Help building my First LS 5.3
Like said above, a stock gen 4 truck intake with the 87mm TB would be more than enough and run cheap. I would also recommend a BTR stage 2 truck cam with LS6 springs. If you want to up the compression you can swap out the dished 5.3 pistons for 4.8's on the cheap. That would net you a solid motor there.
The 4L60 has some issues in stock form. You can upgrade the shell gear and have it rebuilt with better plates and it will make a world of difference. As commented above, get a good cooler if you go this route. I did all of this and I have been running 6 lbs of boost for several years with no tranny problems.
I would stay away from the LS1 cam, giving up way too much torque on the low end. Also would look into a TBSS intake, flows a little better than the stock truck and has the bigger throttle body.
The stock heads have small valves on the 5.3. You can spend a little to get 2.02 valves and unshroud the exhaust for a substantial increase in air flow. I think the compression on the stock heads is 9.4 or 9.5. If you don't want to mess with the pistons have the heads shaved a bit to increase the compression. Machine shop can tell you where you will get PTV clearance issues if you go that route.
I would stay away from the LS1 cam, giving up way too much torque on the low end. Also would look into a TBSS intake, flows a little better than the stock truck and has the bigger throttle body.
The stock heads have small valves on the 5.3. You can spend a little to get 2.02 valves and unshroud the exhaust for a substantial increase in air flow. I think the compression on the stock heads is 9.4 or 9.5. If you don't want to mess with the pistons have the heads shaved a bit to increase the compression. Machine shop can tell you where you will get PTV clearance issues if you go that route.

