Engine swap ?

[Lenie]

Have been contemplating an engine swap. Option #1 Keep Pontiac 400 w/aluminum heads and cam change w/ richmond 5 speed, Option #2 LS7 trans (?) or Option #3 LS2 w/head and cam change Trans (?). Currently have Wayne Due subframe w/C4 front suspension. Currently sits at 4 3/4" off the ground w/o engine and trans. at my ride height. What would you do w/o budget getting way out of controll (hard to say when talking about LS7). And w/your idea, ballpark figure with someone else doing it cost. Would these packages other than the 400 even work? Keep in mind, your not dealing w/a mechanic here. Gas was one of my instigators and I plan on keeping the car forever but if I were to sell it, how would each effect sale price? Hope you have alittle fun with this one.

[Lenie]

Didn't see the above thread, thanks reboot. Excellent replies.

[andrewmp6]

How far can you stroke that Pontiac 400?Im not a fan of the series rather have a after market small block.

[youthpastor]

hey Lenie- we are putting a 6.0 motor out of a Suburban in the camaro with LS6 intake Stainless Works headers etc. these motors make a ton of power for the money- check out the L92 head swap- over 500 streetable horsepower!!

If you are looking for a shop to do the install or any other mechanical work let me know-Chris

[Lenie]

Thanks for the replies, I don't really want to open a can of worms, I just really liked the sound of Scotts LS installed in his 69 and started to think about gas mileage since I plan on driving this all over the country. The 400 I have now has already been worked by Marten Motorsports out of Michigan w/0 hours on it. It dyno'd at 419 hp with the stock heads on it. I was wanting to add alittle more HP to it with aluminum heads and a different cam but with alot of outside urging and reading the board my mind started to drift. I'll probably do the 400 deal unless someone can give me good reason to drop the 400 and thats what I was kinda looking for here. Like I said, I'm not a mechanic, but I'd like to build a quality car w/o regrets. Chris, I'll be in touch soon. I'd like to see your project, looks good so far. Saturday I'm going to the Seattle Rod show, hope to see some of you there. To all, I'm open minded, help me make a good decision.:thumbsup:

[andrewmp6]

A ls1 can be better on gas depends on your driving style and if you have a tranny with a over drive gear.

[COYBILT]

EFI and a aluminum heads or aluminum heads and a demon carb.

PM me and will talk about this further

Ive got low end torque that a LS7 only wishes it could have. 690 foot pounds @ 3600

[fesler]

For the money the LS-7 is the way to go we have just done two cars with them and they are very sick out of the box engine, one has a 6 speed the other has an auto so that one will be up to you. Again for the money these things are rockets and you dont have to do a thing to them but if you want you can add cam and retune to get them way up there.

[Lenie]

Thanks for the replies and PM's. Here's a picture of the motor being dyno'd by Martin motorsports. It's currently sitting in my garage waiting for the jury to come in.
http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/6194/234cx5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[awr68]

That's a tuf one! What's your recent thoughts? I'm a fan of the LS7...If I were to start over that's the route I would take...a little too late now though!! :)

[Lenie]

Jeff and Anthony, those are two ah inspiring cars you have there, and yes, money is always the issue or decisions would be pretty easy.;)

[awr68]

Thanks for the kind words...Jeff's is WAY nicer than mine though!

So what kinda resale value does the 400 have? And remember that when you go LSx damn near everything has to change. That's the reason I don't switch over, way too many parts come into play! Do you have a tranny, headers, radiator, ext. yet?

[67blackbird]

You know, when you introduced the car somebody said - "not another red Camaro". I'd like to see you keep th ePontiac motor, if you need more speed , try the new CV-1 cylinder head (canted valves!). Of course, I could be biased to the Pontiac 400 in my garage...

[Rybar]

Lenie, if budget weren't a concern I'd go LS7 all the way. I am biased though towards the LSX motors.

I think your car would be killer either way though, not too many Birds done to the level of yours so at least it's different.

Here's a couple videos that may sway you in the LSX direction :D :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxEgUMZqJbE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=el6t9I5TvjA

[Lenie]

Thanks everyone, I appreciate all the replies. Every time I think I have my mind made up, a new reply is written and my response is, yeah, he's right, that's what I'm gonna do, screw the cost. Then reality sets in, The 400 I have now has already been fitted into the car, the wayne due front clip has already been powder coated, car has been final wet sanded and I'm painting this weekend I hope. The currie rearend by DSE has 3.08 gears and would have to be changed if I went with an LS, (tunnel mods, motor mount mods etc.?). As much as I'd like to put in an LS because of reliability, gas economy, horse power and so on, there's as many reasons to stay with the 400 and the biggest one is I need to get the car finished, it's all I think about these days. The change would feel like I'm going backwards and with all the new products that come out weekly, I could make changes that would last a life time and never be finished. So as of now, I'm going to put some more dinero into the already rebuilt 400 and go with it. I'm open to suggestions on what all to do to it. Who knows, maybe tomorrow I'll change my mind again:willy: Thanks again:thumbsup:

[Lenie]

Thanks for all the replies. I've finally elected to keep the car pontiac powered. I'm currently stroking the 68 400 block to a 461, installing a new cam, aluminum heads and the accessories to make it work. Thanks again for all the input.

[COYBILT]

LS7= nothing in comparison to pontiac torque.
I have a LQ9 with a cam,longtubes,etc in my 2000 gmc 2500 and I would rather have a 455 in the damn thing. The gen 3/4 small blocks are good motors they just dont have the down low torque a pontiac has. It all depends on what you are looking for. You want modern easy to get cheap performance parts Gen3/4 and if you want ground pounding low end mid range power with slightly pricier parts, pick pontiac. Lenie Please give me a call again

[72blackbird]

Another vote for pure PONTIAC power here- nothing wrong with the latest-and-greatest Chevy V-8 but as mentioned before it will never out torque a Poncho. A stroker 400/462 with good aluminum heads, roller cam, enough induction and decent exhaust will make 525+ hp/ 600+ ft-lbs. easy.

Geno