my first ls swap 1996 2 door Tahoe 4wd 385 Stroker to LQ4 cam headers **pics**

[smithkid1996]

yea i can only run 91 octane with that engine because of the way it was built. dont get me wrong the thing hauls ass! yesterday on the freeway with that engine in the trunk i was outrunning anyone who tried to keep up.

our 19 foot long olds (thats all original) out ran a 2010 mustang GT... it was a few weeks ago, and we hardly got him (5 feet or so) but still, i was amazed... 420HP 425TQ, completely stock, with a tiny carb (not for long...)

[myzterray]

alright now for some goodies! finally finished removing my stroker from my tahoe did it pretty much by myself until my buddies showed up with the hoist.



here it is befroe i starting pulling it out



so it begins!



removing the core support







core support and everything is out so now should be pretty easy to pull this thing out



as you can tell im pretty proud of the work im putting into this thing!

also decided to snap a pic of the beautiful weather we are getting in so cal today!



so engine has been romoved and sold. will post pics of engine out and everything tommorow. we ran out of light. sold the engine! goodbye stroker!!! now tommorow we begin clean up and breakdown of the lm7

[classic1]

Nice set up! I'm in socal as well off of 210/15 freeway. I've got a 5.3 in my obs silverado but building a 6.0 similar to yours. Have fun with the swap!

Nick

[myzterray]

Nice set up! I'm in socal as well off of 210/15 freeway. I've got a 5.3 in my obs silverado but building a 6.0 similar to yours. Have fun with the swap!

Nick

thats cool you must be up in barstow area. what issues did u run into installing the 5.3?

[classic1]

thats cool you must be up in barstow area. what issues did u run into installing the 5.3?

No actually I'm in Rancho Cucamonga. I didn't really run into any major problems just some wiring headaches. I would suggest a pre made harness from nelson because it really would have helped me. I cut up the stock harness and it is not as clean as I would like to be. For the 6.0 i will have a pre-made harness with just the essentials.

[myzterray]

No actually I'm in Rancho Cucamonga. I didn't really run into any major problems just some wiring headaches. I would suggest a pre made harness from nelson because it really would have helped me. I cut up the stock harness and it is not as clean as I would like to be. For the 6.0 i will have a pre-made harness with just the essentials.

oh ok. i found a guy in south gate that said he can do a harness for 450. i might go with that. my original harness was designed for dbw. so is my intake. so im converting to dbc because i dont have the module or the pedal assembly. im still kind of confused on one thing with this swap however. how does my transmission work? ive read so much and the info regarding the transmission during this swap is very vague. i have a 96 2d with 4wd and a 4l60e. all ive found is that i need a spacer and a flat flex plate. i have the original off the engine and i plan on using a yank 300 stall. is there a plug on the ls harness that will power the trans or how does that work? if your ever in the long beach area i could always use a hand! lol

[myzterray]

ok woke up first thing this morning and got back on it. this is how it looked when i walked into the yard.





so i decided to remove the entire front end so i can clean up the frame firewall inner fenders and wells. also make it even easier to install and run the wiring to my new motor.





got the left side off




then the right side



started marking off all the plugs for the harness so i know what im going to use

so thats where i ended off today. i just bought a grinder and some sandpaper and other stuff to start the clean up on the frame and firewall. hopefully try to get it all painted and finished by the end of the week. also ordered my adapter plates so hopefully once im finished painting i i can drop the new motor in..

any tips on painting the firewall/fenders/wheel wells/frame??

[smithkid1996]

ok woke up first thing this morning and got back on it. this is how it looked when i walked into the yard.

started marking off all the plugs for the harness so i know what im going to use

so thats where i ended off today. i just bought a grinder and some sandpaper and other stuff to start the clean up on the frame and firewall. hopefully try to get it all painted and finished by the end of the week. also ordered my adapter plates so hopefully once im finished painting i i can drop the new motor in..

any tips on painting the firewall/fenders/wheel wells/frame??

i only have a few tips, and they seem stupid, but it works a lot better...

first as far as what little masking you have, raping everything in aluminum foil is 10x faster then masking tape and paper.

also, even on the frame, fire wall, and wheel wells, use engine paint, its a lot stronger, will not fade nearly as much with the heat of the engine, and just over all look better, longer...

also, for the grinder there is a wheel thats black (lol, like every other one...) but it looks like cheese on cartoons, where is has a tone of holes/boubles and its 1/8"-1/4" thick, and it is parfect for stripping anything other then mettle brackets them selfs. its like $8 i think, you should only need 3 at most for that entire engine bay (but probably 1 or 2), frame wells, and innerfenders. sorry, i really dont remember what its called...

one more thing, just for cleaning, if you don't have one, buy a cheap steamer, just for cleaning gunk in the engine bay, boiling water and staem do great with getting 15 years worth of dirt, mud, and grime out.

so yeah, they seem kinda dumb, but will save you a lot of time and frustration.

[myzterray]

i only have a few tips, and they seem stupid, but it works a lot better...

first as far as what little masking you have, raping everything in aluminum foil is 10x faster then masking tape and paper.

also, even on the frame, fire wall, and wheel wells, use engine paint, its a lot stronger, will not fade nearly as much with the heat of the engine, and just over all look better, longer...

also, for the grinder there is a wheel thats black (lol, like every other one...) but it looks like cheese on cartoons, where is has a tone of holes/boubles and its 1/8"-1/4" thick, and it is parfect for stripping anything other then mettle brackets them selfs. its like $8 i think, you should only need 3 at most for that entire engine bay (but probably 1 or 2), frame wells, and innerfenders. sorry, i really dont remember what its called...

one more thing, just for cleaning, if you don't have one, buy a cheap steamer, just for cleaning gunk in the engine bay, boiling water and staem do great with getting 15 years worth of dirt, mud, and grime out.

so yeah, they seem kinda dumb, but will save you a lot of time and frustration.

oh ok coool! i will definately try that! the foil sounds like a great idea and should be pretty easy to install. any idea on paint the wheel wells? which sandpaper to use andd stuff?

[smithkid1996]

oh ok coool! i will definately try that! the foil sounds like a great idea and should be pretty easy to install. any idea on paint the wheel wells? which sandpaper to use andd stuff?

inner, or outer wheel whells?

PS:sorry, i have to go to school, i will reply more when i get home, but yeah, you rap hoses and stuff in foil, and it just kinda stays there...