Old school engines vs ls swap debate!!

[Boy1duh]

I'm just so confused I had my mind set on a ls swap had the engine and trans within a stone throw but got cold feet cause I'm so traditional I'm looking for healthy debate to help me make a decision on old school or ls I've done research and torn I'm not racing looking to make a daily driver I guess but will only be driven in the summer in my 87 ss...I'm fighting between 350,383 striker, a reasonable 454 or ls's I'm just looking for a little sway because I'm not quite sure what I want to do...and money is mmmm not a game changer but is a consideration, 3 2 1 debate!!

 

[Mike Morgan]

My suggestion is just putting on efi, to make things easier. You still get the nice old school look, but the benefits of having efi. I recommend FiTech, they have it very cheap and is a direct bolt on.

FiTech

 

[Boy1duh]

My suggestion is just putting on efi, to make things easier. You still get the nice old school look, but the benefits of having efi. I recommend FiTech, they have it very cheap and is a direct bolt on.

FiTech

Cool I'm looking into it as I type

 

[Judge Mills]

If I had the money, i'd go LS with some sort of fuel injection, either factory or aftermarket. Lots of options out there, and from what I can tell, you should have to touch the bottom end of these LS's, unless it needs rebuilt.

 

[Garrett1982]

I would say roller 350 with vortec heads and one of the self learning fuel injection units on a dual plane intake. It would have a nice traditional look and make for a nice dd.
What is your baseline that you are starting with? Posi or open diff? 200 4r? Is everything stock? I think those help in deciding also. Brakes and suspension should be upgraded as well.

 

[dotheshuffle]

An LS engine just makes an old school car that much better. I recently made this decision myself, there's just too much horsepower capability, support and new technology coming out every day to leave on the table, for me at least. Why not?

 

[84_SS]

Either way you go power and reliability won't be an issue. main deciding factor for my ls swap was after market support as far as power adders goes and the whole fuel economy thing. Its a lot easier to throw a turbo charger on an ls with fuel injection then it is with a carbed engine. And like Judge Mills said the bottom ends in those ls engines don't need touching.

 

[GP403]

The LS-craze is only going to get bigger, especially as the remaining options start to dwindle. All those BOP motors (and old Chevys too) are getting blown up, melted down, junked, etc. and just plain disappearing. Even if you do find them, the parts and knowledge pool is shrinking as well... Just progress I guess.

Well, that and even a base model stock LS is probably going to give you more reliability, fuel economy, and power over an old school V8....

 

[Hickrocket1258]

I had everything to do the swap in my wagon. Then found out the block was not good without work. Didn't want to invest anymore so the car sat and then I got an offer I couldn't refuse and went Blueprint 383. Hard to beat the warranty.

But right now, I really want to do an LS swap but, I'm sure the craze will die eventually and the next big thing will be out there. The bottom ends on them are hard to beat.

 

[MrSony]

The LS-craze is only going to get bigger, especially as the remaining options start to dwindle. All those BOP motors (and old Chevys too) are getting blown up, melted down, junked, etc. and just plain disappearing. Even if you do find them, the parts and knowledge pool is shrinking as well... Just progress I guess.

Well, that and even a base model stock LS is probably going to give you more reliability, fuel economy, and power over an old school V8....

All the more reason to keep them alive! There's nothing wrong with BOP engines or gen 1-3 SBCs. They can make and have made just as much if not more power than most LS engines up to a point. Yes ultimately LS engines are capable of more power, but who needs a 3000hp daily driver? Plus you'd have the privilege of saying my BOP is powered by BOP or an era correct SBC.