Real world Engine opinions, sbc vs ls swap

[greengrenade]

^^ yea ur right the newer ones are around 360 ish hp. The engines i was lookin at outta the trucks are the earlier lq9's. I think the truck engines after the lq9 (which i believe the lq9 ended in like 05 or 06) have some type of active fuel system in them or something. The truck motors all look like solid options, and i agree, i dont want to get much more power than what they offer stock. But a cam swap and some other factory heads i can find on a budget wouldnt hurt lol

[dirtyjim]

nice truck so far.
I'm going to say combine the traditional sbc with the ls pcm by using 411 pcm and a modified 2001-02 express van tune. the 01-02 express van was the only time a ls pcm was used on a vortec engine. google black box 411 swap for more info.
you will need to use the vortec balancer, timimg cover and distributor with a combnation of ls and vortec harness. but it will give you multiport and trans control along with a pcm that can handle very big cams and turbos using cheap junkyard parts

[greengrenade]

Thanks guys, yes i engine turned that gauge panel with an abbrasive craytex stick in a drill press. Kinda tedious but it turned out nice. N dirtyjim, im probably either gonna stick with the sbc or go full boar on a newer ls style swap. Ill do some research on that though and see what its all about

The lq9 seems like a much more affordable option to an ls2, which is perfect for me. Same short block as the ls2 with an iron block instead of aluminum. Ive seen builds where guys online swap the lq9 heads, intake, cam and tune to get 500hp or better. And a lot of guys are running factory ls3 or similar heads or intakes to keep costs down and still get performance on a budget. Seems the lq9 is much cheAper to obtain thAn an ls2, and the 50hp it lacks in comparison can be made up and surpassed for a fraction the cost of buying an ls2. Back to research !! Hahaha. Im liking this option more and more

[Z10]

Ok, I'll be the contrarian to the LS argument. Yes they are cheap and plentiful, but they sure are ugly. I took another route. FIRST TPI fuel injection on top of a ZZ4 making about 375hp and 420ft.lbs of torque, mated to a 700r4 trans, power steering, A/C, power (soon to be 4wheel disc brakes), OEM cruise control, etc.
And it's currently returning about 17mpg on the highway.

[greengrenade]

I do agree on the looks of the ls, there not pretty at all. But in my eyes, a small block chevy with a 3x2 setup is gorgeous, i have yet to see a modern fuel injected engine come close to a clean vintage motor as far as looks. Too much **** to hide imho. So as far as that goes ive accepted that the engine isnt gonna be as good looking as a traditional sbc. Ill save the good looking motor for a traditional 30-31 model a coupe id like to build some day. The lq9 looks very promising. The guy next door to me just picked up a lq4 recently with a 4l60e, i didnt know wtf an lq4 or lq9 was like two weeks ago when he told me lol but he got the motor n trans combo for 3300 bucks, had 27,000 miles on it out of a wrecked van

[greengrenade]

I have a 55 stepside, i realized i posted in the 67-72 section after i started this thread. Ive read online that some of the 67-72's can weigh in as much as 4200 lbs but average out around 3900ish. The 55's are supposed to be around 3200 lbs, if i can keep that number somewhat close to that i think that would help in the mpg department. Again even at that weight 25 is stretchin it, but just to be anywhere close to that would be awesome. My little beater ford ranger parts hauler gets around 18 and has about 160 horse. Id be ecstatic with anything over 20 and 400 horse

[Nitis]

Dads 3 deuces in his 72 gmc. He said that's what all the cool kids had in their cars back in the day.

[Z10]

Originally Posted by Nitis

Dads 3 deuces in his 72 gmc. He said that's what all the cool kids had in their cars back in the day.

Nice!

[sixtyeightC10]

Originally Posted by Nitis

Dads 3 deuces in his 72 gmc. He said that's what all the cool kids had in their cars back in the day.

Very nice!

[ahsom79vette]

Holley Performance makes some stuff that makes the LS look more 'traditional'. In fact I think they have many products for swapping the LS into these trucks.

Their shop truck is pretty nice setup with an Aluminum LS3 w/ T56 6-speed, and 500 rwhp. Was looking at pics of this truck a while back, and looks like they did a really nice job in keeping with the nostalgia and combining the modern drive-train and performance.

Jay Leno actually just did an episode with this truck. I don't think they mentioned the actual mpg's, but said that it did really well. Holley put on their coil pack/ valve covers, which helps hide the un-sightly.

I would guess from what you guys have said that this is probably a fairly pricy $$$ setup, though.

[truckdude239]

i went lsx for one reason my 305 that i had built after sittign for like a year it broke 2 push rods and wiped the cam from a stuck vavle, i was looking at almost 900 dollars for reworked heads cam, lifters and push roods plus labor, i got a 4.8 and 4l60e harness computer all accessories but the ac compressor for 1100 with 150k on it, 400 buxs to mod the harness and flash the computer but now it starts every time where the carbed 305 didn;t

[greengrenade]

Ive been doing a lot more research on prices and theres a tonnnn of engine for sale on ebay and the like with certified compression tests and other gauranteed tests done as well as running videos etc. i even checked out some ls3's but there pricey, on the contrary the ls2 or an lq9 are cheaper but harder to find a decent mileage engine. Ive found t56's for 900 to 1400 really consistently. I have a fresh rebuilt muncie in the truck now, im hoping i can get a good price for that and pay for most if not all the price of the t56. Ill probably just end up with whatever engine/harness combo i can get a good deAl on when the time comes

[greengrenade]

Also i was on the vette forum and pretty much everybody is able to milk at least 27-30 on the highway with both the ls2 and ls3. Granted the vette has aerodynamics like a spear, and my truck is built like a cruise liner in comparison. But if i can keep the weight reasonable(which should be fairly close to a vette at 3200-3300 lbs) i think scraping the 25 mpg mark might be doable on the highway

[Z10]

Originally Posted by greengrenade

Also i was on the vette forum and pretty much everybody is able to milk at least 27-30 on the highway with both the ls2 and ls3. Granted the vette has aerodynamics like a spear, and my truck is built like a cruise liner in comparison. But if i can keep the weight reasonable(which should be fairly close to a bette at 3200-3300 lbs) i think scraping the 25 mpg mark might be doable on the highway

I think you are way optimistic on getting 25 out of LS/c10 combo. Check with new truck owners and you'll get numbers from 14 to 18. Now the c10 is lighter so, maybe 20.

[greengrenade]

Originally Posted by Z10

I think you are way optimistic on getting 25 out of LS/c10 combo. Check with new truck owners and you'll get numbers from 14 to 18. Now the c10 is lighter so, maybe 20.

The lightest curb weight i could find for say a 2009 silverado was right around 4700 lbs. and that was a reg cab short bed base model with no options. Ur typical pickup that everyone drives nowadays, the ext cab short bed, weighed in At 5150 lbs, again without options. Weight isnt everything, but shaving over 1,500 lbs compared to my 55 is a lot of weight. Id expect mine to be in the 3450 range honestly. I think tuned properly 22 ish is doable, ill aim for the 25 mark but as i said anything over 20 with 400 horse would be killer

[Lee H]

I did not read all the posts but here goes. I've done 3 383s now. To get get magical numbers and still be daily drivable I've had to spend about 6k carb top pan, water pump to fly wheel. My best, the current one, is right at 360 HP & 400 torque at the rear wheels, and it barely has enough vacuum to work the brakes. With EFI add about 2k conservatively, trans to handle the power about 2k. Hind sight being 20/20 I would have gone LS complete pull out, harness, trans to handle the power, FI, all accessories, simple cam swap and more power & drive-ability for way less than half the cost. Another 1k for swap stuff and your golden. Don't expect better mileage, just a great power plant in an old iron work horse. I'm getting near 13 miles to gallon around town, about the same as my max Silverado.

[ahsom79vette]

Just watched another video that a member here referenced, on the Holley shop truck.

They were getting ~20mpg with that LS3/T56 combo. If an LS swap could return even in the low 20's mpg, I think that's fairly impressive.

My stock 402/400 gets an incredible ~7mpg. I'd be ecstatic with 20, but don't think that would happen with a C20.

[BigDaddyV]

Im a hard core old school guy my self, but I have to throw this pic of 67Cheby's Square peg motor, You can make a LS motor look good....

But I love my 1970 Corvette 350

[Fitz]

Originally Posted by BigDaddyV

Im a hard core old school guy my self, but I have to throw this pic of 67Cheby's Square peg motor, You can make a LS motor look good....

But I love my 1970 Corvette 350

OOOHHH Eye Candy!

[Andy4639]

Why not use a LS motor and make it look old school. It's been done and farely cheap also.

[greengrenade]

Its funny you guys posted those pics. The first thing i looked for was either a coil relocation or coil cover. Those look really cool. I only found one other one where a guy took a 235 gmc i6 cover and cut it down and custom built a "valve cover " for each side of the engine. Those look cool as hell guys

[Andy4639]

I had a cover made locally for my 6.0 and pick it up tomorrow to do final fitting and then prep work to have it painted. It will bolt down just like the orignal cover and cover both sides of the coils.