Steve Lee

I am in the process of putting a 5.3/4l60e in a 53 chevy for my 14 year old daughter, having trouble finding exhaust manifolds that stay in tight enough to to motor. Also wondering which way to go about modifying harness, should I do the whole fuse and relay or do I rig it up with the 4 wire setup? And lastly any way possible to use the factory gauges and speedo or are there any aftermarket gauges that will work with the wiring harness wires? Alot of questions I know but any help appreciated.

Clyde65

I used Sanderson CSLS1 shorties, also hooker makes some now that look just like stock.

jsanford

iTrader: (4)

Post up some pics if you have any. I'm planning on putting a 6.0/700r4 in my 1953 Chevy hardtop. I still got some parts to get before I start the project. I'm putting a carb on mine for ease of install. Did you install a Mustang II or are you using the stock front end?

Mike52

iTrader: (1)

Steve, check out my post #6 here with pics. I used the Sanderson CC1LS1 block hugger header. See their LS1 headers here. The type of steering you use will also determine what pipe you need on the left side, mine worked better with the 'center dump' type of pipes vs the 'rear dump' type (notice the difference in my pics). Hope this helps.

Redneckinjunear

I bought Hooker's ceramic coated cast iron manifolds for my LS2 because they fit inside the frame rails of my 39 Chevy. They may not be the best for max hp but would be fine for a 14 yr old daughter. Raw cast iron for $300.

kill_machine85

iTrader: (4)

Im curious as to the harness questions myself?

bustac

iTrader: (1)

If you have plenty of free time and know how to chase wires and schematics, build your own standalone.

If money is not an issue buy a stand alone harness.

If you like to keep it simple and have room for the factory fuse panel go that route, that's what I did for two swaps, a couple wires and your up running.

Epay has some cheap LSX shorty headers coated or stainless for cheap...

Black&White

Or print out a write-up on how to do your own standalone, hand it to your daughter and say, "Have fun."

psiconversion

iTrader: (5)

What year is the engine that you are using? Are you going Drive By Wire or Cable? We can help with the wiring if you decide to go standalone.

Jon
PSI

ls1nova71

iTrader: (4)

I like this idea! Help her out of course, but thats a good idea.

Steve Lee

The third pic you posted would work perfect for the steering and motor mounts we used, do they have a number for each side, can they be mixed?

Steve Lee

We will try and get pics up soon. I went with a stock front suspension, but added a fatman 2" dropped spindles with power disk brakes and a berretta I think power steering rack.

The motor is out of an 03 Tahoe, is drive by cable. I have all the factory harness and computer still intact, next door neighbor is a GM mechanic he wants me to keep everything seperate, says it will be better down the road troubleshooting, makes sense to me so we are going his way, specially sense he's going to do it all.

Still no one with any thoughts on gauges? Thought that would be the easiest one, lol.

Mike52

iTrader: (1)

Steve, no, they don't have numbers for each side but Sanderson will mix headers from different kits. Call and ask to speak with Jeremy, he will help.

psiconversion

iTrader: (5)

Regarding the gages, most new aftermarket gages are configured to work with the LS electronics. Some may require a step up circuit or playing with parameters in the PCM to function but that is easily performed.

Jon
PSI

Ksths2

iTrader: (1)

I used factory truck manifolds on my 6.0L in my 54 Ford project, pass side worked great, drivers worked ok but pretty tricky around the steering box/shaft

Steve Lee

That is the problem I am having with the power steering and motor mounts, not much room there.

bobafet1

What ever happened to this project?

Where are the pics?


I'm looking to do this same thing and was hoping you had more info.