ls swap in nova

86iroc305

86iroc305

Forum Member
so i've been looking around for a 5.3 for my project nova, i came aross one for $200 but no acc. brackets ect basically a long block ... the price seems fair but at the same time i know getting brackets and stuff to go along with it will add up quick, i also have a 98 ls1 harness and pcm but from what i heard those arent exactly the hot ticket for tuing especially when i plan to add a few pounds of boost from a turbo, would you guys look for complete pull out or can this be pieced together fairly cheap, ie 200 engine 50-200 acc, 500-750 for stand alone harness ? or think i could get a whole pull out engine harness and acc for 750-1000 i think that would be a better ticket, am i crazy for thinking i can get a pull out for that price? wiring and such isnt a huge deal for me as long as i know what i have (ie pull out from a 02 silverado )
 
Fuck F.I. ........Put a carb on it and a front mount distributor and save about 28 headaches....and you will still have hair on your head....and you will still have a pocket full of money...Plus you make more hp with a carb...

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BIGCOWL-IMP said:
Fuck F.I. ........Put a carb on it and a front mount distributor and save about 28 headaches....and you will still have hair on your head....and you will still have a pocket full of money...Plus you make more hp with a carb...
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Has that been proven? or is it just the fact that youre using a huge 4 barrel with a victor manifold? Anyone injected one and used the same carb as a throttle body to compare?
 
My advice.. find a wrecked silverado so you have the whole package in front of you. $2000 or less can find a wrecked 5.3 truck all day.


He means a carb intake a carb will make more power than a truck/car ls injected intake.

It's been tested time and time again. With the same intake, they usually make equal power. Some say carbs are easier, some say Efi is easier... carbs can be a headache, Efi can be 10 headaches because of its complexity.
 
I know prosystems puts their carbs against efi every chance they get and they usually come out on top. My pro system drove as nice as efi and had cruise and wot A/F Ratio numbers to match but I'm still going to efi this time around.

Also, the difference in power and driveability of carb vs efi is different in a street car vs a street/strip car. Us street/strip guys can tolerate a lot more. If he is looking to do a 4000 stall and no overdrive, more cam... then a carb is a great plan. If he wants a stock cam, stock stall OD trans, he will want the smoothness of efi.
 
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Cool when will it be ready ?? If you need some help let me know...

I love my DOMINATOR .....its just as tame as my pro systems 4150

Also when i talked to Mast Motorsports 2 weeks ago they also said a carb makes more power..........I`m a dealer for Mast....So if you guys need somthing let me know..
 
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:) its all the carb:) I know the stuff on the inside of that motor has nothing to do with how well it runs :) I heard it rev's to the moon
 
BIGCOWL-IMP said:
Cool when will it be ready ?? If you need some help let me know...

I love my DOMINATOR .....its just as tame as my pro systems 4150

Also when i talked to Mast Motorsports 2 weeks ago they also said a carb makes more power..........I`m a dealer for Mast....So if you guys need somthing let me know..
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My little weak ass 6.0 wont need one though, thats all I meant by that.
 
86iroc305 said:
if going the carb route guy recommend doing with a dist. or the msd box to run coils ?
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I`m reading that the guys that are running the 6010 MSD box with the coil packs are switching over to the front mount distributor.....Its way more reliable/dependable .... The 6010 MSD box go`s bad alot and you need a labtop to set the timing....... Also with a carb and front mount distributor your car is about 150 pounds lighter...and look at how much nicer the engine bay looks..........
 
BIGCOWL-IMP said:
I`m reading that the guys that are running the 6010 MSD box with the coil packs are switching over to the front mount distributor.....Its way more reliable/dependable .... The 6010 MSD box go`s bad alot and you need a labtop to set the timing....... Also with a carb and front mount distributor your car is about 150 pounds lighter...and look at how much nicer the engine bay looks..........
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Isnt it pretty expensive for the cover and balancer and what not? Im sure you could find a decent deal on a manifold/msd box combo if you looking to save some money.
 
He wants to put a turbo on it, why would he put a carb on it?

Pull the whole thing from one vehicle and keep it simple and cheap. Why does everyone like complicated stuff?
 
BrainFearGone said:
Isnt it pretty expensive for the cover and balancer and what not? Im sure you could find a decent deal on a manifold/msd box combo if you looking to save some money.
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Well i geuss it depends on if you have a labtop or not....if you do then it would only be about $200-300 more to do it the way i did...
 
Duke said:
He wants to put a turbo on it, why would he put a carb on it?

Pull the whole thing from one vehicle and keep it simple and cheap. Why does everyone like complicated stuff?
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Blow through carbs works great with a turbo ...ask this guy...he is Strightshotperformance on here...


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AutoRoc said:
My advice.. find a wrecked silverado so you have the whole package in front of you. $2000 or less can find a wrecked 5.3 truck all day.


He means a carb intake a carb will make more power than a truck/car ls injected intake.

It's been tested time and time again. With the same intake, they usually make equal power. Some say carbs are easier, some say Efi is easier... carbs can be a headache, Efi can be 10 headaches because of its complexity.
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X2 on the complete pull out. Lot less headaches if you're not well versed on the mixing and matching of parts and controls.

As for the carb vs. EFI, carbs usually win on the same intake. But EFI intakes usually do better across a wider rev range. Tim's setup works good at 7000, but a FAST intake on the same setup with EFI will make 20-40 ft-# 2000-6000, with the carb setup pulling ahead over 6000-6500. That too has been measured, not on Tims setup, but with the guys that built Tims motor.

BIGCOWL-IMP said:
Yes it has been proven.....call these guys and ask for Brain .....this was about a year ago so maybe its different now ?? I have also read that a carb made more hp on LS1tech but again that has been a few month ago...
http://www.thomsonautomotive.com/?page=ads.cfm
Look again Matt its a Mast Motorsports 2 peice intake manifold.......
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Tim, I saw the results that Brian and Dave ran a few years back on an LS2 (a real LS2, not your "LS3" :) ) carb intake pulled better number 6500-7000, 10-15 HP. Below 6000 and in the midrange, the LS6 intake (or LS3 depending on which heads they were running) made 15-40 ft-# more torque. That's on a 6.0. On a stroker it will be more, on a 5.3L the difference in peak power will be marginal, but you'll lose an ass load (engineering term) of torque... if running NA.

All of the this carb vs EFI matters less if you are going boosted anyway. Intake config doesn't do much on boost. As long as it's not a restriction, it does not matter much when + pressure is applied.


BrainFearGone said:
Isnt it pretty expensive for the cover and balancer and what not? Im sure you could find a decent deal on a manifold/msd box combo if you looking to save some money.
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All of my pro-EFI comments go out the door now.. :).. I got my front cover (with MSD dizzy) setup for $400 or so from another member here. I have not gotten the water pump yet, but that will be some $$ too. I am not going carb for performance, I am going for more of a old school look on the motor, so I want to run the dizzy more for looks than max performance.
 
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