LS Swap Advice
11-01-2017 | 09:20 AM
#1
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Oct 2017
Posts: 33
Likes: 1
From: Bolingbrook IL
LS Swap Advice I am going to do a LS swap into my 71 nova, I've been reading up on things and have some questions I'm either not finding with the search or there are conflicting opinions. So any insight or advise I greatly appreciate, to make a disclaimer I know very little about LS engines so please forgive any noob questions.
I'm building this nova to be a street cruiser, take it to shows and enjoy driving it on nice days. The car had a 383 stroker and made pretty good power and of course gobs of torque (no dyno sorry). I'd like to put in a LS that makes comparable power and keep it N/A for now, that goal should be 400+rwhp/rwtq. I do have a budget and this should be considered a budget build. My highest priority is to get the car back into a drive-able state (it's been torn down for 4 years now doing rust replacement) and I still need to spend money on other parts of the car such as bodywork/paint other mechanical s like brakes/suspension, fuel system etc. But I will up my budget and spend money where it needs to be, so if I'm being cheap or unrealistic say so (I am a total cheapass.) I'm trying to keep the engine/trans purchase under $2000. For the swap itself I'm trying to keep the parts list around $2500, that will include items like motor mounts, cam etc.
I would like to keep the car N/A for now so I think going with a Lq4 is the plan, I may throw a turbo at this car later but again to keep it simple I want to tackle the swap first. I need a trans as well so I'm thinking going with a 4l80e.
One to my questions...Motor first:
Do I refresh the entire motor? I see conflicting ideas on this, some say put a cam/valve springs in it and drive the **** out of it. Others think have it cleaned and fully checked out. (machine work would probably be another budget)
If I do have it refreshed what should I have a machine shop do? I'd like to save money where possible so it's spent elsewhere on this build. I have no machine tools, I can assemble a motor but degreeing a cam and checking clearances is a little daunting.
I can talk to a vendor about cams so that's a question for later.
Heads? Do I keep the 317's? Aside from the valve springs what else would be beneficial and cost productive? Do I leave the rest alone or do I look at a set from another car?
I know I can keep the truck intake and it should fit under my hood, but do I spend the money on another intake to get my to my power goals? If it's only a few hundred to gain a good amount of power to help reach my goal I'll spend that money.
Any other items I should upgrade while I'm at it for power upgrades or longevity?
Trans:
What donor vehicle should I look for on this? most of the Lq4's I've seen don't come with their trans or they are 4wd so I will have to source this from somewhere else most likely.
I will match up a converter later once I figure out more information.
Unless I can find one where I know it's fully working this will most likely need to be refreshed and gone through. Any thing over stock that should be changed at that time?
Thanks
I'm building this nova to be a street cruiser, take it to shows and enjoy driving it on nice days. The car had a 383 stroker and made pretty good power and of course gobs of torque (no dyno sorry). I'd like to put in a LS that makes comparable power and keep it N/A for now, that goal should be 400+rwhp/rwtq. I do have a budget and this should be considered a budget build. My highest priority is to get the car back into a drive-able state (it's been torn down for 4 years now doing rust replacement) and I still need to spend money on other parts of the car such as bodywork/paint other mechanical s like brakes/suspension, fuel system etc. But I will up my budget and spend money where it needs to be, so if I'm being cheap or unrealistic say so (I am a total cheapass.) I'm trying to keep the engine/trans purchase under $2000. For the swap itself I'm trying to keep the parts list around $2500, that will include items like motor mounts, cam etc.
I would like to keep the car N/A for now so I think going with a Lq4 is the plan, I may throw a turbo at this car later but again to keep it simple I want to tackle the swap first. I need a trans as well so I'm thinking going with a 4l80e.
One to my questions...Motor first:
Do I refresh the entire motor? I see conflicting ideas on this, some say put a cam/valve springs in it and drive the **** out of it. Others think have it cleaned and fully checked out. (machine work would probably be another budget)
If I do have it refreshed what should I have a machine shop do? I'd like to save money where possible so it's spent elsewhere on this build. I have no machine tools, I can assemble a motor but degreeing a cam and checking clearances is a little daunting.
I can talk to a vendor about cams so that's a question for later.
Heads? Do I keep the 317's? Aside from the valve springs what else would be beneficial and cost productive? Do I leave the rest alone or do I look at a set from another car?
I know I can keep the truck intake and it should fit under my hood, but do I spend the money on another intake to get my to my power goals? If it's only a few hundred to gain a good amount of power to help reach my goal I'll spend that money.
Any other items I should upgrade while I'm at it for power upgrades or longevity?
Trans:
What donor vehicle should I look for on this? most of the Lq4's I've seen don't come with their trans or they are 4wd so I will have to source this from somewhere else most likely.
I will match up a converter later once I figure out more information.
Unless I can find one where I know it's fully working this will most likely need to be refreshed and gone through. Any thing over stock that should be changed at that time?
Thanks
11-01-2017 | 02:42 PM
#2
OK here's my 2 cents:
One to my questions...Motor first:
Do I refresh the entire motor? I see conflicting ideas on this, some say put a cam/valve springs in it and drive the **** out of it. Others think have it cleaned and fully checked out. (machine work would probably be another budget)
Depends on the motor you end up with...if it has 300K+ miles on it, yeah I'd tear it down. If you pull the heads and cylinder walls look good, button it back up. You will need cam and springs if you want 400hp at the wheels no matter what.
If I do have it refreshed what should I have a machine shop do? I'd like to save money where possible so it's spent elsewhere on this build.
Ask them what it needs. Deck the block, surface the heads, valve job, align hone? If they do all that you might as well do full rebuild. Again it depends on the motor you end up with. Do you want to spend a bunch of money on a cam, etc, only to spin a bearing or lose your oil pump 200 miles later and trash it? Might be better to check everything out beforehand.
Heads? Do I keep the 317's? Aside from the valve springs what else would be beneficial and cost productive? Do I leave the rest alone or do I look at a set from another car? again for 400+ wheel HP, prob will need springs and maybe even some porting and polishing?
I know I can keep the truck intake and it should fit under my hood, but do I spend the money on another intake to get my to my power goals? If it's only a few hundred to gain a good amount of power to help reach my goal I'll spend that money. most of the big power engines seem to run the FAST, but the TBSS/New Gen truck intake makes good power I think. The search bar on this site is your friend
Any other items I should upgrade while I'm at it for power upgrades or longevity? OIL PUMP!! Headers, LS7 Lifters.
I tried to do my swap on a reasonable budget, but you end up doing things twice, so spend the time and money on the front end to avoid that.
Like not replacing the oil pump, or trying to run the original water pump. Chasing sensor problems etc. These eat into your time and just frustrate you. Good luck!
One to my questions...Motor first:
Do I refresh the entire motor? I see conflicting ideas on this, some say put a cam/valve springs in it and drive the **** out of it. Others think have it cleaned and fully checked out. (machine work would probably be another budget)
Depends on the motor you end up with...if it has 300K+ miles on it, yeah I'd tear it down. If you pull the heads and cylinder walls look good, button it back up. You will need cam and springs if you want 400hp at the wheels no matter what.
If I do have it refreshed what should I have a machine shop do? I'd like to save money where possible so it's spent elsewhere on this build.
Ask them what it needs. Deck the block, surface the heads, valve job, align hone? If they do all that you might as well do full rebuild. Again it depends on the motor you end up with. Do you want to spend a bunch of money on a cam, etc, only to spin a bearing or lose your oil pump 200 miles later and trash it? Might be better to check everything out beforehand.
Heads? Do I keep the 317's? Aside from the valve springs what else would be beneficial and cost productive? Do I leave the rest alone or do I look at a set from another car? again for 400+ wheel HP, prob will need springs and maybe even some porting and polishing?
I know I can keep the truck intake and it should fit under my hood, but do I spend the money on another intake to get my to my power goals? If it's only a few hundred to gain a good amount of power to help reach my goal I'll spend that money. most of the big power engines seem to run the FAST, but the TBSS/New Gen truck intake makes good power I think. The search bar on this site is your friend
Any other items I should upgrade while I'm at it for power upgrades or longevity? OIL PUMP!! Headers, LS7 Lifters.
I tried to do my swap on a reasonable budget, but you end up doing things twice, so spend the time and money on the front end to avoid that.
Like not replacing the oil pump, or trying to run the original water pump. Chasing sensor problems etc. These eat into your time and just frustrate you. Good luck!
11-01-2017 | 02:55 PM
#3
You budget looks realistic. The post above is the same way that I feel. At least pull the motor and pan to see what you are working with. If it looks clean, no ridge on the bore, oil is clean, put some gaskets and bolt the heads back together. If your goal is 400, you should be able to make that with a cam only. (my cam only LS1 T/A made 400 rwhp)
As for the trans, that really depends on what you want. I can tell you if you are looking for a 6 speed, then you will need to add another $2k to your budget. If you shop around, you can find a lq4/4l80e 2wd combo for good prices.
For your swap, I would highly suggest getting a matched set of mounts/headers/pan. I have tried the budget route two times now on different builds and that was the same regret that I had both times. Not using matching components to begin with, more expensive, but worth it in the end. Buy once cry once.
Any other questions feel free to post up.
As for the trans, that really depends on what you want. I can tell you if you are looking for a 6 speed, then you will need to add another $2k to your budget. If you shop around, you can find a lq4/4l80e 2wd combo for good prices.
For your swap, I would highly suggest getting a matched set of mounts/headers/pan. I have tried the budget route two times now on different builds and that was the same regret that I had both times. Not using matching components to begin with, more expensive, but worth it in the end. Buy once cry once.
Any other questions feel free to post up.
11-02-2017 | 09:16 AM
#4
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Oct 2017
Posts: 33
Likes: 1
From: Bolingbrook IL
OK here's my 2 cents:
Depends on the motor you end up with...if it has 300K+ miles on it, yeah I'd tear it down. If you pull the heads and cylinder walls look good, button it back up. You will need cam and springs if you want 400hp at the wheels no matter what.
Ask them what it needs. Deck the block, surface the heads, valve job, align hone? If they do all that you might as well do full rebuild. Again it depends on the motor you end up with. Do you want to spend a bunch of money on a cam, etc, only to spin a bearing or lose your oil pump 200 miles later and trash it? Might be better to check everything out beforehand.
again for 400+ wheel HP, prob will need springs and maybe even some porting and polishing?
most of the big power engines seem to run the FAST, but the TBSS/New Gen truck intake makes good power I think. The search bar on this site is your friend
OIL PUMP!! Headers, LS7 Lifters.
I tried to do my swap on a reasonable budget, but you end up doing things twice, so spend the time and money on the front end to avoid that.
Like not replacing the oil pump, or trying to run the original water pump. Chasing sensor problems etc. These eat into your time and just frustrate you. Good luck!
Depends on the motor you end up with...if it has 300K+ miles on it, yeah I'd tear it down. If you pull the heads and cylinder walls look good, button it back up. You will need cam and springs if you want 400hp at the wheels no matter what.
Ask them what it needs. Deck the block, surface the heads, valve job, align hone? If they do all that you might as well do full rebuild. Again it depends on the motor you end up with. Do you want to spend a bunch of money on a cam, etc, only to spin a bearing or lose your oil pump 200 miles later and trash it? Might be better to check everything out beforehand.
again for 400+ wheel HP, prob will need springs and maybe even some porting and polishing?
most of the big power engines seem to run the FAST, but the TBSS/New Gen truck intake makes good power I think. The search bar on this site is your friend
OIL PUMP!! Headers, LS7 Lifters.
I tried to do my swap on a reasonable budget, but you end up doing things twice, so spend the time and money on the front end to avoid that.
Like not replacing the oil pump, or trying to run the original water pump. Chasing sensor problems etc. These eat into your time and just frustrate you. Good luck!
You budget looks realistic. The post above is the same way that I feel. At least pull the motor and pan to see what you are working with. If it looks clean, no ridge on the bore, oil is clean, put some gaskets and bolt the heads back together. If your goal is 400, you should be able to make that with a cam only. (my cam only LS1 T/A made 400 rwhp)
As for the trans, that really depends on what you want. I can tell you if you are looking for a 6 speed, then you will need to add another $2k to your budget. If you shop around, you can find a lq4/4l80e 2wd combo for good prices.
For your swap, I would highly suggest getting a matched set of mounts/headers/pan. I have tried the budget route two times now on different builds and that was the same regret that I had both times. Not using matching components to begin with, more expensive, but worth it in the end. Buy once cry once.
Any other questions feel free to post up.
As for the trans, that really depends on what you want. I can tell you if you are looking for a 6 speed, then you will need to add another $2k to your budget. If you shop around, you can find a lq4/4l80e 2wd combo for good prices.
For your swap, I would highly suggest getting a matched set of mounts/headers/pan. I have tried the budget route two times now on different builds and that was the same regret that I had both times. Not using matching components to begin with, more expensive, but worth it in the end. Buy once cry once.
Any other questions feel free to post up.
I will have to pull the pan no matter what as I have to swap over to a 302-2 pan to fit my car definitely going to inspect the bottom end at that time. As for motor mounts and headers, there's several that fit what I am doing I just haven't decided which ones I am going with yet.
Thanks guys