Ron_Stoppable

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i have a thread up on S10forum.com but i figured i should post it here also. This is my first engine swap ever so bear with me lol. In August of '12 I picked up a 5.3 L59 (Flex fuel) out of a 2005 Avalanche with 89,000 miles on the clock, All accessories, and harness + PCM for $400. got it off of craigslist. glad I held off and studied up on these LS motors because I was gonna go with a tired **** 350 at first lol. Engine looked clean and yeah I failed hard by not tying down the motor in my bed. i fixed the dent though.
this has been a slow build because I hadnt saved a dimed before I decided to go with the LS swap. I literally woke up and decided to go buy a motor after seeing youtube videos of S10s with the swap. As you can see I had to work out the back of my truck for a while until I could get the stand and hoist. This has been pretty much a paycheck to paycheck build(minimum wage).









picked up a Comp 228R from craigslist with like 100miles on it for $175

New LS7 Lifters + LS2 lifter trays

LS1 intake and TB for $100 on craigslist

Ron_Stoppable

iTrader: (1)

7.4 hardened pushrods for $40 brand new off of craigslist

Ill be using a 4l80e from a 95 van, got it for $120 on craigslist. has 90,000 miles supposedly.
sanblasted-

painted-

ARP head bolt kit and PAC 1218s


holley pan, misc items


pick-up support arm has to be filed a little to clear rotating assembly

6.0 Flywheel and crank for $20 on craigslist

threw in a new rear main and housing gasket while I had access

got a set of Intrepid fans for $25 at the junkyard. these things blow sh1tload of air!

fuel rail kit I bought

got my LS3 pump in, got lucky and found a NEW alternator in the junkyard for $25, painted it up for looks.


idler pulley relocated along with getting my LS1 tensioner in

4.3 radiator with intrepid fans mounted, (match made in heaven)


heat only AC box ( rather have more room for my 1-3/4 long tubes than some damn AC lol)

pic of what this beast is going in.
also ordered CPW poly motor mount kit which should be here this week. going with BRP 1-3/4 long tube in-frame headers, and a CPW engine wiring harness.

Jonce

Looks like a good start to the project. I sold my '93 S-10 with 5.3L/4L65e last year. Fun little truck with that engine. Have fun with your project, you will like.

Ron_Stoppable

iTrader: (1)

SSZ

Nice work Ron. Looks like a truck accessory bracket with truck pump and alternator????? AM i right? ALso, what paint did you use on the alternator? I like how you used the blue on the engine block and bracket. Did the thottle body clear the bracket or did you have to modify a bit? I ask cause i thought i read somewhere that the LS1 intake doesnt clear the truck bracket. Looks real sharp. I think you are gonna like the performance of it. SHould sound good with that cam too.

Ron_Stoppable

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BP Automotive

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Making some real progress! Subscribed!

schreurs1

Watching this one. You, sir, find some crazy deals on craigslist lol.

Ellsworth

Awesome! Im about to start a 5.3 swap in my Sonoma and all these awesome threads are popping up

how much would you say (thus far) you have invested? I'm in the same boat as you (will be using any spare extra money for my swap) but I would like to get it done in a reasonable ammount of time.

Ron_Stoppable

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about $3300. all the little crap adds up. i know i spent more than that though, thats just an estimate.

Ron_Stoppable

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sent the computer to Frost, ill have it back monday. truck is starting but VATS killed that fun pretty quick... Ordered my JTR coolant Tee bleeder for the steam vent fitting
gotta finish looming the wires near the brake booster also. I cant explain how excited i get when i get to do wrench on anything oon the truck been a great learning experience as this is my first time removing/ installing an engine or doing my own wiring harness.

Stormed_Norm

iTrader: (10)

Cool build, nice to see all the s-trucks getting built. Kind of reminds me of small block vegas from years gone by. So why move the battery to the drivers side? Isn't there enought room to snake the air filter down beside the battery when it was on the pass side? Your not kidding about the fans and rad with a great fit, it's almost like it was made for each other.

SSZ

Nice work. Like the vette wheels too. I hope Frost is setting up your pcm to run the 4L80E.

Ron_Stoppable

iTrader: (1)

shiddd me too, I wrote 4L80e on the form, paid $200 for the damn tune lol
the thing that looks damn sick to me is just how low the motor looks in the bay and the front rims tucking.. i cant even explain it.

slowbu

iTrader: (4)

When u get around to doing the exhaust, post a few pics of that Holley oilpan in the truck like to see how it fits

LSCha0s

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Subscribed

Ron_Stoppable

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the holley pan fits awesome but despite what people say, the K-member still has to be notched. I think this may be a motor mount thing though. i wasnt comfortable with how close it set to the K- member, i mean CLOSE. i relocated the battery to the driver side because the 5.3s fuse box wire wont reach from the passenger side plus it eliminates alot of clutter. I didnt think about the extra weight... so it'll probably be mounted in the bed once the truck is on the road again. i plan on upgrading to coil overs too or taking out the DJM 2" springs for some 1" springs.

slowbu

iTrader: (4)

Other then going to a 4l80 Trans there really ain't much difference in weight 4.3 vs. 5.3, on my 92 s10 ext cab I went from a 4.3 to a 305 v8(ya ya I know a 305, it was free an had less then 20k miles on) an my truck really didn't drop at all, after driving it for a few weeks I checked to see if it had moved any.. Only 1/4" of an inch of drop

Ron_Stoppable

iTrader: (1)

yeah mine dropped about an 1-1/2". i love the stance though. aside from that..... tomorrows the BIG day. im praying everything goes good. whats a good temporary exhaust to run until i can afford to get it done professionally, i have a welder if that matters. and something that wont get me a ticket

spacemanspif

iTrader: (5)

Do you have part numbers for the water pump and belt tensioner you used?