I want to do a swap and I thought about buying a trashed LS1 first (but with heads and intake) to use for fabrication because I'm not in a hurry. Where would be a best place to look for one and how much should I expect to spend?

-Dom

 

You can get a plastic one from pyr (or something like that). Jegs and Summit carry them.

They're full motors, with tapped metal inserts so that you can bolt headers and what-not to them.

 

Get the faomie motor mock-up from Summit or Jegs. We used one for our swap -- what a time saver. We bolted the aluminum engine oil pan to the tranny (a T56). We then set the tranny/oil pan into our swap car with the oil pan resting on a wooden spacer on the engine cross-member and the shift lever of the T56 sticking thru the shifter hole in the tranny tunnel. It was then so easy to lift the foam block in and out ... just seconds with no hoist! Well worth the cost, and you'll probably get it back if you then sell it on eBay when you're finished. See pics of how we used the foamie mock-up at:

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...d.php?t=699289

We're keeping ours for the next swap!!

 

Check with your local machine shops.....They're likely to have one.... LS1's can't be overbored by much or sleeved cheaply, so cheap unuseable blocks aren't all that hard to come by. They may also have some heads that aren't recoverable (or worth recovering) from dropping a valve or something along that lines....

One with heads and intake will be more difficult....The plastic engine simulates heads, but not the intake, so either way you'll be needing to pick up an intake. LS1 intakes go for cheap, you should be able to pick one up for under $50.

'JustDreamin'

 

If you really got to have a metal block, Lingenfelter has one on their eBay:

Link to the LPE eBay store - excess inventory, take-off parts & more.

 

Quick question. I found some dimensions for LS engine and measured my engine bay. I get 34" wide at the narrowest part (close to the firewall) and 34" deep. Is the swap doable? Going by numbers I think yes, but you never know. I would have to relocate steering rack up front, but that's probably the "hardest" thing to do with this swap. I don't know if I'm comfortable making new control arms by myself.

 

If anyone says yes based on those measurements, make sure you get it in writing...

Get a mockup and see first hand....

 

You sound very pessimistic. I got the dimensions from here https://ls1tech.com/forums/conversions-swaps/713677-ls-engine-dimensions.html

 

I sound like someone who's in the middle of a swap and knows a measuring tape doesn't mean ****...

 

I agree... Measurements dont mean squat most of the time when it comes to mocking something up. You best advice was to grab a plastic mock up block. You will get sick of hoisting a metal motor in and out...or even lifting an empty one. Just easier. The LS1 intake is fairly low profile, and nothing really juts out of it, so you can get away without having the intake. Just find out how tall it is for hood clearance.

How about telling us what you are working on as well...that might help.

J.

 

It's a 95 Mitsubishi Eclipse.

 

I got one of those Payr blocks, pretty handy to have for quick clearance checks and the like.

 

where are you located?

check with some of the sponsors near you as well.

 

I have a ls1 block with cracked sleeves you can have it if you wnat it but it's located in pa and wouldn't be worth shipping.

 

I'm located in Michigan. I'll check out some machine shops and sponsors since there's quite few of them on this site from MI.

 

the foam block is out of my budget so I am going with a junk block and junk t56. I made a thread in the local regions asking if anyone had a junk block. One of the guys who responded helped.

So id say post up in your local region, also look for sponsers on here that are close to you and ask them Machine shops might also be a good place to ask

 

thats how I got mine.. Company that I've done a lot of business with is loaning me bare heads and a block..

 

You can also use a block and heads from a truck motor, 4.8, 5.3 or 6.0. They all have the same dimensions, bolt holes, and the parts are all interchangeable with the LS1. Only difference is the block is iron instead of aluminum. Used 4.8's, are EASY to come by nobody wants them.

 

Thanks, I wasn't aware of that. Looks like I'll be making phone calls this Saturday then looking for junk truck motors.

 

I'd also check local speed shops, particularly anything from over here --->. When I was doing my mockup one of the shops local to me was kind enough to loan me a block that had fragged. Obviously I returned it but they were plenty cool to me.