Hell yeah man, I'm all about budget builds!But....but...."g-body LS swaps aren't cheap" and "a stock 5.3 swap costs $14k". Pretty cool to see you disprove conventional wisdom.
I am collecting parts for a similar build with a similar budget.
This is the 5th build I've done, and the first two went way over budget and out of control. The next two I shot way lower and was able to stay inside a budget and had just as much fun with the cheap parts as I did with the expensive parts.
This time I had a goal in mind: Run 10s for $5k.
At first I started gathering SBC parts, but then found out about our lord and savior, TURBO LS.
So I sold/gave away all that junk and went to the local pull yard. Grabbed a 5.3 and put together a build list. Put the engine together, covered it and pushed it into a corner of the garage. Took me two years to find a chassis that fit my budget and requirements. It had basically boiled down to three options; Fox Body, F Body, or G Body. But I found this G body, and man am I glad I found it. Over the next two and a half years or so I got the engine installed, turbo kit built, engine harness made, rear end rebuilt w/ new gears, and transmission built. Ended up having to shorten the driveshaft 2 3/4 inches.
As it sits I am barely over $5k. I still need to get grippy tires, and its time to head to the track.
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