Yes it is. I am currently doing my first swap. Not my first engine tho. Ls3/6L90E in a 03'Crown Vic Police Interceptor. N/A build. Project with my grand kids. I didnt want just a 5.3l pullout.
If yoour car came with a gen 1 350 small block, it will always be cheaper and easier to put back in what came out. For the extra cost and time it takes to get everything to make an LS work in your GM car with a factory gen 1 small block, you could build a pretty stout SBC and put it right back in with no problems. I see so many people with G-body's going to LS and I can't understand why. Small block Chevy's are still a good platform with huge aftermarket support.
I think that's a very valid point. And I don't think every car needs an LS swap. If your car has a decent performance engine in it. It probably makes more sense to swap the same family of motor back in For my situation my stock engine Departed the building. And everybody told me to build a BMW m60b44 to replace it. But once you start doing the costs breakdown it didnt really make sense -Q
@@Aperture.Motorsports I agree with everything you said. And unless you're a hardcore street racer, or someone who goes to the track regularly, swapping in an LS doesn't make sense. If it's fuel injection you want, they make plenty of EFI kits for small blocks. Most stock gen 1 bottom ends are plenty strong for street use.
There is a thing back and forth on which I'd easier to work on. And a bunch of other stuff. Ls engines are simpler. Some say the 5.0 is simpler to work on. I say rebuild one of each and look at the price tag and the difficulty level of both. Depending on how wore both engines are the Ls is cheaper and easier. This is the reason I went with the Ls3 for my swap. Not buying a 10k drop out. I bought a really cheap one that dropped a valve seat and cracked the piston. Luckily the owner shut the vehicle off as soon as he heard the bang. So I had to replace one sleeve. $350 on top of the normal machine work. $750 for a complete cam kit from BTR. It's almost 2 grand just for cams in a 4v mod engine or a 5.0 which is also a mod engine. 32 valves make it alot more expensive to do the heads. Unless it doesn't have much wear. So yes Ls's are easier and can be cheaper. But my next swap will be a 5.0 in a Crown Vic.
5.0s are really good motors. I had actually wanted to coyote swap my E34. But when doing the finances and the breakdown spreadsheet versus the ls that was available to me that my local parts yard just didn't really make sense -Q
Same here. I was originally going ro 5.0 swap my Vic, but I looked at the prices. Even high milage 1st gen 5.0s are going for $3500. Not far from rebuilding. And then 2 grand for control pack. That's 6 grand with tax. And that's just getting started. So Ls it is lol.
I personally don't have a whole lot of experience with SBC, but they seem like really cool engines. That was my grandfather's suggestion when I started LS swapping the e34. He wanted something similar to a DZ302 -Q
U did the right thing. I was jus speak more in the Chevy community wit older builds. Ls ain't necessary but in ur case I woulda jus stayed with the bmw platform. They drive perfect already
So I actually cut the reason why I'm swapping away from the BMW platform from the video. Because I'll probably make a video about it later ... But basically my car was a M60b30 automatic. And the transmission and motor started to give up the ghost around 297k. And a lot of the BMW guys said they would have preferred if I would have stayed on the BMW platform and built a m60b44. that would involve finding a 4.4 l block from a E39, and 4.0 cylinder heads from a e34. I talked to somebody who did that swap and it made around 320 horsepower, and it cost them around three and a half Grand to do. Not to mention the fact that my car needs a trans swap as well. So to me the bmw juice wasn't worth the squeeze
Right on the money.
Yes it is. I am currently doing my first swap. Not my first engine tho. Ls3/6L90E in a 03'Crown Vic Police Interceptor. N/A build. Project with my grand kids. I didnt want just a 5.3l pullout.
I feel like crown vics are kind of underappreciated. One of my friends has one. The whole panther platform is actually pretty legit
Over sized 4 door mustang Lol.
If yoour car came with a gen 1 350 small block, it will always be cheaper and easier to put back in what came out. For the extra cost and time it takes to get everything to make an LS work in your GM car with a factory gen 1 small block, you could build a pretty stout SBC and put it right back in with no problems. I see so many people with G-body's going to LS and I can't understand why. Small block Chevy's are still a good platform with huge aftermarket support.
I think that's a very valid point. And I don't think every car needs an LS swap. If your car has a decent performance engine in it. It probably makes more sense to swap the same family of motor back in
For my situation my stock engine Departed the building. And everybody told me to build a BMW m60b44 to replace it. But once you start doing the costs breakdown it didnt really make sense
-Q
@@Aperture.Motorsports I agree with everything you said. And unless you're a hardcore street racer, or someone who goes to the track regularly, swapping in an LS doesn't make sense. If it's fuel injection you want, they make plenty of EFI kits for small blocks. Most stock gen 1 bottom ends are plenty strong for street use.
There is a thing back and forth on which I'd easier to work on. And a bunch of other stuff. Ls engines are simpler. Some say the 5.0 is simpler to work on. I say rebuild one of each and look at the price tag and the difficulty level of both. Depending on how wore both engines are the Ls is cheaper and easier. This is the reason I went with the Ls3 for my swap. Not buying a 10k drop out. I bought a really cheap one that dropped a valve seat and cracked the piston. Luckily the owner shut the vehicle off as soon as he heard the bang. So I had to replace one sleeve. $350 on top of the normal machine work. $750 for a complete cam kit from BTR. It's almost 2 grand just for cams in a 4v mod engine or a 5.0 which is also a mod engine. 32 valves make it alot more expensive to do the heads. Unless it doesn't have much wear. So yes Ls's are easier and can be cheaper. But my next swap will be a 5.0 in a Crown Vic.
5.0s are really good motors. I had actually wanted to coyote swap my E34. But when doing the finances and the breakdown spreadsheet versus the ls that was available to me that my local parts yard just didn't really make sense
-Q
Same here. I was originally going ro 5.0 swap my Vic, but I looked at the prices. Even high milage 1st gen 5.0s are going for $3500. Not far from rebuilding. And then 2 grand for control pack. That's 6 grand with tax. And that's just getting started. So Ls it is lol.
Gen 4 5.3L is an aluminum. And it's a Vortec.
Most gen 4 vortecs are aluminum. But I still find it funny how when I go to car meets everybody makes it sound like they only came in iron
Exactly. I say the intakes are what make them different. Short ( car), tall truck). Everything else is the same.
NOTHIN beats a properly built sbc bang for buck. LS still expensive but they are easier to work on
I personally don't have a whole lot of experience with SBC, but they seem like really cool engines. That was my grandfather's suggestion when I started LS swapping the e34. He wanted something similar to a DZ302
-Q
U did the right thing. I was jus speak more in the Chevy community wit older builds. Ls ain't necessary but in ur case I woulda jus stayed with the bmw platform. They drive perfect already
So I actually cut the reason why I'm swapping away from the BMW platform from the video. Because I'll probably make a video about it later ...
But basically my car was a M60b30 automatic. And the transmission and motor started to give up the ghost around 297k. And a lot of the BMW guys said they would have preferred if I would have stayed on the BMW platform and built a m60b44. that would involve finding a 4.4 l block from a E39, and 4.0 cylinder heads from a e34. I talked to somebody who did that swap and it made around 320 horsepower, and it cost them around three and a half Grand to do. Not to mention the fact that my car needs a trans swap as well. So to me the bmw juice wasn't worth the squeeze