- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
Often you hear about how cheap a LS swap is... I thought this would be worth putting together and adding up the costs, for the sake of sharing on here. There are a LOT of options and the total cost really depends on what you want in the end, how far into the engine you go, what it's going into and what you start out with. I've done a handful of LS swaps at this point, but I'm far from an expert. If you see anything I missed, feel free to mention it!
My plan is to swap a stock 5.3 into the 1967 Pontiac Bonneville, so that will be my example for this thread. The vehicle really doesn't matter, but it may make a difference in cost at the end of the day.
For this specific build, I'm going to try to keep it cheap and track the needed parts and costs. I'm starting with a 2002 Gen III 5.3 LM7 with 130k miles on it. These are probably the most common LS truck engines, Iron block, aluminum cathedral port heads, factory roller cam, truck intake, etc. A 4.8 (LR4) is similar and should be priced a bit less due to the displacement, but they do have a flat-top piston for higher compression, making the HP & TQ loss pretty minimal. Both of these small truck engines are pretty prevalent, but nearing 20 years old they may be hard to find with low-ish miles. It's best for cost if you can find a good running engine that you don't need to tear down, rebuild, etc. Even minor upgrades can add up fast, cam shaft upgrades are nice and you'll see big gains, but not cheap.
The best thing you can do is purchase a complete engine with all the accessories & mounting brackets; starter, alternator, water pump, intake, coils, throttle body & injectors, etc. I was able to get the ECU & engine cover in addition to all the accessories.... all for $600. (My coils had broken connectors due to a sloppy removal, so I'll have to replace those.) I was able to use a Hotsy pressure washer to degrease the 5.3 before the hard work of swapping it into the car.
$600 seems to be a decent price these days, I can find 4.8's for $500 from local wrecking yards. The price seems to jump up from there, depending on where you look. (Many years ago when I built the RME TJ around 2008, I used a low-mile take-out LM7 that was only a few years old and paid $1200.) I've built a L33 5.3 for my '66 El Camino with a brand new block and that build nickle & dime'd me, big time. It was nice knowing it was all fresh, but it wasn't cheap in the end.
The oil in this 5.3 looks great, always good to see with a used engine!
Engine management system (wiring harness & ECU; If you can get a good factory harness and you're motivated, you can trim it down to run standalone. I prefer buying a aftermarket harness. You can find pretty cheap Chinese wiring harnesses as low as $120, but the quality is questionable, plugs are often wrong or wired backwards, etc. There are other better options in the $300 range, but you need to make sure they have the options you need. Including the fuel pump and cooling fan fuses & relays are a big part of that, the additional costs add up quickly. You'll need a factory ECU with some changes to make it run. Using HP Tuners or similar, you or a tuner will need to remove VATS (anti-theft) at a minimum, delete 2 of the 4 O2 sensors, etc. High quality harnesses cost around $500-600, a deleted ECU usually costs around $200. I'm considering a middle of the road harness from Speedway Motors at $350, with no fan relay. I have HP Tuners and after buying a $100 credit, I can tweak the ECU to my needs.
Transmission options; Depending on your needs & build, the modern electronic controlled transmission can be used with the factory ECU controlling the functions of the trans. I'm hoping to find a good, used 4L60E transmission for this swap. Hoping to be into the transmission around $500, we will see.
Exhaust; Factory exhaust manifolds on LS engines actually perform pretty well, I've used shorty headers in the past and they work, but I don't know that you really gain anything, more than looks. I have a set of shorty headers that I'll probably run with this swap if they fit, only because I have them. I paid $150 for the knock-off shorty headers. I'll probably build my own exhaust from there.
Radiator & Cooling Fan; Upgrading the radiator is always wise if you're swapping in a V8, my car didsn't have a radiator with it and while I got the factory radiator from the Tahoe my engine came out of, it won't fit under the hood. I'll be looking for an aftermarket radiator for the car. Along with the radiator, you'll need to consider transmission cooling. Looks like aluminum options that fit my car are in the $250 range.
Fuel Pump & Regulator; In tank pumps are more reliable, with the gas keeping the pump cool over time. Using a Corvette fuel filter & regulator is an affordable & simple way to make sure the fuel pressure is maintained consistently. For my build, I'm hoping to find a factory fuel tank, probably from a GM truck and be able to use the factory sending unit, fuel pump, etc. Hoping to find a tank, sending unit & pump for around $100.
Oil Pan; The truck oil pans are quite deep and cause fitment problems in most anything other than a tall truck. The most common upgrade is a LS1 oil pan from a F-Body Camaro, or you can upgrade to a aftermarket pan like a Holley or something similar. These usually run around $500. I found a similar pan to the Holley (probably a Chinese duplicate) for $220 on Amazon. It's a copy of the 302-3 and should work for a 1967 GM B-Body.
I'll update this thread as the swap continues...
My plan is to swap a stock 5.3 into the 1967 Pontiac Bonneville, so that will be my example for this thread. The vehicle really doesn't matter, but it may make a difference in cost at the end of the day.
For this specific build, I'm going to try to keep it cheap and track the needed parts and costs. I'm starting with a 2002 Gen III 5.3 LM7 with 130k miles on it. These are probably the most common LS truck engines, Iron block, aluminum cathedral port heads, factory roller cam, truck intake, etc. A 4.8 (LR4) is similar and should be priced a bit less due to the displacement, but they do have a flat-top piston for higher compression, making the HP & TQ loss pretty minimal. Both of these small truck engines are pretty prevalent, but nearing 20 years old they may be hard to find with low-ish miles. It's best for cost if you can find a good running engine that you don't need to tear down, rebuild, etc. Even minor upgrades can add up fast, cam shaft upgrades are nice and you'll see big gains, but not cheap.
The best thing you can do is purchase a complete engine with all the accessories & mounting brackets; starter, alternator, water pump, intake, coils, throttle body & injectors, etc. I was able to get the ECU & engine cover in addition to all the accessories.... all for $600. (My coils had broken connectors due to a sloppy removal, so I'll have to replace those.) I was able to use a Hotsy pressure washer to degrease the 5.3 before the hard work of swapping it into the car.
$600 seems to be a decent price these days, I can find 4.8's for $500 from local wrecking yards. The price seems to jump up from there, depending on where you look. (Many years ago when I built the RME TJ around 2008, I used a low-mile take-out LM7 that was only a few years old and paid $1200.) I've built a L33 5.3 for my '66 El Camino with a brand new block and that build nickle & dime'd me, big time. It was nice knowing it was all fresh, but it wasn't cheap in the end.
The oil in this 5.3 looks great, always good to see with a used engine!
Engine management system (wiring harness & ECU; If you can get a good factory harness and you're motivated, you can trim it down to run standalone. I prefer buying a aftermarket harness. You can find pretty cheap Chinese wiring harnesses as low as $120, but the quality is questionable, plugs are often wrong or wired backwards, etc. There are other better options in the $300 range, but you need to make sure they have the options you need. Including the fuel pump and cooling fan fuses & relays are a big part of that, the additional costs add up quickly. You'll need a factory ECU with some changes to make it run. Using HP Tuners or similar, you or a tuner will need to remove VATS (anti-theft) at a minimum, delete 2 of the 4 O2 sensors, etc. High quality harnesses cost around $500-600, a deleted ECU usually costs around $200. I'm considering a middle of the road harness from Speedway Motors at $350, with no fan relay. I have HP Tuners and after buying a $100 credit, I can tweak the ECU to my needs.
Transmission options; Depending on your needs & build, the modern electronic controlled transmission can be used with the factory ECU controlling the functions of the trans. I'm hoping to find a good, used 4L60E transmission for this swap. Hoping to be into the transmission around $500, we will see.
Exhaust; Factory exhaust manifolds on LS engines actually perform pretty well, I've used shorty headers in the past and they work, but I don't know that you really gain anything, more than looks. I have a set of shorty headers that I'll probably run with this swap if they fit, only because I have them. I paid $150 for the knock-off shorty headers. I'll probably build my own exhaust from there.
Radiator & Cooling Fan; Upgrading the radiator is always wise if you're swapping in a V8, my car didsn't have a radiator with it and while I got the factory radiator from the Tahoe my engine came out of, it won't fit under the hood. I'll be looking for an aftermarket radiator for the car. Along with the radiator, you'll need to consider transmission cooling. Looks like aluminum options that fit my car are in the $250 range.
Fuel Pump & Regulator; In tank pumps are more reliable, with the gas keeping the pump cool over time. Using a Corvette fuel filter & regulator is an affordable & simple way to make sure the fuel pressure is maintained consistently. For my build, I'm hoping to find a factory fuel tank, probably from a GM truck and be able to use the factory sending unit, fuel pump, etc. Hoping to find a tank, sending unit & pump for around $100.
Oil Pan; The truck oil pans are quite deep and cause fitment problems in most anything other than a tall truck. The most common upgrade is a LS1 oil pan from a F-Body Camaro, or you can upgrade to a aftermarket pan like a Holley or something similar. These usually run around $500. I found a similar pan to the Holley (probably a Chinese duplicate) for $220 on Amazon. It's a copy of the 302-3 and should work for a 1967 GM B-Body.
I'll update this thread as the swap continues...
