an lq4 or lq9 is a great choice

 

Both, I believe, are truck engines and the LQ9 will likely be expensive compared to other LS engines because of its rarity. Being a truck engine in either case, these will likely be equipped with a tall intake manifold (compared to a car engine) that might make for trouble closing the hood. It can be swapped for a lower car intake manifold and throttle body. Also, truck oil pans tend to hang lower than car oil pans and it might need to be swapped for something that won't hit parking lot speed bumps.

I have a model year 2000 Chevy Silverado LM7 engine and its 4L60E transmission that I'm dropping into my 70 El Camino so please believe me, I've fretted over all of these things and more. The best $19.86 I have spent in a while went to buy a book from Jefferson Bryant titled "Swap LS Engines Into Chevelles and GM A-Bodies". His book is copyrighted this year so it is current for all of the aftermarket parts you will need to make this swap easy. Wiring, radiators, cross members, engine mounts, serpentine belt drives, oil pans, headers, etc . . . its all in there. There are other well written books but none as current as this one.

Rick

 

I have a 6.0 in my 67. Used a Holley pan and generic motor mounts. I swapped the intake to a LS2, swapped in a LS6 cam, ported heads and she sounds very healthy. I built my own harness from the truck harness and everything works great. I haven’t drove it yet, need to get the brakes & wheels sorted out.

 

There are literally a couple dozen "LS" type engine configurations out there and, parts interchange on most of them. Here is a link to a good reference sheet Chevy Engine Code

 

At this point, with all the aftermarket support it just comes down to your budget. You can Spend $8K on a turnkey GM LS Crate engine or $1K for a junkyard build.
I went the junkyard route, got the LQ4 6.0L out of a 2004 2500 Express Van with 70K miles. Very happy with it.

 

I have the stock LQ4 truck intake under a stock ss hood on my 67 malibu. Gotta say, that the intake sure is ugly though...

 

Me too...mine's in a 72 wagon, but I put the plastic "Vortec" engine cover on, and helps hide it alot...

Mine's not a "show" car...I built it to drive...

 

I'd get the biggest engine you can get if you're going to stay N/A. LS3's are pretty expensive, but a 6.2 out of a Escalade etc. with 100k+ miles can be had from Ebay for around $2500.00. These are 400+hp from the factory. Get a cam and spring package in there and its like a 500hp motor for apprx $3000.00. Dont let the mileage scare you with these...I've had about a dozen apart and they all look like new and at worst show barely any wear at all!!!!

 

Lot of good choices in the ls family. I chose partially on convenience. A 5.7 Corvette engine came available in my area and I made an offer that was accepted. Since I am not planning on a mega hp turbo motor, the all aluminum engine will suit my needs perfectly. I have the exact same motor in my C5 so I know what I can expect. Just for future reference to anyone that might consider the Corvette ls1, my 99 was factory rated @ 345 hp and I had it dyno’ed and it produced 312 rwhp totally stock with a Corsa X-pipe and exhaust.