An Ls motor will lighten up the car up front....which is what I like most.... and give superior gas mileage.
Issue is ....can you do it for 5 or 6k. 450 to 500hp is not cheap.....unless used.
I am happy with my LS conversion.......fuel injection is nice and predictable.
Good luck.

 

I did an LS swap to mine a couple years ago... it stayed in for about 11 months or so and i swapped back out.

LS engine just did not look or do what i wanted it to do.

It was fuel injected 6.0 (20,000 mile bottom end)
Lingenfelter Heads CNC
Custom Grind cam
Edelbrock Proflow
Billet T body
Stainless Headers
Custom tunes x3
Aeromotive fuel system

Just didn't do what i wanted it to do.

To each his own, LS engines are the new craze still.
Not bad engines, To me they went from kool to see, to the norm.

 

Thanks guys!

Chris, did you use one with miles on it or rebuild it? 5.3, 5.7, 6.0?

1Super69, what did you swap it back out with? Just not the power you were hoping for?

 

Overall the LS just got to common place to fast for me.
Nothing bad to say but just didn't do it for me.

I swapped out with an ole school 434,
Now i have since swapped out with a 565.

Went 9.70's on motor and 9.10's on a small shot of nitrous.
This is with a 4L80E transmission.

 

If your just putting either in from a junkyard and running as is. The vortec is cheaper to me.

The vortec 350 is cheaper also to me if you have to go through it. Only thing your pulling is the engine. If you rebuild the 350 you may be just putting in pistons, a overhall kit, and a roller cam.

If you go LS. Your going to have to either notch the crossmember or swap out the oil pan. Depending on what your doing to the LS too. Truck intake, car intake, aftermarket intake. If you go through the engine and freshen it up that is added cost. Step up the compression with either a piston or milling the heads. Bigger cam too will be a added cost. Motor mounts will be different. You will have to get all the wiring and the computer and have to get the computer tuned if you cam the motor. May be some adapter stuff for the TH350 too. Im not sure. 450 to 500 is not hard at all with a LQ4. That engine is 364 cubic inches. A 10 to 1 engine with a cam that matches the heads and compression should get you there pretty good. Rpm band to around 6500 though. The smaller LS1 and LS2 will be harder to get that power. I might add that headers, gaskets, and parts and pieces are a good bit of money as they are popular to do right now.

There maybe other custom features to the conversion that I dont know about.

The LS conversion adds up pretty fast to me.

 

Aaron that's kind of my same thoughts, that's why I turned to you guys that know these swaps for advice and opinions. I can get a NEW vortec 350 from crate engine depot for $1,900. Mill the heads, ad a cam, valve springs, a little porting, and good intake, and get an estimated 447hp, according to Hotrod Mag. And the best part is everything will bolt right up. I was kind of leaning this direction, but I'm still completely torn on which way I want to go. You guys have already been a big help. Thanks!

 

Thats what I would do right there.

If you dont mind having the car down for some time and have the money to spend and want to do that with the LS then that would be cool.

If you just going to get in the car on a weekend and drive around town and or go to the beach here and there in the car and then sell the car after a couple of years. I would not do the LS conversion.

If you plan on keeping the car for a long time, then the conversion is worth the time to think about.

Im not sure what your background is. Your a new guy with 3 post.

 

Tit for tat the LS will run circles areound a GM small block. It all comes down to budget.

 

Amen...

Andrew

 

To me LS is the only way to go. I went from an 800HP Mike Lewis 540 to a 630HP ls3 418 and much prefer the LS. The big block was fun but it was not as nice to drive in traffic, got terrible mileage, ran hotter and weighed a lot more. You can build an LS to any power level you want and it's a super versatile base to build off...mine gets 22mpg on the highway through an auto.

To me a vortec is outdated and kinda orphaned ta this point. You could likely grab a 5.3 or 6.0 for no more and have more parts available.

 

I have a Chevelle that I am thinking in going this route simply because of what you have mentioned. I have another chevelle that is fun to drive but if your in it all day well you feel like you been beat up lol
I want something where we can drive all day and do poker runs but still have some horse power ... Can you share with me a little on what you did for your build please

 

Likely gonna take more than 5-6k for a 450+ hp efi small block. Depends how you do it tho
Stock vortec take out will likely never get to 450 hp on stock heads. So you will need heads and an intake manifold for efi to get the power. Thats 2g right there before you even buy injectors or an efi harness/ecm system.

Cheapest sbc efi is 87-92 fbody based systems. Requires chip burning stuff from moates.net. Cheap but u have to tune them. Very few ppl out there that do them anymore.
They are capable systems tho.

Lsx makes more sense because there are shops everywhere that can atleast tune them decent enough to get you by. Alot of ppl are so so tuners but you can generally find someone good at it to tune for you. Just do your research on shops. Avoid mail order anything

Another option is sbc based with efi connection's 24x conversion to have lsx tuning with old school tech. Alittle more complex but it works. I run it on my twin turbo car

Ls1 can be found fairly cheap these days. Ported heads and cam upgrades can give 500-550 hp easily! Thats 400-450 whp or more. Find used cams for sale and there are decent priced valvespring kits that will handle them. Its not hard making power with lsx. Plus you'll get the driveability with a good tuner

My local bud just did the largest cam u can fit in a stock ls2 long block without cutting pistons and has it driving near stock with a 6 spd. Just under 5% throttle in 6th gear do you notice slight surge. But thats a spot most ppl will never be in

 

Everyone has valid points.

However, I think the guy just want to swap one in out of junk yard.

I dont think he cares about putting fuel injection on a SBC or massive horsepower BBC or LS.

He is going from a 307. Those things are a turd.

He has 5 to 6 grand to spend.

Straight out a junkyard, the vortec is cheaper. There are no modfications to what he has now. If he wants to add fuel injection to the 1900 dollar crate that would be a additional 2500 dollars for a total of 4400 dollars. That is still cheaper.

Anymore, we would need to know what he plans to do with the car as has been mentioned.

 

I appreciate everyone's input on this. It will all help in my decisions.

Fuel injection is definitely on the top of my list.

If I do an LS, I would probably get a salvage yard motor, if I do a sbc, I'll likely go with a new crate motor and modify it for more power.

As for what I want to do with the car, its going to be used primarily for pleasure cruising, and maybe a run at the track occasionally. It needs to be reliable to the point that if we decide we want to take a road trip out of town in it, we won't hesitate. Something my wife can jump in and go, without having to coach her on nursing it till its warmed up or yada yada.

My wish list is:

EFI
450-500hp
Reliable

Here is a pic of our new ride.

 

Maybe I'm a bit ambitious in my HP goals for what I have to spend?

 

I skipped all repleas past this one for a share.

I have (had) two A body Malibus, a 78 and am 81. G body started officially in 82.

Malibu 1 is an 81. 505 BBC stroker, 10 to 1, square ports, roller cam.
9.44@144 on a 150 shot, 10.30s on nuts.

Malibu 2 came in two flavors. First, junk 6.0, carbed, Eddy LS intake and controller. 3500 stall, 4.10s on a 305 MT DR.
11.30s on nuts. Blew it up on spray. Built a 402 stroker LS

9.42@142 on a 150 shot. 10.20s on nuts.

Malibu 1 started in 1993 for me, still have it. Was a V6 car. First incarnation was a 350/700R4 that ran high 16s. Off to a Mercruiser 454. Now in the 13s on nuts. 10.80s on spray. On to a LS6/074 headed 496 stroker. 10.30s on spray.

I have built dozens of engines for customers. Haven't built a small or big block in three years. All LS.

 

With what you have added there about a mileage LS.

Just get the vortec crate. New parts and good power for that car. Fuel injection kits are about 2500 dollars.

 

Why does it have to be fuel injected.a properly tuned carb has great drivability and much cheaper and easier to get going.there is no way I would use a stock vortec intake and fuel injection to build a 450 hp small block. How bout an lq9 with a carb and cam that makes an easy 550 hp

 

He mentioned that he wanted that. Still would be under 2500 dollars with the vortec and intake and carb.

The lq9 with a intake for a carb would be another 400 dollars to spend.

 

I should have said it takes a pretty stout cam with stock heads to get it done but it's easily doable

 

I doubt guys are doing that with stock 317 heads that come on lq9s. Probably swapping to l92 heads to make 550/600hp

 

I meant the stock cathedral port heads that come on the engine. I didn't mean untouched heads

 

Do you have anything to back that claim up? Not saying it's impossible, but I've been looking for a combo like that for a while and can't find one where anyone used the stock cathedral port (#317) heads to achieve 550 to 600hp.

 

L92 heads will give a better platform. There are alot of builds that can get you close to the desired 500 horse out a lq9 or 4 with 317 heads. It may not be in the rpm band you wan though. You need to go over to ls1tech.com

ls1tech.com

 

http://www.hotrod.com/cars/project-vehicles/116-0704-lq4-short-block/

Later added L92 heads and got 550

 

I want fuel injection for a few reasons:

Modern technology
Fuel mileage
Reliability
Ease of use

Carbs can be finicky. Many vehicles I've owned have been carbureted, and I just want the piece of mind to hop in and hit the key like I would in our Yukon.

 

You can do that with a carb. Just go small on the cam and match the heads. That is what the GM crate motors do as well as other "cruiser" or "street rod" engines do.

 

LS, cam/spring/lifter/tune away from 400+ hp depending on what you start out with. Great driveability and good mpg for the power it's putting out. Sure you can get 450+ with a regular sbc but it just has different manners. I'm not sure if I'll ever build another regular sbc for one of my cars after dropping in a 5.3 into the ''66 El Camino.

 

Did you use the factory fuel injection?

Rebuild or put straight in the elky the way it was?

 

I like the performance, dependability and drivability of a modern powertrain. I drive my stuff. Not just around town, but road trips. The modern stuff gives you that ability. I'm sure that back in the 50's the flathead guys would get on to their favorite forum and bitch and moan about these heathens who think the new Chevy "small block" was the way to go. I sold all of my big block stuff close to ten year ago. I've never even thought of looking back and building another. Like anything else, things evolve. The LS platform is on its way out the door also. The new LT1 is another step in that evolution. The runners on the manifold and heads are just frickin sick. The direct injection is an amazing upgrade in the process. All these things just keep getting better and better. 20 years from now, the geriatric small and big block stuff will be in museums and trophy cars. Younger, more forward thinking folks will evolve with the times and find more power and drivability. Why not enjoy the ride and evolve with it?

Just my opinions......and my view of the past, current and future of this hobby.

 

This is my take on it. Hot rods and muscle cars are meant to smoke, be too loud, and go fast. They are rebellious. They scream awesome. I love how you can smell and feel the car as you put your foot to the floor, open up four barrels and drive past the other modern disposable cars. Yes, times do change, it's called fads. People have been hot rodding for years with carbed big blocks and small blocks. The only thing that should be put in museums are the fads that have come and gone. I'm a younger man myself, and for years I've looked at these cars not just for the body style but for the bigger picture for lack of better words. When I look at a muscle car, it's nice to see a big or small carbed engine. When electric motors in cars become more popular, would you put one of those in your muscle car? It would kinda be like seeing a biker gang riding scooters. As far as reliability goes, people have driven carbed engines for years. Your grandmother drove one too, and she didn't think twice about going on a trip. I do have to say that there are some very nice cars with ls engines, like dale jrs chevelle. I guess it's just how you look at hot rodding. But I hope that carbed engines won't become a thing of the past.

 

A good way to look at it. Thanks.

 

I have a rebuilt vortec 350 with a 411 ecm cam and aftermarket heads pistons and a Holley stealth ram intake. I used a 02 express van wring harness I modified myself. It makes 400+ hp all for 2800$. I have a 700r4 trans that I already had.

 

I know they are capable. I just sold a truck that had a 350 out of an 89 Iroc Z. All sit really had done to it was a bigger hyd roller cam, a set of stock vortec heads, msd pro bullet distributor, headers, and an edelbrock 750 carb. It dynoed at right at 400 crankshaft hp.

Good to hear. Thanks!

Again I appreciate everyone's input, and enjoy reading the replies!