Ls swap looking for pointers

[Gig]

My last engine swap was in 1966. Ha. I have received good advise from Jegs and Summit. I think this is a good website to ask questions

 

[Jimenez84SS]

Could you share a little about your performance goals, budget, and how important driveability is to you?

I have a 7 maybe 8 grand budget

 

[Jimenez84SS]

I have a 7 maybe 8 grand budget

It will mostly be driven on weekends and I want good performance

 

[melloelky]

I have a related question.....Who makes the best apple pie?

now you have my attention..

 

[Jimenez84SS]

What’s up Jimenez84SS! Let us know how you’re planning to build/drive your car. You can’t go wrong with either of the LS gen 3-4 motors. The Gen 5 requires some reprogramming cost, the newer transmissions will fit, but you have to do some cutting of your tunnel, aftermarket parts are more expensive too for these gen-5’s.
Which ever way you decide to go, I recommend doing research...A LOT of research on this. Make a binder with everything itemized and type out the pricing on everything. Stay organized so you don’t lose your mind.
As far as the motor/trans, find and buy a donor car or truck. You can find chevy Silverados in great running, currently registered Condition. This will make your swap a lot easier since you’ll have the things you’ll need for your swap to go smooth.
Also, if you live in California and want to pass smog, the BAR referee looks for everything stock that the donor motor came with for that specific year. Leave everything stock until you pass the referee smog inspection and after that, you can change out parts for CA CARB legal aftermarket parts (since you’ll still have to smog, but not at referee).
Forgot to ask: have you updated/upgraded your stock suspension and brakes yet? I highly recommend working and investing on this before swapping out the motor/trans. Plus, it’ll give the newer LS motors a chance to go down in price. 👍🏽🤓👍🏽

I have not upgraded suspension and brakes but will take care of it. I also wanted a stock engine that can perform without adding many performance parts and that didn’t give me lots of problems to where I have to cut pieces off my car. Thanx for the tips. I’ve had my Monte Carlo in garage for 6 years finally getting around to fixing it

 

[Jimenez84SS]

How are you ready if you don't have an engine?

Ready to throw money at it but not very much only around 7

 

[Eddie Cutlass]

Ready to throw money at it but not very much only around 7

I definitely recommend getting a donor truck or car. You’ll need a lot of the parts to make it all work properly. Plus, find a family vehicle or something that is daily driven.
But definitely get your suspension and brakes in order. That way you have a fresh canvas to paint that LS.

 

[Northernregal]

Find the most complete motor/trans combo you can afford. You want the harness, computer, trans, breaker/fuse box, trans, pedal.

Unless you are close to a really good pick a part, this will stop you from having to piece together a lot of the little unforeseen issues that will arise.

A 5.3 or 6.0 will make some really good power with just a cam and valve springs. Bone stock a 5.3 is double the HP as what the car came with from the factory.

Start doing research, look into tuning shops or start watching youtube videos on how to tune the computer. Even if you go aftermarket you will still need to understand how it works BEFORE you start. The learning curve is steep and most of the problems that can really kill an LS swaps fun factor are in tuning.

 

[Jimenez84SS]

Find the most complete motor/trans combo you can afford. You want the harness, computer, trans, breaker/fuse box, trans, pedal.

Unless you are close to a really good pick a part, this will stop you from having to piece together a lot of the little unforeseen issues that will arise.

A 5.3 or 6.0 will make some really good power with just a cam and valve springs. Bone stock a 5.3 is double the HP as what the car came with from the factory.

Start doing research, look into tuning shops or start watching youtube videos on how to tune the computer. Even if you go aftermarket you will still need to understand how it works BEFORE you start. The learning curve is steep and most of the problems that can really kill an LS swaps fun factor are in tuning.

I have ive been obsessing over this all weekend I’m leaning towards an lq4 engine n transmission. I want a 6.0 but I need to upgrade my posi my suspension and I need the ls swap

 

[Turbolq4]

I have ive been obsessing over this all weekend I’m leaning towards an lq4 engine n transmission. I want a 6.0 but I need to upgrade my posi my suspension and I need the ls swap

Don't let the 6.0 bug kill the budget. A 5.3 with a cam and valve springs will wax a stock 6 liter for less money. Really, just slap a completely stock 4.8/5.3 in it to just get it on the road, I guarantee you'll be impressed with the power.