Wanting to inch up. 5.3 to 5.7
Wanting to inch up. 5.3 to 5.7 Hello all, 1st post here and I hope I don't come off too noobish. I have an interesting build idea but I need to iron out the specifics.
I picked up a running 2000 5.3L iron block, aluminum head truck motor for $209 bucks complete. Exhaust manifolds, y-pipe, wiring harness, computer, intake minus the cleaner box and all accessories. There are a ton of these motors selling for similar prices, I picked the cheapest one knowing I'll rebuild it fully. To get a better feel for the internals and background of the 5.3, I picked up and read "Chevy LS1/LS6 V-8s" by Will Handzel and loved the read. In the book, the writer mentioned boring the 5.3L to LS1 specs is the best way to go if it's an iron block, because the 5.3L has the real estate to do so without harming anything. 1st of all, is this true? Am I physically able to bore the block from 96mm to 99mm and still have something that's going to last? If the answer to that question is "no", read no further and just tell me "no", so I can come up with a different plan.
If the answer is yes, then you are my new hero and I'm going to pick your brain until this V8 swap is done.
The project truck is a 1996 GMC Sonoma that has had it's 2wd suspension cut out in place of Dana 44's front and rear on 35" tires. Here's a link to my truck as it sits now.
Link
It's a daily driver right now, seeing trails every other weekend. Quite frankly, the V6 lacks. Just like everyone else and their brother, I'd much rather have the 6.0L over anything else but money talks, and $209 bucks for a stout V8 is a lot easier to swallow than $800+ for a power house, so 5.3/5.7 it is. If I can bore the block to 99mm, I'd like to know if I can just use stock LS1 pistons of the same 99mm bore along with the LS1 head gasket and stock 5.3 heads? I'm trying to shoot for 9.8-10.2:1 compression and run mid grade gasoline, 89-90 octane is considered mid grade around here. What I'm after in this build is all low end torque, dependability and fuel efficiency. Rev limiter will be stock 5500 because I'm using the stock Sonoma gauges, but I really don't need anything higher. My truck is too tall to go fast. I've geared my axles so that I'm turning 2043rpms at 70mph, so if I could see a fat torque curve start just before then, I'd possibly make my goal of 20mpg on the highway.
So anyways, before I get too into detail about my ideas and plans, I'd really like to know if the 99mm bore is possible in the 5.3 truck block. From there I can determine where the build will go.
Thanks,
InchUp
I picked up a running 2000 5.3L iron block, aluminum head truck motor for $209 bucks complete. Exhaust manifolds, y-pipe, wiring harness, computer, intake minus the cleaner box and all accessories. There are a ton of these motors selling for similar prices, I picked the cheapest one knowing I'll rebuild it fully. To get a better feel for the internals and background of the 5.3, I picked up and read "Chevy LS1/LS6 V-8s" by Will Handzel and loved the read. In the book, the writer mentioned boring the 5.3L to LS1 specs is the best way to go if it's an iron block, because the 5.3L has the real estate to do so without harming anything. 1st of all, is this true? Am I physically able to bore the block from 96mm to 99mm and still have something that's going to last? If the answer to that question is "no", read no further and just tell me "no", so I can come up with a different plan.
If the answer is yes, then you are my new hero and I'm going to pick your brain until this V8 swap is done.
The project truck is a 1996 GMC Sonoma that has had it's 2wd suspension cut out in place of Dana 44's front and rear on 35" tires. Here's a link to my truck as it sits now.
Link
It's a daily driver right now, seeing trails every other weekend. Quite frankly, the V6 lacks. Just like everyone else and their brother, I'd much rather have the 6.0L over anything else but money talks, and $209 bucks for a stout V8 is a lot easier to swallow than $800+ for a power house, so 5.3/5.7 it is. If I can bore the block to 99mm, I'd like to know if I can just use stock LS1 pistons of the same 99mm bore along with the LS1 head gasket and stock 5.3 heads? I'm trying to shoot for 9.8-10.2:1 compression and run mid grade gasoline, 89-90 octane is considered mid grade around here. What I'm after in this build is all low end torque, dependability and fuel efficiency. Rev limiter will be stock 5500 because I'm using the stock Sonoma gauges, but I really don't need anything higher. My truck is too tall to go fast. I've geared my axles so that I'm turning 2043rpms at 70mph, so if I could see a fat torque curve start just before then, I'd possibly make my goal of 20mpg on the highway.
So anyways, before I get too into detail about my ideas and plans, I'd really like to know if the 99mm bore is possible in the 5.3 truck block. From there I can determine where the build will go.
Thanks,
InchUp
Simple answer is Yes.....
You will be better off posting 5.3L related questions on the sister site Performance trucks.net. Look at the upper Left of your screen, and you will see a tab for Performance Trucks, click on that, your username here works there as well.
Jack
You will be better off posting 5.3L related questions on the sister site Performance trucks.net. Look at the upper Left of your screen, and you will see a tab for Performance Trucks, click on that, your username here works there as well.
Jack
