catchme76

It begins.... Just doing the basics of the swap right now..getting all of the old junk out of the way and getting the new motor ready..

So here it is! 5.3(lm4)..

The main electrical connectors from the engine harness



Test fitting the fbody accessory brackets

Comparison of the 5.3(bottom) and fbody(top) water pumps


Comparison of the 5.3(left) and fbody(right) water pumps


This is what happens when the bolt breaks while pulling the motor ..luckily it hit the stand and not my face


I will be removing all the old heater and ac parts..try and clean up the firewall a bit

SH-60B

Interesting swap. Keep the pics coming please. Sorry about the windsheild.

Red 69

This belongs up in the LSX engine swap sticky thread. There have been some interesting 5.3L engine swap/build stories in the car magazines. They can be built to produce impressive HP. After all, they are a modern 327 ci engine. They are readily available at modest cost which makes them an attractive alternative to an LS1 engine. Keep the pictures and progress coming. I'm interested in your progress and ultimate performance of the engine.

catchme76

Alright..decided to just pull the body off and see how much rust damage there was etc.I was very pleased..frame looks to be in very good shape. It will make the swap a little easier as well as installing the rack and pinion setup and the fuel pump setup. Gonna pressure wash, degrease, and then paint it up.


Engine hoist was shabby but it got it done





differential cross member looks decent

sly vette

Diff looks like it has a bad pinion seal to me!

catchme76

tailhousing seal was bad in the transmission im pretty sure..just had all the seals in the rearend done a few years ago..could be though. I will check it out!

sly vette

Yeah,now that you mention it the driveshaft looks kinda oily too.

Red 69

While the body is off, it is a good time to pressure wash the underside of the body and paint your rocker channels. It is looking good! You can extend the lifespan of your fuel tank if you wire brush, chemically prep and paint with POR. I did mine in silver and it came out great. My results with POR paint have me using it wherever I can properly prep as suggested by the mfg. My gloss black and silver contrast produced outstanding results. Yours might be a candidate.

catchme76

So I dont have all the bolts to the fbody brackets so i went to ACE to get some. Is there anything wrong with using these kind of bolts? ..iv used them before but I was just wondering. Also here is a picture of the truck altenator on the fbody bracket. IT WILL work. for you future 5.3ers

70 LS1

You should be fine. I picked up all my bolts from a local bolt place. I got all stainless just because that's what I am used to using at work.