Welp, got a doner.

[l1lartur0]

"Welp, I got a doner." Sounds like a phrase that would be uttered when a DOA arrives at emergency. Swear autocorrect likes to troll us sometimes, @Astro!

Regarding the LS/SBC debate: For about eight years, I daily drove a 2003 Silverado 1500 ECSB with a 5.3 owned by the roofing company that I worked for. Driving it without carrying a load was fine. If there was a couple hundred pounds of material in the bed, I wasn't particularly fond of having to give it the beans for the 5.3 to wake up and do its job. Did it hurt the engine having to do so? I don't imagine that it did, as the 5.3 didn't go kaput until it had nearly 330k on it. It just didn't feel right to me having a need to get the engine up into a higher RPM range to gain the same pulling power that I was/am able to achieve at a lower RPM with a 305 or a 350.

Keep in mind all my experiences have been with stock drivetrains. A tweak here and there may have changed my perception, who knows. Of course, reliabilty-wise, you can't go wrong with either the LS or the small blocks.

 

[0xDEADBEEF]

The more headflow I added to my SBC the more torque it made throughout the whole curve. It is when you overcam the SBC that the curve starts to shift LS like. A 383 SBC can easily make 500+ tq @ 3,000 rpm. You can make 400 ft/lbs practically off-idle with a L31 350. The stock B82 4L80E converter stalled about 2,500 rpm behind my 7395 cammed L31. As soon as I was into the throttle from a stop it had torque.

This is the curve from the 9.1:1 marine L31 with the 7395' 196/206 roller cam. If you run higher flowing heads like Etec170s or even the offshore 200cc heads, adds considerable torque everywhere especially using 1.7 rockers for more lift.

I didn't say you will make less torque. I said you get a curve similar to an LS. That's a good thing, IMO, but not everyone agrees.

 

[Astro]

Love the back and forth guys. I ended up finding a better answer to this donor. I'm fixing it and selling it back to my friend for a couple thousand so he can use it for his business.

I figured based on what everyone here has said and some more research, I may want to get something a bit bigger for all the trouble I will go through swapping. I'm not sure what, but we will see. LQ9?

If you guys have suggestions, let me know. I DO love the SBC and I'm used to it. Have had them in so many cars. The only thing stopping me from messing with it as much as I'd like is the intake and fuel delivery system. If you guys have ideas about that too, I'm open to learning!

 

[skylark]

SBC vs LS fight...
All this is, is automotive evolution. In hot rodding we've had the V8 60, 85, 100 hp flathead but EVERYONE wanted the Mercury with 125 thundering horses and 255 cubic inches of Detroit muscle.

This story can be told over and over again, 50's Caddy, Nailhead, FE, 389 Tripower, Olds Rocket, Hemi, 5.0, Vtec, Hellcat, Coyote and the Roadrunner.

The thing is that there will always be someone wanting the newest thing that they can get their hands on and their wallet tells them yes or no. That spurs the next phase of automotive evolution. Some of us are still drooling and dreaming of that Merc flattie. Others are building what they know and can afford. There is nothing wrong with any of this.

 

[L31MaxExpress]

SBC vs LS fight...
All this is, is automotive evolution. In hot rodding we've had the V8 60, 85, 100 hp flathead but EVERYONE wanted the Mercury with 125 thundering horses and 255 cubic inches of Detroit muscle.

This story can be told over and over again, 50's Caddy, Nailhead, FE, 389 Tripower, Olds Rocket, Hemi, 5.0, Vtec, Hellcat, Coyote and the Roadrunner.

The thing is that there will always be someone wanting the newest thing that they can get their hands on and their wallet tells them yes or no. That spurs the next phase of automotive evolution. Some of us are still drooling and dreaming of that Merc flattie. Others are building what they know and can afford. There is nothing wrong with any of this.

Agreed....The guys that love the LS and trash on a Gen1 or Gen2 small block builds have forgotten the SBC was the original LS of the world. When the 265 came out, Hot Rodders were quick to dump that 255 Merc for a 265 or a 283 a couple of years later. I have a Ford 3spd to SBC bellhousing still on the shelf at the shop I pulled out of a buddies 1940 Ford.

 

[skylark]

Agreed....The guys that love the LS and trash on a Gen1 or Gen2 small block builds have forgotten the SBC was the original LS of the world. When the 265 came out, Hot Rodders were quick to dump that 255 Merc for a 265 or a 283 a couple of years later. I have a Ford 3spd to SBC bellhousing still on the shelf at the shop I pulled out of a buddies 1940 Ford.

I will say that I prefer the LS due to the top end and injection/ tune in stockform. Easy to swap injectors when more fuel is needed. Great air flow for a stock head. Plug in and tune. They do have a lazy cam and issues with roller trunions.

TBI has limited injector choices so you play with fuel pressure, and possibly going to aftermarket fuel pressure regulators to crutch the fuel. Aftermarket heads to get decent flowing heads that don't crack like vortecs. Then get the fun of burning chip after chip or swapping for an ebl to do tuning. Cam swapping should really be swapping for a roller. As crazy as it seems, I prefer the tbi over the vortec.

Vortec also has limited injector choices with the bonus of air flow issues in the intake . Decent flowing heads but known to crack. Decent tuning can be done but an 0411 swap allows better tuning. Comes with a roller cam but like everything above it is lazy.

Of course all of these issues can be solved with aftermarket parts. For me the LS just starts off with less issues. I have no desire to play with carburetors anymore. Nothing wrong with them, I've just moved on.