Hello All, after about a year and a half of research on all of your topics and about $9000, I am ready to start my upgrade. I have a 1992 bird originally a V6/auto. Car is showroom, never seen winter or many rainstorms, always garaged. Here is my parts list and I will post pics soon.

2004 5.3L Vortec 34,000 miles
2002 T56 Trans with entire conversion kit (from Hawks) Ordered new clutch kit.
Spohn Kmember, A-arms, motor mounts, coil overs, etc.
LS6 Intake
All F-body front drive accessories.
Hawks Stainless Very Expensive Long Tube Headers and Y pipe.
Precision Systems Integration Engine Harness and PCM reprogram.
Walbro intank 255 Fuel Pump/Corvette c5 filter/regulator
Brand new Pulleys, tensioners, alt, water pump, A/C Compressor, power steering pump, Dorman crank balancer.

 

Dooet!
Did you op for the 5.3L to have a high rev motor?
Boost ops in the future?

 

looks like a good start off point good luck!

 

What do you mean High rev 5.3L? You mean cam and such? I really dont know much about these motors other than they run great and Im sure it'll make me smile much more than that ol 3.1 v6.

Thanks for the piece of luck ItsMikey, Im excited. Have had this car for 16 years. Finally decided to do something with it. I think I have enough parts to get the first phase complete (front end suspension, motor, trans). I really am thankful for all the good people on this site, for if it werent for you/them, I'd be driving a v6 forever. :'(

 

4.8/5.3/6.0 are cheap as they come, he probably went with the 5.3 because they are so common. Like the old 283ci sbc, the 4.8 would probably be the highest reving, but horsepower > rpm imo

 

That is correct TheMonster, there are so many of these sitting in junk yards. I have been shopping and hunting for parts for this project for over a year now. I have found no LS1 engines except for high mileaged junk that was way overpriced. Mine has 34,000 miles and I paid $1000.00 for it. Not too bad I guess.

 

Yeah people think aluminum = gold

What made you decide 5.3 > 6.0?

 

Well, I couldnt really find a 6.0 except for a few with high mileage. I think with the LS6 intake, long tube headers, and eventually, cam, lifters, springs etc. with a super charger would be all I ever need on the 5.3L. The only thing is Super chargers are expensive! I dont care to go turbo.

 

Didn't know you were going with boost! It's a nice car, and will be a sick ride for sure. I'm really thinking about a turbo in a few years with a my 355 since it's already forged and balance, or maybe i'll go the lsx route for power and better gas mileage

 

Probably not. Common misconception. It's "the package" - cam, induction, exhaust, valve train - that determine RPM limits. The displacement or stroke have very, very little to do with it.

NHRA Pro Stock 500 cube engines rev to 10k+ RPMs. A factory 4.8 won't do that.

Having said all that...

The 5.3 is a good baseline. I moved this to the LTX and LSX Engine Swap subforum because it's basically a LS-family swap. Read the sticky in the top section of this forum. Pay particular attention to the link that discusses using a truck engine.

A 5.3 can be bored out to 5.7l if you like. My son has such an engine in his 2001 S10 Blazer.

 

I'm jumping on this one. my uncle had a red 92 firebird identicle to yours from 93-2002 it was part of the reason I wanted a thirdgen. I'll have to show him the pictures of your build. Good luck!

 

I hate you for not having rust issues..........Go with a parallel flow AC condenser too.

 

Sorry about the rust issues. Im 2 weeks from jumping into this finally. I just ordered the tires and rims (AR 17x8 Torq Thrust M, Goodyear Eagle GT 245/45/R17). Had to go with KYB struts and shocks. I had bought the Spohn coil overs for the front, will have to use the KYB as I could not order the QA1's from anyone. I heard that QA1 had problems with some aluminum part of the strut, not really sure how factual that is. I have been struggling to think of anything I may have missed in my part collection of nearly 2 years now, cant think of anything. I guess i'll find out soon!

 

Something else I havent seen alot of in the forums is how bad these cars need sub frame connectors. I personally think they were kind of underbuilt considering no frame and their size. I think that will be in the next phase of the operation, weld on sub frames and some heavier torsion bar. Any thoughts?

 

definitely get the weld-on subframe connectors for it. It will stiffen it quite a bit from what I've heard. I got them for my car, but I just haven't had a chance to weld them in yet since I have been working on my LS1 swap. I also bought the 3 point BMR strut tower brace to help stiffen things up a bit more. Good luck with your swap!

 

Well, I hit a wall already. When I went to bolt up my flywheel, I discovered the awful fact that an LT1 T56 wont bolt on to a 5.3L. When I ordered my LS1 T56 conversion kit on Hawksthirdgenparts.com, they decided to send me a 1995 LT1 transmission which I didnt realize until today. I wonder how they will fix this, I told them in several emails and on the phone when ordering what my engine is. Clearly they knew.

 

Sorry to hear about the snag, but don't be discouraged. There's a lot to these swaps and we all have had our issues. Good luck with getting it going and look forward to another swap on the board!

 

Call the main man up, Bruce. He'll get it straightened out for sure.

 

I havent dealt with Bruce, only Steve so far. And really I have no complaints about Hawks (except their pricing on some things is astronomical), I havent seen in any forum or anywhere where they have burned or left someone hi and dry. I am hoping I will know something by tomorrow, as I need to get this car going. Soon I will post current pics of progress.

As always, I appreciate and thank all members who have posted here and everywhere on this site. I dont think I could pull this off without all the help at Thirdgen.org, and moreover, its great therapy when we run into our 3rd gen snags and have nowhere else to turn. Going to be a fun build.

 

Well just got off the phone with Bruce over at Hawksthirdgenparts.com, they are sending me correct T56 for my car. These guys seem pretty good to deal with, I will continue to buy from them when needed.

 

Good deal man! Proof that they do good business, but I agree some prices are high. But you get what you pay for to an extent I suppose. I'm about to start up my 355 for the first time for at least 5 months, can't wait

 

Hello all, today I took her out for a test ride, only have the volt guage, but the car drove great! Engine took right off and ran smooth, spohn suspension real tight, no body roll. Its strange to drive a v6 auto for so long and then suddenly, 5.3L powered with T56 manual! I think I better change the rear end before I break it.

Thanks to my mechanic for his long hours working with me on this build (he wishes to remain anonymous), and the third gen community for all the resources. This is a fun easy swap if you got a pile of patience.

 

just wondering but im planing on doing the same swap with my 92 bird but its an auto. will i still be able to use the same cruise control setup running off vacuum?

 

That's actually what I have been attempting to research today Punk'. Seems like it will work. You might just have to change out the cable to a different cable. I'm not completely sure though. Anyone have any insight on this matter? You should probably start a new thread so that you don't hi-jack Rodney's thread.

 

I really dont know the answer to this one as I am using the manual trans and my bird didnt have cruise in the first place. I wish it did though.

 

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