Got a Vortec....

[justpball]

my buddy lost oil pressure in his vortec the other day...still ran and no knocking just lost all the oil pressure, so he bought a crate motor. well i got the old motor for helping put the crate in, I am going to rebuild it and put it in the burb, and leave it TBI so i need some info... I think I am going to put headers and intake on it and dress it up some. So any guys have any info on the parts i need, what headers and intake should i get, and want the biggest cam without giving me problems. alright guys give me some info....Thanks

[nlped]

All I can verify is that the vortec TBI intakes are pricey.
Posted via Mobile Device

[sandnuriz]

Great score, get ready to spend some money

[BLE 'BURBAN]

www.tbichips.com

[mongoose]

you can get a good vortec carbed intake and tbi adapter for less than you can buy a tbi vortec intake for..


a vortec with no oil pressure.... yank that pan before you spend a penny... i've thrown many vortecs away from oiling issues.. either rods/cranks or mains... they seem to go like 5.4L fords go through cam towers.. i say this as no oil pressure is a good sign that your mains are done as well.

[BigBlocksRule]

Stock LT4 cam works fine, won't even need mods to the heads. I'd still upgrade the springs, though - GM's stockers aren't very good. Spend a few minutes blending the bowls and cleaning up the short turns, particularly the exhaust, and you'll pick up 15-20hp.
Flat top pistons and those heads will yield just a hair over 10:1 which is fine for a computer controlled engine. As long as the crank and rods are useable, they're fine as well, have the big ends of the rods checked and if they need to be resized, add some aftermarket bolts while you're at it. Watch sleazebay for a GM intake, it's made for the swap and will handle EGR, etc. with no problem. If you opt out of EGR, SDPC carries the block-off plug.
USE THE FEL-PRO INTAKE GASKETS WITH COMPRESSION STOPS!!!

[justpball]

cool thanks for all the info guys!

[justpball]

hey got another option today, buddy has a wrecked truck with a 5.3, which would be a better route?

[SBTork]

Personally, I would go the route of the 5.3 LSx engine. The old sbc engines are fine but the LSx platform of engines makes more power/torque and wayyy better mileage. Since you're spending money, do it right. It will be a good winter project. Take a look at some of the build threads on here, the swap is not that hard at all, it's just an involved process.
Posted via Mobile Device

[justpball]

should i keep it FI or just carb it?

[nlped]

FI is more reliable, but carburated is cheaper up front. The mileage advantage that the FI system will provide will more than pay for the additional initial investment over time.

And, I say go with the 5.3L, especially since you have access to the donor truck.

[Davidmichael]

5.3 IMO and keep the FI for the long haul. Plus I think it just looks killer in a square.

[SBTork]

deff. keep the fuel injection. It's worth it's weight in gold. Esp. when you compare that system to a carb'd setup. And again, it's not that it's harder, it's just more involved. And all that means is that it requires more research and planning. DO IT!!!

[BigBlocksRule]

Keep in mind that if you keep the 5.3 injected, you'll need speed sensor inputs from your tranny along with a few other things. MSD makes a box that'll run it carb'd, but you'll need TPS, VSS, etc. also. You'll probably want to use the donor tranny to make it a lot easier, IMHO.
Unless you have access to someone who knows what they're doing with injection or you can pull EVERYTHING from the donor truck, you'll probably be better off sticking with the Vortec, it's an easy carb/distributor swap. As for the injection and swap paying for itself over time, it depends on how much you drive the truck. I know a lot of folks with the 5.3 and 5.7 that get no better mileage than a well tuned 5.7 Vortec. Even if you pick up 2 - 5 mpg, that'll take a long time to pay for the investment.
I won't mess with LS swap with anything smaller than a 6.0L, just not worth it IMHO. Now take a 6.2 with those big square port heads, stroke it, and then you REALLY have something!!!

[joe231]

5.3 all the way!
and keep the injection!