LSx/Camaro help

Hello again!

I know I just had a HUGE thread on Mustangs, but somehow I managed to find a 98' camaro v6 5spd instead.

So, once again, I'm mostly oblivious. I learned a sh!t ton on 5.0 mustangs and the fox platform in general, but now I'm back to square one.... Irony. (though several people told me to go F-body in that thread)

I've found that the way to go fast cheap is the LSx truck motors. They take all the same accessories, but they are iron block. I'm having trouble sorting it all out though. What will the weight difference be? I can't find that quoted anywhere. Everywhere I seem to find people going LS1 (and turbo v6) instead of this, should I be worried going this route?

According to my local pull-a-part they have 109238102938 Suburbans on the lot; good candidates?

Thanks again!

Edit It's a v6

FYI - There's a guy in our Grand Prix club (which is all 3800 cars, so we have Turbo Regal's, GNX's, and GTP's) with a turbo's 3800 V6 Camaro that's knocking on the 11's door. All homemade junkyard stuff, too.

I've always wondered how similar the 3800 in the camaro was to the 3800 in the everything else, ever. Guess that pretty much answers it.

www.ls1tech.com

But I will warn you, 98 is a change year car, it is special in wiring onto itself compared to 99-02.

mndsm wrote: I've always wondered how similar the 3800 in the camaro was to the 3800 in the everything else, ever. Guess that pretty much answers it.

It is the same motor, if I recall correctly.

And it's a great one . . .

If I can find where I found the weights I'll add it, but somewhere recently I stumbled into a weight difference of 88 lbs between the iron and aluminum LS engines. I do not recall whether there was specificity about whether there were ancillaries installed and which ones, which is of course vital to making that useful, apples-to-apples information...

ZOO wrote:

mndsm wrote: I've always wondered how similar the 3800 in the camaro was to the 3800 in the everything else, ever. Guess that pretty much answers it.

It is the same motor, if I recall correctly. And it's a great one . . .

Mostly the same, block is different for FWD vs RWD (mounts are quite different), Accessory drives (obviously), intakes and a few other things.

i had been told it is a difference of about 60 lbs by the guy i bought mine from. for his data he was quoting a difference in pallate weight between the LS! i was getting and an LM4? (5.3 liter iron LS truck motor) he was also packing up to ship out. i dont know anything about the accessories included in the truck motor shipment but mine had everything including a/c. however, the biggest issue you are going to have with a truck motor is the oil pan and the intake. the truck intake wont work with an F body k member, and since the engine sits mostly under the cowl in these cars the higher truck intake also creates clearance and access issues. accessory drives are incompatible as well but i do not know if you can reuse the 3800 parts for that issue so it may or may not matter. given the need for a new intake and a new oil pan though. the difference in cost between an ls for an f body and an ls based truck motor may not be all that great when everything is paid for. like ranger said, definitely hit lstech forum. they probably know the answers to ALL of the questions and i have found them to be very helpful... as long as you search for an answer first!

I did that math as well a while back when I was looking for an engine for the MG. To use a truck motor, I would have had to change the oil pan, intake and accessories including the balancer. It probably would have still saved money and you can just bolt all the parts on, but not as much as you'd initially expect.

It shouldn't be difficult to get a direct comparison of iron vs aluminum block. Just weigh the bare blocks. Everything else is a constant.

LS1/LS6: 106lbs
LS2: 107lbs
LS3:/L92: 106lbs
LQ4 6.0: 209lbs
LSX: 227 lbs

Ah, good info all around.

I suppose the next question is, what transmission do you put behind one of these beasts? T-56 isn't rated past 400?

I have a t-5 in it, but the consensus is it'll snap like a twig.

It seems kinda hopeless on the challenge budget. I might take a looks-see into TURBO TURBO TURBO ;)

I think the biggest reason you see LS aluminum motors swapped in f bodies is because of the accesories. If you get a truck motor you have to swap intakes, oil pan, and all the accessories. Its usually cheaper and easier to just but another f body motor complete.

In reply to accordionfolder:

T-56 should meet your needs. My 2001 Camaro currently has an LS3 and puts 430hp / 430tq to the wheels, and it doesn't have any issue with the stock transmission. You can also upgrade the shift forks and synchros to Cobra / Viper specs if you feel the need.

As for the T-5, I'm not sure. I've seen 3rd gen 350 conversions use them, and Ford placed them in the V8 Mustangs for years. I'm not sure what the spec differences are between those and the V6 Camaro spec box.

My "LS3" also started off life as an L92, which is the 6.2 aluminum truck motor found in the Escalade / Yukon Denali. Same block and heads as the LS3. I eliminated the VVT, switched the motor back to the car accessories, upgraded the cam and intake valves and reused my F-body oil pan. After selling the truck accesories and usable LS1 parts, I came out cheaper than if I had purchased an LS3 outright.

The T5 from the V6 wont work I dont think. I think the V6's use the BOP bellhousing bolt pattern, not the sbc pattern.

turbo the v6