pulled the trigger... LQ4/4L80 swap (6.0 vortec)

[foreverfalcon40]

Nice build! Hope you are recovering well from the surgery bud!

x2

 

[Nickleahy23]

sorry for the hiatus gentlemen, been kinda laid up since the surgery. some according to doctor's orders, some just cause i've been taking advantage of the time off. anyihow, put my valley pan and new knock sensors back down, ordered my head gaskets and water pump gaskets tonight. kinda let the cam/converter/springs, etc., go by the wayside for now, i gotta get this thing running and dependable for now. i can always recam/spring/converter it later. so, sorry for the long wait, but hopefully in the next couple weeks things will start rolling again.

thats the same thing i did, and i regret it to this day..if theres anyway possible to cam/spring/verter, do it now..you are not going to want to pull it all apart again to do it..ive been waiting 2 years to pull mine apart and cam it lol shoulda just done it on the stand

 

[branndon_b]

well nick, if it was a like and kind swap, like, if i was modding my 350 (original equipment) or in your case a 5.3 or 6.0 already in place and running, i might be more inclined. but for now, i think i'm gonna have enough bugs to work out just getting it swapped in with just internet help. but once i get all the kinks worked out, i can cam it or stall it later with nothing more to do but a tune. i just hate to have too many variables in the mix, and i'm murphy's law's *****. but hopefully i'll have my head gaskets this week, and i'll start putting stuff together. if i really want a fire breathing ls, i'll build one on a stand, oversized intake, forged bottom end, cam, etc. i say that anyway... but we'll see how it goes. sorry it's been taking so long, a lot of it has just been me debating on cam and stall and such, on top of the surgery crap. hopefully i'll get industrious and get it swapped out before i have to go back to work, wish me luck.

 

[branndon_b]

head gaskets FINALLY got here, evidently they got processed, but never ordered. gotta love my luck. anyhow, think i'm gonna go ahead and cam it. waiting on my bro in law to pull some strings with thunder racing here in LA in baton rouge. he used to work there. looking at the thunder racing trutorq level 2 and some dual springs. can't wait to finally have all my parts together so i can start doing my stuff. anyhow, that's where i stand now. sorry it's been taking forever. stay tuned

 

[bottomline2000]

Sub'n! Nice build and way to snag a hella find under us local boy's noses! I have an 0411 PCM tuned by Justin/Blackbear and recommend it. definitely more flexible.

 

[branndon_b]

alright. wrote the check for the springs, cam kit, everything but the converter, and some 243 heads from a gto. so, hopefully in a couple weeks i'll be able to start throwing it together. oh yeah, and they upgraded me to the stage 3 cam. hope its lumpy enough to sound like it's cammed. they said prob about 450 at the motor. i'll probably converter it later, and put another intake if i see it necessary. stay tuned!!!

 

[retorq]

You're leaving alot on the table by not doing a convertor now ... I'm pretty sure a 450 hp motor is gonna sound cammed.

 

[branndon_b]

i'll probably wait another check or 2 and then throw the converter in it. i figure i can put a converter in easier than i can pull the whole motor apart to do the heads. probably 4 hour turnaround or less for a converter vs. an all day ordeal to jerk the motor apart over the fenders later.

 

[robhenry2990]

thats sweet man. 450 at the crank? i wonder what im gonna get outta the lq9 when i get it in.

 

[branndon_b]

well, with the lq9 you have more compression, so you can go more radical with the cam. the lq4 is nice if you wanna go forced induction later, with the dished pistons. especially the later ones, i think they have forged bottom ends instead of the nodular iron or whatever they have. i kinda dove into this build without as much homework as i probably should have had, but i'll be ok. an lq9 would have been a nice find, but i jumped on the first good deal i found on an LS motor. i'm sure an lq9 with the same mods i'm gonna have would be a beast too, probably good for another 10 or 20 hp, but with better heads than i'm gonna have (L92s) and a more radical cam, i wouldn't be surprised to see 500 hp.

 

[retorq]

LQ9 needs high grade gas, LQ4 can run on lower octane ... easier on the wallet ...

 

[robhenry2990]

yea but if your gonna boost it later then ur gonna have to run higher octane anyways.

 

[branndon_b]

box of goodies. thunder racing trutorq stage 3 cam.

lifter trays, gaskets, pushrods

front timing cover, harmonic balancer removed

timing cover removed, old lifter trays

cam sprocket

cam sprocket removed, nose of cam

water pump bolts to use as a handle for making the cam removal/install easier

out with the old, in with the new

huh huh huh... hole... huh huh huh

lube 'er up, slide 'er in

another fuzzy pic

cam sprocket back on

new front seal

new lifter trays with lifters reinstalled. just waiting on my heads to get back, they were waiting on the spring kit. i know it's like watching paint dry, guys, but it's slowly getting there.

 

[hoe]

nice job

 

[AtomicHoe094]

sexy.. keep it up man

 

[foreverfalcon40]

I AM GLAD YOU DECIDED TO GO WITH A CAM, so much easier...little things like this will make the whole build worth while!

KEEP IT UP!

 

[hook50]

where did you get your cam from?

 

[branndon_b]

thunder racing from baton rouge, la. was gonna go stage 2, but with the new heads i was able to go stage 3.

 

[hook50]

thanks, is that where you are getting all of your "goodies"?lol. i checked out their website and why didnt you get a stage 4 or 5. and what heads are you using stock or aftermarket?

 

[branndon_b]

lq4 is a dished piston, so lower compression. i am going from the iron heads (8xx) i don't exactly remember the numbers, and going to some stock 243's off a gto. it's a good bump in compression going to the 243's, so that's why i was able to go with the stage 3 over the stage 2. the shop said that bigger isn't always better, and without the sufficient compression, you'll actually end up losing power with an aggressive cam. i'm no expert in this field at all, so i just went with the recommendation of the shop. i wanted a daily driver, and i'll still need some low end torque, since our trucks ain't exactly light. it's not gonna see any track time, i just wanted something quicker. it's not always about getting the biggest, baddest cam you can find. you have to consider the type of driving you're doing, daily driver or not, rpm range you wanna operate in, etc. having a big badass cam and fast 102mm throttlebody and l92 heads is all good and fine, but if your combo doesn't make good power till like 4, 5000 rpms and pulls all the way to like 9000 rpm's, it doesn't do you much good unless you actually drive the piss out of it. and if you don't have a fully built motor, it doesn't do you any good to put equipment in it that makes power 2000+ rpms higher than your stock bottom end is good for. if you're really interested in doing stuff like power adders, i'd suggest calling a shop like thunder, or texas speed, or a shop that will spec it all out for you and take into consideration driving habits, torque converter stall speed, vehicle weight, etc. like i say, i'm far from any expert in this field, just encouraging you to do some one on one homework with someone that knows what they're doing vs. just getting the biggest baddest ass parts and trying to make something out of it that may not suit your needs.