Why stick with a 5.3? I would try to find a wrecked Camaro that is being parted out and snag the 6.2 from it, then supercharge it. Or, if you are just wanting to be in the 550 - 650 HP range, you could get a big block from Mark Jones. I am sure that others will chime in with options.

VortecPro - Racing & Machine - Homepage

 

Really appreciate the input. I know man I really want that 6.2 but that $$$ is tough and I get it it’s totally worth every dollar!! Very cool brotha hope to hear more from others!

 

All depends on what you want out of the car.. Resto mod means a different things to different people.
Is it a cruiser for you and the family?
Is it a street racer with no real concerns of comfort?
Is it going to be a canyon carver?


could go with a nice 350-383 small block with 500hp with a turbo 200r4 trans or a TKX 5speed. for under 12g
could go big block ij what ever flavor you want, drivetrain package will set you back at least 15g depending on trans and motor
could go LS route with a 6l80 still cost over 10g when all is said and done.

Don't know anything about driveline thats in your car but if money is an issue, I recommend sticking with a similar drivetrain.

Could make a better guess if you had a rough estimate you could spend for drivetrain.. But if I were you (and only because I saw your bodyshop post) is to concentrate on the body. You are at least a year plus out from needing an engine.

 

Buy a wrecked Camaro, you'll have all the wiring, computer, brackets, Bits & Pieces heck a friend bought a wrecked 2011? for his 72 Camaro swap and used the A/C, interior, SAT radio, Dash, console & shifter etc.

 

Junkyard 5.3 with a mild cam (216ish @ 0.050) an single turbo is the cheapest route, but your gambling with a junkyard motor. I'm about 8000$ into my "built for boost" LS 408 Stroker including the Terminator X max to run it. Might install the Vortech V3 tuner kit down the road, 3200$, going to see if I'm happy with the 408 first. I'd be above stock LSA power levels with the Vortech, a Stock LSA will do about 500/500 rwhp/rwtq.

 

Very simple. I wanted a LSA motor but 15k-20k is not realistic when your married with kids lol.

I built a mild, traditional, carbureted 496ci BBC for less than half that, and it went 11.37 @ 117mph in the 1/4 mile in a 4000lb Chevelle. In addition to the engine being cheaper, I didn't need special wiring, headers, oil pans, motor mounts, ECU's, nor any of the other added expenses associated with going to an LS motor that no one ever discusses or admits to. JMHO

 

don't see the romance with the LSA-rated at 556HP by Chevy, use the LS3-515HP long block and a Holley HiRam for bling, probably make 540HP

 

Pbcbob, really appreciate your input I will definitely look into what you said thank you again!

All depends on what you want out of the car.. Resto mod means a different things to different people.
Is it a cruiser for you and the family?
Is it a street racer with no real concerns of comfort?
Is it going to be a canyon carver?


could go with a nice 350-383 small block with 500hp with a turbo 200r4 trans or a TKX 5speed. for under 12g
could go big block ij what ever flavor you want, drivetrain package will set you back at least 15g depending on trans and motor
could go LS route with a 6l80 still cost over 10g when all is said and done.

Don't know anything about driveline thats in your car but if money is an issue, I recommend sticking with a similar drivetrain.

Could make a better guess if you had a rough estimate you could spend for drivetrain.. But if I were you (and only because I saw your bodyshop post) is to concentrate on the body. You are at least a year plus out from needing an engine.

Really appreciate your response and thank you! Your absolutely right I do have at least a year or more on the body. I’m just curious if the LSA motor is just a faze And for half the price can I rebuild a different LS for half the price and receive almost the same or more performance a LSA gives. And my car will be definitely a Sunday family car but I definitely want it to perform when needed.

 

If money is tight, it will only get tighter the more "exotic" you go.

If money is tight, I'd build a 450+ HP/TQ 383 or a 550-600 HP/TQ 454/468.....then beef up the tranny (TH-350 or TH-400) and the rear-end. (3.08 to 3.3x rear gears.) Get a custom torque converter.

If you're running a manual tranny, you can ignore that last sentence.

If you have kids, it's more important to you (and them) to spend time in and around a running car.....as opposed to a never ending project that can't be driven. The kids will grow up faster than you think. Let them enjoy an old school, Chevelle build.

Just my two cents. It's a Free Country....so do what makes you happiest.

 

If you have kids, it's more important to you (and them) to spend time in and around a running car.....as opposed to a never ending project that can't be driven. The kids will grow up faster than you think. Let them enjoy an old school, Chevelle build.

Boy if that didn't hit home. I had a completely restored 70 and picked kids up from school. Cruise around with the family, out to dinner etc. and got a bug up my @$$ for a 67. Got rid of the 70 and got a 67 roller. My son was 11 & daughter was 7. I worked on that car for 10 years. Car lived on jackstands and under covers. I finally got it on the road and had it parked
In the driveway when my son came home from college. He walked around it for 10 minutes and said it was beautiful.

I said you never said anything about it before. He said he had never seen the complete car. Interior was out or the wheels were off or the engine out, etc. That's when it hit me. I missed out on 10 years of cruising with my kids because I had a vision.

My 70 was done in a year, they grew up with that car and I got rid of it. When i got the 67 i was older, the kids had stuff going on, life happened.

I guess I'm just thinking.....

 

So what is your budget ?

 

Get a 6.0 out of a truck, change the cam and valve springs and you are over 500hp. Yes you will need the Holley swap oil pan, but any performance engine is going to get a performance oil pan.
Running a carb get an MSD 6014 and whatever intake you want. Or stay efi and get something like the Holley Terminator X, plug and play.
ICT Billet makes all kinda of brackets for power steering /alternators /ac etc.
LSX Innovations motor mount plates let you use stock Chevelle motor mounts.

I rebuilt my carb 6.0 with forged pistons and a cam/valve spring swap and all the swap stuff for about 5K. Mostly drag race mine and with a tight nitrous converter runs 11.60’s.

 

What is your goal and your budget ? Do you have any parts like headers etc or are you starting from scratch ?

 

This is just to give you an idea on new engines from a reliable builder that does them all, BBC, SBC and Ls platform. look at cost and HP ratings.

Chevy / GM Compatible Crate Engines

BluePrint Engines builds Ford, Chevy, and Chrysler crate engines. These crate engines are high performance drop-in engines, sometimes called stroker engines.

blueprintengines.com

 

Great comparison but don’t forget to add $1,200 to $2,500 for wiring and computer to the LS cost.

 

what do you have right now? does the car have a motor and trans? old school small block and regular trans would be low cost, quick and easy. get the car running so you can take the family out on those Sunday drives. jim

 

There’s a 30k mile LS3/6 speed auto from a Camaro for sale near me for $6k. That’s 430 HP.

 

Oh wow okay. Much appreciated on the info. Let me think about it and I will get back to you. Thank you.

 

Putting an LS in can get expensive really fast if you want to retain fuel injection and computer control of the engine. You need to figure out your goals for the car. Are you building the car as a driver, for drag racing, for auto cross or ? The first step is understanding your goals and educate yourself on what you're getting into.

If money is tight, from your other posts, it sounds like you're going to have your hands full and pockets empty with body work (i.e. mini tubs, door skins, hood hinges, paint, etc). What are you going to do for suspension? How about tires and wheels? Are you going to strengthen the frame? How about the rear end?

By the time you get to the engine things could change and you may want to go down the LT1 or LT4 path. The least expensive path is find a nice small block or big block along with a more traditional trans (i.e. turbo 350 or 400, or 4 speed muncie or possibly TKX)

For the LS path, it starts with which engine and transmission. The cheapest is probably a 5.3 with a 4L60 out of a truck. A 6 speed transmission, automatic or manual will require modifying the tunnel. Depending on the engine donor, the accessory drive may or may not work with a Chevelle. For example a 5th gen Camaro won't work because the alternator is mounted low on the drivers side and will interfere with the steering box. If you want to run A/C you need to determine where you're going to run the A/C compressor. If you want to stay with fuel injection then you need to look at the fuel system and ECM. You'll also need to look at the cooling system. And the list goes on.

Take a look at some of the build streams in the Protouring section and it'll give you some ideas. You can look at my build stream on the link below as I've gone down the path it sounds like you're pursuing. Also google Richard Holdener as he has several videos where he dynos junkyard LS engines with various mods.

 

Look at CoPart. They are an insurance auction place all around the country, you can find some really good wrecked stuff there.

 

When i go to shows, the original-ish looking cars do it for me. Yeah the engine swaps are cool, but there's something special about an old Big Block in an old car. Just works and stands the test of time. However if your looking for gobs of power then anything goes

 

Heres one…

Ls3 Engine - auto parts - by owner - vehicle automotive sale

COMPLETE LS3 ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION . 20k miles . Comes with ecu and all accessories . Ready for swap

sfbay.craigslist.org

Heres another..

LS3 L99 engine w/Automatic 6L80 transmission runs great - auto parts...

2011 Camaro SS LS3 L99 engine w/Automatic 6L80 transmission & computer harness. Runs great LS Swap. Bought for my 69 Camaro but recently decided to go a different route. Paid 9k Engine runs...

sfbay.craigslist.org

 

If you are set on a larger displacement, LS look at buying a wrecked car or truck. Check out Copart or IAAI. These are the two companies that sell totaled vehicles for insurance companies. Depending on the state you live in, you might be required to buy using a broker. It also might turn out cheaper to use a broker because they pay lower auction fees, and depending on the brokers location, it can save sales tax. This is what I did. I bought a 2012 SS Camaro with the L99 6.2 for about $7000 through a broker in Oregon 2 years ago. The L99 is rated at 400hp by Chevrolet and is backed by a 6-speed automatic transmission. This trans is big and difficult to fit in an A body. It does have about 130,000 miles though. This gets you all of the electronics for the fuel injection. I also plan to use the 14" Brembo brakes bucket seats. Then, you still have parts that can be sold to offset the purchase price. For vehicles that run the auction listing will typically have a video with the engine running. Once i got it home, I charged the battery a while, started it and drove it around for a bit, and did a few burnouts in the driveway. Couldn't drive it too much because the radiator has many large holes caused by the crash.The big brakes will require at least an 18" wheel, so you need to be ready for that expense.

Pictures are of the car I bought.

Sent from my SM-A716U using Tapatalk

 

FWIW, the two types of old cars that most frequently get sold incomplete or mid-build b/c the current owner ran out of money are:

1) Cars requiring massive body work, often times exceeding the value of the car when done.
2) Cars that had the restomod process started but the owners ran out of money before completion....and everything is SO expensive.

Right now, prices on everything.....including Chevelle parts.....are pretty stupid/silly.

That said, the other life events which force cars to be sold include divorce and a terminal disease or severe health issue. May we all avoid both of these.....

 

Like we say in project management for project timelines - Good, Fast, and Cheap - Pick two. In my case I chose good and cheap so it's taking along time and I'm doing a lot of the work myself. And guess what, it still isn't cheap....

 

Pssssst, speed secret. Put a dished piston 400 sbc with a set of Vortec heads on it in your car and blow most of the junkyard LS engines away. Tons of power on the cheap.

 

They say I can almost make as much snot as my 600 hp BBC with this virgin SBC 400 I have stashed.

 

Gene: You can get to 500/500 HP/TQ pretty easy.....but you'll have a hard time getting to 600/600 with an old school, GM 400 SBC.....even with a massive cam and great heads.
That said, the numbers don't matter. Unless you've driven or ridden in a well done 400 SBC, you don't realize how much massive TQ these motors make. Gobs and gobs of torque. Everywhere.
You ARE getting big block power in a small block package. But 600 is a little high.

 

I've been eyeing a new engine and will probably go with a 383 stroker with fuel injection. EFI for reliability and the 383 for a little extra umph. And I won't have to change out anything motor back until a later date. Looking for a quick hot swap. Probably will get a shop to do the swap out from the 327 to the 383. I would much rather put my money into a well built engine then spending a ton on retrofitting something that wasn't made for the car.

 

5.3 with a turbo and cam, stock wiring harness will need a tune and you got 800hp done cheap and easy.

 

Gee, I didn't know you couldn't put a turbo on any other engines, like maybe a good BBC and start with 400hp and add 400hp=800hp with a turbo at low boost and last forever.

 

When I bought my 68 12ish yrs ago I dropped a $600 1986 Winnie RV 454 & HD T-400 trans that had roughly 24,000 miles on it, did a cam, intake, carb upgrade too but still wasn't too expensive