5.3 LS Engine Questions
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5.3 LS Engine Questions Hi, I'm new here and was hoping someone could clear up a few questions. I have an 83' camaro that I'm interested in doing an LS1 swap to which I was going to get from a camaro, however, I can get a 5.3 from a 99' truck for free and so I'm exploring my options. Can anyone give me some insight on the differences between the truck engine and the camaro LS1 engine. I know the truck engine is smaller displacement and has an iron block, but can I make something similar to the LS1 camaro engine (I'll have to completely rebuild the engine). If it would be too much hassle (expensive) I'll just buy an LS1 from a camaro, but I like the idea of the 5.3 being a little different from what most are doing with 3rd gens. Is there much performance potential as it is? I'd like to build something that will get me into the 11s range but can drive daily without issue.
You can easily make 400rwhp with just cam , springs , pushrods and heads and You're rebuild if it needs it out of a 5.3........etc go over to Car Craft and search Chevy 5.3L articles they have done the performance mods 2 or 3 times and written good articles about the parts and results . Yes a 6.0 is better for sure but You need to decide what You're budget will allow and go accordingly ,but thats pretty obvious . Good luck
dude wants an 11 sec car capable of daily driving? sounds like an lm7 with a cam and some worked heads would fit the bill well.
scalawag, the setup and weight of the car will determine its et. i have no doubt you could trap for 11s with a h/c/i lm7. with that being said...if you can get the engine for free, do it. add a cam, have the heads ported and milled, and choose your intake.
between the two; ls1 is more cubes and lighter. factory compression ratio is 10.25 vs the lm7's 9.4ish. all of the external engine parts are interchangable, most of the internals are.
what's the setup of the car? auto, manual? size rear and gear?
scalawag, the setup and weight of the car will determine its et. i have no doubt you could trap for 11s with a h/c/i lm7. with that being said...if you can get the engine for free, do it. add a cam, have the heads ported and milled, and choose your intake.
between the two; ls1 is more cubes and lighter. factory compression ratio is 10.25 vs the lm7's 9.4ish. all of the external engine parts are interchangable, most of the internals are.
what's the setup of the car? auto, manual? size rear and gear?
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Thanks for the replys. That is what I was thinking. I know the vortec heads aren't dogs by any means but I don't know much about the different intakes and their bolt patterns. I'll keep researching. I'm not too worried about the extra 80 pounds or so with the iron block. This car is going to be completely rebuit, it was an auto car but my plan is to put in a TKO 5 or T56. I was thinking limited slip in the rear, probably 3.42 gears. Man, free is hard to pass up. I just read someone talking about the LS7 to LS1 as being like the old 305 to 350 dilemma. That didn't make a lot of sense to me but Ive been down that road before. 400 hp seems about spot on and relatively easy to make with these engines, are you talking of reworking the vortecs or bolting on different heads?
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you could go FI or NOS.the truck intake will make some usable power.you don't need alot of power to go 11.xx.good suspension parts and properly matched parts, stall,gears,cam will do it.if you can get some 241 or 243 heads cheap that would help.look at compcam 54-455-11,or get a cam from Patrick-G .
