Which LS engines to look for ?
 

If one was to want an LS motor, what year and models are the most "bang for the buck" friendly ?

I am thinking about a new project :)

I have researched alittle on the subject and have decided that is the route I am going wtih my Chevelle. I plan on picking up, as a donor, a camaro or firebird with a LS1. They seem to go for about 3500 bux at west coast wrecking yards but they perfer to not sell the complete car. I am after the whole ball of wax because the possibilty is I might also need the rearend, drive shaft, etc. and of course I will need the computer and looms.

I am not even considering a Corvette donor due to the trans/axle situation.

The key for me is finding the right donor ...... its gonna be fun. The finished car is going to be fast, comfortable, reliable and high tech.

I would love to do that with my truck .

Are you looking at getting the most power for price? The 6.0L LQ4's can be found cheap and with a set of L92 heads they can make upwards of 500-550hp.

Is weight important to you? Iron blocks are a lot cheaper than aluminum.

Weight won't be that important but generating power and reliability will. Thanks

Dave

I should have mentioned that budget is very important.

Whats the new project gonna be ,you need a 68 Malibu to experiment with ?A 55 Bel Air 2 Dr Hardtop ? Or you could just put it in my old beater truck and I could tell you how good it was.

I bought a COMPLETE LM7 5.3L with 47K miles out of a totalled Z71 pickup for $1000 last August.
Complete "dropout" with all front accessories (alt, A/C, PS, belts, pulleys, brackets, fan), exhaust manifolds, starter, full uncut harness, DBW throttle body, and matching ECM.
Bought from Ebay...a fresh pair of -241 heads w/sodium/hollow valves, pushrods, and a healthy custom ground Comp hyd roller cam. Heads are already setup with correct springs for this .600" lift cam. Paid $600
Purchased from Summit...Edelbrock RPM carb LS intake and MSD 6010 programmable stand alone ignition box. With such a wild cam, I'm figuring it's not going to be too fuel injector friendly...hense the carb setup. Cost $630 plus the Demon 650 carb on hand.
Bought the GM muscle car oil pan kit, new lifters, a conversion flexplate (for TH400) and gasket kit from GMPartsDirect. Cost approx $220
Fuel will be supplied by a Holley 140 electric pump already on hand.

All this should have already been installed in my Chevelle but the project is delayed due to injury. :(
All extra, unused parts...-799 heads, complete truck intake, DBW assembly, harness, ECM, exhaust manifolds, etc will be sold to offset the initial cost of the engine.

I would love to do a supercharged late model Malibu or Elky. Problem is cash. Was thinking more along the lines of a slammed, 79 Malibu with a bad ass 5.3 Vortec in it.