When I was having one problem after another accumulate on my 5.7 liter l31 1996 GMC truck engine, intake manifold gaskets, water pump went out, many seals were seeping oil and other random problems I had to make a decision. Do I buy a new truck or do i fix this one i asked myself. I had thought of all the possible options, buy a new truck with the lsxtruck engine and make payments again or just try to pay for this truck to get a new lsx motor.
Looking at all the possiblities, i had made the decision to keep my truck and modify it. Over the past 11 years it has served as a great truck, i really like the old body style looks also.
So now I had to decide where to go with it, what motor to put in it, the lsx motors are excellent motors and put out alot more power than the older lt1's and l31's. I also wanted a sticker to say lsx truck on the hood scoop if I get one. I am even thinking about a custom made scoop for a cold air intake.
when I first started reading about performance trucks most of what I had found on the 6.0L swaps was performance street trucks. I did read this thread http://www.ls1truck.com/forums/mecha...win-turbo.html which really helped to convince me further that I was making the right choice.
I had talked with Allen from Nelson Performance - Performance without Sacrificing Drivability about a turbo charger and what size motor would be best suited for my needs. He had stated that I could go with a 5.3 liter, a 6.0 liter or a 8.0 liter. All of them would do really well to provide the horsepower i was looking for. With a turbo charger the power is increased greatly and that is exactly what was wanted.
Well my truck is mainly going to be used for off road performance and not really be a street machine. Even though I had read alot on the lsxtrucks here I knew there was a lot to learn.
After much deliberation we came to the conclusion that a 6.0L swap was going to be the best choice for gas mileage, power output and torque. The 5.3L was also a good choice but if you have the option you might as well go for the 6.0, because now I can have something like lsx truck performance 6.0 liter on it instead of just 5.7 liter modified racing engine. that may sound like a bold move but it sure will be possible.
So after removing my engine it was decided to use a kenne bell super charger instead of the turbo charger. The reason for this is that it will need a lot more low end torque and low RPM horsepower than a truck that is made for track racing.
So now after having issues with the yank stall converter it was replaced with a performance convertor to feel like a stock one. As you can see below they are very nice and you wouldnt think there would ever be a problem with one.
http://www.ls1truck.com/upload/files/1/lsxtruck.jpg
It was more of a driving style decision than anything though, I wont be racing 1/4 mile races on the track but i will be driving thru some rough terrain.
The new corvette engine was also an option but for the cost it was just too much to make it worth it. The end result will be around 500 horsepower to the wheels more than likely, Here is a picture of the engine nearing completion.
http://www.ls1truck.com/upload/files...mancetruck.jpg
While there are several unanswered questions i hope you can make the right choice for yourself after reading this. The lsx truck swap is definately going to save you money and make a lot of power for your truck.
If you would like to learn more about the conversion process i would suggest reading more on this forum and asking questions. there is no stupid question and the people here are very knowledgable in this field.
