dizwiz24

dont get me wrong, i will be the first to swap an lsx into my c4 once the boosted stock bottom end lt1 dies.

this post is in no way knocking the hard work those here have done to convert to this lighter weight motor with cheaper, more 'proven' modern parts available...

im just tired of hearing about lsx this lsx that.

lsx's in miata's, fieros, old musclecars, even mustangs.

if dizwiz24 won powerball and could do a build i would love to buy a new corvette, rip out the lt1 (or lt4) motor and put in an optispark lt1 - just for effect.

and yes i would mod and boost it.

even if new lt1 boosted made 1400 rwhp, but old lt1 made ~only~ 1100 . who cares? id still mAke more power than i could put to the ground.

heck, the 1100 rwhp car would probably win the drag race because it was spinning less.

antfarmer2

Tom400CFI

I guess that's the reality of having such a killer motor, so readily available, so cheap.

This is why I find myself oggling over a '74 Fiat at our local Cars & Coffee...b/c even though it's lame and I'd never own one, it's different. It's not another boosted LSX or 'Stang.

bow tie guy

not me ! ultimate truck motor geek mobile right here

http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/cto/5387049482.html

pologreen1

zr1fred

Its hard to believe the LSX motors have been out for 19 years.

Tom400CFI

...big time. I'm old.

MavsAK

Everyone did it with Gen 1 SBCs and Gen 4 BBCs before the LSX. Most plentiful engine, that has the most power potential, coupled with a relatively low entry cost.

Our grand pappies were swapping SBCs into 32 fords like pez candy back in the day. Nothing new here. Just a newer engine. Swapped in for the same reasons.

hcbph

I had a 55 Dodge pickup with a Desoto Hemi in it at one time. I helped a friend put a 392 Hemi in a 55 Chevy over 40 years ago (talk about a cobble job) before we know we shouldn't do that. Everything had to be made on-site as this was before there were virtually any adapters available in those days. You either made it (or had it made) or didn't do it. There was a lot of trial fitting and experimentation to make things work.
If you wanted something, you had to be creative and mechanically inclined to make it happen.

Lloyd Smale

I agree with the others who said theres good reason that its talked about so much. Its probably the best v8 motor that's ever came out of the USA. Why wouldn't the internet be full of talk of putting it in about any car you can imagine. Ive even seen fox body fords with them transplanted in. Whens the last time you heard of someone putting a coyote (which is also a good motor) into a chev? Why not? Because an ls motor can be found for a 1/3 the price and make as much hp. I'm 59 years old and the dominant motor in the performance field since I was a kid was the small block chev. That's because its the best hp per buck unit ever made and id about bet that 30 years from now when I'm gone another version of it will be talked about all over then internet and swapped into about anything with wheels.

QCVette

I did a bunch of swaps simply because I had the car and/or engines and thought it might work. Sometimes because a motor broke and I had a good one available even if it wasn't the same brand.

Some of them worked great and were easy to do and others had to fabricate a lot of stuff.

I had a W30 Olds 442 that the motor broke. I put in a 421 Pontiac because I had a built motor from a GTO that got totaled. That was a great swap and looked stock. Even the oval bracing in the hood matched to the tri-power. This was an easy swap.

Others were more commuter style, like a 350 Buick that had a knock. I didn't like the Buick and didn't want to rebuild it, so I put in the motor from my '69 Firebird. That took a little more work to hook everything up.

Other swaps included my Nova from a 6 cylinder to a 350 small block. A 69 Camaro from a 350 to an L88 427. A 69 Roadrunner to a 396 Chevy.

Like stated above, we didn't know any better. Many said we couldn't do it or shouldn't do it, but we did do it and had pretty good results.

That is kind of what hot rodding is all about. Trying different things to make it perform better and/or making it your own. I like seeing info about swaps. The LSX versions are just the latest ones and I expect I will do one at some point too.

TorchTarga94

The LS Platform is certainly the best bang for the buck. If I had the money, time, and brainpower I would consider it. Some say it is easy to do in a C4, but there definition of easy and my definition of easy are two different things. Sure, they are capable of more power, easier to tune, and are arguably more reliable. However, one theme I see throughout all the C4-LSX swaps is the continual tuning, tinkering, & dialing in, even years after the plunge. That is the aspect that would bother me about it. When the engine is in and all hooked up, I want to be able to close the tool drawer and get in and drive. I admire all the work that goes into these swaps, but having to continually dial in and sort things out to get the new LSX Computer to mesh with the older C4 Electronics is just too much of a mess for me, and I think most would agree. Getting the A/C control to function properly, getting all the gauges and every single switch to function just like it did from the factory isn't so easy. You have to REALLY love the C4 to consider swapping an LS in. This is especially true now that the C5 prices have started to fall. You could realistically sell a good condition C4, and with an extra 2 to 4 grand be driving a good condition C5. Which is already a better performing car out of the box.

An older car (32 Ford, 60's era, etc..) that didn't have many electronics to begin with , and already has a lot of LSX swap support I am sure is cake compared to a C4, especially a later C4.

Paul Workman

Ah, I don't agree - as far as tired of hearing about it. I mean, taken to an extreme, isn't much/most of the topics on the C4 FORUM redundant to ad nauseum? I don't think so.

I subscribe to the notion that most projects have multiple solutions, and there's often as not something new to be learned.

One of my favorites examples was the thread-bare myth regarding opening up the runners (of the LT5); "you'll be trading low end torque for top end hp", and certain "thumbs in the armpit 'tech writers'" and engine builders saying the performance levels that are common place today weren't possible...until proven wrong.

Technology seldom takes a smooth, linear path. Instead it progresses in sudden steps and only stagnates until someone tries some new approach!

Naw... There's something to glean out of every (LSx) swap, methinks!

Lloyd Smale

I was with you right up to the 396 chev motor in the road runner. I bled mopar when I was younger and love them as much as my chevs. A roadrunner should never have a chev or ford motor in it. that's about like putting a 318 in Camaro.

73n95

it seems there are several distinct groups of enthusiasts; those who are pleased and satisfied with what they have, those who need to change due to some sort of failure or such, those who just hate being the same as everyone else and those who just never have enough. There is room for all of them. Its just great to have choices.

crowz

I personally like reading about them from time to time. Mainly because it beats the old days here.

"My car quit starting" - Your key pellet wore out or your vats died.

"What coil should I go with on my L98", "Should I buy the new blah blah blah brand coil that just came out"

"K&N vs stock vs whatever air intake"

"wax brand vs wax brand"

Ultimate ones I hated running across "I gutted my digital dash for these cool analog gauges" - Shudddddder.......

So the motor swap threads are a great diversion

ColaBear

Soon enough, the topic will change to the new LTx swaps once GM starts putting them into everything from the factory and the price of a short/long block comes down.

1993C4LT1

QCVette

That was my best friend's car. He broke the 383 and had a big block in the garage... so it went in.

Later we swapped it back to a built 440. It ran pretty strong with that motor. The thing I remember most was he couldn't lift the transmission back up to install it, so I did it for him on the garage floor. It was a cast iron case four speed and was really heavy, but I got it in.

DGXR

LS motors give a very high bang for the buck -- they are reliable, they make great power, they are relatively inexpensive, and and you can find all manner of stock and aftermarket parts just about anywhere. So it is not surprising to see so many swaps.

Am I sick of seeing threads and posts about LSX swaps? Meh... not really. People are just sharing their excitement. I don't think there is a disproportionate number of people doing this swap.

I would not do it to my car if the motor gave out, I'd go with another LT1. I don't need all that power, I want to keep the car original, and I have found that little problems here and there come up with these swaps, particularly regarding the computers controlling the engine and the chassis electronics, not talking to each other.