e34+LM7=553i!

[McDani3coupe]

Ok so I have a 530 with a blown nikasil so I'm looking at picking up a chevy lm7 5.3l to drop into it. My ultimate goal is to swap it in for under $1500. I will be doing the motor mounts, tranny mounts, driveshaft, and any other fab work myself so it shouldn't be too lofty of a goal. I'd like to have a 5-speed so my question is what's the best 5-speed for the money to mate up to that motor. Is it the nv3500? I can't say i know much about chevy transmissions, except how to hook one up and how to disconect one. Can anyone shed some light on this? PLZ&THKS!

[Richard454]

NV3500-Truck transmission? I'm thinking might be too big-and you car might look like this-

On the cheap- A T5 transmission will work out of an older camaro-you'll have to run a pilot bearing adapter ( I think McLead sells it) and the flywheel will take some thought- An LS flywheel /pressure plate w/ a T5 disc???.... I've seen the Ford T5's which are plentiful and cheap (few hundred bucks 89-93 5.0 Mustangs) put behind GEN 1 chevy blocks w/ adapterplates-so it's possible.

An old 4 speed from a Gen 1 (muncie/T-10) are easy to find- parts are cheap and the Gen 1 bellhousings ($50) will work w/ the LS block (all but one bolt)-not a tough swap. CarCraft magazine had a great article on it.

More expensive-Tremec T45- w/ a bellhousing from Keisler

Most expensive-Tremec 500/600- then up to a 6 speed T56

A t56 (used)will blow your budget right out of the water-but it's a bolt up...

A big consideration is- What rear will you be running- A 3.35 first gear will be useless w/ a high rear gear...

Richard

[McDani3coupe]

haven't put too much thought into what rear gearing I'm gonna use...I was hoping to use the stock rear end, although I have no idea what gearing that is. hmmmm, Thanks for the info I think a t5 would be in my budget. still not sure though, id like it to be a five speed.

[Bmwman528e]

Dont forget custom headers will have to be made... setting you back another $1000 atleast.

[McDani3coupe]

you forget that i can weld pretty good and make my own headers for hardly anything.

[rao]

Don't mess around with a T-5.

The transmission will blow your budget. You may not want to hear it, but that's how it is. If you wanted to do an auto swap you could easily do that for your budget.

[McDani3coupe]

I had a feeling someone was going to say that...I could go with a 4l60e but I really want a five speed.

[Richard454]

I don't think a t-5 will kill your budget.... I see T-5's for a 2-5 hundred bucks everyday on Craigslist. I see 4l60e's hoovering around $500. You say you can fab- and if you're scoring used stuff...a 5-speed manual can be done.

GRANTED the T-5 won't be a great trans if you drag race it...but it can be built to handle some serious power later...

Transmission info-

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/s...d.php?t=171291

LS (GEN3/4) to GEN 1/2 article-Transmission swap

http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles...n_3/index.html


Richard

[McDani3coupe]

wow that is the info I needed. A t5 would be sweet, any idea on how much the mcLeod/b&m flywheel is though? and where to get one? And the adapter pilot bushing. and the SPDC adapter plate, and the bellhousing. I wonder if after all the nessicary adapter parts are bought if it will still be cheaper than buying a t56? Sounds like a lot of work but I'm just patient enough to give it a go as long as it's cost effective. Also, how reliable to you think a t5 retrofit would be...I'm sure it would hold up fine but there's allways that doubt in the back of my mind when mating a gen1 tranny to a gen 3 small block.

[rao]

Making a T-5 fit isn't difficult; making it last is not cost effective.

[McDani3coupe]

why?

[rao]

Because it is not strong enough.

[McDani3coupe]

dammit...thats what i feared. so basically the only way to have a stick that will last behind my lsx is a t56 which is way too expensive for this build....right?

[rao]

You can do whatever you want. People will suggest that a stock T-5 can survive 1,000,000 hp in their friend's cousin's brother's Mustang and that may be true. Odds are that it will fail pretty soon and making it strong enough so that it will not fail will cost more than starring with a T-56 in the first place.

If you are going to keep the 5.3 stock, then your T-5 might live a longer life, but if you are doing a swap you probably will actually drive the car and want something with a little more pick up

Sometimes you can find good deals on T-56's, but a $1500 budget leaves no margin for error - even tearing down the 5.3 to check it's condition will knock a good size old in that budget just for gaskets and fluids.

[McDani3coupe]

yea, I'm just looking to buy the motor and drop it in and drive tyhe car as soon as possible. It's gonna be a dd and I don't need any more power than what it will already have. I have an e36 that's getting track prepped also and that will be the one I'm taking dead serious. I just want my e34 dd back so I don't have to drive my ford truck every day.

how do I know which 4l60e transmissions will fit the 5.3l?

[hefftone]

It's gonna be a dd and I don't need any more power than what it will already have.

Ha ha ha...

You should check into 1geezersgarage. That guy did a similar swap. Buying the most complete setup will save you money. Do some investigating, so you don't spend money twice on things like oil pans, accessory drives and intake manifolds. Unfortunately, there's not a whole lot of dependable manual transmission choices out there for LS swap. T-5's are plentiful, they simply have low torque capacity... and typically its' cheaper to do it right once. Might look for used TKO's.
The 4L60e is a pretty decent unit. They usually are found behind 5.3's in truck...There are plenty of upgrades out there for them.

Edit: http://1geezersgarage.com/ this guy has a bunch of videos on youtube...sometimes he rambles, but depending on your LS knowledge, it's got some good info. If you are going to look into T-5's...you need to look at the difference between World Class, and Non-world Class units. T-5 probably won't be a good option, unless you can find one really cheap, and find some really good and affordable upgrade parts, and maybe put them in yourself. Some more 5 speed info ... http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles...als/index.html
I just found these guys, supposedly can make a T5 good to 500ft-lbs.... http://www.gforcetransmissions.com/tran_gt-5.asp


The 4L60e will be your best bet for budget's sake. I used to autoX with a fella that had a C4 corvette with an automatic transmission, the guys was FAST!!! I think he had something rigged up to the Torque Converter Lock-up solenoid to eliminate the slush-box effect, which also kept his trans cooler as well.The auto would be nice for dailydriving, and would be a monster at the dragstrip....or traffic lights.

[McDani3coupe]

gotta go 4l60e...so like i said, how do i know which ones fit the 5.3?

I really think I can do this though, There wan't one thing on that 1geezer site that I saw and thought "I can't do that" it all seems well weithin my skill set. Even the motor mounts looks fairly simple to make. The hardest part will be wiring everything up and that's only because it's tedious work, not hard just tedious.

My biggest disadvantage compared to him is that my budget won't allow for a foam mockup. Someone could make a killing renting those out to people. I'll just have to deal with dropping and pulling the pig until I get it right. I wonder If the e34 has any bigger of a trans tunnel, it'd be nice If I didn't have to cut and weld the car rtight in the middle but if it needs done so be it.

[hefftone]

If you buy a foamy, you can sell it for probably $50 short of what you buy it new.

Just get the 4L60E from the same vehilce as the 5.3 (silverado 1500 2wd).... gotta get the PCM controller as well as the harnesses. Or find one that was behind a 98+ camaro....

[McDani3coupe]

I still won't be able to afford a foam dummy. It would break the bank even if I could sell it, but yes I will try to get the trany that it came out of but no garauntees. Is the v6 camaro 4l60e the same as the ls1 4l60e?

[M5Hunter]

The bellhousing is totally different for sure, as far as the rest of it I'm not sure

I've got a 4l60e out of a '98 camaro for sale, but it may not be worth it with shipping. It has a new bellhosing, flexplate and stock camaro torque converter with it for $350 plus shipping.

[hefftone]

how much taller is the truck intake than the LS1 intake?

If that would clear, you'd be on easy street. I'd look at Car-part.com, see if you can find a decent mileage complete 5.3L/4l60e pullout, with computers, and harness, with accessories, or at least the brackets. I believe the trucks are front sump, which you will likely need in the E34.... a company called retro-lsx.com also has a pretty slick oil pan for swaps (can't remember if that was front or rear sump)

[McDani3coupe]

I'm gonna try to get a complete setup before I look at seperate units. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna have to use the ls1 intake or upgrade to the ls2 intake and get a bigger throttle body. What about my rear end...I have no idea what my gear ratio is but since the car was auto I'd imagine it is open...it still should handle 75 more horses though, right? and is there even any differential swaps available for m60 rear ends? Never heard of anyone doing that.

[PJ325i]

FYI all truck GEN III/IV V8 motors are rear sump (deep), GTOs are front sump, and the corvette has the batwing thing going on.

[Richard454]

Here's one of the best descriptions of LS pans-also acc brackets.

http://www.digitalcorvettes.com/foru...d.php?t=105822

Scroll down a bit- has sizes & configurations

Richard