Drunkcanuks build...... finally!!!

I would do it! I just can’t see doing all the work and time to end up with a 5.3 with less torque under 3000 rpm than the truck has now. There are some standalone harness kits for a reasonable price it seems. You don’t have a large $ investment up front but you can easily buy the needed parts of the puzzle this fall.

My concern would be how long has it been sitting and did he hear it running?

In my last 6.0 build I did a eBay sloppy stage 2 camshaft that was about $150 looks like it’s $200 now and re-used the lifters. Was a monster. I use speed engineering headers on everything LS.

Getting the wiring harness, coils, and computer from a truck at the wrecker would help allow you to plan out how to patch it into your truck. You could label and photograph each connection as you removed it. I can’t see Bucks wreckers charging much for the parts you would need, they seem quite reasonable. I paid $40 for a pair of leaf springs and $30 for a crossmember.

Was looking at the engine pic. You're gonna need a LOT of stuff. It may nickel and dime you to death!! I can see mounted on the intake, a throttle cable bracket, which means its '03 or older, or it came from a van. I'd put a wrench on the balancer bolt and see if the crank will spin around freely. As the old saying goes, "Don't be afraid to look the gift horse in the mouth!!" The engine was pulled for a reason. Are there broken exhaust manifold bolts still in the heads? Those can be a real PITA to remove. Not trying to dissuade you, but you could be better off with the big block, moneywise

Sean Buick 76 said:

Getting the wiring harness, coils, and computer from a truck at the wrecker would help allow you to plan out how to patch it into your truck. You could label and photograph each connection as you removed it. I can’t see Bucks wreckers charging much for the parts you would need, they seem quite reasonable. I paid $40 for a pair of leaf springs and $30 for a crossmember.

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Sean Buick 76 said:

I would do it! I just can’t see doing all the work and time to end up with a 5.3 with less torque under 3000 rpm than the truck has now. There are some standalone harness kits for a reasonable price it seems. You don’t have a large $ investment up front but you can easily buy the needed parts of the puzzle this fall.

My concern would be how long has it been sitting and did he hear it running?

In my last 6.0 build I did a eBay sloppy stage 2 camshaft that was about $150 looks like it’s $200 now and re-used the lifters. Was a monster. I use speed engineering headers on everything LS.

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Ya, it would be darn shame to settle for a 5.3 eh! Lol.
Definitely need some answers before I buy it.
And ya, if they want less than $400 for a complete motor, it "shouldn't" be too expensive to buy the rest of the puzzle pieces for it.
I'm sure I'll have come office time today to go through their parts price list and come up with a total.

Here's another thought. With ALL the parts you need to put this LS in a running state, and you're thinking of finding those parts from a boneyard engine, I bet it would almost be cost effective to just take that whole engine as your starting point! As I've mentioned before, and you have stated that your woman would have your manhood removed, you'd be better served if you could find a used van for your powertrain needs. Just sayin'...

Leeztruk said:

Was looking at the engine pic. You're gonna need a LOT of stuff. It may nickel and dime you to death!! I can see mounted on the intake, a throttle cable bracket, which means its '03 or older, or it came from a van. I'd put a wrench on the balancer bolt and see if the crank will spin around freely. As the old saying goes, "Don't be afraid to look the gift horse in the mouth!!" The engine was pulled for a reason. Are there broken exhaust manifold bolts still in the heads? Those can be a real PITA to remove. Not trying to dissuade you, but you could be better off with the big block, moneywise

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100%. Definitely doing a good check over it. I've known this fella for years, like 35, so I'm pretty sure he wouldn't screw me over. But definitely need the origin story.

I'm "ok" with it taking some nickels and dimes to get it back together . 6.0s are hard to find up here, and they want a lot for them. I'm an hour away from any of the pick n pull places. I work out of town, so weekend is only time to see my family. so to "waste" a few hours, plus gas to hopefully find one to pull would be tough. Especially if I don't find anything. But there are a lot of 5.3's in the yards, so it's almost a guarantee I'll find all the nicknacks to piece it back together.

Leeztruk said:

Here's another thought. With ALL the parts you need to put this LS in a running state, and you're thinking of finding those parts from a boneyard engine, I bet it would almost be cost effective to just take that whole engine as your starting point! As I've mentioned before, and you have stated that your woman would have your manhood removed, you'd be better served if you could find a used van for your powertrain needs. Just sayin'...

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That's IF I can find one. I'm sure the weekend warriors are waiting at the gates every morning at the yards to grab these. And the other places want $3000 for them. It's definitely not going to take $2300 to put it back together. And my budget is definitely geared towards pieces here and there vs a big cash drop all at once.

I'm in no rush to get it done. One piece at a time, and a 6.0 block on my garage floor, is a HUGE piece of the puzzle.

Don't know what the import duties would be, but I have a complete set of coils with wires that I'd like to donate to the cause. I'll see what else I've got laying around that you can have

Leeztruk said:

Don't know what the import duties would be, but I have a complete set of coils with wires that I'd like to donate to the cause. I'll see what else I've got laying around that you can have

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That's awfully kind of you!!!
That's why I love this friggin forum!!!
But the shipping costs etc would probably pretty costly as compared to the actual parts. I'll take a look at pricing later today, and maybe reach out.

So just did some preliminary math.
Came up with a MINIMUM price of $617 plus taxes im sure. And I'm sure I forgot a thing or two.
So that plus the motor, is hovering around $1400. Let alone a trans.
The price to pull a complete motor is $350. Not sure if they charge a core charge or not, even if they do, I'm sure it would come under $700 total.
Doubtful I'll pick that up, especially when he mentioned a complete 454/4l80 for $1500.

Aaaaaaaaarrrrrrgggghhhhh!!!! Lol
I'll probably go swing by the nearest yard today after work, literally a mile up the road. See what info I can pull out of them. See what they have in their inventory.