Vortec 350 to Vortec 454 swap

[Tig]

Has anyone done this?
If so how was the overall swap?
Was it a plug and play type swap? What mods had to be done?
Any pics of the completed swap would be cool.


Thanks

[ChevyLee]

Hey, nope dont waste your time on it. Just read on here about the LS swaps. you can go with a 6.0 or even a lsx for the fraction of the price of getting a 454 and you will get a lot more power, an better mpg.

[Tig]

Whats up man. Your truck is sick.
Whats needed for a 6.0 or 5.3 swap?
I'd like to keep my tranny. Would I need new motor mounts?
What about my FI system? I think I read somewhere that Nelson has some harness' to hook it up.
Is this something that could be done in a weekend with the right tools and people?

Thanks man

[ChevyLee]

Thanks,
You will need motor mount plates to adapt everything. The stock v8 mounts work tho. Yes nelson makes a great harness. Just a word of advice, if you have a 4L60E or 65E and you want to go 6.0 please get the 4L80e Transmission. Those trannys are not meant to hold against any power other then stock. Just changing to a k&n air filter puts you at risk of breaking it You could get a flt lvl 9999 and it wont hold up. As for time. It really can't be done in a weekend. There is a lot of time involved with wiring and fitting everything in.

[broke1]

Nothing like a 454 Vortec for towing.

I own a 2000 3500 lwb regular cab with the 454/4l80e and it tows as well as my 99 Dodge diesel did stock.It will haul an open car trailer and 4000lb car like its not even there.

I dont think u can even compare the 5.3 or 6.0 with the 454 if you are going to tow.U have to do ALOT of mods to the later engines to get them to the stock 440 ft lbs of torque that the 454 is rated.

454 will tow circles around the 6.0 or 5.3....

[2k5Squirrel]

Nothing like a 454 Vortec for towing.

I own a 2000 3500 lwb regular cab with the 454/4l80e and it tows as well as my 99 Dodge diesel did stock.It will haul an open car trailer and 4000lb car like its not even there.

I dont think u can even compare the 5.3 or 6.0 with the 454 if you are going to tow.U have to do ALOT of mods to the later engines to get them to the stock 440 ft lbs of torque that the 454 is rated.

454 will tow circles around the 6.0 or 5.3....

really??? i'd go 5.3 b4 vortec 454

[broke1]

really??? i'd go 5.3 b4 vortec 454

If gas mileage is your concern,sure,go with the 5.3.

If the most towing power is your concern,go with the 454.There is no comparison between the big block and a small block,any small block....

[RedHeartbeat]

with the right convertor you can do some bigtime pulling with a small engine.

[GasGuzzler]

I am a BBC guy and would not go BBC....even Vortec 454 until at least 8000 lbs of trailer. I'll build a 6.0 that weighs 200 pounds less than a 454 and tows 4000 pounds (which is a light load) with no problem AND drives every day much better if you wanna....

LOL My dad pulls his new travel trailer (Keystone Cougar 29FKS) with a newest body half ton GMC 5.3 and the trailer weighs over 6000 dry (add weight for peanut butter and underwear).....and it still gets 10+ MPG on the highway. It's 33'5'' bumper to ball.

[broke1]

The 2 dont even compare when it comes to towing.NO COMPARISON....You certainily dont need over 4000#'s to make a comparison between 5.3/6.0 vs 454 Vortec,you could tell a HUGE difference between the 2 towing a lawn mower trailer,much less 8000#.A stock 6.0 would have its tongue out and wouldnt go over 70mph....

I make that comparison from the 20+ 6.0 3500hd trucks ive driven/towed with and the 2000 454 Vortec truck(old body style) ive had for years....We used to do alot of commercial work and had fleets of both.The 454's were phased out after 1 year because of fuel costs.....

A fair comparison with the 454 Vortec is a lightly modded Duramax,a lightly modded Powerstroke,or a stock Cummins.There are not many gas engines u can compare with diesels when it comes to towing but the 454 holds its own......