Im building a 41 coe hotrod. I was planning on installing a 5.7 vortec and installing a a carb and hei distributor but finding a good used 1 seems very hard the few i have found have high miles or are just shot. I was trying to keep cost down. But since I just cant find a good used 1 of those. I may have to go with an ls engine. There seems to be alot of those at affordable prices. I found a 5.3 iron block engine for 750 near hear 285 horsepower or a alluminum block 5.3 ls for 1200 that has 310 horse power. Both have low miles has anyone hear of any problem with the alluminum or iron block engines? I know very little about the ls engines. Im probably older than most of you and everything I ever put a engine in it was either a 350 or 454 chevy.
very happy with the 1999 Corvette LS1 in my COE. I was glad that I had several EFI swaps under my belt before attempting this one, however.... I DIY'd the harness and pretty much everything....
I was in the same boat with the LS. I went with a 6.0 LQ4. It is an iron block aluminum head motor. Check out Richard Holdener on YouTube. You can learn just about everything you need to know about the LS motor on his channel. The LQ4 is a2005 truck motor that are pretty inexpensive.
I bought a totaled C5 and came out $1000-$1500 ahead by selling off parts after I took everything I wanted. Harness, gauges, hvac, engine, ecm, TCM, BCM, etc...... saleable parts where ragtop, 1 door, 1 headlight ***embly ($350!!), seats, ch***is, suspension, transaxle, abs module..... I thought selling off the parts might be a real PIA, but it wasn't at all... Those Corvette guys didn't fawk around... show up with cash and take the parts, no fuss, no muss... Only 1 guy pestered me to cut up a section of harness which I had to keep telling him no... Alum block and alum heads on the one I have.......
I found a 1989 C4 L98 motor/trans + wiring/computer, all with just over 100.000 for $450, I just couldn't p*** it up. They were low end torque engines cut back for fuel & smog. Corvette guys say they are top-end gutless with Corvette's 200's +, gear ratio. So I found a 1 ton rear end with 355 gears. Don't know how it will pull yet? But it's a 1 ton truck being built to haul a trailer on long trips. 2600 lb Firestone air ride with 4 bags holding up the rear. That era Corvettes can be found cheep.
The Jalopy Journal
