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I've done 2 swaps. A 1988 Cadillac Brougham in 2019 and recently my current 1979 Cadillac DeVille.
On the 88 I taking using a harness with mayor parts cut out. I also regret going with an R4 A/C compressor.
On my current daily 79 I really don't have any regrets. Runs and drives great, currently getting A/C with an A6 compressor.
Thinking that building a larger turbo motor is better money spent than running an SBE cheap small bore high mileage JY motor.
In my experience most machine shops don’t machine as well as an OEM assembly and are ALWAYS behind. So if you are within the HP constraints of an SBE small bore motor (1000chp or less IMO) Building a 4”+ bore engine is just a giant waste of time/money/effort. A “built motor” will let go just as quickly as a stock one if not tuned correctly. And a $400 gen4 4.8 will semi-easily make 1000 crank HP.
IMO throw small money at cheap small bore motors for your turbo projects. Run one and always have a spare on the side. Spend your “real” money on the drivetrain/ecu/fueling. Treat the engines as disposable cheap items and design your swaps to easily allow engine installation/removals.
My biggest regret was putting a T56 behind the L96; I should have went with 3.55 gears and the TKO600 5 speed rather than the T56 and 3.73 gears. The sixth gear generally isn't needed (even on the highway) and the car loves the 5th gear.
I disliked the lack of low-speed torque in the one I swapped 6.0L into so much that I pulled it out and put a mildly modified ported injected, roller cam SBC 350 back in its place. Gear would have helped the LS but I kept the TH400, stock torque converter and 3.08 rear gears for budget and simplicity. The 350 has a lot more torque where the gearing holds the engine rpm down to in normal driving. Actually made a good bit of money pulling the 6.0L, selling it, going through the L31 350 and ended up with a completely fresh engine.
Don't really have any regrets, all the failures with the car along the way were learning lessons to build upon and improve. Only thing I'd like back is the wasted time helping people who weren't worth it, but that's not going to happen...
Cammed 6.0l that makes power, Built T56, 3.89 Gears in a 9", upgraded Brakes & Suspension to support it. Car is get in, drive, and change oil & tires. Took alot of work to get to this point.
Don't really have any regrets, all the failures with the car along the way were learning lessons to build upon and improve. Only thing I'd like back is the wasted time helping people who weren't worth it, but that's not going to happen...
Cammed 6.0l that makes power, Built T56, 3.89 Gears in a 9", upgraded Brakes & Suspension to support it. Car is get in, drive, and change oil & tires. Took alot of work to get to this point.
I wish I would be happy with an engine and not pull them for more power.... then my car is down for years. My stuff has sat more than actually driven/raced. It used to have an LS7 but the factory dry sump oiling scared me as oil pressure above 5500rpm would not rise... it would cavitate/hold pressure. Also to get the heads ported and redo the oiling was going to be so pricey I just sold it instead and then did a 416 wet sump setup. Time to get this beast back on the street plus doing some road racing. Goal is a high 9 second pass all motor in road race form but on big/little drag combo. Can easily hit it with a 150hp nitrous shot for fun at the strip.
I've owned this car for 18 years. Never going to sell it. T56 magnum swap was probably the best thing I've done to the car as far as upgrades.... it shifts soooooo smoothly.
I did a V6 to 5.3/4L80e in 1999 Silverado NBS ECSB 2wd. Stock drop-in. The original engine had developed low oil pressure and had this weird issue where it wouldn't fire in wet damp weather (distributor related I'm pretty sure) so I was done dicking around with it after screwing around with ICMs, distributor caps and rotors more times than I could count.
I'm super happy with the swap. The LS is freaking amazing platform coming from the old SBC. My only regret was not doing earlier:
No, seriously. I just finished refreshining the LQ4 on my 06 Suburban 2500. 262k and the bearings looked pristine. I replaced them, but could had reused them. I was honestly blown away by the minimal wear. New piston rings, mild cam and gaskets and slapped it back together and sent it, back to being a daily driver. The more I learn about the LS the more I like it 😁
Sounds like the pressure relief valve in the oil pump was opening up early, could you confirm it was cavitation?
It's a common issue in the LS7 oiling system. The "Dry Sump" term on it is more of a poor man's dry sump and not a REAL dry sump setup that actually works properly. Probably just for marketing purposes and I bit hahahah. The upgrade is an external pump, new pan, and then a Katech or similar billet plate oil pump which is like $3-4K in parts. Pull the engine... put it back in... so I just sold it instead and went wet sump.
Back 13 years ago when i did my swap the only things i would have done different is buy a nice harness instead of getting a reworked stock harness and i wish i went 6.0 over the 5.3. I do have a 6.0 to put in it now but the 5.3 runs so great i am hesitant to do the swap. Definitely the best thing i did to my 1992 C10. I have been trouble free from day one and i also swapped in heads and cam about 7 years ago.
Back 13 years ago when i did my swap the only things i would have done different is buy a nice harness instead of getting a reworked stock harness and i wish i went 6.0 over the 5.3. I do have a 6.0 to put in it now but the 5.3 runs so great i am hesitant to do the swap. Definitely the best thing i did to my 1992 C10. I have been trouble free from day one and i also swapped in heads and cam about 7 years ago.
Cool. Last year I helped my brother swap an LQ4 into his 90 C1500 RCSB. I just loaned him some tools and provided general LS swap information. I rebuilt him a 4L80e for him I'd bought a long time ago for cheap. I think he got a standalone wiring harness from a local guy. He's super happy with the swap. He let me drive recently... definitely a very fun truck to drive! ☺️ I wouldn't mind a cammed 5.3 OBS RCSB myself.
Not listening to advice on here or from guys I know that told me to go a different route from the start. The turbo kit I originally ordered and put on my truck(cx-racing) was junk and I ended up having to get the manifolds made over by a friend, drivers side was not even salvageable so we used a factory one and the passenger side we re used but had to completely make over, the turbo was junk so we took it off after a few passes and put a vs racing 78/75 next gen with 1.25 ar on the truck. I had used a factory computer with boost controller and gauges and that didn't work to well so we ended up pulling all that off and putting holley on the truck on top of having to get frank to build me a transmission in which we put a circle d converter in it during that time. All these things were recommended to me from the start and I didn't listen but hey you live and learn. My truck is pretty bad *** now though.
I've done a few swaps and have learned some things each time.
1. 1984 Camaro Carburated 408, TH-400 I did this swap a long time ago when LS swaps weren't very common yet so it was a challenge. Wish I would have gone with fuel injection but information was limited back then and Holley Terminator X hadn't been invented yet lol. I bought a custom carb that required a bunch of changes to get even close on the tune. There weren't many combinations to reference when choosing cam/heads ect. I felt like a I had a slightly mismatched combination. I also had a Spohn tubular K-member, A-Arms, and coil overs that didn't fit or work very well. It was cool for time period but I definitely had some regrets with that swap and eventually sold the car.
2. 1991 Camaro Z28 LS1/4L60E Very pleased with this setup, have had no issues. Only regret was using LS7 lifters, they were noisy after the cam swap.
3. 1992 Camaro Z28 LS1/T56 No issues with this combination, should have rebuilt the trans before installation. Had to pull it out and get RPM transmissions to go through it.
4. 1992 Camaro RS LS3/4l60e Time will tell, have accumulated some parts but haven't started the swap yet. This will be my first swap using Holley Terminator X and Johnson Lifters.
05-01-2024, 03:57 AM
