1ADan

iTrader: (4)

I see this come up a lot, so I wanted to post what I've run into. I purchased a complete 5.3L for a song and dance, but there are other things you need to get a truck motor into these cars without having to hack and cut and modify everything in your way. Since I'm taking my time, I've been able to sit and wait for deals. Here's what I've had to get thus far

accessories: ebay's got the brackets, tensioners, bolts, and balancer kit for around $400. I grabbed mine off LS1tech (your new best friend) for $250.
-alternator. new you're figuring $150-200, used is a crap shoot, but can be as little as $50
-water pump. again, new's around $150 for a mechanical, low mile used seem to be in the $50-80 range
-PS pump. haven't looked for mine yet, can't give a good price

oil pan: spare yourself the headache; get an fbody pan. normally around $300 for everything you need. These things seem to be worth their weight in gold cause they are the go-to pan for just about all the swaps out there. I got reallllly lucky and purchased one for just under $200.

intake: without having a silly-big cowl hood, you're gonna want to ditch the truck intake. you will also need the correct size injectors and fuel rails for your intake. the truck TB can be used, but you have to rotate the lines below it. LS1 intake/tb/injector setups seems to go for under $100, LS6 (a nice upgrade) will put you back at least $300. Bear in mind, you'll need to modify the coolant tube setup (or intake bottom) if you go with the LS6 intake.

manifolds: truck ones wont fit without a trusty BFH modification. $50-100 for a set of used f-body ones are your budget route. 00+ are the best flowing design. you will need to get a custom y-pipe made for you. Depending on which ones you use, you may have to get/make block off plates for emissions stuff if you're not using EGR/AIR. Headers are nice, but cost more than i paid for everything else I've bought thus far. and you still have to get custom with how it connects to your cat/cat-back.

harness ecu: can be reused if you know how to repin. ecu can also be reprogrammed. lt1swap is great source for wiring fun.


Some have said grab a complete and "true" ls1 if you can for under $2000. I won't deny they're probably right if you're in a rush. If you've got time to kill and a keen eye for craigslist, ebay, and ls1tech, you can get a killer deal going. I'm still under $1k for everything so far on my budget swap and should be pretty close to everything I need to get the motor in the car. we're not going to talk about the rest of the fuel system yet though; that's another day for me (that's what I get for owning a car that was originally carbed....

Pocket

iTrader: (24)

For the PS, grab one from just about any 90s GM FWD car. GM reused the CS pump quite often. The reservoir is the tricky part

My 5.3 assembly is around $1600 so far. Not terrible, but not worth the 9 months Ive spent piecing it together

Ebaying used fittings can net the whole fuel system for under $100. The downside is waiting for availability and trying to decipher sellers who have no idea why you would want to know the fitting sizes/type

You left out the transmission side. When i first decided on a LSx swap instead of a general overhaul on my current engine, 4L60Es were still around $150. Now you have a hard time finding mid-high mileage units for $500. T56's are generally as much if not more than the cost of the engine . Im not so surprised to see old LTx 4L60E, 700R4, 200R4's used behind the newer engines. Anything else is just outrageously expensive for being stock, millions made stuff

If you asked me today if id go for a LS1/4L60E combo for $2000, or LS1/T56 for $2500, Id say absolutely

ShMaCk2004

Damn i was lucky as ****

dynodanmanda79

iTrader: (1)

I totally agree with this, if I had to do it all over again I probably would've just bought an LS1/T56 complete combo. I have found that it is VERY time consuming trying to piece my 5.3 together with the LS1 intake, injectors, throttle body, front accessories, etc.

1ADan

iTrader: (4)

I think everyone's seeing that time can be a killer if you want to save money; since my car's been sitting in my driveway unusable since I got it last summer and its the toy car (non-DD), I've got nothing but time. However, the wallet is always a bit lighter than I'd like...

I did leave out the trans part, only because I think all the issues you run into with the truck engines (cept for the crank length issue) are the same that you'd run into with the LS1/6 blocks. I'm up in the air with what I want to do right now, as I've got a supposedly low mile 4L60E sitting around (minus TC), but don't want to dump a ton of cash into. May do something stupid and go with a th350 , but time will tell....

dynodanmanda79

iTrader: (1)

My car is taking up space in my mom and dad's garage.... lol that why I wanted to get mine done a little faster. I live in an apartment complex so there's no way I could work on it here. Hoping to buy my first house this year, but we'll see. I'm sure I did save a little money going with the 5.3 tho, maybe later on down the road i'll get a 6.0 shortblock and just throw the heads from 5.3 on the 6.0.

BlueZee28

iTrader: (30)

My findings were:


-LS1 intake $40 (sold it to get an LS6 though)
-LS6 intake with injectors and fuel rails $300
-complete fbody accessory drive $250
-Fbody oil pan with windage tray and pickup tube $130


Total cost of using Fbody parts - $680 after I sold the other intake.

Pocket

iTrader: (24)

You're not counting the killer small parts there

Your crank reluctor ring change for the compatible crank flange, the misc bolts, motor mounts (trucks wont have the right ones), misc belts filters and hardware

BlueZee28

iTrader: (30)

True, I was in a hurry to go to work this afternoon

-LS2 crankshaft (just because I wanted to use a T56 and my block was a '99/'00) $100 ....then had the reluctor ring from my stock crank switched over

-motor mounts $30 (I think that's what I paid for them)

-serpentine belt $? it's around $20 or so at AutoZone, can't remember

-Wix oil filter is something like $6




Really most of the bolts from the truck block will work with Fbody parts. I think the only bolts I remember not working were the intake manifold bolts, which I don't suggest buying brand new because a set of them is like $75 from the dealer, try to get them at a salvage yard or on LS1tech.com...and I wouldn't count my harmonic balancer as a necessary cost because I went with a 25% underdrive aftermarket piece, which you should be able to find a regular stock Fbody one for around $20 from LS1tech