327 Vortec

[MississippiMaro]

Alright guys...here's a cool engine that i think will bolt up with a little modification to the f-body....the only thing i'm worried about is oil pan clearance. Anybody researched this before?

327 Vortec engine on Ebay

[Dojo2000]

Why would this be a better alternative to a LT1 or LS1?

[MississippiMaro]

Something different....plus they're readily available and cheaper than LS1 and LT1's...I found a 327 Vortech with computer, harness and tranny for $900 with 20k miles on it....plus most of these engines are in the 1000 - 2000 range for a complete drivetrain.

Not only that but the recent popularity of SUVs has sparked a world of aftermarket parts for this engine.

I heard it uses the same bottom end as an LS1 so would the mounting holes be the same???

My 3.4 is dying and i have a descision to make ...rebuild or replace...i'm lookin into alternatives to the standard LS1/LT1 Swap and this is one of them.

[ October 07, 2003: Message edited by: MississippiMaro ]</p>

[95Batmobile]

I saw one of these in a truck with an ATI supercharger I think and the thing was making way over 300hp at the wheels just playing on the dyno, not even a full pull.
My brother took it for a test drive on the freeway... he looked over his shoulder for traffic, floored it, and by the time the damn on-ramp was over he hit the 100mph governor lol

They're awesome motors, plus the vortec heads I've heard are AWESOME.

[MississippiMaro]

I drove a truck with one of these in it over spring break ...a silverado i think...and it hauled A$$ ....that's one of the reasons i'm interested in this engine. I know it won't compete with the LS1 on the high end. But it has a hell of a lot of torque...Anyone got any info on putting this bad boy into an F-body

[Blue94V6]

The 5.3 is a good motor, but there's sooo many more mods for the LS1, and it would be much easier to swap in. I think the 5.3 will bolt up to a 4L60, but certainly not a 5 or 6 speed manual. Also keep in mind that the oil pan is probably to deep and would scrape because it came from a truck.

______________________________________
1994 Medium Quasar Blue L32 M5 Camaro
Eibach Pro-Kit
PFC Carbon Metallic brake pads
KYB Gas-A-Just shocks
K&N filter
Dynomax rear section with SS tips

[MississippiMaro]

The 4L60E is the stock tranny with these...and oil pans are easy to change...if i can find one that will fit...but even so i've got a lot of good machine shops around here. Shouldn't be too hard to make one or alter the stock one.

[Blue94V6]

Have you looked into a 6.0 vortec?

[MississippiMaro]

Will it fit?? that's bigger than the 5.7 or is it the same size block..only stroked? I'll bet it would haul ***

[Quijeeboe]

I don't know if all of you know or not but the current Vortec blocks are nearly identical to the LS1/LS6 blocks, they are just cast iron as opposed to aluminum. The big thing with the hardcore guys is to get the 7.0L truck block with the 5.3L heads build it up with forged internals made for the fbody/vettes and then put a giant power addder on and then slap it in a vette or fbody. Provided you swapped out some of the accessories and and a diffirent intake you should be able to get a wiring harness for an LS1 of the same year and have it effectively be an LS1 block as far as the computer is concerned. Slightly smaller displacement but with some really nice heads pretty much make this equal with an LT1 power wise but the gas mileage should be halfway decent.

[silvachris1]

Well heck, why not just go with the 8.1 Liter from the Silverado.

Anyways, I'm pretty sure it will fit in the bay, and the oil pan wont be too hard to change, the bottom end is the same as the LS1 right, then an LS1 oil pan might just mate up. GM is pretty good for interchangable parts.

The only downside though, is the gas mileage. My cousin let his Silverado get repo'd cause he didn't want to pay for it anymore, due to the horrible gas mileage. He got somewhere around 13-15mpg on the highway. His truck was a 4x4, extended cab, with 285-XX-XXs on there, so the tires were pretty wide. It didn't help that he drove 90mph, but there's you a little to think on.

If I were going for uniqueness, I would drop in the 4.8 L V8. Those are pretty cool little engines, and they do mate up to a 5 speed (at least. Anythings possible.

[ October 08, 2003: Message edited by: silvachris1 ]</p>

[MississippiMaro]

I'd really like to find out if i can use camaro LS1 engine mounts on this engine....if i could i'd seriously consider putting it in my car

[Quijeeboe]

I like your thinking that 8.1 would be sweet. And as far as gas mileage goes, yes it would be horrible but remember that engine is basically pushing a 7000 pound brick into the wind. A 3000ish poind fbody with its excellent aerodynamics would be a bit better on gas mileage.

[Blue94V6]

Quijeeboe, I may be mistaken but I think you're confusing the 6.0 with the 7.0. The 6.0 has the LQ4 iron block that all the V8 guys drool over because of their reliability with power adders. That's the reason I reccommended the 6.0. The 8.1 would obviously not work because it's too big, and it's also not even based off an LS1-type block. Keep in mind there's a reason that some engines are swapped into our cars (6.0, LS1, LT1) while others are not (L67, 4.3).

[Quijeeboe]

Yeah I goofed on the 6.0 7.0 deal, I did initially mean the 6.0L block, and quite obviously we aren't getting a big block like the 8.1 in there without major modifications and fabrication of basically everything custom. It still would be very cool to see it happen though.