Thought I would post this hear as this is the LS Swap Source. This swap has been done many times so I'm not doing anything new. I just wanted to document what i'm doing in the even it could help someone else. I have other cars that are Nicer, cleaner, faster and more valuable but this one is a little more special. IT belonged to my older brother for about 12 years. He took it from stock down to the 10's with the Buick V6 stuff. My brother fell into hard times and couldn't keep the car going (Along with grew tired of the Buick V6 problems) and I offered to buy the car and move forward with it. I am in no way a qualified mechanic or do I have much talent in this hobby. However, I do have the ability and persistence to keep getting cars together by any means I can find or any resources I can use. So this build pertains more to the little guys. I have a table full of basic tools and I did get the opportunity to use my friends shop with a Lift for the winter while he is off in Florida until March 28th. Typically I am on my back in the driveway.


Here is how the car sat for about 3 years untouched. The motor had a wiped cam and a broke piston which made a mess of the bottom end.







Here is the car after I trailered it home last Summer and detailed the car back to life. A few years ago it was painted with Straight black pigment Standox Paint. The pictures may not show it but it's like mirror glass.







I was able to get the old motor and trans out. I ended up parting the entire combo out and made back exactly what I had into the car which put's my investment at $0.




So where we sit is that I am up 1 Grand national Roller with nice paint. As a bonus, The car has the following left over from the V-6.

1. Aeromotive Fuel system with -8 feed and A-1000 pump which I sent back to have rebuilt so it's new.

2. Spohn adjustable Rear Drag bar set up with Tubular lower control arms. It also has Lakewood shocks and Airbags. Springs are unknown.

3. Giant Precision front mount intercooler with polished piping that I hope to salvage.

4. Centerline Convo Pro Drag wheels.


Stay tuned as I update the thread with progress through the Cold winter months.

 

Loaded up in my new 24' enclosed and on it's way to the shop for the Winter.










And here we are at the shop in it's hole.

 

First thing that needed to happen here is ridding of all the V-6 Junk. I always wanted to do this like they do on the car shows. It was a little therapeutic.




While the car was in my driveway I used 4 cans of engine degreaser and 3 cans of Carb cleaner to break down the 30 years of slop on the subframe. I used a Quart of Black rustoleum and some brushes to repaint the subrframe. Later down the road I would love to rebuild the whole Control arm and brake set up but no funds for that now.

 

Ok, Now I am in need of a motor.

Looking back the better option would have been to buy a complete pull out 4.8/5.3/6.0. Reason being is that they have all the little odds and ends and nickle and dimes stuff like hardware, sensors, accessories etc...

However, I was reluctant of anything that would need to be broken all the way down and rebuilt. I do not have the time and it's a bad habit of mine to repaint every parts and sink endless money into my projects. I'm trying to steer clear of that with this. Remember, I am still in it for $0 at this point.

I came across this motor in the classifieds here. It is a 4.8L Truck motor. The seller claimed Gen 4 but there are many signs of it being a Gen 3 but with Gen 4 rotating assmb.

What I do know about it is this. It was freshened and not fired. It has a CTSV pan, 799 heads, LS9 Cam conversion with LS3 front cover. It has an LS1 intake, Coils w/ brackets and ARP head bolts. It also came with Truck manifolds as well. Here it is the day it arrived at my work. Price $1100 + 125 to ship.

 

I had some time so I stripped the factory valve covers and brackets. I cleaned up the coils and reassembled everything with new hardware and grommets.

 

looks like a great project. I am sure the Grand National fanboys already have their panties fully bunched up. keep the updates coming.

 

What trans are you using,I am going with maybe the CK 200r4 trans rated at 800hp and is about $1500 cheaper than the LS guys can build the 200r4 in the 800 hp area. and would trust a GN trans builder to do a 200r4 right

also bimmer guy,would it be hard to do a 740i in the ls style...great car you have

 

the new 2004rs have some great options and very nice gear ratios

what are you planning to pay for it?

I looked a manual valve body 750+ HP for $1500 which seemed very reasonable

like a valve body setup for the street but keep it full manual

I think with the right shifter it would be fun and I never liked the TPS cable

I believe that can all be eliminated too with a new setup I saw

 

I'm actually going to use a 4L80E. Part of the decision to go LS entailed not only going away with the finicky 109 motor but also the Cable reliant 200R4. When you switch to electronic you gain a lot more pressure control and many more options.


I work for a Racing Transmission and Torque converter company so I pulled this from inventory to start with. It's a brand new 80E built for 1200 HP. The Converter is a 10.5 inch billet Northstar Converter. It's used for 2000+ HP all the time.

 

Here's the motor a little cleaned up. I changed the intake bolts and clear coated it as well. It looks brand new now. I also added a Potz Speed Ebay Throttle body which was a great deal for $159. It's ported and polished and included all sensors and new hardware. Great deal!

 

I'm going to be using a Holley Dominator for the computer. Not because I want to spend $1500 plus all of the extras. It's because it is the easiest bolt in alternative and I am already used to Stand Alone ECM's as I had FAST in 2 of my Turbo Regals. I got the Main LS harness, Fuel injector harness and 4L80E harness on sale around Christmas for about $560 shipped.

 

I went with the Hooker engine swap kit. You get the engine brackets as seen below # 12643HKR. They come silver metal but I Sand Blasted them in a cabinet and repainted them Black. The hardware is supplied as well.





I bought the new frame pads # 2292 which come with stock rubber mounts from Summit. I also purchased new replacement Energy suspension Poly mounts # 3-1130R. They come with instructions on how to drill out the clam shell and swap them in. It's fairly easy. I had a hard time finding motor mount bolts as my Buick V6 were to short. I ended up buying Dorman replacement bolts from Summit as well. They work perfect. #81101







Something to be noted. These kit fits great and makes this a complete bolt in. The only think to mention is that the energy suspension mounts have metal locating tabs built in and you have to wrestle around them and pry down on the motor to really drop into place. I have dealt with it before but the tabs complicate an otherwise easy task.

Also, I bought the mount kit from energy suspension that came with the trans mount. Looking back I would probably buy the Prothane mounts instead #7-506 because the Energy suspension Trans mount does not work when using a 4L80e. It is too tall of a mount and I could have saved money by not buying it.

 

The motor has a home!







I needed to choose an accessory system and we all know there's a lot of options. I decided that the GM Corvette LS3 system is the most cost effective, visually attractive and bolt on part I could find. I think the Hooker kit was a good comparison but I pulled the trigger on the GM because I got a real good discount as well. So far I have the Pump and balancer on and when I get more money together I will add the rest of the kit.

 

Looking good, always nice when the engine finds it's way into the engine bay. How do you like the hooker mounts? I am planning on BRP's but still like getting opinions on how the others work.

 

Blackbuick87, If I were you I would think twice about the BRP/Hedman kit. If you have a problem it is going to be a NITEMARE of a problem. My right side header has been at Hedman since July 14th. I would definitely go with the Hooker/Holley kit. Do a search of my posts and see what problems I have had. Rich

 

Just to back up what Turbo Buick is saying here, I have struggled with the trans crossmember in the Hooker kit. It was ZERO problem of the kit but 100% of me not reading the directions and throwing it in all wrong. I reached out to the Hooker rep on here and he has traded PM's with me over 10 times and literally held my hand through the whole installation so far. I have sent him many pictures and he always responds within 24 hours but most of the time within 2 hours to give me a crystal clear answer and keep me moving forward. That alone is worth more than the BRP kit. The Hooker kit is extremely BOLT ON and the factory clam shells and Poly mounts will make it ride like the motor should have been in there from the factory.