LS6...how hard is it to adapt to an older car?

[firstgear]

If you had one of the new style frames that had the nice front and rear suspension, how hard is it to take a LS6 crate motor that was intended to be stuffed in a Z06 and all its electronics and stuff it instead into a retro-rod?

Is there a kit out there to do this? How much of a heart burn is it to do? Are there any shops that will do this and have done this that aren't located on the west coast? I am in good ole Ohio....so something a little closer is helpful.....Comments????? I am still sorting out what to do with my '60...this summer I am replacing the seats and steering wheel....and after that I will drive it this summer....so, I am looking for ideas and ways to go about doing it....so your comments as usual are VERY WELCOME!

thanks, herb

 

[John Mcgraw]

This is such an easy swap that GM actually sells a kit to do it. They sell a LS6 motor with a basic harness and a ECM with the emmisions,VATS, and CAGS functions edited out. THe engine is a dead drop-in when used with Street and Performance motor mount plates. These plates allow the original smallblock motor mounts to be used, and the engine will fit just like a smallblock. There are lots of little items tto attend to with a computerized engine swap, but it is pretty hard to beat the performance and mileage that comes with such a swap.


Regards, John McGraw

 

[bossvette]

There is ACI in Toledo look in the portal in the blue bar above there is a section on repair and restoration shops D&B is near me but is more of a restoration shop and is very busy.

 

[Islander]

This is such an easy swap that GM actually sells a kit to do it. They sell a LS6 motor with a basic harness and a ECM with the emmisions,VATS, and CAGS functions edited out. THe engine is a dead drop-in when used with Street and Performance motor mount plates. These plates allow the original smallblock motor mounts to be used, and the engine will fit just like a smallblock. There are lots of little items tto attend to with a computerized engine swap, but it is pretty hard to beat the performance and mileage that comes with such a swap.

John, what is your take on piston slap in the LS2 (as opposed to the problem in the LS1)? Also, does this engine require a return line from the gas tank for FI purposes? What about the computer, where would you put that on a C2?

 

[John Mcgraw]

My understanding is that the piston slap problem is pretty much resolved. The piston slap on earlier LS engine was only a problem when cold, and was never a wear issue. The dedicated return line went away in 1998 on LS1 cars, and the current engines remain that way. A lot of people still convert the current engines to the regulator on the fuel rail and the return line like eariler models, although I have never been able to figure out why! I guess that it might keep more cool fuel at the injectors, but I can't see doing it. I use the stock GM Regulator/ Filter combo, and mount it in the rear by the tank with a short return line to the tank. The one thing I think is a must, is a properly designed fuel well and an in-the-tank pump. The tanks built by Rock Valley, have a spiral shaped well that keeps fuel from migrating away from the pump when braking or cornering. These pumps will go away fairly rapidly if allowed to suck air. Their tanks are not cheap, but they are all stainless, work well, and will last a lifetime!


Regards, John McGraw

 

[John Mcgraw]

Islander,

Also, in my opinion, the LS2 engine will be THE performance engine for swaps in place of the LS6. The LS6 engine was running about $7300 in the crate the last time I looked, and a LS2 was less than $5400. This is an engine that makes the same horsepower, and more torque at lower rpm's. This is probably the engine that will go in the current 65 project, but I am waiting to buy until I see just how expensive the new LS7 wil be when it is released in crate engine form this summer. That LS7 will be one bad puppy at 500 hp, but it may be pretty pricey.
The LS1 in my 59 was a real bargain and only had 16,000 miles on it, but otherwise I probably never would have used a salvage engine. The supply of low mileage LS engines has really dried up with the demise of the Camaro and Firebird in 02, but there is still a possibility of finding a super low milage LS1 or LS2 from a 04 or 05 GTO. I figure if it has enough miles that I would not be comfortable using it without rebuilding, then I might as well just buy new with a full warranty.

Regards, John McGraw

 

[Islander]

Thanks for the advice, John. The LS2 was second on my wish list (to a 383 stroker), but only because of those two issues. I may have to reconsider and re-investigate the LS2. Le tme know if this is the choice you make for your 65, since mine is a 66 it would be almost exactly like yours. BTW, I plan to mate it to a Keisler 5-speed with the hydraulic clutch kit.

If I go LS2 I will go crate, for sure, and get the pulleys, brackets, alt, etc., from eBay or my trusty GM parts dealer. It's a very nice fit for the C2 engine bay, and my tube frame came with LS1 mounts to boot, whcih are identical to LS2 mounts. Thanks again, and sorry for hijacking this thread...

 

[firstgear]

Thanks again, and sorry for hijacking this thread...

Dont be sorry.....good comments are always appreciated....gives me more to think about.......since I am not yet ready to part with $$$$

Hijack any time.............

 

[Hib Halverson]

John, what is your take on piston slap in the LS2 (as opposed to the problem in the LS1)? Also, does this engine require a return line from the gas tank for FI purposes? What about the computer, where would you put that on a C2?

Piston slap (or "cold piston knock" as some inside GM call it) on Gen 3s, in-spite of what consipracy theorists on the Internet would have you believe, is almost always an minor annoyance not a reliability/durability problem. The noise comes from a combination of short piston skirts, side loading, a cold engine and nominal piston to bore clearance. It's hard for me to understand why so much attention is given to the issue. In an aftermarket conversion, it would be even less an issue becuase of the large amount of other noise associated with a high performance engine in a C2. In any event, the "piston slap" is much less than what you'd have with aftermarket forged pistons used in the typical street high-performance engine you might build out of a traditional SBC V8 for that application.

While the problem was generally an annoyance, GM addressed the issue for MY02 because of customer input and warranty cost, by decreasing the range of bore sizes and adding a polymer coating on the piston skirts. They downside of that is a slight increase in parasitic power loss to to tighter fitting pistons.

The Gen 4 engines (LS2, etc) have the same tighter bore tolerance and polymer coated pistons.

Plumbling the fuel system on an LS6 conversion will require a return line to the fuel tank or use of the returnless fuel supply hardware used after 2003.5 on C5.

 

[00fxd]

Can anyone point me to some in depth sites about these engine swaps, any build-ups into older 60's Chevrolets? Mounts, clutch and stuff. Bell housing the same? I just converted my 400sb to TBI and as usual it cost about twice what I forecast [and I'm not done yet] so buying a drop in deal like that is a very real option.

 

[motorman]

Piston slap (or "cold piston knock" as some inside GM call it) on Gen 3s, in-spite of what consipracy theorists on the Internet would have you believe, is almost always an minor annoyance not a reliability/durability problem. The noise comes from a combination of short piston skirts, side loading, a cold engine and nominal piston to bore clearance. It's hard for me to understand why so much attention is given to the issue. In an aftermarket conversion, it would be even less an issue becuase of the large amount of other noise associated with a high performance engine in a C2. In any event, the "piston slap" is much less than what you'd have with aftermarket forged pistons used in the typical street high-performance engine you might build out of a traditional SBC V8 for that application.

While the problem was generally an annoyance, GM addressed the issue for MY02 because of customer input and warranty cost, by decreasing the range of bore sizes and adding a polymer coating on the piston skirts. They downside of that is a slight increase in parasitic power loss to to tighter fitting pistons.

The Gen 4 engines (LS2, etc) have the same tighter bore tolerance and polymer coated pistons.

Plumbling the fuel system on an LS6 conversion will require a return line to the fuel tank or use of the returnless fuel supply hardware used after 2003.5 on C5.

my understanding of the noise was caused by the buildup of carbon in the area of the piston above the top ring and doing the top engine clean helped with this problem.