4.8/5.3 engines
 

I've been working on doing my homework here. I blew my rear rotor a few days ago and decided after 10 years and 3 engines that it's time to abandon the rotary.

I think I've decided on the smaller displacement LR4 engine. Seems to me as if the lower compression ratio and shorter stroke would be better for what I have planned. And even if I don't (eventually) do what I have planned, it's still a decently powered engine at around 270-285 HP (with that glorious torque thing that rotaries lack). Believe me, the lower power of the 4.8 is not a deterrent for me.

Anyways, through my research it seems like everyone says the intake won't fit with the FC chassis. My question is: what exactly about the truck intake prevents it from fitting? Also it seems that the truck exhaust manifolds won't fit either. So what are the options for making that work?

Most of the info I found through searches here and reading up at grannysspeedshop.com. All it says is that the intake is too tall and you have to use f-body or corvette exhaust manifolds. Are there other options for the exhaust manifolds? And where does the intake interfere?

I have been through the exact process you are going through right now.

From my experience it will end up costing you the same to transplant a truck engine as it will to just buy a Camaro/Trans Am pullout. The extra cost that evens it out is buying all the car bits to bolt on to the truck engine. You will also be up on power and down nearly 100lbs on weight by grabbing a car pullout.

Truck intake is too tall and will contact the firewall and hood. Truck manifolds hit the frame rails. Truck accessories will stick up through the hood. Truck oil pan will scrape the ground.

I used all F body pieces without issue. Would have saved me a lot of time by just buying an entire pull out instead of piecing everything together the hard way. Eventually I ended up swapping in a aluminum block anyway and the car drives just as easy as it did with the rotary.

Hope this helps, feel free to ask any questions!

If you can get the 4.8/5.3 cheap enough you can make it work for a bit cheaper you just need to have patience and some luck, and be willing to scour LS1tech, craigslist, ebay etc for the parts you need cheaply. If you just want to buy something and have it be correct, concentrate on getting a Fbody or GTO pullout.

You will need the Fbody oil pan for sure, a LS1 intake and Fbody or Corvette accessories. Then you will need a flywheel, clutch and T56 transmission if you go manual trans.

I bought an Fbody pullout with a spun rod bearing with an automatic, rebuilt the engine and switched it to manual transmission.

I've been looking for a while, and I'm losing patience now :D

I figured it had something to do with the firewall. If it were just the hood, I assume people would have just said to use a cowl induction hood. And I also concluded it was as expensive as just straight buying an ls1 pullout. Searching around it seems as if the ls1/T56 pullouts go for about 5k and up (emphasis on the up). Rebuilding the rotary that I had (which made close to 350whp) is about 2k if done properly. So looking at this from the perspective of a man who has a wife/kids and not a lot left after paying for dance lessons, the v8 swap is probably not for me.

However, I have my eye on doing a much less costly swap. Considering that I have decent fabrication skills, this one doesn't seem as if it has to go much past the cost of the pullout I chose. And the torque and HP numbers that can be put out of this engine are looking pretty good, as well as the gas mileage to boot.

I really appreciate you guys for taking the time to thoroughly and thoughtfully answer my questions. It really helped me make an educated decision on which way to go with my car.

if you(or I) can make new intake and exhuast manifolds, then the 5.3 works with a t56?

custom itbs?

If you take your time and slowly acquire parts it can ease the cost. I spent a year and a half collecting parts before bolting mine together.

I originally started with a 4.8 but changed directions for a 6.0. The 4.8s seem to go in the $400 range and I picked up a 05' LQ4(6.0) for $900(only $500 more and same weight with more power) and then sold the 4.8. I spent $2000 for T56 and all goodies to bolt it up. I ran this way for about 5400 miles over the summer averaging 26mpg.

Oil pan setup ran about $200 for everything, accessories I got a deal for around $150 by grabbing individual parts as they came up for sale locally, intake I got an LS2 with rail and injectors for around $300, harness and ecu I got a standalone 98 for $350 and spent $75 at LT1Swap.com for a standalone tune for the parts I ran.

At the end of the summer I decided to swap in an Aluminum block(No power steering) to cut weight and found a 90k LM4(Aluminum 5.3 that can be bored to a 5.7) from a 2004 Trailblazer for $650 fully dressed. If I could do it again I would either start with a pullout, or a L33 if you can get a decent price on one, or the lesser known LM4 which can be had for cheap and are plentiful.

After swapping to the aluminum engine I hardly notice there is no power steering. It drives the same as it did with the rotary.

You should be able to find a nice T56/LS1 pullout for $4k.

Gc3 on NoRotors is running the truck intake manifold, with a cowl hood.

Mistah agreen,

Truck intake/accesories will hit the hood, nothing else. That is the only issue.

With that being said , welcome to the darkside.

I'm still undecided about it now. The parts assets totaled out to a lot more than I expected. So a v8 could still be a viable option. The engine I was looking at is the RB20 or 25. I'm seeing mixed reviews about the pros and cons of each of the rb engines and it kind of worries me a little. Not sure still, but the f-body pullout is looking better as I await parts sales.

You will not regret going LS. There are a lot of options once you get that engine in there to make quite a bit of power, keep decent economy and still have the ability to hop in and drive anywhere without worry. It really is win/win on all fronts.

Hey ruler mark! I remember meeting you at one of the meets in jax once. You may remember my ghetto vmounted convertible.

The more I think about it, the more I'm thinking this may be the way to go. Although a lot of engines have solid reliability, too. I really never questioned whether the Rx7 would start, but I definitely didn't expect it to end without warning like that. Literally just cruising down the road at 60 mph with cruise on and it started shaking really hard. I would imagine an rb20 engine would have no issue with reliability or fuel mileage (2.0 liter, after all) and from what I can see it can make some decent power with good torque, as should be expected from an inline 6. I don't know, I'm still on the fence. The main reason I was looking to go with a 4.8 was for the lower compression and shorter stroke/higher redline so that I could turbocharger it. Engine management would be via another megasquirt, so nothing really hard. But the RB is already set up for a turbo, so I'll just have to wait and see what the part out brings in, as well as read up as much as I can to properly weigh the pros and con's of each.

One thing's for sure; I'm not going to go back down that long, painful, money-bleeding path of trying to reliably and economically squeeze power from the rotary. It's just not worth it now... and I have been a LONG time fan of the rotary engine.

4.8L, ls9 headgaskets(100$), china head studs, china gt45r, 25#, no intercooler, and 2200ccs of meth. boom.

Boom.... yes boom sounds about right.

we did one lasted a whole year then the owner went 5.3l compression tested ok and sold it to someone else whos going to boost it more.

Just wondering here, nothing serious. I can weld, so modifying things is not out of my reach. The only thing I can't do is aluminum welding, I don't have the setup for that. So how bad does the intake hit the firewall? Is it just the seam lip? Could I cut the lip off and weld the seam shut for firewall clearance and put a honkin cowl hood on?

And the exhaust manifolds. How far out do those sit? Could the "frame rails" be modified enough, or is it so much to question structural rigidity at that point?

I understand the oil pan will have to be f-body or I'll have to find a welder to make the truck pan work, so I get that I can't get around that one. My car is low enough, so oil pan scraping is not something I need to deal with.

Mark, I saw your build thread. It's come a long way from when I saw it last. I'm considering using the 4L60E transmission instead of the t56 for the same reason. Seems like you can get a good one for a low price (or a truck engine / trans pullout for less than an ls1). And later down the line when I'm ready to make some good power I can build that transmission to hold a lot more than the T56.

Now that I'm thinking about it, anyone got any firewall to intake manifold clearance pics with their LS engine (on an FC) for reference? I'd like to see if it sits in the trans tunnel too far to make using the truck intake impossible.

Not trying to cheap out here, I'd just like to see my options. If there is a less expensive option that involves more labor, I'd rather go that route. Could potentially save a couple g's to be used wisely in other areas.

I was once in your shoes, looking for the cheapest route. I will admit that I was not willing to bend on having a T56 so that did increase my costs by well over 1k. But in the end piecing it all together ended up saving me very little money, but did cost me a lot of time.

I tried fitting the truck exhaust manifolds and it just was not feasible. Not worth it when LS1 manifolds are ~$80.

The truck intake manifold I can understand, you will be out a couple hundred switching to the car setup. If you are intent on going with a truck engine to curb costs, please consider an LM4, they are just as cheap as the iron alternative, only aluminum and can be bored to ls1 specs down the road. 04-05 Rainiers and Trailblazers had them and most yards to not see them as valuable so you can get a great price for low mileage.

Here is a picture from during my build that will show the firewall to intake clearance with an LS2 intake. You can probably get away with trimming the lip that sits back there, I never really gave thought to the truck manifold because I wanted it all under the hood.

Attachment 633613



Here is a picture of where the intake lies with the hood line. It barely clears, but does.

Attachment 633614



In this picture if you look closely you can see how close the LS1 manifold is to the frame rail.

Attachment 633615

I'm finding out now that I like you v8 guys more than the rotary guys.

I've been looking for an aluminum variant of the 5300 or 6.0L, but I'm not getting much around here. There's still time. I'm not going to be rushing this. I really don't want it to look like shit, or worse run like shit!

How about header flanges? Anybody got a good source for that if I want to do some fabrication?

Not sure on header flanges. I am sure someone will chime in with a good source.

I checked around local salvage yards and asked them what they had for 04-05 Trailblazers and Rainiers. I found 4 in a nearby yard that ended up having the LM4 and got one with under 100k for $650 fully dressed including harness and ecm with a 60 day warrantee. After talking to the guy for a while I discovered they jack up the prices on the L33 quite a bit but had no idea about the LM4.

So I went to my local LKQ today and got pretty disappointed. No gen III small blocks at all. Lots of TBI 350s (do not want) and they had at least 4 trailblazers with the LL8 4.2 I6. I looked at it for a bit. They seem somewhat compact, but I'm not sure on the height. Decided that trying to find out wasn't worth it and moved on. Man, I sure wish your junkyards were here. I would have snagged one of those with the transmission and been on my merry way!

Next thought:
Does anyone know which exhaust manifolds fit in the FC engine bay if you flip them upside down such that the outlets point up and forward? I will be throwing a single turbo on, so I'll be utilizing the space in front of the engine for that. I read up about flipping the manifolds on ls1tech, but many of them had fitment concerns based on either hitting coils or the frame. I guess I could figure it out when I get one, but I'm still in the "figuring out" phase I guess.

A lot of guys run flipped truck manifolds. I know of a local guy who used one truck manifold and one car manifold for more clearance. Another local guy used truck manifolds, only cut the flange off and welded on v bands to help clear things.

Limequat's 4.2l I6 Swap

This is somewhat interesting. This guy put an LL8 in his supra with minimal clearance issues. It does have a front sump, but that engine came all aluminum and had 290hp. It mates to a hummer H3 manual transmission, but you have to figure out how to adapt the flywheel. It's a 5 bolt flywheel with a 6 bolt crankshaft. I wonder how much different the fc bay is from the supra... if all else fails and I can't find the right gen 3 small block.

That would be an interesting swap! Probably get those engines cheap I would imagine.

The engine is irrelevant at LKQ. All fuel injected engines are $275, or $350 if they pull it. All transmissions are $125, $155 if they pull it. The biggest issue I had with their lot is that they had all the hoods propped open on all cars, and people just start picking them clean without regard to the next guy. So many of them had valve covers off with rusted cams or heads removed with rusty cylinders. It's like nobody cares at all. The only ones that were any good were the trailblazers, which were mostly untouched and they were also the only ones with the hoods closed. Makes it somewhat desirable. I'll look in to it more, but I still want a small block.

OK, so I went to lkq on new years day. They had a 50% off sale that day. Had to go in to work at 3:30 that day, so I knew I wouldn't have had time to pull it myself. So I go out in the yard and enthusiastically search for my donor. Within a minute I located the engine I wanted. 06 trailblazer with the LL8 engine. It was complete minus the alternator, but another one that was sitting close by had one. So I talked to the guy at the counter and he pointed me in the direction of 2 guys standing outside. "Go talk to them if you want it pulled". OK, so off I go. They look at it and I tell them I want the engine, ecu, wiring harness, and everything that it'll need to run in another car. They were surprisingly taken back by that " odd" request, but they finally agreed and said $300. Hmm... OK, so they want $300?! Even less than listed. "Sweet, so i just go pay up front?", I said. " No, you pay us". "Wait, so I just pay you guys and that's it?" "No, you pay us, we'll pull the motor. We don't work for them. Whether you leave it here or pay them and take it is up to you". (Mind you, they sound more intelligent in my recollection than in real life... they were retards) So that's when it sank in. These knuckleheads are freelance mechanics working the yard. So I stroll back up and talk to the guy at the counter. I asked them why the guy wanted to charge me $300 to pull a freakin engine when their website says it's $350 pulled. He comes out to look at it and says it's going to be $400 for everything I want, but lkq doesn't pull parts. " But I can show you on your website that it says $350 pulled!" The guy kind of stammered a little and goes inside with me to a computer and shows me a different web page than what I saw. "See, there's no price 'pulled', just a price for it, its core, and an extended warranty if you want". Two words is all I spoke (can you guess which two? I'll give you a hint, it wasn't 'no thanks') I go back home and look at the site. Yep, I was right. How could they have something different?! I go back to he site a few hours later... and it's changed to what they had in their office. Hmmm. Seems shady.

So whatever. The search is back on for a 4.8 or 5.3.

So now, let's talk transmissions. I want a manual, but damn is the T56 expensive. Can't see myself justifying over a grand (minimum) for a transmission, especially when they all have pretty high miles. So I thought about doing an automatic like a 4L60e or 700R4, but I can't bring myself to make my " fun" car an automatic atrocity. It would hold the torque better, but still... you know. Can't really have the same fun with an auto. Anyways, I start looking in to an alternative and I come across the T5. Now, the internet shits ALL over them. But is it really that bad of an option? I'm not some sideways-hat wearing teen who slams every shift and sidesteps the clutch every gear change. I feel pretty respectable when it comes to caring for my cars, and I only romp on the throttle on occasion, but only for the duration of a gear, then a nice, smooth shift, easy transition, followed by another romp if the speed limit allows. From what I found, the WC T5 is found in all gen3/4 camaros (different input shaft splines) and mustangs. The mustang GT T5s were built to handle around 300-330 lb-ft, which is in range of the 5.3. So how viable is that option? I've done a lot of searching and found minimal info on putting one behind a gen4 small block. Seems like people run in to issues with the slave cylinder and TOB. Anyone have a more definitive answer?

A T5 will run ok behind a 4.8 or 5.3.

Yes you will have to come up with a slave cylinder and TOB setup, but I don't have a definitive answer for you on what works and what does not.

I'm new on this topic, I've put rotaries in a lot of different cars, but this will be the first for me to put something else in a Mazda. I just picked up a 5.3 that will be going into my son's 2nd gen convert. I will be using a T5, and for information about how do it check out the last issue of Hot Rod magazine, they have all of the details in there. I'm sure I'll be coming back with questions for those who have done this in the months ahead as we get along with it.

Do NOT go 4l60e, 4l65e. They are way to expensive to hold anything over 450. 450 is the point where they fail fast. I wouldn't waste your time or money on something you will have to change in the future.

I am running a 4l80e. They came stock behind diesels, 6.0 and up gm trucks, gm vans, etc. This is a beefy trans it is physically bigger than alot of autos and because of trans tunnel on FD you can only run a single passenger side exhaust so on FDs you have to be turbo or fender exit exhaust.

For your goals and budget I would recommend a cd-009 swap. They can be had for 600 or less from junkyards, they are a later 350z trans and hold up great stock. Do not get a cd-008 they are first years 350z trans and they suck hard.
Here is the adapter kit: LSX LS1 LS2 LS3 LS6 LS7 LS9 L98 Engine to 350Z 370Z VQ Transmission Compound Adapter Plate
stock cd-009 trans:

To me it sounds like the OP isn’t interested in making a ton of power over stock 4.8/5.3 range or spending much money. If this is the case, the 4l60e (that came on 5.3/4.8’s) is the cheapest and easiest route by far. They will also hold up much better in a light weight Rx-7 chassis. Run it with the factory ECM and be done with it. With the Rx-7’s rear end ratio’s you need an OD trans or a manual. Manuals are expensive… so if you don’t want to spend the money your stuck with an auto.

Craigslist is your best bet to find good deals on used 4.8/5.3’s. Expect to spend $500-800 for the engine.

The idea is that I want a 4.8 or 5.3 for "right now". I want a manual transmission. I don't want to spend the money all at once for an " epic build". I have a family, after all. So I'm going for the "right now" and "least expensive" route currently. A lot of drivel I spewed out was for later on down the road when I can collect parts and make some real, no kidding drag car worthy power.

It's doable, as is with the configuration I had before. I put a stock $400 drivetrain in my convertible for the "right now" factor. I saved a little and built/installed a megasquirt ecu. I saved a little more and built/installed a hybrid turbo. I fabricated my own v-mount, I fabricated my own exhaust, and pieced together a car over time that put ls1-powered camaros and corvettes to shame. It finally bit the dust one day because I didn't tear down the engine (the one from that $400 package) when I got it. Turns out, when I pulled it apart I found that the front rotor, although still in tact with all the apex/side seals in great condition, the engine was rebuilt with junk parts. The rear rotor blew the apex seals while cruising. The front rotor housing had some deep grooves in the compression and exhaust areas, most likely from a previously blown engine. Lesson learned I guess. It did last about 5 years like that, and about 350 rwhp, so not much to bitch about. I just think it's time to move on to something less... shitty really. I like the rotary still. I still want one, bit the convertible is too heavy a car to not have torque. And the fumes. Oh my God the fumes from a premixed rotary are just awful. And for the money you could sink in to it, the return you get is less power per dollar, and way worse mileage. I'm committed now.

As for cheapest? Yeah, I would like to not superfluously blow money on it. I don't need to drop $2k for an "install kit" when I can use a little intelligence and some fabrication skills to put an engine and transmission in. Not hard really.

So what I think I've decided on is a 5.3. They're more abundant than the 4.8, and somehow less expensive. Weird. I'll probably drop the money on a T56. They're hard to find around here, and pretty expensive, but it's what I want. I'm sold now after watching a friend of mine twin turbo charge his 2011 5L mustang (700+ rwhp) through a t56 for 2 years now and it's never broken anything. Pretty damn tough transmissions as it turns out. For the "right now" factor, I'm going to flip the truck manifolds and run the exhaust from in front of the engine. In time, I will be placing at least 1 turbocharger there, so I figure I'm just saving myself a little fab work and a little money... for "right now". If I can't find an LS1 intake, my hood is already trashed from having to add a stupid fiberglass vent for the v-mount, so I might as well throw on a cheap fiberglass cowl. I already need a new hood, so later on I'll find that intake (if I don't find one sooner) and replace the hood with a proper aluminum hood. And the oil pan is a necessity, so f-body pan it is. So buying the motor, trans, oil pan, FG cowl, and a new blank megasquirt wiring harness (current one is being sold) will take up about half my budget. The remainder should go towards whatever incidental shit that comes up. If anything is left over, it will go towards buying up the necessities for my go-faster build.

Hopefully

Engines are the dirt cheap part. There are a few reasons a 4.8 is better off than a 5.3. The big limitation of a "fast" FC is the rear end. More specifically the limit gearing choices. A 4.8 has a better bore/stroke ratio for boost and RPM. Basically it revs higher and puts less stress on the rods which are the weakest link on the gen3 engines. It also allows for cheaper converter choices when going with an auto. Since you're stuck on the manual, we'll ignore that. I've seen a healthy 4.8 buzz to 7500 or so without issue. That’s on 100% factory bottom end and mostly stock valve train. I wouldn't run a gen3 5.3 over 6800. The higher RPM window is a big advantage when your gear limited. At big power levels a T-56 isn't going to live long anyway, esp if you shift into the OD gears under load.

Fbody pan isn't a great option either. The sump/pickup is almost in the center of the pan. The oil pickup is easily uncovered under hard acceleration with an Fbody pan. This means you either need to blow another $200 on the improved racing baffle setup if you plan on any sort of racing with it. Cheaper to buy the aftermarket rear sump pan by the time you add in the baffle. A better option by far is to use a rear sump truck pan and have it cut down. Then extend the pickup tube to the aft of the sump. This is very common these days. The c5 corvette pan is also a good low profile option with better pickup positioning than the fbody pan.

Truck pans are dirt cheap, I'd give you one if you were local. I've got several just laying round.

Modified truck pan.

https://i.imgur.com/iZthESN.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/rirp3Xj.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/gTpl8Fr.jpg

Yeah, I know the engine is the cheap part. I already had that figured out. Usually it seems like the expensive part is all the peripheral shenanigans that make it expensive. Things like engine management, mounting kit, radiator, driveshaft, etc. I already have everything covered as far as the peripherals go with the exception of the driveshaft, but I'll figure that out when I get there. I had a T2-NA driveshaft made at a local shop, so I'll probably use them again for a T56-T2 driveshaft.

Does the C5 pan really fit? It has those huge wings! I didn't think that one was possible in an FC?

Anyways, if I find a decent 4.8, I would rather have one of those. If I can't, then 5.3 it is. So far, the 4.8 is looking pretty scarce.

Oh, and thanks again for the info everyone. You guys are really awesome.

The C5 pan does not fit. I don't even think that cut down truck pan would fit in an FC. The front part of the pan looks like it would hit the steering rack unless you raised the engine.

Sooo, which pan?

F body. Everyone uses the F body pan in the FC and FD for a reason. Use anything else at your own peril.

You can cut down the truck windage tray to fit the F body pan I believe. The F body windage tray only covers 2/3 of the crank or so.

Good deal on the F body pan. The pan comes with a gasket and is ready to bolt on:
https://www.superchevyperformance.co...tCode=12628771

And F body pickup for that pan:
http://www.superchevyperformance.com...p/12558251.htm

You'll still need the Fbody dipstick.

Or spend $308, buy this, and be done. It is EVERYTHING you need.

http://paceperformance.com/i-5133402...l-pan-kit.html

Everyone will have their prejudices - find someone who has done a v8 swap into an RX-7, driven it for a few years, and then done a JDM swap and driven it for a while. That would be me.
A lot of the V8 guys will have strong opinions about that "JDM crap", even though they know nothing about them. My Ford 5.0 powered FB was a lot of fun, drove it for 9 years, and actually sold it because I ran out of garage space, and someone offered me a lot of money for it. I then did an RB20 swap into another FB, which is my current daily driver. Not quite as fast as the V8, but MUCH nicer to drive and I get about 27 mpg all around driving, 30 on the highway. People who say nothing is as smooth as a rotary have never driven behind an RB motor.
You can see photos and detailed writeups about both my RX-7 swaps in the automotive section here : stilettoman.info

I like the RB20 so much I am doing another swap described here:

1948 Studebaker Starlight coupe project

I've had a cast iron 5.3L LM7 but ditched it for the 5.3 aluminum L33. If you're not planning on boosting, it's worth the 100 pounds in savings

As said above the F-body pan is a poor choice because of the central oil pickup. With the $200 Improved racing baffle system the Fbody pan works well. Without it my oil pressure would dip under hard acceleration. (on the street and at the track) Because Billy-Bob used an f-body pan and his engine didn't immediately explode, that doesn't make it optimal. There's a lot of monkey-see-monkey-do in the LS swap world. I'd suggest researching and making your own decisions.


It’s more like 80lbs and the Alum blocks are PLENTY strong for boost. Rods/crank will go well before the alum block on a 5.3. Some of the alum blocks are even stronger than the cast blocks because they use a Siamese-bore cylinder block design.

For what its worth, ive never seen a LKQ that pulls the engine for you, you always have to come with tools ready to do mechanic work to get what you need.

Not sure what your budget is, this may save you a lot of headaches.

http://www.norotors.com/index.php?topic=22905.0

Well, it's been a while and I've done a lot of research and searching. I looked in to doing a LR4 or LM7 or even an L33...but it all lead to the same thing. If you're going to pay that much for all the LS1 peripherals, then why am I fooling with anything other than an LS1? So I searched for a local LS1(or 2,3,6 whatever) and what did I find? Nothing.

What I did find is a gen 1, TPI engine and transmission, complete with all accessories, wiring harness, ECU, and anything necessary for making it a straight drop in. And I paid $800 for it all. Now, you might say "why the hell are you messing with a 240 hp iron block?" Well, the answer is simple. First of all, I like the look of the TPI engine. Most importantly, I'm moving soon and I don't have time to wait for an LS engine to pop up for sale. And it's going to piss off a bunch of people and I like that part a lot.

Anyway, I'm excited as all hell now because I finally found something I can put in my car. I got to get working on it now because that move date isn't getting any farther away.

On that note...
What's the best mount kit to use? The only thing I've found is that Granny's sells a kit for regular SBCs, but everyone else has only kits for LSx engines.

Granny's is the best kit for an SBC.

I figured such. I havent seen another sbc kit, just lsx.

I may try fabricating my own. It's not rocket surgery. Get the angles right and make good welds and it should last forever.

I've used a 6.0l pull out lq4 and used all the truck accessories with the grannies kit and the eBay alt relocation kit everything works fine and super cheap use a cobra jet hood scoop and you're ready to go !

Any progress? Granny's stuff is good unless you're trying to mount a T5 in your FB that came with an auto :scratch:

i thought the grannies kit fit like garbage, had 2 of their kits..... motor mounts are super soft engine jumps around all over the place when i drag race. also the oil pan is resting on my PS rack still haven't fixed that

ronni is supposed to be the better one from what i hear

Short answer: yes

Long answer:
I tore the engine down and was planning on just doing a quick refresh on it. It was in such bad shape that it required a full on rebuild. I went with forged pistons, bored the engine 0.030 over, then realized that I have the 10.5:1 CR pistons. So I found some 76cc heads that drop the CR down to 8.5:1.
I found a local selling his granny's kit for $400, but it had the wrong transmission mount and the driveshaft was for a TH350. Since I'm using a 700r4, I had to shorten the driveshaft 3.5". I fabricated a custom transmission mount, and now it's it's sitting in there quite well now.

So now I'm working on finishing the ECU, wiring, plumbing, and it should be about ready. I think the biggest issue will be routing the exhaust. I will be using a T70 turbo, but right now I want it running without the turbo. My plan is to buy the turbo, mount it in front of the engine, route the exhaust properly, then remove the turbo and fab up a small section of pipe that connects the manifolds to the downpipe. I'll run it naturally aspirated until I get the tuning bugs and other issues worked out, then put the turbo back in.