The car originally came with the Buick 350. I don't know how many problems i've had with that engine, 4 head gaskets, oil leaks, horrible lack of power, and probably more. I know with a good amount of work and money, i could have made that 350 run like a champ, but i wanted to just be done and have a nice daily driver. I will say i had a hard time finding information on ls swaps in B-Body GM's. I will say it wasn't that bad a swap, the only problems i ran into was finding exhaust manifolds that would fit and getting the motor mounts in the right place.The only thing i used from the Buick was the Rochester carb, i will say that engine loves that carb, great fuel millage, about 18 on the highway with the turbo 350 and 3.42 rear gears. If anyone has questions, feel free to ask.
Cool swap. Any issues with the MSD timing control set up? Also, what are the plans for the Buick 350?
Bad Boattail - The 5.3L is a 323 i believe. I pulled it from a 2001 Silverado with 140,000 miles. Dan - When i got the motor, i didn't have any computer or wiring from it. The Edelbrock MSD controller module requires a cam sensor, crankshaft PS, and MAP sensor. It was a simple plug and play swap. William- So far no problems with the MSD controller, beside not really being able to control the timing. As for the Buick 350, it's making a really bad clanking sound, i'm hoping its just a main bearing or something. I'm planning on selling it after i tear it down and go through it, unless someone gives me a decent offer.
So how does it run with the 5.3? I'm doing a very similar build except I'll be keeping the factory EFI from the donor truck. Also, how much do these cars weigh? Mine was a one owner car, almost sad to tear it apart but on to bigger and better things!
It runs like a champ, very different car with that 5.3. The car weighs about 4000lbs. I wish i could have kept it EFi but i wanted to keep things looking stock. I'm not sure how you're gonna have the instrument cluster wired, but if you change it out i would love to see how you customized it. i did take the car to the drag strip a few months back, went against a new 2014 Silverado and kept up with it. Here a video from the drag. [video=youtube;9f7RRqhy5hM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9f7RRqhy5hM[/video] and the results from the runs.
