Starting here from Omaha, NE USA
 

Hey V8M,

After deciding to give up riding on two wheels for fun, I wanted a project that would let me get my hands dirty, and wind up with a fun toy to rip around town in. Who knows, might get into autocross.

I am looking at an NB 01-02 for a starting point. I like the aesthetics of them, and they are real cheap to come by. I am going to go the LS route, and am debating between a ls3, or a buddy is trying to show me the benefits of thte ls4 (5.3L)

Goals,
Time frame:
2026 is my cut off, if I'm not driving a finished car by the time I am 40, I'm out.
I want to buy the car next year as a 30th gift to myself. I am thinking a higher mileage that still runs decent. I want to enjoy the thing as stock for a bit as I get the bank together for the swap.
2021 is when I am aiming to pick up the motor, and conversion parts. That gives me 5 years to do the swap.

I am shooting to do as much labor myself/ or with minimal help. The only things I want to have to pay someone to do is paint and engine performance tuning.

With the addition of a several liters of extra displacement, I would like to replace the hood, fenders, and other body panels with light weight alternatives (read: carbon)

I am hoping with my large time frame will give me the flexibility for a lofty project, but force me to make progress.

A little about me, I work at the University of Nebraska Medical Center as evening Corporal in the security department. I am married, and have a 6 month old little man named Thor.

Cheers!

Welcome!
I can tell you from what I've read the LS4 will not work. The main difference being that the bellhousing bolt pattern is different. So a t56 will NOT bolt up. If you're planning on getting an engine and rebuilding it or anything I'd suggest just spend a bit more and buy a new crate engine. I bought a used engine and rebuilt it and for the cost I could have had more had I bought a crate engine, but that's water under the bridge now.

Greetings Bryce!

^^What Steve said^^ You may want to look into a longitudinally mounted 5.3.

Thanks for the tip. I did see that the LS4 is only the FWD motor, and different from the 5.3 in the truck applications. So will the truck motor still work with the LSx mounting kit, or will it take additional modification to mount it. I also found some Silverados and Tahoes had the left over SSr Aluminum HO block.

I'm not sure you'll have enough time to get this project done....


Whats wrong with the early ls motors?

Also, welcome

The early LS motors will be outdated by the time he completes his project, & parts might become discontinued or obsolete.:hah:

LOL Tbone good points he better go with a 5.0!

Hey Bryce welcome to the forum! Glad to have another guy from up yonder here. If you ever want to see how not to build a car i'm just a couple hours from you. If you have any doubts about autox we can shake that down with a trip to Sioux Falls. It is about the most fun you can legally have with a car no matter what is under the hood.

As for the motor choice just keep reading. And reading. And reading...

yes you can use ANY other LS on the mounts. You can look for an L33 which came in 05-06 Sierra/Silverado EXT cab 4wd trucks. Or an LM4 which was a lot more common but not quite as good (smaller valves, 9.5:1 vs 9.9:1, cam is a little smaller)
Really it all depends what you wanna spend/do. You could even go with an iron block 6.0 (LQ9 or LQ4) if you wanted.