The whole LS into a fox is fairly new to me so ive been researching for hours and hours the past couple of days and have come to a either a junkyard 4.8/5.3 turbo build or a junkyard na 6.0 build. Im looking to get to around 500-600 rwhp. The car will be used for street / strip. Setup will be with a glide most likely. Which route do you recommend and why? Which route is easier on the wallet? Any advice or opinions will be appreciated.

 

A 6.0 with cam, tune, port/polish tb and heads, long tubes should yield close to about 550 fwhp. Whp is about 495 to 500ish.

 

thanks for the info, thats what im leaning towards right now. Also, what should i be expecting to pay for a drop out 6.0? prices seem to be all over the place.

 

Just engine. Complete engine in my area, it runs anywhere between $750 to $900. And complete in my area would be ALL accessories, complete harness, oil pan to intake, ECU, stock exhaust manifolds.

if you are going to stick to manifolds cuz you are going turbo in the future, use 2010 and up camaro exhaust manifolds. They fit perfect with no mods needed.

the 5.3 complete in my area with tranny runs about $1350 to $1500. Just engine itself runs about $450 to $550.

 

This is a 5.3 build.
http://www.superchevy.com/technical/...l_block_build/


This is a 6.0/6.2 build.
http://www.superchevy.com/technical/...ngine_buildup/

 

Prices really vary from build to build.
You have the guys that can do all of the work themselves and they can get into the build a lot cheaper than those that purchase everything already to go.
As in wiring harness (for standalone), motor/trans mounts, the motor/trans itself, fuel related parts, headers (unless you use the stock manifolds), and all of the other odds and ends that may pop up.

I myself have almost no fab skills to speak of, therefore I will be buying a PSI standalone harness ($600), I will be replacing all of the suspension ($2000-2500), motor/trans ($3000 give or take), headers ($500), fuel related stuff ($1000 not a set number), and all of the other odds and ends crap I don't know about yet.
I myself will likely be into my build around $8000-10000.
And mine will only be an LS1/T56 hoping for around 400 rwhp.

 

I did all my work. AJE k-member, cut and reweld stock crossmember, camaro manifolds, mock up, install, wiring, fuel system upgrade. the only 2 things i did not do myself was unlocking the ECU and tuning it. my setup came out to roughly $3,000. this are my mods.
Mods:

Engine: 04 5.3 cammed (285LR HR13 - 235/243 .621/.624 113LSA)
36# injectors
ported/polished stock TB
virgin 706 heads
PRC Dual Valve Springs good up to .650
Comp Cam Chromoly 7.4 push rods
Custom Tune with tow/haul button
2010 camaro exhaust manifold, H pipe with flowmasters dumped at axle

Tranny: 4l60e w/Circle D 3200 stall, corvette servo, transgo hd2 shift kit, z pack clutches, "the beast" sun shell

Suspension/Frame: AJE K member
stock a arms
spring perch to keep stock springs
no subframes

Rearend: 8.8 trac-loc w/2.73s

Tires: 245/50/16 street tires

 

Damn ^
Do you want to build mine for me?
My biggest budget killer is all of the suspension.

 

This is the day we finally turned it on.

This is idle now that its running

 

Awesome, I appreciate your info man, thank you.

 

I'm kinda of in between . I have family / friends that can help with a bunch of the work. I was hoping to stay at the $5000 range for the complete swap.

 

I will likely be 5k into my motor/trans/rear-end alone.
But I will likely be able to get around 2k for the interior/drivetrain I am going to pull from the car.

 

well I already have a trans and rear end setup. so I think im just looking at

-motor
-heads
-cam
-k member and mount
-what ever I need to bolt up a powerglide
-fuel system
-harness
-new gauges
-drive shaft

and im sure im missing a few things to add to the list

 

flexplate, spacer and new bolts.

if your th400 is cable driven you will need a special bracket at the intake in order to get the correct TV cable geometry.

 

got it, thank you. Also, curious about a carb set up bc I already have a 750 and my cars fuel system is currently set up for carb. Any opinions on carb and what set ups to look at? Do lose or gain any hp by going with a carb setup?

 

Both will work just as good. you have to weigh out the pros/cons. I personally switched from a carbed sbc 355 in my mustang to this ls type 5.3 engine with fuel injection. I get better mileage, more power and better tuneability. Dont get me wrong, a well fine tuned carb setup will also work just as good. but i'd rather take it to my tuner and have him deal with my free retunes.

 

Yeah I get exactly what you are saying. I was looking at the msd 6010 setup. I have someone that can tune the carb, not really anyone down where im at that tunes these engines efi wise ( that I know of). the cost of going carb may be less for me as well.