I looking into possibly buying a 2000 SS convertible with a blown crankshaft. I was thinking of buying a used LS1 or LQ9/4 shortblock and doing a direct swap. Tomorrow I plan to call some junk yards and get some quotes. Will they sell me just the short block? Or just the entire engine? How much do used LS1's go for? I wouldn't mind a cast iron block if it will save me money. What do guys?

Anyone have a engine they wanna sell me?

 

are looking into purchasing the engine from like a pick a part because from what I know those engines are sometimes blown and need to be rebuild

 

Yes I'm looking for a short block from either a Ls1 or LQ9/LQ4 from a pick and pull. Money is tight though. My plan is to buy the SS with blown crankshaft for $2000 and find a short block for ~$1000. Seems out of the realm of possibility.

 

As a general rule the yards do not sell short blocks. Any running motor is worth more as complete assembly. Remember the LS1 is the most popular motor for hot rods. If there is something wrong with the motor they will sell it for parts but with NO guaranty that any parts are even usable. 1K is light for a LS1 motor. They are in very high demand. If you want something around 50,000 miles expect to pay 2K, around a 100,000 miles will be more like $1500. Check out ebay there is a seller on there called Fbodys it’s a Camaro junk yard just outside of Philly. They keep a pretty close eye on the market you can normally beat their prices but not much more then 10%. Of course that is with a warranty you may find a motor from craigs list cheaper but there is more risk.

Are you sure you want a short block? Remember the short block does not have a Cam. It is very common with bottom end damage to send metal all thru the cam and lifters making them unusable.

 

you can find a decent 6.0 dropout for ~1500 bucks as they've become increasingly popular.

You can find an iron block 5.3 for VERY cheap, we bought one recently for 375 bucks dropped it in the car and it has many thousand miles on it by now. Your best bet is going to be to buy a dropout, slap it in and go.

 

A 6.0 would be sweet.

$2k isn't bad if they body is nice.

 

Yeah, that's a good deal if the rest of the car is in good condition. Worth paying a bit for a good motor IMO.

 

Thanks a lot guys, I really do appreciate it. I havn't even looked at the SS in person yet. It's on craigslist and I have been talking to the seller. It has 120,000 miles on the body.

I think I will go with the 5.3 iron block. Is it a direct drop in motor? I guessing the car will have to be tuned. Wouldn't I need a new wiring harness as well?

 

Also can anyone tell me what GM trucks/SUV's had the gen 3 vortec 5.3's in them?

 

99-? 1500s and tahoes I beleive. I noticed nobody mentioned the fact putting a truck motor in a car is illegal in a lot of states.