A little back story, I am swapping a 2005 BMW M3. The stock engine weighs about 450 pounds so right off the bat I am leaning towards aluminum blocks, but, my wiring harness guy says that he can only do the three engines listed in the title: LS1's, LS2's, and truck motors. Seeings as those are older engines I can only imagine finding a clean example is next to impossible for a reasonable price, not to mention the aluminum tax. At the same time, with such a light car the extra weight of the iron block will definitely be felt up front.

I'm not sure what I should do. The engine will be mated to a T56 Magnum and with minimal drivetrain loss I am looking for low to mid 400's to the wheels; either engine should be capable of this easily but obviously the 6.0L's have the edge. The LS2 requires me to use the GM pedal assembly in the BMW which I am not a huge fan of, but if its the better choice I can make it work. The engine will never see boost so the main argument for using an iron block goes out the window except for price.

Long story short, for $5-6000 I am looking to have a complete engine with F-body accessories (swap specific) that meets my power goals. What engine will get me there the easiest and won't be a PIA to source? Thanks! - Brian

(Cross posting in Gen III and Gen IV forums)

 

The cheapest and easiest source will always be the 6.0 iron block. For me it would boil down to what I could get at that particular moment and what it would cost. In other words wherever I found the best overall deal for what I'm getting, is the one I'd choose. I went with TMS for my LQ9, because they had the best deal at that time, for what I was looking for

 

Well, disregard this thread. With this awesome converter from lingenfelter:

https://www.lingenfelter.com/product/L460065397.html

and this thread:

https://ls1tech.com/forums/generatio...02-f-body.html

I'm going to use a readily available crate LS3 engine. Done and done.

 

I would proactively look at the rear pickup points in the 05 and see about a over welded piece of metal to avoid the E46 crack factory issue.. Your going to have way more torque back there than even the M3 motor lays down.. (Good thing )

 

I think you answered your own question, go LS2 if your going to Auto X racing , road track or just want to hug the curves . iron block will add 100+ lbs to the nose .