V8 Engine Swap Information (1 Viewer)

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Jul 18, 2019
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Location
SE Florida
Good morning!

before we get into it.. please understand I have searched high and low and cannot find a thread of parts list or the sort. If there is, I am truly sorry but I must have skipped it.

Now, into the question - lol..

Is there a parts list, a vendor list any specific write-up on wiring or diagram for a 5.3 Vortec (LQ9) engine or the 6.0 engine conversion and 4L60 or 4L80 transmission swap? Is there a benefit of going 4L60 or 4L80?

I am asking because I see more people doing swaps and hell to be honest I do not have that technical knowledge.

I just want to see all that is involved and my cost since I am truly considering the swap. I just know I might not undertake the task since it is beyond my skill level I think.

I live in southeast Florida if anyone wants to help.. Lol.
 
Sounds like your doing the work yourself, if so 3-5k$ in parts if your resourceful

no parts listing exists that I’m aware of.

lsswap.net pretty sure is what your looking for all the tech tips

wiring is not as bad as you think, buy a harness and hook the 4-6 wires up

motor mounts, trans adapters, fuel
 
Sounds like your doing the work yourself, if so 3-5k$ in parts if your resourceful

no parts listing exists that I’m aware of.

lsswap.net pretty sure is what your looking for all the tech tips

wiring is not as bad as you think, buy a harness and hook the 4-6 wires up

motor mounts, trans adapters, fuel
I would not mind doing the work myself if I had the knowledge but I don't.

Its my understanding the fuel pump matches the 5.3.

What about the headers? I have read that you need headers? Which ones are people using?

These are the questions I have.
 
So, the reason you're not finding a part list is that there isn't any one preferred way to do it, and there are a few problems to be solved which off-the-shelf parts simply don't exist for, so it's a question of custom fab work and personal taste for several key steps.

Long story short, though, since you want the chevy slushbox, which narrows your options down a lot, you mainly need to figure out:

1. Physically bolting the new engine in, so you're either buying and welding in a motor mount kit or otherwise putting in new ones.

2. New crossmember for the new transmission, and relocating the one for your transfer case (or making a new one). Last I checked, there isn't a kit that'll just solve this for you, for the specific engine/trans combo you're interested in, anyway.

3. Adapter between the new trans and old transfer case. Advanced Adapters has at least one for vortec/4l60 and 80 which will, at the very least, get the drivetrain to all bolt together.

4. Driveline mods. I don't know if it's possible to get your desired swap to fit with the stock t-case position, but I think you're probably stuck shortening one shaft and lengthening the other (well, paying a shop a few hundred to do it, unless you're already an expert and have the tools for it).

5. New exhaust. From what I understand, you can get manifolds/headers off the shelf, but everything from there back is going to have to be custom-fabbed for your setup. It might be that somebody has the jigs to do it from the last swap they fabbed exaust for, but nobody sells any of that off the shelf. You'll need O2 sensor ports and cats (or $$$ ECU mods to avoid needing them), but I don't think any hot rod exhaust shop would have trouble making you what you need.

6. Fuel system mods. You need new higher-pressure lines from the tank and a new high pressure pump (I haven't looked into what the best setup is, but there are some options).

7. Coolant system mods. You'll probably want a bigger radiator, and then you'll need new hoses to hook it all up. No kit or 'standard' solution to this; you'll have to figure it out.

8. Electrical mods. You probably want to just get the full vortec harness and cannibalize it to work with the 60's existing electrical system. You'll need to get 12 volts to all the right sensors, and probably just put in an aux fuse box under the hood for the new engine's various EFI circuits, and you'll need to adapt the mechanical speedo on the cruiser to work with the electronic signal from the transmission, too.

9. Pedal mods. I think most people just convert their existing gas pedal linkage to a cable style, for the vortec drive-by-wire system, but I think there's more than one way to solve this, too.

I'm sure there's even more, but that's just what I know from more or less convincing myself that it's a lot more complicated than just buying a junkyard engine, a welder, and a t-case adapter.
 
WOW! beyond my expectation.. Thank you GeologistFelix.

Great amount of knowledge and things to think about.
 
If I ever hit those 6 lucky numbers.. I'd have @orangefj45 at Valley Hybrid swap out my 1990 FJ62 for a new crate ERod LS3 6.2L .. since I have to deal with lovely California smog rules.
Right now it's all just fantasy, so I've never really researched the details.. but I ballpark figured it'd be about $25K budget, minimum, to do this swap the way I'd want it.

ps.. and of course, that'd be leaving all the wrenching to the pros (Georg) .. not some DIY hackjob that I'm not even capable of doing. :bang:
 
Mosely Motors is very well regarded and sells conversion parts

 
@cruisermatt has a shop in Orlando. He has done a LS swap or three
 
That’s who I’m in talks with to do the swap. But I just wanted to read or see videos on it..

Thanks.
Matt it good, have seen his work.

he can direct you from cheap cheap to over the top sema build quality.

he’s local and you can stop in and take a looky look at a swap, a lot of your answers can be answered just looking at a swap already

but like a lot have said, there’s no kit because no two swaps are the same.
 

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