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So my buddy Chadly purchased this rare wagon that came with a 348 that turned out to have multiple cracks in the engine block. So he decided to go modern and I was the guy to do the install. He provided me with a 5.3L LM7 donor engine and trans out of a 04 chevy truck. Also the car received disc brake/dropped spindles in the front and upgraded steering linkage, sway bar and steering box from Global west. Enjoy the pics. BTW Chadly loves original paint and patina cars, so there was little to no paint work in order to keep its story telling life story.
After first trial fit, found out that the motor just sat up to high and would not allow the hood to clear and shut. So after several attempts and trying to decide what to do, finally opted for making my own motor mount stands in hopes of getting the engine to sit low enough for the hood to clear and maybe, just maybe even room for the engine cover over the intake manifold.. So here is the pics of the new mounts I fab'd and the trans cross member kit.
Moved onto the fuel system... keeping costs down we opted for go external electric pump. Started out having the tank dipped and cleaned than had a small sump installed to become the supply and utilizing the original supply tube as the return. I made a bracket for the pump and pre filter.
Moved onto the DBW gas pedal. As you guys all no that have done these the stock truck pedal is un-godly long and awkward. So I cut 4" out of it and re-curved it for a better fit. turned out great. the upper bolt utilized a stock firewall grommet hole while the bottom bolt I welded a stud to the floorboard for it.
For the PCM mounting the Impala had a vacuum catch can located at the rear of the drivers inner fender behind the hood hinge. We thought that made a great place to locate the computer, so I made a mount board that bolted into the stock hole and worked great. Than mounted the TAC module and fuse block right on the firewall
Brake booster and adjustable proportioning valve installed. But it hit the last ign coil. So I had to cut the coil bracket and moved the one coil over closer to its buddy next to it. Now the booster clears..
Exhaust manifolds , we tried several options and wound up with LS3 stock manifolds. I had to grind off just a tad bit to clear the frame rails, but the dump location is perfect.
Radiator and formed hoses. radiator and I champion off of Ebay for Impala LS swap, Included the shroud and electric fan. Fit really well. The lower hose is the stock truck hose trimmed slightly. The upper hose is a Ford ranger lower hose application cut down and fits great. Same one I used when I did this swap in my buick skylark.
Very cool wagon! I helped a buddy put a 5.3 in his 59 Brookwood 2door wagon a few years back, looks real similar! His son had a 59 2door wagon too and after seeing the driveability and economy his dad got, he swapped in a 5.3 too.
04-30-2016, 12:28 PM
LM7 in a 1959 Impala Kingswood wagon 
