5.3 swap done cheap...ish

Progress has been slow because Im trying really hard to ave up for an atlas.

Got all my brake plumbing on order. Going with all -3 ptfe stainless.

Got my trans and steering cooler mounted. just built some really simple sheet metal mounts.



ps cooler


trans cooler



Also built a simple engine skid to protect the aluminum oil pan. It ties into the crossmember at the rear and support bars up to the frame at the front. all flanged for easy removal. Skinned with 1" uhmw I got from a friend. 1/2" c'sink bolts hold it in place.

Not the prettiest or most exciting skid but it will get the job done.
Didnt feel like laying on the cold concrete for an installed pic.



 
WOOOO! I finally started working on this thing again!

Not much but I got everything painted and started working on plumbing the brakes.
I didn't get too far before i realized i shorted myself on hose ends. :mad3:

These little -3 PTFE fitting are kind of a bitch to build.


MC's, residual valves, and brake light switch.



From there the rear line just ties into my existing hard line that runs down the frame.

The front line runs down the driver side link to a T on the axle. and that's where I ran out of fittings...
 
I've been eyeballing Speedway Motor's pre-made -3 and -4 lines. For $10 a pop, it seems like smart money.
 
First off, damn fella! Mighty fine looking rig you have there. FWIW I've been playing with LS engines heavily for the last decade or so, let me know if you need advice on any reliability mods. Oil is the first system you need to be careful with. An accusump is a great idea.

A couple comments.
-It seems like a gnarly amount of cutting with one of the goals being to fit standard shorty headers. I dig the tube work and but I'm curious but why aren't you doing long tube headers? You've clearly got the fab skills to make whatever you can dream up.
-FYI an F-body LS1 intake manifold can be had for about $50. Ditch that truck thing. LS1 manifolds go for dirt since everyone wants the LS6 stuff that makes +20 horse.
-Thoughts on a cam yet? It'd really wake up the motor and it sure looks like you have enough axle for it.

Joel

PS +1 to the earlier gent who said he was expecting a 4" lift on 35s!
 
LS1 intake manifolds are not even close to truck intakes at low rpm and marginally if at all better at high rpm (high being truck redline, not actually high). If he doesn't need it for hood clearance, why lose all that torque?
 
The truck manifold is ok, but I'd be curious to see data to back up your claim Hooper. Car craft did a pretty decent story on tuning up the 5.3 a few years ago called 'little bro'. They stated that the truck mani was better than expected but they were surprised that switching to a car type manifold didn't make a difference in torque down low. Might have been a Fast though.

The OP did mention his former 4.0 living life at 6k. Personally, if I was going to the trouble of dropping in a v8, I'd rather it not fall on its face at 5 grand. I guess the title is "done cheap" and the car manifolds to require car accessories to match so that's a downside even if the manifolds can be had for dirt. So question to the builder then... What are your goals for a power band?
 
Last edited:
frijolee said:
First off, damn fella! Mighty fine looking rig you have there.
Thank you!
FWIW I've been playing with LS engines heavily for the last decade or so, let me know if you need advice on any reliability mods. Oil is the first system you need to be careful with. An accusump is a great idea.
I am certainly going to run a 3qt accusump. I also plan to add an Improved Racing baffle to my fbody pan when cash flow permits. in the meantime a big oil gauge with a dummy light will get me through.

A couple comments.
-It seems like a gnarly amount of cutting with one of the goals being to fit standard shorty headers. I dig the tube work and but I'm curious but why aren't you doing long tube headers? You've clearly got the fab skills to make whatever you can dream up.
I went into the project with the plan to use as many of the parts I had on hand as possible. I would love long tubes, just not in the budget. While the shorty headers did play into the decision to cut the front, it was a small factor

-FYI an F-body LS1 intake manifold can be had for about $50. Ditch that truck thing. LS1 manifolds go for dirt since everyone wants the LS6 stuff that makes +20 horse.

I actually have an fbody manifold. Cheapest i have found fuel rails and injectors is around $200! again, budget permitting, I will be going that route.

p.s. the days of 50 dollar manifolds are gone. the ls1 manifolds prices have gotten ridiculous for what they are.

-Thoughts on a cam yet? It'd really wake up the motor and it sure looks like you have enough axle for it.

i honestly haven't even thought about a cam. My goal at this point is to just get the thing running and wheeling before all of our snow is gone. After that power adders will come. I actually have my eye on a complete Whipple setup that is local to me for a killer price...:explosion

Joel

PS +1 to the earlier gent who said he was expecting a 4" lift on 35s!
Click to expand...

Hoooper said:
LS1 intake manifolds are not even close to truck intakes at low rpm and marginally if at all better at high rpm (high being truck redline, not actually high). If he doesn't need it for hood clearance, why lose all that torque?

My thoughts exactly.
Click to expand...

frijolee said:
The truck manifold is ok, but I'd be curious to see data to back up your claim Hooper. Car craft did a pretty decent story on tuning up the 5.3 a few years ago called 'little bro'. They stated that the truck mani was better than expected but they were surprised that switching to a car type manifold didn't make a difference in torque down low. Might have been a Fast though.

The OP did mention his former 4.0 living life at 6k. Personally, if I was going to the trouble of dropping in a v8, I'd rather it not fall on its face at 5 grand. I guess the title is "done cheap" and the car manifolds to require car accessories to match so that's a downside even if the manifolds can be had for dirt. So question to the builder then... What are your goals for a power band?
Honestly i have no goals power wise. I never had power in mind for a reason behind this swap. obviously the added power will be nice but it was a less of a factor than you probably imagine. Reliability, ease of maintenance, and usability in my buggy build are always my main concerns. The cool factor is hard to ignore though. lol
Click to expand...

Hoooper said:
here's one article that talks (not much) about it http://www.hotrod.com/how-to/engine/hrdp-0710-6l-ls-series-small-block/

here's one with more data http://www.performancetrucks.net/fo...-manifold-hard-data-updated-5-11-12-a-397720/
Click to expand...

Some good reads there! Thanks for giving me some bathroom break reading material. haha!
 
Well, Shes back in. The final assembly can begin. I was truly surprised at how easily the motor just kinda slid right in place. I finally am getting to see the payoff of all the extra time I spent making sure everything was mocked up perfectly.

Aside from a quart of atf dumping out of the back of the tranny, it as smooth sailing.:party:

 
Starting to work my way through getting everything assembled and plumbed.

All hoses that have anything flammable running through them will be covered with firesleeve. All plumbing is -an twist lok hose and fittings.

 
A couple quick shots of some of the plumbing.

Everything is Twist-Lok hose and fittings covered with 5/8 Firesleeve.

I also started getting the Engine harness laid in.






I'm basically ready to fire it up Other than i just realized i have the wrong injectors.

The injectors that came with the motor were shot from having sugar put in the fuel tank...

One of my buddies picked up a 5.3 for his drift car and gave me the injectors from it. I didn't even think to check until now but his injectors are flex fuel and mine aren't.
my injectors are (i believe) 26lb/hr and the flexfuels are 33lb/hr.
I don't really want to get a retune to use the flexfuel injectors so I'm probably going to have my original ones cleaned. unfortunately its around 19 bucks per injector. Bummer. :(
 
Damn! Good looking setup right now, just flipped through all the pages. Bummed when i realized this was the last page haha
 
If I knew for sure I wasnt going to need to swap back to the truck intake I would sell you mine for cheaper than that. I bet if you look online you can get a good working used set for less than $19/injector. Lots of guys will have had to swap them out once they get to relatively serious mods since the injectors dont have all that much headroom. Im at something like 85% duty cycle on mine and I dont really have any mods except LS6 intake with 4" tubing to it.
 
Thagodeus said:
Damn! Good looking setup right now, just flipped through all the pages. Bummed when i realized this was the last page haha
Click to expand...

Thanks! ill try to keep feeding updates!

Hoooper said:
If I knew for sure I wasnt going to need to swap back to the truck intake I would sell you mine for cheaper than that. I bet if you look online you can get a good working used set for less than $19/injector. Lots of guys will have had to swap them out once they get to relatively serious mods since the injectors dont have all that much headroom. Im at something like 85% duty cycle on mine and I dont really have any mods except LS6 intake with 4" tubing to it.
Click to expand...

I appreciate the thought.
Ill trade you some flex fuel injectors for yours Hoooper! LOL
Hell ill throw cash on top if yours are the same part number as what i need!

Crfrider said:
push lock hose ftw!!! never go to braided or any other type again did my whole mustang in -12 from sump to firewall
Click to expand...

Agreed! I used to use stainless on all my builds. ill never go back now. the push-lok is so much easier to build and more flexible, etc
 
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