chevy l.s. engine swap vs good old ford power

[Smart Alex]

I'm thinking chevy is the way to go. I hate to say it and I've fought it with myself for a ford bronco.

6.0 L's cast iron, 4l80 trans and adapt ford bronco manual transfer case.

Chevy electrical harness easy.. All chevy components, p.s. pump, and alternator, chevy PCM. Ford bronco radiator. Stock chevy manifolds and "custom exhaust"

Custom engine and trans mounts. Should be quick with all the chevy laser cut parts for these engines on the self ready to go.

Pro and cons, thoughts concerns welcome.

[drewbee88]

I'm thinking chevy is the way to go. I hate to say it and I've fought it with myself for a ford bronco.

6.0 L's cast iron, 4l80 trans and adapt ford bronco manual transfer case.

Chevy electrical harness easy.. All chevy components, p.s. pump, and alternator, chevy PCM. Ford bronco radiator. Stock chevy manifolds and "custom exhaust"

Custom engine and trans mounts. Should be quick with all the chevy laser cut parts for these engines on the self ready to go.

Pro and cons, thoughts concerns welcome.

This is my plan after I get my suspension done and am needing more motor

[Rmc]

Are you worried about smog? DMV/chp inspection or is this strictly an offroad toy?
Me and my engine guy discuss this quite often, the way he puts it:
Chevy's are cheaper. There's more off the shelf stuff for alot cheaper.
If you got a brand new ls and put decent bearings in it you'll get 500000 miles of reliable hp.
But loving the windsors I say what about this... On and on I ask and every time he's days its a better starting platform period.
I'm far from an engine guy but if you need one or 2 ill steer you to the guys who have build engines for all the big names. Example: coyne, Baldwin, banks,renezeder....
They started there own gigs after speed-o-motive went under.

[AussieRod]

No adapter available for 4L80 to Bronco BW t/case. You could adapt it to a Jeep NP208 and use that, though.

[Rmc]

One dude does all the tuning and injection stuff the other is a block n head guy.
I say ask someone who does this stuff for a living. My 2 cents

[AussieRod]

Persoannly, I would rather start with a good alooy headed 5.8 and adapt the chev electronics to that, rather than go to all the trouble to run a chev ls set-up (or just buy a Blazer/Escalade/Fugly-lanche and have it all there to start with AND 4 doors as well).

[Clean Racing INC.]

Ok I will give my two cents worth. LS swaps are all the rage right now is true, they can be had everywhere. There are tons of people dedicated to doing swaps and making swaps easier. I suggest you check out http://ls1tech.com/forums/ and do some reading in the Hybrid/Conversions area. I have done a couple and am 3/4 the way threw the swap on my 82 Jeep fullsize truck. Is it for everyone, probably not. If you live in an area that is loose on the emissions, its a no brainer. Even in Kamifornia its not that difficult to make one pass the CARB inspection. For the OP i think I would ditch the Bronco's BW t-case and just run a Chevy Np241 its equally just as strong, and tons of parts available for it. That is all I have for now, the first cup of coffee is not working yet..

[baja-chris]

If you swap an ls into a bronco with a stock dash, are there issues getting all the stock gauges to work? Presume you use a chevy computer? How do you wire that into the ford harness or do you rewire the whole truck? Do you use the Ford fuel system (pumps and plumbing or do you have to use a pump controlled by the ls computer? And then there are custom headers to make that clear the front suspension, if you have long travel shocks there already. Does the chevy tranny clear the floor and firewall? Custom motor mounts and custom tranny mount, and may no longer line up with the radius arm mounts so deal with that as well. And what about cooling, do you use the ford cooling system? Wiring issues with gm alt instead of ford? Air cond system, hybrid GM/Ford? It seems like the unknowns list is long, I'm sure I could think of other potential projects that would make this swap regrettable. Seems way easier to just build up a 351.

[philofab]

I plan on going to a 6.0/6.2 4L80 in my Bronco. Use the harness to convert the 4L80 to full manual and a 205 T-case. Ends up nice and short. Wiring is no big deal, I can make everything on the OEM dash work correctly including speedo, tach, and A/C. Motors are cheap when you blow them up, a 4L80 is cheap to rebuild, and the whole package is nice and short.

You use the ford fuel pump and fuse/relay boxes. If you've examined the 2000-2008 harnesses and know are Ford stuff you would see it's straight forward. Fly by wire is easy to do also, but a cable throttle body will save about an hour in the swap. An added plus is the ECM is moved so no more tire to harness issue.

[ChaseTruck754]

I tend to agree with most of what is posted & I started looking at the LS stuff after figuring out how much $ it would cost in machine work (let alone the parts cost) to get the 5.8L cleaned up & set up as a 393 stroker.

I figured for less money I can grab a low mileage lq4 or lq9 out of a wreck, and keep the 4l80e and t-case behind it and have about the same amount of power.
As was stated above - wiring has been figured out & is "easy", and then fabbing mounts is no big deal. All my stuff is pre smog now, so that part doesn't phase me.

If I were putting this in a bronco that was to be street driven & CARB legal I might change my tune, but I'm smarter than dealing with the smog nazi BS anymore so I like the swap idea.

[Silverslk]

It's a horrible idea and everyone should stop thinking about it!!!

[Dust]

A Ford that is powered by a GM engine is worth less then the same build using a GM platform.
Even if that GM engine is the ultimate development of the Ford Small Block: the LS-series.
Personally I will agree with Rod in that I would build a 2014 era 5.8L Ford rather then swap the LS.
My reason is simple I can get everything and then some that the LS can deliver and I still have a Ford rather then a hermaphrodite.
“For me” there is the simple fact that I have never picked up a used OEM engine and dropped it into an otherwise built rig and been satisfied with the result. To do so in my experience is to get to yank it back out sooner then later when actually using it, destroys it. It follows that “For me” there is no cost savings swapping to the LS which I can see as the only justification for the swap.
Finally it is boring, the L-series is swapped everything and has been done to death I wouldn't swap one into a GM product. Looky a LS oh-Neet-oh… and dull: now swapping a Coyote having driven it and the LS I’ll take the Coyote hands down!
And I’d still build a Windsor for an 80 up and 335-series from there down.

In the wind

[robertcrav]

I would love to build my 351w, but what has me thinking about an LS is the benefits I keep reading of power and MPG... I know that's a silly statement considering what we all do with our trucks and if it were a dirt only toy I'd understand the chuckle, but my truck is a daily driver (when it runs LOL) and needs to be a do-it-all. I've read story after story of trucks with 300+hp to the ground, 35"+ tires getting 14-16mpg...when my truck gets 11ish around town
Just saying, If someone has a 351w based formula to get me the power and efficiency, I'm all ears

[Smart Alex]

So dust you have already done a coyote swap?
That is what I wanted to do. I lost sleep over it. I almost had a deal on one from a wrecked mustang.
Now I have a deal I could get a brand new one... I'm all about it. The problem lies in the rest of the drive train...
Ok so you run a th 400 behind it with one of the kits for the 6100 trucks. By the time you have the entire drive train you are 10k in the hole... Am I right or wrong?
The ford motorsports harness pack is $1400 alone.
Just estimating myself doing the labor its a $12000

Other drive train option is a 6spd auto out of new 4x4 f150...
Will it fit? Yes it is shorter than the e40d combo. I have rolled around a few with a tape measure.

I it awesome and probably the best set up? Yes and yes. Do I want it? Hell fu*"+3$$ yes.

Can I afford it? No

[Smart Alex]

So then I lost sleep over "tuning up" my 351.

Andy on here said "why mike just put an l.s. in it"
I said no andy that's too much work. You gotta do this and that..

So then I was thinking a stock bottom end with heads and a can and a turbo charger.
Can I do this work myself? Yes I can.
What does it cost 5-7k scoring parts for deals when I can.
What do you do for engine management? Well I don't have that one sorted out.
Just heads and a can is still 3k done right. Am I right or am I wrong?

Just an fy I'm probably going to blow this thread up with some thoughts and mabey some pictures if my phone cooperates.

[ChaseTruck754]

I personally don't get the "hermaphrodite" type thinking. For me it's the best part for the job at the best price - no matter who made it.

I see guys get their panties all in a twist over a Ford in a Chevy, or more commonly vice versa. To me - who the fook cares. If it has more HP and gets better MPG while doing it AND costs less. Why the hell wouldn't you????

And then it goes into the "everyone does it - so it's not cool any more" BS that I've heard some spew out. Had this conversation on another forum a week or 2 ago so forgive me if I get a little annoyed with the same old rebuttals.

My response to the "boring" thought is: I wouldn't be doing this to be "cool" and "different". Hell, one could go put a flathead or better yet an aluminum block alfa romeo motor in the thing just to be different. What would be the point in that though????? More money spent most likely for less return or perfoarmance. Sure it's "different", but who gives a damn!

There is a reason people are throwing LS stuff in everything... They are easy to find, cheap and put out good HP at a decent MPG. If you want to be different you go and put that Yugo motor in. I'm ok with being a "follower"

[tcm glx]

I have not issues with throwing a LS in a Ford..... think they sound great, and agree with the reliable, cheap and great fuel economy. (Wife had a 2008 Tahoe that would get 19-20 all day long, on 33s with a budget boost).

That being said, if you arent mechanically & fabrication skills oriented... here are some things to keep in mind:
What is the labor going to be for the install?
What is your true cost of parts going to be?
How much custom work vs items you can purchase for the install are required?
What will the expense be to get it smogged properly?

Just for giggles, I am not arguing one way or the other... would be curious to see those scenarios played out. For Mike, I get that you can do a ton of the work yourself, thus making it much more viable. For others, if you end up having to drop 5-7K on mis parts and install to get it going, then you have to ask yourself, is the additional 3-4 MPGs worth the expense (again, not saying it is or isnt... just curious)

[Smart Alex]

I would totally put a turbo BMW engine in a truck and make some serious tire smoke.
So I'm all ears and ready to spend cash on going faster, smoother, and easier...

Ok coyote Accessories, front kit parts, whatever. The engine doesn't come with much and defiantly have to adapt a compatable p.s. pump, and alternator.

Chevy can use everything that comes on the engine from the junkyard. To my understanding as of now.

Built s.b. ford. You reuse your stock stuff. And how fast (rpm) can you spin all the stock stuff?

I can have a sbf built by one of the sbf masters, right down the street from me. They do all the big t.t. team engines and hold the record for the most wheel h.p. in a t.t.

Anyway don't wanna throw names around but basically a bad ass sbf 500+ guaranteed crank HP.
Full engine minus all accessories, headers, and fuel injection, engine management for about 6k

[Smart Alex]

Ok now let's hit the wallets hard this time. Which BTW I think I'm off on the coyote swap I think 12k would get you real close but 15k is probably more realistic..

I found a 6.0 chevy, all accessories, exhaust manifolds, computer, custom engine harness, 4l80 trans and transfer case. Entire set up. $3400 bux

So we looking at wiring factory cluster up, engine, and alt.??? My coworker says he could do it in a day or 2 and its no problem 400-1000 bux tops. And he is one of the baddest wiring guys around.

Then we got engine and trans mounts, driveshaft modifications, possible hookup of an electric chevy t case, and custom exhaust.

Ambi missing anything? I'm sure there is a longer laundry list like anything example patching up the hole in the floor where the t case lever went through.

[tcm glx]

So that outs you at 4-4500 plus installation cost (parts and labor). Call it maybe 1000-2000 for mounts, exhaust, hoses for cooling, and other misc associated material? That's 6-7k right? Still with the assumption you do all the heavy lifting of the actual installation yourself.


Here is another wrench, why not just supercharge the 351. That will add a cool 100hp