LSx V8 Swap [Primer/Info Thread]
 

I am nearing the end of my built 6.2 swap and want to compile my knowledge while it is fresh. I will avoid pimping brands since I am a big fan of almost everyone doing parts for this swap. I will just mention when a solution is available and when ingenuity is required(or both!)
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What GM LS engines are a option?

All LS based engines(except LS4) are possible.

• LS1 is the easiest and most common. The L99, LS6, LS3, LS2, and LS7 are also easy options but require swapping in LS1 accessories and minor parts.
• Gen3 LQ4/LQ9 6.0L, 5.3 Gen3 iron, and Gen3 5.3L iron/aluminum motors are great options as well. 4.8l motors exist well. 5.3 motors love boost and are dirt cheap. The major hurdle here is the cost of a car intake and various other small car fitment items. Not so bad.
• Aluminum 6.2L, 5.3L, 6.0L Gen4 truck motors are fantastic(l88, l92, l94, l9whatever). The 6.2L and 6.0s seem to come with the same heads as a LS3(l92 casting) with different valves. The same major hurdles as above exist.

Transmissions:
T56, 4L60e, powerglide, and TR6060 seem to be the only completed swaps. I had a power glide mounted while I was waiting for my faceplated T56 to be completed. It fit well enough. A T101A is also a easy possibility so long as you solve shifter positioning.


Cost?

This is a hard thing to nail down. I will say if you don't include sweat equity you can accomplish some of these swaps for less than the gross cost(after selling your motor) of a quality complete turbo setup. It wont be cheap, but you can make it sway to the extremes in either direction. The iron/aluminum 5.3/6.0 swap can be affordable, 5.7 swaps are somewhere in the middle, 6.2 swaps are much more expensive. I'll elaborate. LS3 pull outs are at best $4500, L99s go for about $3500 plus another $400 in lifters, cams, springs, valley covers, timing setups, and misc to delete VVT and DoD. L92-l9xs are at best $2500 for a low mileage unit and require the same shit as a l99 plus a car intake setup. A LS1 cost around $1500. 6.0 and 5.3 pullouts are 400-$1000 with moderate miles.

What fab work, and parts do I need besides the motor?

• There will be metal work and welding. Look in your engine bay and spot the cross brace. That will need to be removed. Next take a look at the gusseting on the back of the engine bay that wraps onto the firewall. That needs to be removed. All of it basically. This clears the cylinder heads to get the motor back further.
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• You will need a hammer. A big hammer. The T56 is a bigger unit than the Aisin/Honda unit and it will hit around the bellhousing. Other places where you will need to beat include the reverse lockout and various other sensor positions on the t56. Nothing too serious but this is the reason most of us who have done this swap get so good at taking the motor in and out. Lots of trial and error.
• Motor mounts - either motor plates or rubber mounted units. There are big horsepower swaps running both on our cars currently. Both have distinct advantages and disadvantages in terms of clearance. Generally if you are going forward mounted turbo go rubber but if not motor plates are a little bigger but much easier to work around.
• Steering rack relocation is required. Basically you need to move the rack forward so that the rear two mounting holes are in bolted into the front two holes and reinforce/extend the subframe. There is a popular relocation kit which uses aluminum bars and bracing so that the rack is mounted just as securely as before without needing to weld.
• You will also need new tie rods with a bend to clear the wheels at full lock. I had success with 2006 Si outer units and 2000 accord inners. There is also a modified kit for this swap that uses OEM S2000 inner machined down.
• Our sway bar will need to be flipped over and mounted upside down. There is a kit for this, and I am unsure if aftermarket sways are a possibility at all.
• Our fuel system is inadequate. This can easily be remedied with a wallbro pump, fittings, corvette fpr/filter, and new lines. Unfortunately everyone I've encountered has deleted the factory evap setup. Fairly straight forward but the tank and pump assembly are the only two stock components you will be using.
• Wiring wiring wiring wiring. The hell if I know. I will update this as I finish this final step! Suffice to say it is a easier task if you get a standalone engine harness, but not impossible otherwise.

But won't it be heavy????!?
The engine is a pushrod lump of aluminum and is much lighter than a 2JZ swap. I suspect if you kept all the garbage in the engine bay you might add a three 30 packs of beer worth of weight. Removing all that fancy AC/Airpump/etc clutter gets some of that back then putting a big battery in the trunk removes the rest. This engine sits entirely behind the center of the shock towers so it is nothing like a miata where 1/3 of the motor is on the nose.



Anyway I will update this in the next few days with more info. This swap is fairly popular but I feel like it has the potential to bloom as rod knocking AP1 units touch $4000. If you are a purist perhaps you are in the wrong section. I love my S2000, but it is mine and I will only love it more when this journey ends. There is something to say for the love a chassis independent of its motor and anyone who says the NA 9k revs are the only quality worth embracing on this fantastic car is overlooking the parts I love the most.


Reference photos

06 Si outer and 2000 accord inner tie rods. Good fit for a great turning radius
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Space between frame rail and engine for header fitment
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Great information. I recently thought about swapping or building my f22c, and chose to build because I didn't didn't think swapping the motor to an :S would be easy.



If anything happens to this motor, I might consider going this route.

Great info, finally convinced my dad that we need to do one of these as a side project among the others.






Can't wait for the butthurt to come in here. Oh wait, it's not Facebook, nevermind

thanks for write up! looking forward to more!

I will update it soom! I am on fuel and wiring and then the swap is complete. Driveshaft shop just delivered my driveshaft so the need to finish this for good is very powerful

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Sweet front bar/radiator support! Looks great!

Note for the TR6060. It is stronger than the T56 and is basically a T56 magnum with the 31 spline output shaft but the shifter tailhousing is different. It puts the shifter further back than the Fbody (and I think GTO) T56. Also, it doesn't use a slip yoke like the Fbody T56 and has a flange instead. Changing out the rear housing is possibly but I think expensive.

Any advantages to using the TR6060 over a T56 magnum, besides the likely cost savings?

I have an LS3 Miata. The weight distribution is 52/48 F/R just like when it was stock, so the car still handles like stock, which means it handles well.

The S2000 is a better chassis than the Miata for this swap because the engine *does* sit further back. The Miata has an advantage because the end result is so much lighter. My Miata weighs 2400#, which is about 450# lighter than a stock S2000.

The LS is a *great* engine. When you get yours running, you won't be able to wipe the smile off your face. Very nice build. :)

WOW, geez, that sounds nuts. haha!