hey guys, I have used this forum a couple times and you guys never fail me. I was thinking about buying a new truck but then I realized why should I spend $20000 on a new truck when I can upgrade mine for alot less. So the plan is to swap the 4.3 (which has always been a good engine for me) to a V8. not sure what I want in it. what do you guys think? 350? 327? will they bolt up to the existing transmission? what am I looking for cost wise? I have a 2002 2 door 4x4 LS.

 

The 4.3L shares the same cylinder bank angle as the GM V8's which means that the transmission will bolt right up.

The cost varies quite a bit depending on what you have available to you and what you can do yourself.

I would recommend that you get the book written by jagsthatrun.com as well as run a few searches around here. This question was just asked yesterday and a link to a very informative website was posted. Something like "350+swap" or similar should bring up some good results.

 

350 will be the cheapest, their good, strong, reliable and a dime a dozen. a 327 will be much more expensive both to buy and repair. dunno of the engine mounts are the same or not but id assume not and being that its a 2002 you might need your PCM wiped if thats possible? i work on fords everyday but dont particularly know gm products all that well.

 

ya i heard that the 350 mount the same but im not 100% on that. my buddy works at a chevy dealership and said he could possibly have the pcm whipped. hopefully that is the case. thank for ur help/future help

 

Think L31 for the easiest swap.

 

yeah, a LM7 would be nice, or even a LM4 is better. or go all out in the 5300 catagory, and find yourself a L33 (good luck with that one!)

personally, i've found the LM7/LM4 to be a quicker spinning engine (seems to "spool up" faster) than the L31.

but if you're goin' "8" then go all out-find yourself a nice L92 out of a current Escalade or Tahoe/Yukon Denali. now that's some power there!