Vortec 350 swaps
#1
04-08-2019, 03:47 AM
Vortec 350 swaps
Gday people, I've got a 99 LS Blazer 4 door, 4.3/4l60 auto that I'm keen to put a Vortec 350 from a 99 suburban in.
Is this a big job? Whats the go with motor mounts from V6 to V8? Can i run the same gbox once its tricked up?
All advise or links to conversion parts is appreciated.
Cheers
Is this a big job? Whats the go with motor mounts from V6 to V8? Can i run the same gbox once its tricked up?
All advise or links to conversion parts is appreciated.
Cheers
#2
04-08-2019, 04:33 AM
Lots of info out there on physically getting the v8 under the hood. Looks up jagsthatrun.com, and s10v8.com
#3
04-10-2019, 09:45 PM
Allow me to be the first to suggest this, because I'm sure EVERYONE else will...
Look into LS swapping it instead of the old 350 swap...
Yes the 350 is a proven engine, but with the time, money, and effort put into to swapping the 350 into it, you could drop in a 4.8 or 5.3 for possibly the same price, maybe cheaper as the motors are MUCH easier to find, and in the end the engines are just as reliable, have more power, better MPG, etc. The LS is just an all around better more modern platform that is no harder to swap in than the 350 would be.
I was in the same situation a little over a year ago. Had a 350 that I had torn down, had the heads at a machine shop, was just about to start ordering rebuild parts. But the more I read, the more I began to be convinced that an LS platform would just be a better option. Never thought I'd end up with an all aluminum LS3 lol but it sort of fell into my lap...
Look into LS swapping it instead of the old 350 swap...
Yes the 350 is a proven engine, but with the time, money, and effort put into to swapping the 350 into it, you could drop in a 4.8 or 5.3 for possibly the same price, maybe cheaper as the motors are MUCH easier to find, and in the end the engines are just as reliable, have more power, better MPG, etc. The LS is just an all around better more modern platform that is no harder to swap in than the 350 would be.
I was in the same situation a little over a year ago. Had a 350 that I had torn down, had the heads at a machine shop, was just about to start ordering rebuild parts. But the more I read, the more I began to be convinced that an LS platform would just be a better option. Never thought I'd end up with an all aluminum LS3 lol but it sort of fell into my lap...
#4
04-11-2019, 03:24 AM
Allow me to be the first to suggest this, because I'm sure EVERYONE else will...
Look into LS swapping it instead of the old 350 swap...
Yes the 350 is a proven engine, but with the time, money, and effort put into to swapping the 350 into it, you could drop in a 4.8 or 5.3 for possibly the same price, maybe cheaper as the motors are MUCH easier to find, and in the end the engines are just as reliable, have more power, better MPG, etc. The LS is just an all around better more modern platform that is no harder to swap in than the 350 would be.
I was in the same situation a little over a year ago. Had a 350 that I had torn down, had the heads at a machine shop, was just about to start ordering rebuild parts. But the more I read, the more I began to be convinced that an LS platform would just be a better option. Never thought I'd end up with an all aluminum LS3 lol but it sort of fell into my lap...
Look into LS swapping it instead of the old 350 swap...
Yes the 350 is a proven engine, but with the time, money, and effort put into to swapping the 350 into it, you could drop in a 4.8 or 5.3 for possibly the same price, maybe cheaper as the motors are MUCH easier to find, and in the end the engines are just as reliable, have more power, better MPG, etc. The LS is just an all around better more modern platform that is no harder to swap in than the 350 would be.
I was in the same situation a little over a year ago. Had a 350 that I had torn down, had the heads at a machine shop, was just about to start ordering rebuild parts. But the more I read, the more I began to be convinced that an LS platform would just be a better option. Never thought I'd end up with an all aluminum LS3 lol but it sort of fell into my lap...
Have you put the LS3 in your Blazer Blazen? Is there any threads on here that may inform me of what ill be in for doing either conversions?
Being down here in Australia makes it hard to get any info on Blazers
#5
04-11-2019, 04:40 AM
Is it really cheaper to LS swap than a vortec 350? I'm in the early stages of planning a V8 swap, and it seemed, from the prices I saw, the LS swap stuff was way more expensive than vortec swap.
#6
04-11-2019, 09:36 AM
No way the LS engines are cheaper to swap in than the Vortec 5.7. The 5.7 is almost a plug and play compared to the LS engines. Don't believe me? Try pricing a oil pan; engine mounts and the engine harness and computer for it. Them youj'll have headers or exhaust manifolds on top of that, not to mention the electric fans, etc.. You'll swallow your tongue when you price it out. Yes, they do get better mpg, more power, etc. but they are definitely not cheaper to swap.
#7
04-11-2019, 08:08 PM
Working in the salvage industry, I know we can sell a good running 5.7 350 (as rarely as they come in) for sometimes $1,500-$2,000, double what we'll let a decent 4.8 or 5.3 go for since they're so common. But, your mileage may vary (no pun intended...) on pricing depending on your location and where you can get the engine from... Most of our clientele is shops doing insurance claim repairs and what-not though, so the money is there...
MadMerritt, the build is under way but it's no where near being put into the Blazer just yet unfortunately. I only just got the spot cleared out in my garage to bring the darn engine home lol it's been sitting it work for a few months now, I'll finally be able to put it on an engine stand in the garage this weekend and begin playing with it. I still need to buy accessory brackets, oil pan (possibly fab one from a factory truck oil pan), headers (will be fabbing the rest of the exhaust myself), make my own custom wiring harness (because I'll be damned if I'm going to pay $1k for something I can just make myself, even if it takes a little time), and a buddy at work has been playing with his HP tuners for a while now so I trust him to do the basic computer flashing and tune so that I can get it to a dyno for a real tune later on.
Granted I did get a SMOKING deal on the LS3 itself, I anticipate everything else to be in the $1500 range just for parts, by doing all of the work myself. Of course things like this always end up costing more than you originally plan (a simple Toyota 22RE 4 cylinder REBUILD once cost me over $2k lol) so I'll say $2K just to cover my butt.
MadMerritt, the build is under way but it's no where near being put into the Blazer just yet unfortunately. I only just got the spot cleared out in my garage to bring the darn engine home lol it's been sitting it work for a few months now, I'll finally be able to put it on an engine stand in the garage this weekend and begin playing with it. I still need to buy accessory brackets, oil pan (possibly fab one from a factory truck oil pan), headers (will be fabbing the rest of the exhaust myself), make my own custom wiring harness (because I'll be damned if I'm going to pay $1k for something I can just make myself, even if it takes a little time), and a buddy at work has been playing with his HP tuners for a while now so I trust him to do the basic computer flashing and tune so that I can get it to a dyno for a real tune later on.
Granted I did get a SMOKING deal on the LS3 itself, I anticipate everything else to be in the $1500 range just for parts, by doing all of the work myself. Of course things like this always end up costing more than you originally plan (a simple Toyota 22RE 4 cylinder REBUILD once cost me over $2k lol) so I'll say $2K just to cover my butt.
#8
04-11-2019, 08:09 PM
Yeh agreed.All the conversion kits ive seen for the LS swap are heaps more expensive than the 350 kits and dont include oil pans etc
#9
04-11-2019, 08:34 PM
No way the LS engines are cheaper to swap in than the Vortec 5.7. The 5.7 is almost a plug and play compared to the LS engines. Don't believe me? Try pricing a oil pan; engine mounts and the engine harness and computer for it. Them youj'll have headers or exhaust manifolds on top of that, not to mention the electric fans, etc.. You'll swallow your tongue when you price it out. Yes, they do get better mpg, more power, etc. but they are definitely not cheaper to swap.
im not fussed that the LS makes more power and stuff but im not looking to set land speed records haha just wanting a bit more grunt off road and being in Australia its hard to source parts.
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