LS powered Duster, Abomination or Go For it!

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I keep hearing "cheap" getting thrown around here. I didn't look around too much, but, is there a center sump pan available to put on an LS to clear the A-body steering linkage? If not, then what? Great if your budget allows a tube K member. That in itself is a budget buster for most. Then the infamous header clearance issues with torsion bars, if there is a pan that clears factory steering/K member. Then there's the engine brackets. Now, I KNOW ALL THIS CAN BE FABBED!!! I KNOW THAT'S PART OF HOT RODDING!! Not everyone has that skill set or tools and such to get it done. Sometimes, for some people, it HAS to be bolt in. Jus' sayin'. These points point to keeping it Mopar. Small Block easiest. You could gather up half a dozen 318s and pay pennies for only two of em! Doesn't take much to make them run. Slap on a four barrel, dual exhaust, a 340 cam....... Oh no I didn't!!!!!!

The "cheap" thing I simply do not understand. They say budget LS but I keep seeing stuff like AFR or Trick flow heads that are over $2k a pair. Then they put twin turbos on them...

I don't know whose budget they are talking about but I'm wondering if their place of employment is hiring...

As far as mounting goes with oil pans, they hack the k frame all to pieces and use like an 06 GTO oil pan. Seen quite a few and its quite shoddy...why bother...
 
Hello fellow A-Body enthusiasts!
Im sure this has been asked, but here we go anyways.. As the title states, stay mopar or go LS? I have access to a free LS. 5.3, out of a low mileage GM (27k miles) Would any of you consider that, or would it be an abomination. I have a 71 duster that i recently dragged home, and needs alot of work as you all can imagine. I'm not restoring to trailer queen finish, in fact im going to drive it like i stole it! Restomod, sure but nothing near stock, I just want a street ready, bat out of hell muscle car that can handle the occasional trip to the strip or VIR type road course. Any input or advice would be awesome. Thanks for your reply's, looking forward to the upcoming conversations.

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I need an LS for my 67 chev G-10. I'll trade you two 440's for it
 
Hello fellow A-Body enthusiasts!
Im sure this has been asked, but here we go anyways.. As the title states, stay mopar or go LS? I have access to a free LS. 5.3, out of a low mileage GM (27k miles) Would any of you consider that, or would it be an abomination. I have a 71 duster that i recently dragged home, and needs alot of work as you all can imagine. I'm not restoring to trailer queen finish, in fact im going to drive it like i stole it! Restomod, sure but nothing near stock, I just want a street ready, bat out of hell muscle car that can handle the occasional trip to the strip or VIR type road course. Any input or advice would be awesome. Thanks for your reply's, looking forward to the upcoming conversations.

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Your car and your dime. The 5.3 LS is a good engine, but you end up with a transvestite. Personally I would be inclined to hop up.the slant with a Hyper Pac manifold, head work, a roller cam and EFI.
Outside that a Magnum 318 or 360 would be another viable option.
You go to show and shine events and a majority of vehicles had SBC zipper engines. They are/were in every wrecker, and with the oil pan they fit easier than most other engines. For Fords the 289/302 fit well if you can find the early Bronco oil pan and pickup tube. The earlier water pump and timing cover made them slightly longer. Use the serpentine WP and timing cover with accessory mounting, to shorten 1.5".
Now the LS series has taken over as today's zipper motor. Readily available, reliable, fuel efficient and with a few upgrades they make good power. The General's OD automatics are also fairly bullet proof also.
So built what you want and enjoy it. When the skeptics start circling like buzzards over road pizza, just smile and walk away.
 
You might not like the economy, but you`ll absolutely love the power.:thumbsup:
5.3 economy? My '99 1500 4WD is not bad with 3.73 gears. Now the 6.0 as installed in 2500 4WD are pigs on fuel. Gearing is a big issue. Stick with 3.23 or at most 3.55 years with the overdrive trans and economy should be reasonable.
 
5.3 economy? My '99 1500 4WD is not bad with 3.73 gears. Now the 6.0 as installed in 2500 4WD are pigs on fuel. Gearing is a big issue. Stick with 3.23 or at most 3.55 years with the overdrive trans and economy should be reasonable.
If you read who and what I quoted, you`d know I was talking 440:rolleyes:
 
The "cheap" thing I simply do not understand. They say budget LS but I keep seeing stuff like AFR or Trick flow heads that are over $2k a pair. Then they put twin turbos on them...

I don't know whose budget they are talking about but I'm wondering if their place of employment is hiring...

As far as mounting goes with oil pans, they hack the k frame all to pieces and use like an 06 GTO oil pan. Seen quite a few and its quite shoddy...why bother...
Well, if you need all the power you can get, then aftermarket heads are the answer. Looking into LS forums will give factory heads that are proven performers and ones to stay away from. A little pocket porting and port matching along with upgrading the 5.3 intake valves from 1.9" to 2.0" can help. Get rid of the AFM BS. Mostly sales buzzword BS and a proven reliability issue. Add in a modest cam and you can have a fairly reasonable engine. The aluminium block engines are common wrecker engines now also which could take a little weight off the front end.
I met a guy that stuffed LS3 engines with the Firebird 6spd trans into BMW3 series. They use the 760 diff which bolts right in. A little port work and a cam change with a tune and they get 550HP to the wheels. His is a 4dr sleeper that he hunts blower Mustangs with. The Al V8 is shorter than the Fe block Beemer 6, so it takes 50lbs off the front end.
 
Well looks like the OP is gone after the first page but I'll throw in my stinky opinion because we all love running our mouths about this stuff :D:poke:. LS swaps are considered "cheap" because the engines themselves (not including the 6.0 those are like gold) and parts to upgrade them are cheap. But the actual SWAP aspect is not cheap. I have friends who have LS swapped various vehicles and it does not look easy or fun, however those vehicles didn't have good performance engines available to build up from the factory.

Not to mention a stock 5.3 is nothing to write home about, you'd still probably want to upgrade it with the same kind of parts you'd put in a Mopar V8 anyway.

@Dale Davies people swap LS's into Beemers because the BMW V8 engines are hot garbage. I have a friend who had one in a 2008-2012ish 3 or 5-series and it was an unreliable overcomplicated piece of junk. She started the process of swapping an LS and T-56 but ran out of money and sold it LMAO.
 
Well looks like the OP is gone after the first page but I'll throw in my stinky opinion because we all love running our mouths about this stuff :D:poke:. LS swaps are considered "cheap" because the engines themselves (not including the 6.0 those are like gold) and parts to upgrade them are cheap. But the actual SWAP aspect is not cheap. I have friends who have LS swapped various vehicles and it does not look easy or fun, however those vehicles didn't have good performance engines available to build up from the factory.

Not to mention a stock 5.3 is nothing to write home about, you'd still probably want to upgrade it with the same kind of parts you'd put in a Mopar V8 anyway.

@Dale Davies people swap LS's into Beemers because the BMW V8 engines are hot garbage. I have a friend who had one in a 2008-2012ish 3 or 5-series and it was an unreliable overcomplicated piece of junk. She started the process of swapping an LS and T-56 but ran out of money and sold it LMAO.
Well, you get started on a project you need to do a cost analysis first and make sure you have the budget. Nobody in their right mind would say an LS swap is cheap or easy. Wrecker engine and trans even from a low mileage wreck is the least of the issues. The LS only came injected and distributor less so a controller is required. These guys were using the factory controller. Guy I met is an oilfield programmer and has the program to get into the factory ECM to adjust fuel and timing maps. Since doing a few identical he has the mapping stored so no expensive dyno time required. According to him the LS fits a 3 Series Beemer like it was engineered for it. Naturally mounts need to be built.
 
Hello fellow A-Body enthusiasts!
Im sure this has been asked, but here we go anyways.. As the title states, stay mopar or go LS? I have access to a free LS. 5.3, out of a low mileage GM (27k miles) Would any of you consider that, or would it be an abomination. I have a 71 duster that i recently dragged home, and needs alot of work as you all can imagine. I'm not restoring to trailer queen finish, in fact im going to drive it like i stole it! Restomod, sure but nothing near stock, I just want a street ready, bat out of hell muscle car that can handle the occasional trip to the strip or VIR type road course. Any input or advice would be awesome. Thanks for your reply's, looking forward to the upcoming conversations.

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I my opinion that is a mortal sin not into tech but I would say Gem III hemi
 
I my opinion that is a mortal sin not into tech but I would say Gem III hemi
Aftermarket has pieces to convert to carb(s) and distributor or stand alone ignition controller. Not a transvestite is one plus. But that will be no easier swap than an LS and likely more expensive.
 
Aftermarket has pieces to convert to carb(s) and distributor or stand alone ignition controller. Not a transvestite is one plus. But that will be no easier swap than an LS and likely more expensive.
It's easy and I've done it. On the cheap, too. The gen 3 hemi, that is.
 
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Hello fellow A-Body enthusiasts!
Im sure this has been asked, but here we go anyways.. As the title states, stay mopar or go LS? I have access to a free LS. 5.3, out of a low mileage GM (27k miles) Would any of you consider that, or would it be an abomination. I have a 71 duster that i recently dragged home, and needs alot of work as you all can imagine. I'm not restoring to trailer queen finish, in fact im going to drive it like i stole it! Restomod, sure but nothing near stock, I just want a street ready, bat out of hell muscle car that can handle the occasional trip to the strip or VIR type road course. Any input or advice would be awesome. Thanks for your reply's, looking forward to the upcoming conversations.

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Converted to carb. Used a 904 trans that was in the car.

Another reason I'd stay with the gen iii Hemi. It bolts to stuff I already own or have on hand.

It would cost me more $$ to convert to Chevy stuff. I'd have to sell my Mopar parts off (probably at a loss) and start over. I have no interest in doing so.
 
It is your car and your money, so do what you want. That being said, I would HIGHLY recommend putting a Mopar engine in 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!
 
Custom exhaust, mounts, headers, computer and wiring, etc stuff adds up quick. Sell the 5.3, buy a small block mopar, and save some money and a lot of aggravation. Just my two cents.
I agree, sale or trade for a small block Mopar. It's yours, do as you please, but having a motor of a different brand in another body may cost more than you think to install. Fabricating linkage and mounts along with a custom drive shaft, is costly. Myself, if I see a nice or cool GM, Ford or Mopar I will stop and admire, but if it has a different drive train then the brand, I will move on. That's just me.
 
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