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5.3 liter.. is it worth anything?

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Old May 27, 2009 | 09:23 PM
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Default 5.3 liter.. is it worth anything?

I may be trading a spare nitrous kit I have locally to this guy with a 5.3 out of his truck. Is the motor any good? Can it be used to build up? Any info on it would be great. Basically I want to know if I am getting a good trade. Thanks!
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Old May 27, 2009 | 10:01 PM
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depending upon the year those little motors can handle a good bit of abuse, maybe 600rwhp
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Old May 27, 2009 | 10:06 PM
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It's from an 01'.. What can they be bored/stroked to? Anyone ever use them to build?
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Old May 27, 2009 | 10:30 PM
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IIRC they can't be bored out much than the standard bore of the LS1. They make great turbo motors though. There's a pretty famous build of a Ford Fairmont turbo 5.3 that is running 9's. Search here and on Google/Youtube for it
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Old May 28, 2009 | 09:20 AM
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try a search you'll find everything you need to have faith in one of those motors
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Old May 28, 2009 | 09:43 PM
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I'm certain those truck motors are just a debored 5.3L LS1. Cylinder walls are nice and thick so you could probably run more boost than what you can on a thinner walled 6.0L. If you did heads and cam you are just gonna make from 20 - 40 hp less than you would with a 5.7L LS1. Could be worth it to some due to the fact these motors go for less than $400 complete at the local junkyard... There are so many more of these motors than a 6.0L so it would be so much cheaper if you are on a budget doing an LSx swap. I've heard you can stroke the 4.8L/5.3L motors to 378 cubic inches with a 4 inch crank. Seems like it would be an excellent high torque low revving motor because it of its undersquare design. Great for mudding and offroading!
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Old May 28, 2009 | 10:25 PM
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5.3's are GREAT motors... 02+'s are the best.

believe it or not, the 4.8's are UNREAL motors.. espeically for boost...

the 4.8's can actually take more timing (upwards of 30*..) than the other LS series.
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