Gearing up for modern powertrain in 48 windsor.

[DefEddie]

Almost got all the parts I need and in a few months hopefully the time to do something with my old 48.

Not sure if there are any purists in here,if so prob stop reading now lol.

I'm planning to leave the outside and interior of car stock and swapping in a 5.3 LS motor,4l60 and 10bolt rear end.

I've been saving the rearend for a project,and LS parts aren't hard to find and will have a spare engine real soon.

I'm equipped to do most everything here and this won't be my first swap,LS or otherwise.

Reson for using GM is because that's what I work on,I can tune them as well as very familiar with thier harnesses etc..

I would really like to hear about or even point me to any similar swaps using GM stuff or even just modern powertrain.

Always looking for general swap advise,or specific to this car since you guy's know em so well.

I have the all the factory manuals for both the stuff going in and the car itself.

I'll have to send to friends shop to have floorboards done after I yank the engine as well.

Any do's,Don'ts or Wish I would/wouldn't have's?

Thanks.

[mrwrstory]

How's your front end and steering?

When I was planning a Small Block Mopar in my P15, I new the steering needed to be addressed if I wanted something nicer than a hack job.  I already had done a susp. rebuild w/dropped spindles and discs.  I didn't like the looks of the Fatman Cavalier/Ventura option, so I did a clip that included a rear steer R & P and got a more modern IFS in the process.  I'm very pleased with the results and it looks pretty cool too.  I did resort to locating the engine .75" off-center but you can't see that so don't tell anyone.

[Old Ray]

How's your front end and steering?

 

..........................so what are you planning on doing with the front suspension?

Edited January 2, 2014 by Old Ray

[chopt50wgn]

I totally agree with the other 2 members. That motor is heavier and you will need better suspension for handling.

[Frank Elder]

I totally agree with the other 2 members. That motor is heavier and you will need better suspension for handling.

It weighs more?........the 6 is over 600 lbs......how much does the shiverlay come in at?

[Oldguy48]

Google says a LS engine weighs in the neighborhood of 400 lbs.

Wayne

[Frank Elder]

Thank you Wayne.

[mrwrstory]

You won't have a weight issue with either the stock susp. or an aftermarket one unless you were to go with some sorta big block, which you are not.

[DefEddie]

Yeah,weight issues i'm not worried about really. Though the 400lb LS will be slightly heavier than stock because we're going to try and stick two Eaton M90's on top of a custom plenum for WOW! factor.

I don't know if i'll pull it off but i'm gonna do my best to drill/cut/weld the original frame as little as possible so subframing is pretty much out.

Though I have friends that do metalwork for rods and stuff so when I get to the front suspension I'm hoping with thier help and advice we can work out a set of custom built suspension pieces that allow me to bolt up a better/common set of spindles.

They like to use/build custom tubular arms and such so hoping something like that will be an option.

I do have a disc kit for the 10bolt as well,and while we're gonna put some power under the hood this will just be a cruiser and will be more likely towing to the track rather than driving down it

Picked up a possible engine candidate,prob end up using a 4.8 instead of a 5.3 though.

I have both here,I just like the idea of the 4.8 in the 48. Plus easier to sell 5.3 swap than 48,people apparently like displacement better than rpms and long rods lol.

Thanks for replies

[Tim Keith]

The LS truck motor swap is rational if you can handle the wiring.  The motors last for a long time and many wrecked trucks lead to a surplus in salvage motors.  The Painless 5.3 wiring is too much pain in the wallet for me!

[DefEddie]

Ready to move the car closer to the shop and start bagging and tagging some stuff.

I've currently got two surplus 5.3 motors plus a 6.0 i'm planning to install in my werk truck.

I'm gonna try to go ahead and get the 6.0 built so I can throw it in and get the 4.8 out and on a stand.

Decided i'm gonna use it and want to get it out before the thing wipes a lifter or breaks a ringland (300k).

Tim I build LS (and other GM) harnesses/engines as well as pcm tuning and even swaps in my shop, one of the big reasons behind choosing this option . The associated costs with the swap are near nil since I pay very little when I buy the engines (paid $300 for last one with all accessories and harness) and the harness work as well as computer and programming are simply labor.

I do need to find a trans still though,and that is labor that I don't like doing much(trans rebuilds).

Hoping next week to maybe get it in shop to yank the motor and trans out,but not sure if it'll happen or not.

This weekend i'm going to try and get some good tires/wheels on it and get it into a spot next to the shop door till I can get a swap out of the shop for room.

[Lumpy]

An idea...I tried to stop reading, but I had to look. I'm not a purist snob, but I do think the days of cross-breeding is about over, and should be over. Sell that car to a Mopar guy, and find an old Chevy to put your LS engine in. ??? You'll only succeed in de-valuing the car, and it will take a lot of time, work, and money to do it. !!! Mopar guys won't like it, Chevy guys won't like it, (although no one will give you an honest opinion) and not too many people will want to buy it if the time comes to sell it.

 

I bet you would not have any trouble selling the Chrysler to a Chrysler guy, probably make a nice profit. Aren't there any old Chevies out there, or didn't many survive?

 

Okay. Sorry. But I think that would be a better solution. If GM is what you work on, and like, why put it in a Chrysler? Why not build a nice GM, with GM engine?

 

Ken.

Edited May 4, 2014 by Lumpy

[Daliant.]

There's plenty of street rods out there with GM power, it almost seems mandatory to have a small block chevy under the hood and lately it looks like the LS motor is trying to steal the ol' small blocks sunshine.  I don't think having an LS motor under the hood is going to hurt the value at all. 

Edited May 5, 2014 by Daliant.

[Lumpy]

Well...since I was born in Lockport, I won't argue.

 

ken.

[garbagestate 44]

Personally, if you want to put a chevy motor in a Chrysler, who cares? As far as resale value, most of us aren't going to get rich selling our mopars regardless of whats under the hood.

[Ulu]

Lumpy, your view of the world is pretty accurate. Lots of people will find a reason not to like a hybrid vehicle.

(Those johnny-come-latelys who think that a Prius "hybrid" means electric/gas power are goofy. It's a compound engine, just as if the electric motor was a turbine or a diesel or any other engine, but I'm ranting again...)

 

Anyhow, the Mopar fanatics and Chev fanatics might not like it, but that's exactly the reason to do it. De-value? Who the heck is in this hobby to make money? It's about fun and value takes a back seat for me.

 

I started sneaking my dad's hotrod magazines 50+ years ago, and not only did those guys love swap jobs, they were celebrated as the cleverest of things.

 

Sic transit gloria of course. Last year's sensation is next year's fodder. The SB Chevy, an icon of the age, became so common as to have lost that charisma of the old days, but the different-is-cool school still rules in the Rod & Custom World.

 

So Ford-in-a-Ford and GM-in-a-GM may be sentimental realities for the masses, but to a guy weaned on Car Craft, Hot Rod, Rod & Custom, Tex Smith, Say Smoky and Ed Roth, I say BORING BORING BORING.

 

That being said, Tex convinced me in print that putting a V8 in my P15 was too much hassle.

 

No More.

 

I say if I'm having fun and loving it, no hassle is too great to do something cool enough.

[DonaldSmith]

"Sic transit gloria mundi."   Gloria Mundi? Wasn't she in our high school class?  But seriously, folks...

 

In the old days, at least, when a new pope was elected, the procession included someone with a container of smoking stuff, while "Sic transit   " was sung:  "So passes the glory of the world.:.(Don't let all this go to your head.)"  Lately, the hew popes considered the office a burden to be borne, rather than a position of power. "Servus servorum Dei.  (Servant of the servants of God."  But I digress... 

Edited May 5, 2014 by DonaldSmith

[Lumpy]

Didn't mean to be the bad guy here, and I've stated my opinion and won't argue further. I do want to say, that when I say "value", I'm not talking $$$, but rather the intrinsic value of the car. The thing you can't explain...the coolness of a Chrsyler, with Chrysler power...?? See I can't explain it.

 

With a GM engine it's no longer a Chrysler, it's not a chevy, it's like the Bat that is neither mouse nor bird. It might be cool to the kid reading a magazine.

 

But really, why not save the car as a Chrysler, for the people who would like to somewhat preserve it, sell it to a Mopar guy, make an extra buck, and build a nice old GM car with a GM engine? That's my only point. !!!

[bbbbbb99]

I'm with you Lumpy, but I'm also a huge "It's their car, let them do what they want" guy too.

 

Put a newer Magnum small block in and have a nice day, but if you're stuck with the Chevy, I hope it turns out great.

[Ulu]

Not the bad guy, Lumpy. Just a guy with a different opinion.

 

To me the coolest cars are the ones built up out of unique stuff which works well, that somehow was brought together from different corners of time and space, by a mechanical artificer.

 

To others the coolest cars still have the factory paint and upholstery.

 

We're not gonna argue about that and spoil everyone's day.  

 

But in the interest of clarity, it's not cool IMO to, for instance, stick a Ford engine in a Jaguar just because it's different and nobody's done it.

 

What can make it cool is that either the Jag parts are just unobtainable and this keeps it on the road, or that the Ford engine is a superior engine to the one replaced.

 

Now some guy who stuck a Stude flathead in a Desoto just to be different, ehhhh....not too interesting.

Edited May 5, 2014 by Ulu

[Lumpy]

I agree, in the end, it's up to the owner of the parts to do what they want...I'm not against that. Just felt duty-bound to make a case, and try to persuade otherwise. I know it's not the only 48 Chrysler, and I'm sure there's some nice ones in the museums for the true snobs. If I fail to make my case...I'm not worried...I tried!

 

Def Eddie, no offense intended.

 

Now on the Stude...I did once, way back a long time ago, put a Stude 289 in a '49 International. So yes...I too have sinned!

 

k.

[Daliant.]

Well...since I was born in Lockport, I won't argue.

 

ken.

What part of town are you from?

[Lumpy]

I don't know...left when I was six or seven. Does "Beaty", or "Baety" Ave. ring a bell? The folks have passed on, but I'll ask my older brother, who seems to remember things like that.

 

I did go to "Emmet Belknap" grade school. (or something like that)

 

I have an old Lockport milk bottle that I got on ebay, because I actually remember the milk man leaving milk in the bottles when I was little.

 

ken.

[Daliant.]

Ahh Beattie ave, I'm on the other part of town down by the canal.

[Tim Keith]

Tim I build LS (and other GM) harnesses/engines as well as pcm tuning and even swaps in my shop, one of the big reasons behind choosing this option .

 

What is a good resource to tackle the wiring? I'm considering swapping to a 5.3 in a Chevy truck. I don't want to spend the money for the aftermarket wiring.   I wish the aftermarket for Mopar was as strong as for GM, but $800 for wiring is a lot of money for me.

Edited May 7, 2014 by Tim Keith