I read the 5.3l motors are the ls1 just made from iron not aluminum. So can i buy this motor and upgrade it just like i would a normal ls1 . I ask cuz i want to build a 944 witha ls1 but ls1 r a lil to much for a 19 year old us soilder in germany. I want a project car
I was thinking a 5.3l with ls6 heads and ls6/9 head gas kit, dual vavlespring kit, gt-7 cam, ls2 timingchain or dual chains, 7.400" pushrods,byunspeed oil pump, apr head bolts, 60lb injenjectors, maybe crank bolts, crank seal, and using thr tahoes manafoild for a turbo or twins.
I preread your sticky on turbo mod. I want to run around 10-15psi of boost run like 500 hp intercooler and new fuel tank and system.
I can get thr 5.3l tahoe motors easy and at less then half the price you guys sell them for. Get a renagade kit new clutch, 83 non powersteering rack and maybe jump into that transaxle, get aporsch tech to help me since i am ingermany.
But this is only going to work if these blocks are reallyls1 blocks. Not to worried about the extra weight due to iron. Not worried about mods, not my first project but will be my first motor swap md first time diving this far into an engine and modding a na motor toturbo. But working on a turbo megasquirt 914 and a supercharged 1.6l 13sec baja bug
only thing i can think of is trucks oil pan switched to reduice size?

 

ye sthey basically are the same block and everything goes onto an ls1 will go onto a 5.3 however the bores of the 5.3 are obv not the size of an ls1 so if you want it to be a true "iron ls1" you will need to bore the cylinders out to 3.9"

 

like stated above the bore sizes are different between an ls1 5.7 and the truck 5.3 motors. can you even fit a turbo ls in a 944. there is alot of people on here who have done the ls motor 944 swap and have a hard enough time with space. adding a turbo and piping and an intercooler seems impossible without sinking huge amounts of time and money into it.

 

well drilling the bore wont be a problem. i want a 6.0 and using the ls6 head having the bore at a 6.0 should prove to be a good step up. do i have to have the bore on the block drilled out or just getting the ls6 head and new pistons work just fine??

i dont know if i can fit the turbos its just what i want to try and do. the first step is now that i now thee tahoe motors is buy a motor back home. then track down a tahoe at a junk yard and get the harness from it so it can be modifed to the 944 (of course my bro will get the motor and the harness for me sinse i am in germany). then start getting the money for parts and trackign down a shop if the block needs to be bored over (i dont if it does, like for a vw bug block you have to bore the block for bigger pistions i just dont know v8 that well yet) once i have the motor harness, togeather and i have the money for all the parts. have the parts shipped here, and then pay to ship the motor. then i have to track down this 944 i found on base. dont really know who owns it right now. if i can get it cheap i am going to pick it up. no interior no interior (perfect for buckets. thinking of having airframe help me bend up some sheetmetal to make custome buckets just for fun) and the motor is bad. so maybe take that appart see what wrong, and just to take a look inside a porsche motor.

once i have the car pull the motor out, start placing the motor mounts in, and new bellhousing or what ever the kit comes with, take the steering out and track down a 83 one. start stripping the motor appart and placing parts inside. then drop the motor in with hareness, install a new radatior, new steering, new brake pads (try to get 911 brakes to fit on for more stopping power or track down some 944 turbo brake) now the car will start, drive, steer and brake. then its time to see if if possible to place turbo/turbos in it at all. iv seen pics too and i just dont know how much room there is, i think if i place the turbos behind the motor instead of in front, causing turbo lag and all but heck i can deal with that, might be the only way to get turbo/turbos in. i am consearned once i turbo it of blowing up the transaxe. so i will try and track down a shoop or get a second transaxle so i can tear it apart and beef it up

for give me if my typing is togeather or is weared. right now i am using a different compute, my computer only has a on screen keyboard or i use my cell phone witch has a broken screen (ya i know need to get both fix but thats car project money) so bare with me please.

 

I think you need to do some more reading before buying anything. There are 3 Gen III blocks you have to chose from here. There are the 4.8/5.3 iron blocks, the 6.0 Iron block, and the 5.7 Aluminum block. The 4.8/5.3 has around a 3.7 bore (not sure exactly) the Aluminum LS1 5.7 block will have a stock bore of 3.898 good to go out to 3.902 and the 6.0 block is a 4 inch bore. An LS6 head comes stock on an LS2 which is a Gen IV block so thats effectively going to be a stock performing combo. Not bad of course but It wont be a massive upgrade. What you need to decide now is which route you want to go. If you can get a cheap 4.8/5.3 liter block and bore it out to 3.902-3.905 and get an aftermarket piston for it then you will have yourself an Iron LS1. If you want a 6.0 liter then you can use a stock short block from that and either go with the 243 casting head use the stock 317 (good for boost due to lower compression) or go aftermarket and get into some big power.

 

i cant really go for big power. the 944 transaxle just wont hold it. right now i just want to get a v8 in it and drive it around. i understand it will take quite a long time to build this. i want to put the v8 in by around feb. i think, wnd of nov/dec i could have the motor sitting in my room, torn apart.
the 944 could also be in my possession depending how much the guy wants for that 944. once i got it, push it 1/4mile down hill to the garage pull the motor out, that like a 2weekend job. i think the convertion kit will take a full weekend to install 10-6 sat-sun. so in 3weeks i belive i could have the 944motor out, and the v8 all ready to be installed. so i could work on the v8 during the week, i just need info on how i should build up a 5.3l to aventually hold boot and making it either a ls1/ls2.

is this the right spot on the forum to ask about the 5.3l?


so how hard would it be to make it a 6.0l?? i belive there 4.00in bore? so could i just get 4.0in pistons, then get a ls6 headgasket and head and place it on the stock block and it would work??? or should i just get like ls1 heads and get the 5.7l bore?? the reason i say ls6 heads becuase i hear its got better flow then a ls1/ls2 head for when i want turbo/turbos.

new problem
i havent even got a intake in mind? what should i get for this set up?

anyone got an idea, can i take the truck oilpan off and replace it with a ls1 oil pan to make it a small profile unlike how the truck is

 

The 5.3 block to the est of my knowledge can't be bored to a 4" bore. Your best bet would either get a 5.3 and bore it to ls1 specs (expensive) or find an iron 6.0 complete.
There are 2 versions they are called the lq4 and lq9 the lq9 would be preferred as it has a higher compression ratio for more power. These engines came in tahoes, escalades etc and also share all the bolt patterns of the ls1. Once there track down a set of 243 ls2 heads and let her run maybe throw a small can in fr fun and have a nice running combo.

 

OK RE READ MY POST LOL. a 243 casting head is shared between the LS2 and LS6. The LS2 however is a Gen IV engine and has a different crank reluctor wheel and such (gen III=24x, Gen IV=54x). Ok now. You cant bore an LM7 block to a 4 inch bore thats just too much. Stock LS1 bore is ok but about as far as you should go. As for a 6.0 liter your Gen III options are iron blocks and are the LQ4 and LQ9 distinguished engines. The only difference in the two however is the pistons. The LQ4 has a dished piston resulting in a lower compression. Those two engines come with a 317 casting head which has the same flow as a 243/ls6 head just with 72cc combustion chambers resulting again in less compression. What I am getting at is this... If you want to build a Naturally aspirated little monster get a 5.3 liter and either cam it and run it. Or go all out and Bore it over to an LS1 bore and make a 5.7 liter. If you want to put 243/LS6 heads on it evern better. However if youre going to put 243s on a 4.000 inch bore block you cant use an ls6 head gasket because the gasket bore is going to be 3.910. You have to run a 4.000 inch bore gasket. If you want to run it Naturally aspirated then put boost on it later youre in a bit of a pickle. I would at least put forged pistons for forced induction applications in it to start with, trying to maintain some decent compression. You need to decide to start with if youre going to stay N/A or go with Boost. That will dictate what you build and how you build it

 

Oh and if your keeping the motor stockish even with a mild cam get an ls6 intake... And yes you can swap oil pans from any ls engine without issues

 

agreed

 

alright so explain a little bit more on the lq4. my friend has a lq4 for sale at the same price as the tahoe motor. but with him he can hold to it for me for when i got the money so i dont have to rush into buying a motor. i can plan this out before i go down the path of buying parts

ok so lets say i get a lq4, what harness do i need to get so i can modifly it to work in the 944.

 

any GEN III engine harness and computer. Out of anything with a GEN III 4.8,5.3,5.7,6.0. If your friend just has one laying around I vote get it. Put forged pistons in it. and turbo it like you want to. If you want to build it for the turbo and then run it a while before installing the turbo application you can, just don't expect it to have a ton of power since it will be down on compression. but who knows that might help save the transaxle for a bit

 

what L size is a lq4?
yes i understand while i have pistons and such in there made to bring compression down it will be lower then normal.

ok so the lq4 get witch heads? intake? i will change the vavles and vavlesprings, push rods and injectors, forged pistions, and what you think connecting rods, and the cam. any other big things i need to look into to prep for turbos

 

Ok again the LQ4 and LQ9 are 6 liter engines. they come with 317 heads. I.E. the heads you want for a turbo application. They lower compression and due to the big chamber big bore of the 6 liter and same size runners as 243s they will usually flow a bit better than 243s. As for intake with the turbo boost will usually fix most flow issues if youre on a budget id say an LS6 would be more than sufficient. Typically you'll want to get rods along with your forged pistons and Id say you could re use the crankshaft. As for a cam I would suggest you have someone custom spec you one after you have everything else lined up and you can give them ALL of the engine specs, car weight, boost level, intended use, etc to go off of.

 

man you really need to slow down we're happy to help but all of those questions you posted were answered by myself and whiteaws57 go back and reread all of what we just posed and its all there but the lq4 and lq9 are 6.0's in case i wasnt clear in my first post.

 

My suggestion to you right now is to tell your friend to hold onto that LQ4 for you. While you're saving up for it just start reading. Youre on the right track but youre not the fisrt one to do this and the answers are out there.

 

thanks for the help. ill do a lot more research on parts and how much this all will cost.

 

GM-hitech did a 5.3 boosted build up ,read that and go to the boosted section for more input.