Thread: LS1 swap into 53 Chevy

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One of the first things I learned is the stock truck manifolds wont fit the 3100 frame.I read that C5 Corvette manifolds work great, I scored these on Ebay for $100 free shipping. The second pic is the Vette one.

Got a few pic of pulling out he heart of the old girl. Not gonna lie, it did hurt my heart a little bit taking it out with all the time I had in it.

Availability of parts was the logic behind us going with the 350/350 combination in the '47 Ford.
Almost everybody has one tucked under a bench, so if you break something as bizarre as a generator bracket (and these things usually happen late on a Saturday afternoon,) someone will be able to get you mobile again with the appropriate knobby bit.

Shoot, when we did the Power Tour, I had a spare starter, alternator, fuel pump and fuel regulator stowed under the rear seat. Had enough tools to change them out, too. I figured they could save me a lot of time sitting on the side of the road if something happened. They're still under the seat.

Yep, I did the same thing. I bought an 80 cutlass with a bad olds V6, guess what it got, a 350/350. Helped my neighbor with a 47 chevy, 350/350. Honestly they were all the same cause like you said, cheap easy reliable. And really there is wasn't a lot else out there. kinda like the ls now. Cheap and reliable , almost more available than sbc. I'm going to be no different than the 350 thing I'm going to the ls for the same reasons cheap easy and lots of parts.

Those 348's sure look great in a T or Hiboy roadster. Especially with a tri-power and aluminum valve covers. They fall into the same visual category as hemi's and flatheads, IMO. You might want to keep it and build something to showcase it later on.

I have a solid lead on a 392 Hemi right now. It's disassembled, but has a stock bore and comes with a set of Jahn's pistons. An expensive engine to build for sure, but they look so cool. I might get it just to assemble and use for garage art until I find a better use for it. I would hate to see it wind up as scrap.

Your so right, it's a motor that shouldn't have a hood over it.

Got the 5.3 cleaned up and started with the job I hate, drilling out broken exhaust manifold bolts. It went ok then the worst thing happened, the easy out broke in the bolt . Managed to drill that out and after that it came out nice. Needed to switch the oil pan to an F body pan so it wouldn't hang down to far, then thought, might as well check a bearing out. I thought I would end up putting some in but 140k and they looked brand new so I left em alone.

Put the made to fit Speedway IFS cross member LS motor mounts on. They don't fit my TCI cross member perfect but a lot closer than a universal mount would be. We set the motor in and I don't think it's going to be awful, I think it will be about a 3-4 on the PITA scale. I need the motor higher than the 348 for steering and mechanical fan, ( which they strongly recommended ) and now the trans hits the shift linkage. Hopefully tomorrow I can get it all squared a way and figure out hoses and stuff. Not a bad looking motor until the coil packs go back on.

Wow, you're making great progress.
Even the broken bolt didn't slow you down.

I found it interesting that "they" recommend a mechanical fan, when most likely, from the factory, it ran with an electric fan. (personally I prefer the mechanical as well.)

SO I gotta ask..... how many scratches and dings in the new paint???
Swappin' motors after getting it all assembled recently would just about make my blood boil!

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Thanks, I'm hoping to have it running by this Saturday, its a tall order but I'm going for it. The engine actually did come with a mechanical fan, other than making a new shroud it fits pretty good. It was Shwanke motors who recommended to use the mechanical fan. I'm being pretty carfull with the paint, so far all we got is a few flywheel teeth marks on the lower part of the cowl from pulling the 348. I'm trying to work mostly from the front, I have my work belt off and t shirt untucked. For myself, if I work without fender covers, I learn not to touch the fender, if I put covers on, I can forget what I'm trying to protect.

Originally Posted by 53 Chevy5

Not a bad looking motor until the coil packs go back on.

Seth, it doesn't fit your fast paced schedule, but some of the younger guys around here have been mounting the coil packs remote, behind a cover with extended wiring. Not at all necessary, but it cleans up the appearance as you said.

Originally Posted by rspears

Seth, it doesn't fit your fast paced schedule, but some of the younger guys around here have been mounting the coil packs remote, behind a cover with extended wiring. Not at all necessary, but it cleans up the appearance as you said.

I did think about it some but I'll be fine with it the way it is. It does look good under the hood for the most part, but If I do stick in any local shows, it will probably have the hood closed anyway. Nothing real exciting under there anymore, I don't think I'm going to hear "Hey guys come check this out, this dude stuck a LS1 in here !! "

I think the PITA rating went up to a 7 today. Turns out the Vette C5 manifolds will fit if I don't want any steering. Even at that I think there was about 1/4 inch clearance between the frame rails. I found that Hooker makes a nice set of tucked in ones with a rear discharge, hopefully they work. The original pickup manifolds won't work at all, they go way too wide on this skinny frame, but I was told that already. I also got a bit of a height thing going on. I want to raise the motor about another 2 inches so the oil pan is not lower than the crossmember, then I also can use the mechanical fan and the truck power steering pump and bracket without cutting the inner fender. Problem is then my trans hits the B&M shifter linkage. I'll get something figured out, nothing money don't fix Any one interested in a 348 yet ?, please

With no exhaust manifolds today we finally got the rest of the boards to fit in the bed. Can you pick out the one that got replaced because of a screw up?