5.3 or 6.0 in an 80 Regal

[80Abody]

Hello all, new G-body (or A-body if you will) owner here as I recently purchased a 1980 Regal with the 4.9L and I couldn't pass up the deal. I plan on eventually swapping a carb'd 5.3 or 6.0 and was wanting to know if there were any issues as far as where the motor mounts are on the car or if this would work?http://www.brphotrods.com/products/78-87 G body products/index.html
I don't have a welder nor do I know how to, just getting a feel for what I'm getting myself into. Thanks for any info.

 

[81Regal]

Welcome! Nice Regal. I see you are missing the front bumper fillers. I have a pair in the same color as your car that I pulled a few years ago.

 

[Garrett1982]

No issues, plenty of companies make bolt-in motor mounts and crossmembers for whatever you end up buying. There are direct fit headers from hooker and heddman. Alot of options for carb intakes for ls engines also.

 

[80Abody]

Thanks for the replies, glad there's an abundance of potential budget builds for these cars. I plan on keeping the look the way it is for now since it's only going to be a weekend drag car, at least that's the plan for now. Being in TX we almost have year round drag racing.

 

[Garrett1982]

Thanks for the replies, glad there's an abundance of potential budget builds for these cars. I plan on keeping the look the way it is for now since it's only going to be a weekend drag car, at least that's the plan for now. Being in TX we almost have year round drag racing.

Good luck with the build. There are plenty of parts out there for g-body specific drag cars. These cars are pretty well rounded with a decent amount of aftermarket support and a relatively low initial purchase price on most of the cars. There are quite a few builds on this forum you can follow that are drag oriented like mine and are also doing an LS swap.

 

[455'ed80Regal]

I'd start with a 6.0L if I was doing an LS swap. They run exceptionally well with nothing more than a cam swap.

 

[Garrett1982]

I'd start with a 6.0L if I was doing an LS swap. They run exceptionally well with nothing more than a cam swap.

All the LS engines run well with cam swaps. I think it was Car Craft that bought what they thought was a 5.3 but turned out to be a 4.8, put a cam in it and went low 11's in a 66 chevelle.

 

[Garrett1982]

All the LS engines run well with cam swaps. I think it was Car Craft that bought what they thought was a 5.3 but turned out to be a 4.8, put a cam in it and went low 11's in a 66 chevelle.

Found the article, it was a mild cam and a 150 shot on a 4.8. The chevelle weighed 3600 lbs and had 3.55 gears.

 

[L92 OLDS]

All the LS engines run well with cam swaps. I think it was Car Craft that bought what they thought was a 5.3 but turned out to be a 4.8, put a cam in it and went low 11's in a 66 chevelle.

True dat BUT unless your LS engine has VVT, adding that "big horsepower" cam will kill the low RPM power and you will need a huge stall torque converter and good rear gears. Most guys running non VVT 6.0 LS engines and install a big cam find that it requries a 3-4k stall or bigger. This problem becomes more obvious with the small cube LS engines. All run well but not all offer the same street driving experience. If you're used to the torque of an old school big block be prepared to be disappointed with the lack luster power of an LS down low.

 

[Garrett1982]

True dat BUT unless your LS engine has VVT, adding that "big horsepower" cam will kill the low RPM power and you will need a huge stall torque converter and good rear gears. Most guys running non VVT 6.0 LS engines and install a big cam find that it requries a 3-4k stall or bigger. This problem becomes more obvious with the small cube LS engines. All run well but not all offer the same street driving experience. If you're used to the torque of an old school big block be prepared to be disappointed with the lack luster power of an LS down low.

True. Mine has 4.10s in the rear and my recommended stall is 4800-5000. I came from imports so I'm used to having nothing below 2000rpm.