An 18 Year Olds LS Adventure

[72blu]

Hey Guys, I just my first LS swap and because this forum was such an incredible resource I have decided to give back my sharing my experience in hopes that it will help somebody else. I got this truck last year during my final year of high school and it always bothered me that I probably had the slowest vehicle in the schools parking lot...I became determined to change that...

I started with a running & driving 250 CUI/3 on the tree 1972 Shortbed.
The only options on the SPID are blue Vinyl trim and gauges

My choice of motor was a LQ9 out of a 2002 Escalade. The motor had 205,000Km on it when I picked it up.

Here it is on the stand the day I got it from the wrecker.

I decided that stock wasn't enough so while I had the motor on the stand I replaced the stock cam with an ASA camshaft and upgraded the springs. I also went ahead and painted the block chevy orange and replaced any gaskets I disturbed during the cam swap. I decided I wanted to keep the truck standard so I went with a rebuilt Muncie M22. I used a 11 inch clutch from a 1980 corvette and it required drilling out a few of the holes to a larger size so that it would pair up with the Sachs 1050 flywheel.


*Make sure to replace the factory O-ring that is on the oil pump pick up tube while you still have the motor out of the truck. I didn't replace mine and it caused what sounded like a wicked lifter noise due to lack of proper oil pressure*

Finally after I had finished prepping the motor it was time to start tearing into the truck.

Here is the the old engine with everything disconnected and ready to be pulled. This part went fairly quickly and soon enough we had the old thing out!


Once the old engine was set down and tucked away nicely in the corner we began prepping the engine bay for its new heart.

I went with early classics motor mount kit for gen 3 LS motors. The kit fit perfectly and was fairly easy to install. The kit required you to drill a few holes in the crossmember.

Finally the motor was in place and we could move onto the next phase of the build. In order to cut costs I choose to stay away from a hydro clutch setup. Mating the factory clutch linkage to the new motor turned out to be a lot harder than first imagined. With a little fabrication and an adapter from SDPC I managed to get everything to line up relatively well.


Once the motor was settled in we mated up the transmission. I decided to go with the bell housing that came with my Transmission. The driveshaft went in next and finally the driveline was finished.

Next came the wiring. I went with a wiring harness from Painless Performance products and I cant say nothing but good things about there product. Every plug and wire was labeled making installation a breeze. Along with the harness was a coupon for a free PCM reflash so I sent my computer out for them to reprogram it.

The fuel system was next. My choice of pump was a Walbro 255 inline pump that I placed inside the inner frame rail. I ran 10mm hard nylon line from the pressure side of the pump up to the intake and soft 3/8 fuel line from the pump back to the tank.

Lastly were the gauges. I really wanted to be able to use the factory gauges for my swap. The ammeter gauge worked without issue so i did not need to fiddle around with it at all. For oil pressure I drilled and taped the oil switch that is at the back of the motor



Once complete I threaded the sender in and the gauge picked up the oil pressure perfectly. I am still working on getting my Temperature gauge to work but once I do I will post an update with what I did.

I got the exhaust put on professionally by a local Midas so the only pictures I have of this stage were from when I picked it up.
It was at this point that I finally got to drive the truck You sure can feel the difference between the old 250 and the new 6.0L

I am sure I missed a few things in this post but if you have any questions feel free to ask as I am happy to help.

!PART NUMBERS & PART INFO!
Motor mounts: Early classic Gen 3 motor mount conversion kit
Crossmember: Classic performance Products CP9472
Pilot bearing: Summit racing equip: NAL-12557583
Pressure plate bolts: Summit racing equip NAL-12561465
Wiring: Painless performance 60218
Exhaust: Flowmaster 17654 & 81072
Radiator: Enginered cooling products RAD-6369-HDDF
Manifolds: GM OEM LS3 Manifolds 191842701247
flywheel: Sachs NFW1050
Zbar adapter plate:SDCP SDCB
Fuel pump: Walbro 255 inline

[mongocanfly]

Congrats on your swap..you'll enjoy the 6.0..on the temp gauge on mine I simply drilled and tapped the hole to npt in the back passengers side head and installed the gauge sending unit there...the harness uses the same hole on the drivers side (except on the front)..nice truck btw..

[davepl]

How'd you drill and tap the motor for oil pressure without getting filings into the motor? Were you able to do it upside down, or ???

[Willie Makeit]

Originally Posted by davepl

How'd you drill and tap the motor for oil pressure without getting filings into the motor? Were you able to do it upside down, or ???

he didn't drill the motor. he drilled and tapped the original oil sending unit, pretty common.

[mongocanfly]

I one of his pics he has the oil sender clamped in a vise..

[davepl]

Got it, thanks. In case it's useful to others, in my case, I used this from Amazon instead:

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[solidaxel]

Originally Posted by davepl

Got it, thanks. In case it's useful to others, in my case, I used this from Amazon instead:

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Did you place that on the top rear of the engine?

[mongocanfly]

Solid ..that plate he shows goes on the side of the engine block down by the oil filter..on mine it had a oil cooler and that's where the supply line came from..I put a blockoff plate on mine..

[solidaxel]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

Solid ..that plate he shows goes on the side of the engine block down by the oil filter..on mine it had a oil cooler and that's where the supply line came from..I put a blockoff plate on mine..

So that LS had a oil cooler and still has the loop back for oil with the other adapter

[mongocanfly]

This isnt my engine but it looked like this..

[solidaxel]

I was under the understanding that was a oil circuit and must remain for oil pressure

[mongocanfly]

I'm just going on what I was told but here's a diagram of how it was plumbed..that other pic was misleading a little as it looks to only have one threaded hole on that fitting...simply put a blockoff plate on it..

[dayj1]

Originally Posted by solidaxel

I was under the understanding that was a oil circuit and must remain for oil pressure

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

...simply put a blockoff plate on it..

The plate doesn't actually "block off" the flow of oil. It's really more of a cover and allows the flow of oil to pass from one port to another. Here's a picture of the backside, showing the channel to allow oil flow:



The one posted above (in the link from Amazon) has a 1/8" NPT hole in it to provide a place to put an oil pressure sender.

[solidaxel]

That looks better !!

[davepl]

Originally Posted by solidaxel

Did you place that on the top rear of the engine?

No, as others have noted, it's right above the filter. It can be used for oil coolers and stuff but my LS3 had none of that so that's where I pick up oil pressure instead.

[mongocanfly]

Dayj1..mine was just a solid alum block and a gasket..it didn't have the bypass recess in it...its been over 2 yrs now since I got it on the road and it hasn't caused me any issues...if I remember one port is pressure and the other port is return into the pan..I'm a little foggy on it so I could be wrong..

[dayj1]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

Dayj1..mine was just a solid alum block and a gasket..it didn't have the bypass recess in it...its been over 2 yrs now since I got it on the road and it hasn't caused me any issues...if I remember one port is pressure and the other port is return into the pan..I'm a little foggy on it so I could be wrong..

Both ports are pressurized oil leaving the filter. You can see the u-turn that the oil makes at the bypass plate in the diagram below. I'm not sure how yours is working if your plate really doesn't connect the ports. Maybe it's bypassing the filter?

[mongocanfly]

Now you've got me wondering and worried.. I just changed the oil last week and the filter was full of black oil so I'm guessing there's oil going thru filter but according to your diagram its not..I'm gonna pull the plate off and look at it again but I'm certain its just flat on the back..the guy i bought the engine from gave me one off another engine and it leaked like crazy..so he sent me the one I've got..

[mongocanfly]

Yep..just pulled it off and mine is a solid plate (no cutout) on the back..so I just ordered one with the reccess..I hope nothings screwed up on my engine, I've got over 7000 miles on it and it holds good oil pressure...that's what's so great about this site..I'm always learning..

[Green67Stepper]

Nice work man! i'm collecting parts for my 250 to LS swap right now. i assume you are still using your factory in-cab gas tank?

[Tork?]

Originally Posted by Green67Stepper

Nice work man! i'm collecting parts for my 250 to LS swap right now. i assume you are still using your factory in-cab gas tank?

I second that question. Any pics of how to set up the fuel system @ the tank?

[72blu]

Originally Posted by Tork?

I second that question. Any pics of how to set up the fuel system @ the tank?

Yes I did keep the in cab gas tank to answer your question. I will try and get you some pics of the fuel system ASAP. I am currently getting the gas tank resealed and flushed because it was absolutely caked with sediment and varnish.