My 6.0 in a 1999 swap thread

[Mike]

Hey guys, I got this truck for a cool $600.

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********* and the Ricer as it first appeared.

The L30/L31 (Vortec) small block chevy is internally the stoutest SBC GM ever built. But they cursed it by giving it a fuel injection system only capable of supporting roughly 300 crank horsepower MAX. The way around this is to put a marine style intake on with larger injectors. Then you have to drill and tap for the entire vacuum system etc it is quite a hassle and costs THOUSANDS to do properly. And at the end of the day you're still working with an antiquated EFI system and all the power/driveability limitations of the SBC architecture.

The 4.8/5.3/6.0 LS series of motors are available in GM trucks from 2000 to today. They feature coil-per-cylinder and 8 injectors. The LS motor was debuted in the 1997 Corvette in a 5.7 liter displacement known as the LS1. These motors are far and away light years better than any factory (or even hopped up) SBC that has ever existed. The 6.0 delivers about 350 horse at the crank completely bone stock and has headroom for almost double that - all the while offering the driveability (and economy) of any modern motor. Most people that put a 6.0 in a lighter vehicle say they get upwards of 20 MPG highway. The only differences between my 6.0 and a LS1 is the 6.0 is an iron block (LS1 is all aluminum) with aluminum heads and the 6.0 has larger pistons and a slightly less aggressive cam (easy fix).

The 6.0 can be found at junkyards all over the country for under $1,000. That's right, with some headers and a good tune you have almost 400 crank horsepower and 20 mpg for CHEAP. But that wasn't enough for this project.

I found a Lysholm (Whipple) style supercharged 6.0 takeout at an auto recycler in New Hampshire for less than the SC would have cost to purchase new. It included all accessories and harness and ECU, even a set of shorty headers, MSD wires and low temp thermostat. Unfortunately, Whipple uses a standalone computer and secondary injectors that spray fuel into the intake (SUPPOSED TO BE A DRY INTAKE ON THESE MOTORS) to support the extra air going in at 75% or more throttle. This system sucks. It is impossible to tune around, it splices into half the engine harness, it isn't precise at all. Just a gigantic over-engineered under-delivered MESS. Instead of trying to redo the entire harness I decided to get a standalone harness made for this motor which simplified this job substantially. Instead of the extra injectors I replaced all the factory injectors with 65 lb units.

Now that I had the motor and truck it was time to make it all work.

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I did the whole job in the driveway. In the background you can see my '54.

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Junk.

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6.0

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Yanked the 350 with minimal problems.

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Lots of wiring to wrap my brain around.

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Fuel lines, adapter motor mounts, AC stuff.

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Yank 2800 stall SuperCharger series converter. Custom built to mate LS style motor to LT stle transmission.

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Finish Line Transmissions Stage 7 4L65E. The internals were placed in a LT style trans for 100% drop in ease. LS style bellhousing was used. Features billet input and output shafts. Single most expensive part of the truck but worth it.

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Standalone 6.0 harness.

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Undercoated everything.

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The low-mount AC adapter did not fit in conjunction with the adapter motor mounts.

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Simple adapter for OBS water temp sensor.

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Ground off the humps on the motor mounts and the SBC mounts bolt right up. Plus plugged the oil cooler port.

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Here you can see the injector placement and the GIANT intake.

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Injector rails.

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Went through the entire harness.

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Labeling is important here.

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Removed everything that wasn't needed and organized it all.

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Almost like nothing happened.

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Pre-wired the engine.

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The 6.0 came out of a 2500 with hydroboost so it had no vacuum hookup for the brakes. GM makes an adapter that slides in the intake to fix this.

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Factory shifter cable. It truly sucks unclipping it from under the dash.

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4l80e flywheel didn't fit so I got a 4l60e SFI rated flywheel.

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D-PIC (same as a G-Tech meter).

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Motor didn't want to go in with the core support on.

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Dropped in the entire driveline in one shot.

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Just a little too tall.

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My AI life.

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Coming together.

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Wires, wires, wires!

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After a minor tuning issue, it hit the road!

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The headlights and red accents are the reason its called Ricer.

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This shot shows the huge tranny cooler well.

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Completed interior. Pioneer DVD with Bluetooth.

It was shortly after that I had the exhaust system built. 2.5" pipe from the headers back with two high flow Magnaflow cats and x pipe and Hooker Aerochamber mufflers. The exhaust is almost factory quiet and I love it. It adds very well to the sleeper status. Most of what you hear when its running is the supercharger.

Small rolling burnout: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38LkLZobepE

Dyno Videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18kovE6wnkY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwBcRBBHAHI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHuV0c9HR8g

Because the truck tires that are on it aren't high speed rated we were unable to do a full 3rd gear (1:1) pull. (Second gear ends around 100 MPH, 3rd goes to about 150 MPH.) In third its making over 500 ft lbs of torque and about 350 rear wheel horsepower at the wheels right after 3,000 RPM. In second it was hitting 350 horsepower at about 4,500 RPM so there is a high probability that with some good tires we will see 400+ rwhp. This means we are looking at 500+ crank horsepower.

It looks like your grandfathers old work truck. But it runs like wild once you give it more than a touch on the throttle.

The SC is only putting out about 4 psi at full throttle, many people run these motors in the 15 or 20 psi range so I have a LONG way to go before I max this setup out. A cam, meth and a smaller SC pulley will make it wake up even more.


Thanks for reading and I look forward to your comments!

 

[Mike]

Pics I forgot to add before:

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HDR

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[flattopwill]

Sweet swap man. I read the full thread on gmfullsize a while back. I have a 91 swb that Im gonna do a similar swap in this coming summer. I just dont have the budget you have. I dont need the SC though. A 6.0 with headers, cam, and a tune will do me just fine. Id like to see this swap done with a <$3000 budget. And you are correct about a lot of people being curious about this swap. I have a lot of friends that are considering buying an OBS just to do this swap so a publication would be awesome. I will be referring to your build thread very often this coming summer.
Thanks
P.S. - did you get A/C hooked up in it and if so how did you mount the compressor?

 

[Mike]

Thanks! I've seen stock 5.3 swaps done for cheap. I'll try to copy some of those over here.

Could not fit the AC so returned it. No real need for it.

 

[RPMGraphics]

nice write up. so with the stand along harness do all your gauges & everything work properly?
i've found a few good deals on some LS1 motors & have been thinking about picking one up & doing the swap. it's my daily driver so i'm a little nervous about doing it.

 

[flattopwill]

Thanks! I've seen stock 5.3 swaps done for cheap. I'll try to copy some of those over here.

Could not fit the AC so returned it. No real need for it.

Ya i have found a couple throughout the forums. My fav is 88LS's swap done in his goreous red gmc. http://www.ls1truck.com/forums/lsx-truck-conversions/23053-1988-gmc-5-3l-engine-swap-2.html I want mine to sound and run just like that except I think Im gonna do a 6.0.

I think ive seen someone use an adapter bracket to get their AC to work. I need to find that.

 

[Mike]

nice write up. so with the stand along harness do all your gauges & everything work properly?
i've found a few good deals on some LS1 motors & have been thinking about picking one up & doing the swap. it's my daily driver so i'm a little nervous about doing it.

Everything works properly. I've got a little more work to do because I hooked the speedo wire to the wrong one and I havent ripped my dash apart yet to change it. Driveability wise I've been putting many miles on it, its a daily driver and it drives like a brand new truck. Pick up the engine and all the parts beforehand and you'll be able to do it pretty quick. Once you have it running it will be great!

Ya i have found a couple throughout the forums. My fav is 88LS's swap done in his goreous red gmc. http://www.ls1truck.com/forums/lsx-truck-conversions/23053-1988-gmc-5-3l-engine-swap-2.html I want mine to sound and run just like that except I think Im gonna do a 6.0.

I think ive seen someone use an adapter bracket to get their AC to work. I need to find that.

That is a really nice truck. Most people put the AC compressor where I have my supercharger mounted, which is why I was unable to do that.

 

[99COOP]

Would a 5.3 mate to my 4l60e (in my 99' tahoe) w/ little modification ?

 

[Mike]

Depends on the year 5.3, you may need a small spacer but other than that yes.

 

[flattopwill]

That is a really nice truck. Most people put the AC compressor where I have my supercharger mounted, which is why I was unable to do that.

Ya I think ur right I think they used the camaro bracket.