a 3rd gen V8 one
-headers | I know of those speed engineering headers that are designed for the LS into 3rd gen swap, so I'm probably going for those
-will need a special trans cross member
-will need different springs to hold the newfound weight (I want the space between the top of the fender and the wheel to be the same before and after)
-I might need a different drive shaft, I know that depends on motor mounts and the engine/trans combo. I'd like to use the stock one, to save money.
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I do not believe in needing bigger brakes for a bigger engine, "you gotta have bigger brakes"
I KNOW the stock brakes aren't going to stop me on a dime, but if I just drive like a sane person and just manage my braking distance properly
only thing I'm really at interested in is 3rd gen rear discs with LSD (MAYBE 4th gen rearend but I'd want the tire to sit in its original position so however that has to happen)
I think brakes are something that can easily but done later down the line as long I drive sane and don't crash the damn car
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I'm sorry this is a long read but every time I hear about a new little thing that has to be done to make it work, it makes my head spin.
I'm hoping this will give me a clear path to follow. and maybe I can slowing collect the needed parts
I'm hoping this will tell me what I need to know, like, I understand the big picture is "you need a motor and a trans" but its all those other small things that I don't know of

Thank you so much to any and all who read all of this and are willing to give me knowledge.
I want to give this car the V8 it craves, but with my current knowledge it will never happen.
If you can give part numbers and or vendors, that'd be an even bigger help. (like, telling me "get motor mounts PART#1234 from hawks", stuff like that so I can and it to the "cart")
broad answers are what overwhelm me. like saying, oh you need a radiator. well okay WHAT radiator, ya know?
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I do need to reiterate one last time that I am not in a position in my life that I can do this swap right now, I just want to be ready for when the time comes
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thanks again, tell yer folks I says hi
-Ethan
Wisconsin

 

Welcome aboard. Well you are off in the right direction in knowing the areas that will need to be addressed for your car. It will be really hard to answer all your questions without being too vague. However, you've come to the right place. Take a look at the stickies at the top of the forum and start reading. Since you have the time, reading up on the specifics of a swap will help you hone in on more detailed questions and general understanding. There are write ups that walk you through your options for each of the areas you defined. There are also multiple ways to accomplish the same task. Start putting a budget together for when the time comes. LS swaps/builds range all over the place from as cheap as $1500, all the way to $100k. Read through these threads.

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/ltx-...third-gen.html

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/ltx-...update-ls.html

Don't forget to have a plan to address the non motor areas of the car that will be needed to support a new motor. Namely, brakes (You need different brakes), exhaust, suspension/chassis upgrades/repairs, wiring, etc etc. Make sure all the broken or worn out stuff is fixed as well. It may feel fine now, but when you add 4x the power of that V6 any weak spot will be exposed.

 

I began with a base model '89 V6. Quite a few of your questions are answered in my build thread,
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/ltx-...-qwktrips.html

Please keep the discussion here... it is still my build thread and I'd like to keep it that way

 

QwkTrip's build thread is a GOLDMINE of information, definitely read it.

I also started with a V6 Bird, but I went with a lower budget than him. Like QwkTrip said, ask questions here.
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/ltx-...p-factory.html