i blew up my SBC 350...thinking LS

[colonel mustard]

Build what you have. It will make life easier in the long run.

What happened to your engine?

according to the engine builder I had the wrong oil pick up on the wrong oil pan and when I got steep inclines, the oil pick up tube was starving. we are switching to a baffled 6 qt. pan and matching pick up tibe

 

[Vbb199]

X6?
Keep the sbc in there.

 

[Vbb199]

LS is overhyped and the prices have gone up now that everyone wants them. You can get a crate 350 HO for the cost of LS swap and with about the same power level. Couple years ago I did a budget 5.3 swap and it ended up being 2000.00. All that for 300hp and 330 lbs - not worth it- Cool- I have a new 176000 mile engine in my truck and it has same power as my 350.

Agreed. My ho350 in my burb makes 333hp, 385 ft lbs.
Overall cost is cheaper than a total LS swap package.

 

[Craig 85]

according to the engine builder I had the wrong oil pick up on the wrong oil pan and when I got steep inclines, the oil pick up tube was starving. we are switching to a baffled 6 qt. pan and matching pick up tibe

There is a 2 Qt filter if you want even more capacity. They were intended for Chevy C60 Medium duty trucks. Wix 51794 and Napa 1794 to name a couple.

 

[Crispy]

Still gonna buy the $700 Suburban? A quick part out would yield at least around $1000 in my neck of the woods, the scrap the rest. Put the cash towards your rebuild.

 

[TubeTruck]

I can't believe no one has said it! BBC! If you're going to invest that much in a small block go big block! It doesn't cost too much more.

 

[1987 GMC Jimmy]

LS is overdone

LS is overhyped and the prices have gone up now that everyone wants them. You can get a crate 350 HO for the cost of LS swap and with about the same power level. Couple years ago I did a budget 5.3 swap and it ended up being 2000.00. All that for 300hp and 330 lbs - not worth it- Cool- I have a new 176000 mile engine in my truck and it has same power as my 350.

I’m glad more and more people on here are singing this tune because I’m a well-established broken record on this. They are a good plant in the 1997-2007 range vehicles but otherwise played out, overcomplicated for the improvements they yield, overpriced for the improvements they yield, and a pandora’s box for half-assery and hackery. Some of them are done well, absolutely, but when I see an “LS Project” or “Fresh LS” on Marketplace, I keep scrolling because I’m not going to pay four or even five figures for the privilege of discovering someone else’s stupidity. And you know you’re gonna pay a premium to get one that someone did a good job with.

I’m all for swaps/upgrades when done right. Gen IIs, BOPs, Caddies, Cummins, blowers, turbos, tunnel rams, Ramjets, wet manifold FI, whatever. Niche swaps/upgrades stand out, and I think there are very right and very wrong ways to approach them. With LS you have such a vast aftermarket to pick and choose from, thus creating a spectrum of good and bad. Then you look at some of these jabronis like on FB trying to do LS swaps, and you know they ain’t fit to do motor swap on a push mower, much less an automobile.

 

[DoubleDingo]

I vote 350

 

[shiftpro]

wow...thanks for the interaction yall. I decided to rebuild what I have. especially I just bought a 600$ carb last year and have never really NEEDED fuel injection. I have always been happy with the SBC.

so the builder tore it down. I spun a couple bearing from oil starvation. so
new crank, pistons, and .30 over bore
decking .020"
reworking heads
and replacing everything else, (timing chain , oil pump, 6qt oil pan.

all together he said he would be raising compression to almost 10:1

the builder has an extremely good reputation for building demo engines, race engines, mud moggers...ect. I trust him when he says ill be happy with this while staying with daily driving ability. he is claiming 375hp 400 torque at 1500$

Thoguhts?

You need a new crank...!
STROKER!!

 

[shiftpro]

wow...thanks for the interaction yall. I decided to rebuild what I have. especially I just bought a 600$ carb last year and have never really NEEDED fuel injection. I have always been happy with the SBC.

so the builder tore it down. I spun a couple bearing from oil starvation. so
new crank, pistons, and .30 over bore
decking .020"
reworking heads
and replacing everything else, (timing chain , oil pump, 6qt oil pan.

all together he said he would be raising compression to almost 10:1

the builder has an extremely good reputation for building demo engines, race engines, mud moggers...ect. I trust him when he says ill be happy with this while staying with daily driving ability. he is claiming 375hp 400 torque at 1500$

Thoguhts?

The only thing you will need that's NOT on your list are the rods.
Ask your builder about a 383... shouldn't cost much more...
You will LOVE the extra torque that longer crank will produce.

 

[MikeB]

$1500 to rebuild your current 350 to make 375 hp? Power is in the cylinder heads, and unless you have some modern heads, even 300 hp is a stretch. And if your heads are stock, then 10:1 compression with the old style combustion chambers will make for lots of pre-ignition on regular gas, and maybe even today's premium. If you drive off-road, wouldn't you want lots of torque at low-mid RPM? A 350 with 375 hp is gonna like to be revved, and will be a little flat below 2500 RPM.

Cheapest way to make more power is cubic inches, so you should consider a 383, as mentioned above. Parts cost no more than 350 parts, unless those 350 parts are low-cost rebuilder specials.

Not trying to be nasty here, just realistic. Hope you end up with what you want, and not a 350 with a hot cam that sucks gas, has low vacuum, and won't idle consistently.

 

[Vbb199]

I’m glad more and more people on here are singing this tune because I’m a well-established broken record on this. They are a good plant in the 1997-2007 range vehicles played out, overcomplicated for the improvements they yield, overpriced for the improvements they yield, and a pandora’s box for half-assery and hackery. Some of them are done well, absolutely, but when I see an “LS Project” or “Fresh LS” on Marketplace, I keep scrolling because I’m not going to pay four or even five figures for the privilege of discovering someone else’s stupidity. And you know you’re gonna pay a premium to get one that someone did a good job with.

I’m all for swaps/upgrades when done right. Gen IIs, BOPs, Caddies, Cummins, blowers, turbos, tunnel rams, Ramjets, wet manifold FI, whatever. Niche swaps/upgrades stand out, and I think there are very right and very wrong ways to approach them. With LS you have such a vast aftermarket to pick and choose from, thus creating a spectrum of good and bad. Then you look at some of these jabronis like on FB trying to do LS swaps, and you know they ain’t fit to do motor swap on a push mower, much less an automobile.

Alot of people are gonna be really ashamed of themselves after they've hacked up their classic for a motor that's gonna fall out of fad. That's all I can say.
The other one I really love is the people that call all generic vortec motors an LS.
My favorite.

Not to mention the sheer amount of "performance" people that have arisen from it because they can bolt on a set of heads or bolt on a turbo, and tune it with a pc.

 

[MikeB]

I’m glad more and more people on here are singing this tune because I’m a well-established broken record on this. They are a good plant in the 1997-2007 range vehicles played out, overcomplicated for the improvements they yield, overpriced for the improvements they yield, and a pandora’s box for half-assery and hackery. Some of them are done well, absolutely, but when I see an “LS Project” or “Fresh LS” on Marketplace, I keep scrolling because I’m not going to pay four or even five figures for the privilege of discovering someone else’s stupidity. And you know you’re gonna pay a premium to get one that someone did a good job with.

I’m all for swaps/upgrades when done right. Gen IIs, BOPs, Caddies, Cummins, blowers, turbos, tunnel rams, Ramjets, wet manifold FI, whatever. Niche swaps/upgrades stand out, and I think there are very right and very wrong ways to approach them. With LS you have such a vast aftermarket to pick and choose from, thus creating a spectrum of good and bad. Then you look at some of these jabronis like on FB trying to do LS swaps, and you know they ain’t fit to do motor swap on a push mower, much less an automobile.

Yes, there are already plenty of half-assed hack jobs out there on vehicles with standard stuff, like small blocks with 4-speeds, TH350s, or especially 700R4s. Can't imagine how bad the LS/4L80E swaps would be.

I think some of the guys here are anal (like me) and have done stellar LS swaps, but they are in the minority.

As for all of the engines, even the 4.8 and 5.3, being called "LS", that's like saying a 305 is 350-based. If I ever did an LS conversion, I would start with an LS6 or LS2 to get the most bang for the effort. I don't know how a 5.3 would perform in a square, but it was sluggish in a 2011 Chevy pickup I test drove. Ended up buying a 2011 F150 with a 5.0 DOHC engine which had more horsepower than the GM 5.3, and felt like a 6.0 in comparison.

 

[DoubleDingo]

Yes, there are already plenty of half-assed hack jobs out there on vehicles with standard stuff, like small blocks with 4-speeds, TH350s, or especially 700R4s. Can't imagine how bad the LS/4L80E swaps would be.

I think some of the guys here are anal (like me) and have done stellar LS swaps, but they are in the minority.

Ain't that the truth!

 

[Shorty81]

Alot of people are gonna be really ashamed of themselves after they've hacked up their classic for a motor that's gonna fall out of fad. That's all I can say.
The other one I really love is the people that call all generic vortec motors an LS.
My favorite.

Not to mention the sheer amount of "performance" people that have arisen from it because they can bolt on a set of heads or bolt on a turbo, and tune it with a pc.

X2. I prefer a classic motor in a classic truck.