K11PER

iTrader: (8)

Hello everyone,

I have a 1988 s10 that I will be fully restoring and converting to an LSX/t56 setup. I have a whole list of plans/mods including a school project with voice activated controls/security that I will list in detail for my project build thread later.

right now, I am about 4-5 months away from starting this project, and need to line up all my parts and what I need to buy.

I have done lots of reading on this forum and others about what blocks/heads and that kind of stuff will work with eachother. But I am not a mechanic and know very little technical stuff into knowing what setup would be best. I have alot of knowledge and hands helping me with this project, so I'm not taking on something I don't think I can finish. (have an entire shop with a hot rod racing club with access too all the tools/hands I need)


Based on deals/whats for sale at the time the price will change I know that. What I need to know is exactly everything I'll need in order to build this motor. This will be a weekend warrier, something I want to put the key in and drive. I am not interested in turbos/superchargers or any advance fuel injector/induction setup at this time. But it will see a track visit every now and then.

I'm looking to spend around 3500 on just the motor. Is that resonable for what I want? I'm looking to make 400HP(not at wheels) Am i best to buy a used motor and upgrade the intake/heads or anything like that depending what is already done to it, or should I buy a block and buy everything individually?

Whats better a LS3 or LS6 intake? z06 heads or 243? I see there is alot of people with a mix of LSX parts on their motors, but I don't know what the best one of each is.

If I'm looking to just build a solid motor, what would you recomend for a setup. I would appreciate any guidance.

EDIT: Looking to have a very low heavy sounding v8 idle in it, I know the cam has alot to do with that but I don't know enough about picking the right one.

thanks (sorry if this is in wrong section)



If I were to buy an LS1 or LS6 block, what heads/cam/intake should I go with?

A.R. Shale Targa

iTrader: (2)

The ls3 intake has rectangle ports and will only work w/L92 type heads. The
ls6 is the one to get and can be had for about 300-350 dollars. You can
check the conversion section for others who have done this swap. I'm sure
the oil pan, engine mounts, and headers are all special items unique to your
application. If you stumble across a set of 243 heads they would make a nice
upgrade over the 853 or 241s that most ls1 engines have, although not need-
ed for the power level you seek.
Some cams to check u-tube vids are the Thunder Racing 224, Texas speed
228R, or the EPS 226/230. These all have decent idle bump yet excellant
street manners.

K11PER

iTrader: (8)

I did some more reading on the LS6 intake and determined that was the best route for me.

Are 243 heads worth the upgrade for me or is that only worth it if I was going for more power with a different setup?


Appreciate the help,

Thanks!

T76s10

iTrader: (6)

Why not use an lq4? Only 50lbs heavier than an ls1 and cheaper with more cubes. L92 heads will increase compression ratio and you could use the ls3 intake that I'm sure flows as good as the ls6. Gm magazine did a carbed lq4 and made 480hp with I think just heads and cam. Hell with the 6.0 you can make over 400 horse to the wheels even with the right set up. Use the gm muscle car oil pan from jegs or your gm dealership. Do not buy it from anywhere else because they charge much much more for the same thing. I used carshopinc's motor mounts and they work great but if you have heat, it's going to suck fitting radiator and fans in with truck accessories. Save yourself time and headache and go with f body accessories. The frame needs to be notched if you want to put the engine and tranny in while their attached. The crossmember needed serious notching for my th400, but jegs sells them that you can buy that might work for your t56 (or make your own). The best cheap fans you can buy are the Taurus fans or f body fans. I would go with current performances radiator because that filler neck will come in handy rather that cutting your radiator support. Carshop makes a set of long tube headers for $390 otherwise you can snag them for pretty cheap from someone on here. The ford 8.8 out of a 95+ explorer is best rear end to use hands down. Fits in with no mods and has disc brakes. It is really wide and you'll need a huge offset, but you can get it shortened. Can't go wrong with a $150 junkyard rear end. That's my .02 cents on this swap and everything I have encountered.

K11PER

iTrader: (8)

I'm not worried about making anything fit. I can drop in most the powertrain before I lower the cab and everything else on if I wanted to go about putting it together that way.

Looks like I'll be spending most of today looking into the LQ4, thanks for the info

T76s10

iTrader: (6)

That sounds like a much better way to go about it than I did haha I had to do tons of fabrication and it's still going on. Yeah man lq4 is the way to go in my opinion if your going naturally aspirated and you can pick them up for a descent price. Good luck I look forward to seeing your build

K11PER

iTrader: (8)

Came across this with all the part #s when you scroll down including dyno results.

I think this is what I'm going to replicate.

EDIT: posting a link helps

http://www.superchevy.com/technical/...p/viewall.html

I found a LQ4 '04 6.0L complete with harness and computer for 350$ with 120K km on it from a family friend who owns a shop.

Here is my current build plans:

LQ4 6.0L Iron Block
L92 Heads + Will try and find local machine shop to port
LS3 Intake
Stock head gasget
Texas Speed Performance 229/236 .624 .615 111 LSA cam

Rearend gears 4:10 or 4:56s

Should I switch all the pullies and accessories to f-body ones?

RezinTexas

^ WOW that is a heck of a good deal on that engine! nice find.

T76s10

iTrader: (6)

Switch to fbody. It's alot less of a hassle. I did truck accessories and ran into many problems and modifications that take alot of time to go through and fix.

Plus f body is much easier on the eyes. The truck accessories kinda look like ****

K11PER

iTrader: (8)

Does someone have a list of every sensor needed for the engine? Do I need to switch to LS1/3 sensors or use some of the LQ4?

Does it matter what MAF sensor I use? Computer is from LQ4 but will be tuned. The harness is from the LQ4 as well but I will be making my own from scratch for it

EDIT: Made a thread in the conversion/hybrid section for this to maybe come up with a list that could later be stickied for others.

K11PER

iTrader: (8)

What year/extra's do I need to for the T56 to bolt up to with as little work as possible?