LS powered early Bronco
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Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 3
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LS powered early Bronco I am in the process of rebuilding a 1973 Ford Bronco and I want to put a Cherolet LS motor in it, I plan to use an early model 4 speed (np 435, or Borg Warner T-18) and I have a few questions, can I use an LS motor without cat. converters ? I plan on using Autometer gauges. Do I need to buy a motor with a harness or would I be better off just getting the motor with accessories (i.e. alternator, A/C compressor etc...) and order a custom harness that has been simplified ? Do you have a recommendation on what motor I should seek out ? Thanks in advance for your help with this/////Tony
for mating the transmission you should look up advanceadapters or companies liek them , i'm sure they can set you up with everything you need for mating the trans .
as for the cats ,,,,, probably half the people on this site don't have them on their cars
( and to answer your question yes it can run without them)
as for the harness, buying it complete with its original harness will require that you tear into the harness and isolate the wires you need , or you can just buy a stand alone harness from one of the sponsors here and be done with it ( it is seriously ajust a plug and play deal ) .
as for motor , it all depends on your budget and needs/goals.
some would say a 4.8 or a 5.3 would be a cheap way to get the bronco moving (and i'm not saying that they are slow), and some would tell you that you need to get an LS9 from a ZR1 vette just because you can never have enough power
its all up to you .
now that we got that out of the way , where da pics??
as for the cats ,,,,, probably half the people on this site don't have them on their cars
( and to answer your question yes it can run without them)as for the harness, buying it complete with its original harness will require that you tear into the harness and isolate the wires you need , or you can just buy a stand alone harness from one of the sponsors here and be done with it ( it is seriously ajust a plug and play deal ) .
as for motor , it all depends on your budget and needs/goals.
some would say a 4.8 or a 5.3 would be a cheap way to get the bronco moving (and i'm not saying that they are slow), and some would tell you that you need to get an LS9 from a ZR1 vette just because you can never have enough power
its all up to you .
now that we got that out of the way , where da pics??
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TECH Apprentice
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 343
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From: san diego
I have a 1978 Jeep with the 5.3 and T-18 tranny. I got the stuff I needed from
http://www.novak-adapt.com/
they have a lot of info on their site. Also get the hydraulic clutch retrofit and it is amazing. http://www.novak-adapt.com/catalog/kit_hcr3.htm
Let me know if you have any questions.
http://www.novak-adapt.com/
they have a lot of info on their site. Also get the hydraulic clutch retrofit and it is amazing. http://www.novak-adapt.com/catalog/kit_hcr3.htm
Let me know if you have any questions.
I'll take a stab at some of your questions. I also put together a file with some info on my LQ4/4L80e swap, including info on autometer gauges and harness modifications. See my sig for a link to it.
can I use an LS motor without cat. converters ? Yup. Delete the rear O2 sensors when tuning. In fact, you can delete all the emissions stuff and VATS with no trouble.
I plan on using Autometer gauges. Pretty simple.
speedo: This is run off the trans/TC, so the hook-up will be no different than if it had a 302 in it.
Temp gauge: I tapped this into the rear side of the passenger's cylinder head using adapter PN 2277. The driver's side head has a provision for a sending unit, but this is used by the PCM, so you can't use it for a temp gauge.
Voltmeter: Doesn't care what engine is in the truck.
Oil pressure: The the sender behind the intake manifold at the top of the block, just like traditional small blocks. Just stick the Autometer sender in using adapter PN 2268. There's also a cover above the oil filter that you can drill and tap (similar to this, though non-GTO oil pans have the filter at the rear).
Do I need to buy a motor with a harness or would I be better off just getting the motor with accessories (i.e. alternator, A/C compressor etc...) and order a custom harness that has been simplified? That's up to you. Lt1swap.com has a wealth of info. If you've got the time and patience, it's not terribly difficult or expensive to do. You don't even need to know how to solder, though that helps when trying lengthen/shorten the harness for a better fit. I'd try to find one complete, as it's easier to have stuff you don't need than spend time searching for stuff you do.
Do you have a recommendation on what motor I should seek out? For a budget, the 5.3L can usually be had for pretty cheap (<$1000 for a decent-mileage engine with accessories, harness, and PCM here in PHX). If you want a 6.0L, the LQ4 is easier to find and cheaper than an LQ9. Only difference between the two is the CR (10.1:1 LQ9 vs. 9.4:1 LQ4). Also, pre-2004 truck engines use a cable-operated TB, which, in my opinion, is easier than drive-by-wire.
can I use an LS motor without cat. converters ? Yup. Delete the rear O2 sensors when tuning. In fact, you can delete all the emissions stuff and VATS with no trouble.
I plan on using Autometer gauges. Pretty simple.
speedo: This is run off the trans/TC, so the hook-up will be no different than if it had a 302 in it.
Temp gauge: I tapped this into the rear side of the passenger's cylinder head using adapter PN 2277. The driver's side head has a provision for a sending unit, but this is used by the PCM, so you can't use it for a temp gauge.
Voltmeter: Doesn't care what engine is in the truck.
Oil pressure: The the sender behind the intake manifold at the top of the block, just like traditional small blocks. Just stick the Autometer sender in using adapter PN 2268. There's also a cover above the oil filter that you can drill and tap (similar to this, though non-GTO oil pans have the filter at the rear).
Do I need to buy a motor with a harness or would I be better off just getting the motor with accessories (i.e. alternator, A/C compressor etc...) and order a custom harness that has been simplified? That's up to you. Lt1swap.com has a wealth of info. If you've got the time and patience, it's not terribly difficult or expensive to do. You don't even need to know how to solder, though that helps when trying lengthen/shorten the harness for a better fit. I'd try to find one complete, as it's easier to have stuff you don't need than spend time searching for stuff you do.
Do you have a recommendation on what motor I should seek out? For a budget, the 5.3L can usually be had for pretty cheap (<$1000 for a decent-mileage engine with accessories, harness, and PCM here in PHX). If you want a 6.0L, the LQ4 is easier to find and cheaper than an LQ9. Only difference between the two is the CR (10.1:1 LQ9 vs. 9.4:1 LQ4). Also, pre-2004 truck engines use a cable-operated TB, which, in my opinion, is easier than drive-by-wire.
Staging Lane
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 64
Likes: 0
From: Sioux Lookout, Ontario
Everyone cries for the 6.0 litre. While it may make more torque, its not that much more than a 5.3. And for the extra cost, is it worth it? A 5.3 will have as much, if not more than what you have already, with better fuel cost and insta-starts.
Only recommend I would think that would also save cost and ease of install, is staying with a chevrolet transmission. However, you may run into issues there to with trying to make a transfer case work. Novak or advance adapters has you're solution.
Only recommend I would think that would also save cost and ease of install, is staying with a chevrolet transmission. However, you may run into issues there to with trying to make a transfer case work. Novak or advance adapters has you're solution.
