LS powered Duster, Abomination or Go For it!

I'm gonna regret this, but what the hell, let's play devils advocate.

So, he's got a FREE 5.3 LS already. We all know you can get a controller for the LS cheaper than you can get one for a Gen III hemi.

He buys an HDK with LS mounts, which is probably something @HemiDenny has done already. So, now you don't need a center sump pan, and you can probably get away with a set of block hugger headers

So there's just the transmission mount left. So you buy a T56 and use one of these...Mopar 63-76 A body Crossmember/T-56 Magnum - Modern Driveline, or use it to modify for whatever is attached to the LS already since it won't likely be bigger than a T56 magnum XL

Or buy this stuff and do a little extra fabrication for a 4L60E or 700r4 or whatever ... White Box WB130042 White Box Transmission Crossmember Hoop , White Box WB130033 White Box Transmission Crossmember

Seriously, I'm not sure how putting an LS in a Duster is any harder than putting a Gen II hemi in one. Or a T56 in one. And if he has the 5.3 LS already we know he can do it cheaper than a Gen III hemi swap, because even if he sells the LS he will not get enough for it to buy an equivalent Gen III. And then he still needs to buy engine mounts, headers, a special oil pan, a controller, and some kind of engine adaptor or transmission mount, because you need all that for a Gen III too. And the Gen III stuff will cost more.

Hell even a "cheap" 440 is going to need new mounts, really expensive headers, is going to cost a lot more to build (or to buy if it doesn't need to be built), rebuilt suspension anyway, new transmission (not using the /6 trans is he?), new driveline, better rear axle, etc, etc. Like all that stuff is going to be changed no matter what direction the build goes if it's gonna make much more power than the /6 in it now.

I mean, I'm no LS fan. Heck, I'm not even a coilover conversion fan, as plenty of people know. But saying that putting an LS in a Duster is somehow harder or more expensive than a Gen III hemi, or even the 340/T56 combo I installed in mine is just silly if the guy's got a free 5.3 available to him. He's got at least a $7k head start compared to building my 340. More than enough to buy a controller, the entire HDK, and a transmission mount to boot.

If you don't like the LS in a Duster that's fine. But let's not pretend that converting a /6 car to a Gen III hemi is cheap and easy. Even a 440 only saves you the engine controller and transmission crossmember, but he still doesn't have the transmission. And building a 440 isn't cheap!