Deliver me from temptation - LS1 swap

Nice, now you just need to turn those manifolds around for a turbo setup.

Even though i would like to see a buick engine going into your buick, i respect your decision on the LS1. Those can be pretty stout.

 

I will be the first to say keep it all Buick, until I read an editorial in HotRod a month or so back. Now I do see why hot rodders are putting the LS base motors in there classic muscle. A stock 5.3 LS motor with a turbo making 5-600 hp. Yet tame enough for grandma to drive it shopping. It is impressive. Heck, the 6.0 in my Denali XL is rated at 325hp I get about 18mpg in town and it is AWD. I get about 400+ miles out of a 25gal tank on the highway and It has over 170K on it.
I have been tempted to drop one in the wagon. Yet I got into Buicks because of the challenge to build them. I started when the only place to get performance was kenne Bell.
I am looking into maybe a 455 for the wagon. If I wanted an LS motor for it and had the extra $$$ I would get the LS2 out of the 09 CTS-V 565hp, more than the corvette.

Tim

 

You have a great opportunity here to document what it takes to do the swap, so take lots of pictures and notes and keep us posted. Will be wicked.

 

Guys .....I say Tig more power to you ......lets face it our beloved Buick big blocks are drying up ...we dont have an affordable iron big block out there for us ...the BBB is a finicky beast to build but when built right it will last a long time ......ALL the magazines must have gotten together to PUSH these LS motors as every month they have stories on them now. Those motors appear bulletproof and respond awesome to mods....lets face it - this is the way things are going to go from now on. Tig I say you document the hexx out of your build and post it here with specifics .....if and when my BBB expires next time I think I am jumping ship and going this route as well. In the end its all about hot rodding and what the average guy can afford to build in his garage alot of times . I love my Buicks but availabilty and economics do come into play at some point and I think we are there.

My own personal experience against a home rodded LS ...my car is no rocket but I raced a guy with a "homebuilt" LS motor , no machine work - stock shortblock ,straight from the junkyard last year at the track ...he ported his own heads , headers , chose his own cam etc, assembled it all and put it in his primered 70 Chevelle. To make a long story short I had him by approximately 1-2 car lengths at half track he then got into that engines power band (no nitrous) and proceeded to pass me like I was standing still running 116 at 11.xx literally flying away from me ! It was incredible as his car in the lanes idled like an old station wagon with a worn out muffler and didnt really sound all that intimidating...I couldnt believe the distance he put on me once that thing got going ..... .there is some real power in those LS motors. Good luck Tigger

 

Keep us posted on your Build!! You WILL enjoy that motor when it's complete!!

.

 

I'll say this, if that engine were sitting in my garage it would most definitely make it's way into my Skylark. I am putting together a 455 for the car now, although my spare time is limited so it's going very slowly. I currently have a 350 Chevy in the car which I put in there out of necessity at the time and it was always intended to be temporary. To perfectly honest, the only good reason for removing that engine and going with the 455 is to have a Buick engine back in the Buick. I have had a ton of fun with that little motor and it still runs super. It's a very mild build, starts right up first time every time with only 1/2 pump on the gas pedal, runs perfect, gets decent gas mileage, has made 97 passes down the dragstrip and has ran an 8.41@81mph in the 1/8, and is so user friendly that my wife even drives it.

 

I'm looking very hard at the very same thing..... however I'm willing to go through the extra costs of having a unique street machine verses the same old fords and chevys. Modern motors are very attractive with all their bells and whistles, but some of those things can be done with our 455's. Expensive but can be done. For me I only wish to enhance what Buick engineered and designed into a one off custom ride, so that was the choice to retain the 455, for now that is

 

I am doing something of this nature. I chose to post it on LS1tech.com because I was not sure it would be appreciated here. Maybe I was wrong. Here is the link to the build thread:
http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/conve...5-skylark-lq9-retrofit-swap-build-thread.html

 

lookin good - I'm doing the lt1 - spec'd to lt4 hp vette in a 72 skylark gs clone... wanted something different - i'm keeping the fuel injection for turn the key and run and that would be a big advantage for you to do in the LS motor..

good luck..

dan c.

 

Its really hard to tell from the pics but I hope that drivers side exhaust manifold and heat shield clears the steering shaft and the coupling clears the frame down there ...it gets tight in there....I dont know how the dimensions of an LS compare to say a 455 BBB......do you ? J

 

It is a pretty narrow engine. It is about 1/2" more narrow than the factory 300" engine. The factory exhaust manifolds may or may not be retained. I am strongly considering the mid-length headers from BRP. I am just managing the budget at this point. The headers can be added later.

 

Cool ! I was told those factory manifolds actually flow pretty well ...maybe save yourself some money on the kit headers that are out there and run the factory manifolds first and see how they do ...very cool build ...watching anxiously .....

 

I thought the same thing when I was posting pictures and tid bits about my LSX Powered GSX but surprisingly most of the comments on this board were totally positive. I would consider myself a die hard Buick guy and I was even a bit reluctant to put an LSX motor in my car but I went for it anyways and it's a blast to drive! I also own a 455 powered car and they're both fun, but in different aspects. Just because we love our Buicks doesn't mean we can't enjoy the hobby as it progresses today. It would be worse if you sold your Buick and built an LSX powered chevrolet!! (Right?!?)
The world would be BLAH if everyone build Chevys. (no offense to the Chevy guys, as I like them as well but you get the point.......)


At any rate, not everyone is going to like it, but that's true regardless of anything you build. YOU have to like it as you'll be the one driving it and that's what counts the most.

Enjoy it,...... that's what the hobby is all about!

.

 

X2:Smarty:

 

Nice Chevelle.

 

See my avatar? as close to a restoration as I can get.... well with a few mods; bought it in 82 or 83 so this was not an easy choice.

After months of carburetor adjustments and frustration. I bit the bullet and added fuel injection. Fits under the carb so it still looks OEM; I'm good!! what I learned was I like the performance and ease of use of the new technology.

Now.... that is why I'm looking into the very same choice. My project is NOT and will not be a vehicle that should be restored to original spec. $$$$$ make it a no brainer.

My .02

 

A view of the progress: