I am looking at replacing the 383/th350 in my 1956 chevy with a ls1/460. The overdrive alone would be worth the cost

Any thoughts on what I should budget for? What is the going rate for a "complete" engine/trans and then what will have to buy to make it work(oilpan, adapters, ecu, programming, etc)?

Sme pictures of the car as it is today:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/europa/tags/56chevy/

 

Welcome! Beautiful car, I love that color.
I don't know exactly what you need to make that swap, but I'll list the basics..

LS1, 4L60E - around $3000 used with pcm,acc, harness..

Motor mount plates - $40~100

Trans Xmember - $100 or so

PCM tune, harness rework (if you got a harness with your LS1) - $400 ~ $700 for a rework, or $1000+ for a custom new harness.. I'd go with speartech either way.

New driveshaft - $350

Fuel tank, lines, etc.. built for LS1... $250-750 depending on how extravagant you're looking for

add some for misc stuff, and you've got a roundabout estimate, good luck! Other people will chime in with the exact things you need, I'm not sure as I've never even worked on cars like that..
If you do the swap, be sure to post photos. We love photos.
olly

 

I am doing a similar swap to you, and my budget right now is about $9600. I paid $4700 for my motor and trans package, but I got a lot of stuff with it that I don't need so am selling that for extra $$. I am going to try and attach an Excel spreadsheet that I am tracking my projected and actual costs on. Hope it will come through and you can read it

Well, that did not work. If anyone would like to see my spreadsheet shoot me a PM with your email address and I will be happy to share it.

Pat

 

i dont have a comment on the price...but wow what a beautifull car!

 

Hey man, nice to see you made it over from Chevytalk . You can find quite a bit of info here .

67RSCamaroVette's prices are pretty good estimates. Also, don't forget the 6.0L LQ4's and LQ9's, or the LS2 . Good luck with your project.

That is a nice '56 you have there btw .

David

 

Add up everything yo can think of. And I mean everything. Down to every nut and bolt. Take that number and DOUBLE it. That will get you very close. Im in the middle of a LS1 and 4L60E swap. Lots of little extras that come up but well worth it. Good luck.

 

Thanks for comments. $5k or so might be ok. $10k would be too much for me. I looked at car-part.com for engines and they are in the $2-$4k range. Anyone know of a reputable salvage dealer that might have this combo?

 

Tennessee Auto Parts , see their banner over there---------->

 

http://www.hpsalvage.com/ is also good from what I hear. You may also check the salvage yards in your area. I had a LT1, that was going to going to go in my '56 before I decided I would be better off with the LS1, for well below "market" value (at the time) at a local shop.

David

 

All depends on what motor you use, how much you dig for bargains, and how much of the work you can do yourself. Don`t forget about the truck engines, I paid $1000 for my 5.3L, and 4l60e with all the wiring, computer, accys. I bought it off a yard on car-part.com I still have not added up the receipts yet but it was around $2000 to get the engine in the car, including the price of the engine. But I did ALL of the work myself, except for the computer tune. I rewired it, mounted the engine, made all the little brackets and all the other little crap that would cost soo much if you pay someone else to do it. If you have to pay someone else to fab stuff or do the wiring it will add up quick.

 

http://www.contemporarycorvette.com/

this is where i got mine....good people, even worked the price down a little for me. very helpful guys.

 

Is there a guide somewhere that shows the difference between the LS1 models (e.g. camaro vs corvette)? Is a late model truck motor named an LS1 or something else?

 

accessories are different slightly between 'vette LS1 and camaro LS1, late model truck engines are iron versions of the LS1 either 4.8l, 5.3l or 6.0l. I believe they're named either the LQ4 or LQ9.. Truck engines have way different intakes than car LS1's, and accessories stick out about an inch farther... See my sticky post for a pic of vette acc vs f-body acc..
olly

 

This isn`t a complete list but
RPO
LR4 = 4.8L Truck
LM7 = 5.3L Truck
LS1 = 5.7L f-body / vette
LS6 = 5.7L Vette
LQ4 = 6.0L Truck 300-325HP
LQ9 = 6.0L Truck 345HP

I think that the RPO for the newer aluminum 5.3L truck engines is L33

If you search LS1 in ebay you will find pics of all the engine styles.

 

I got my motor and tranny for $2500, miscel costs will be as follows:

100 for mounts
750 for custom speartech harness (I want to mount pcm in car, stock harness not long enough)
Ricks tanks $1000
Ron Davis Rad set up with E fans $1000
Tune 400

All in I figure somewhere in 6-7k when all said and done.

 

Check out the post on 2-2-06 "complete LS1 w/ supercharger for sale". Im interested in the supercharger. If your interested in the LS1, I could buy the charger and supply the parts to put the motor back stock. Might work out good for everybody. The motor is in Texas. If interested call me at 770-652-9267. Ryan

 

see if this link works
supercharged LS1 for sale