78Cutlass4Speed

I'm contemplating doing an LS swap into my 1979 Hurst/Olds to replace a non-original Olds 350 that resides there now. I see more and more of these motors popping up locally and online every day. LS1, LS2, LS3. The prices seem to be going down as more of them are available. I might have the opportunity to purchase an LS3 out of a 2013 Camaro. It's being sold as a package complete with all the accessories, electronics, pedal, etc. and the 6-speed auto transmission. It has 75k miles and the gentleman is asking $4000. Is this a good price? I'm seeing a lot more in this price range lately. I've been told that the 6-speed auto (6L80E or 6L90E) won't fit the transmission tunnel on the car without some major adjustments. If that's the case, what transmission would work well with the LS3? I've read a few not-so-good posts about the 4L60E. Is it a good choice? Do I step up to a 4L75E? Any recommendations? I think it's time to step into the 21st century and make the car a better performer and reliable cruiser.

cutlassefi

You’ll have more work than you think to try and make the LS and Any 4L transmission fit.
You can bring your Oldsmobile into a more modern era as well with fuel injection, aluminum heads and new and better pistons. Just saying.

Hammerdrop

You would be better asking your questions on the website "LS Tech".

I think 2012 might be the last year for a power steering pump on that Camaro. $4k doesn't sound too bad for the price. Check Ebay.

garys 68&72

$4k is a pretty good price. You can find plenty of A body swaps over at LS1tech conversion forum to find out what tunnel mods you'll need for various transmissions.

Greaser007

I am seeing several early 2002 to 2006 gm vehicles selling on Craigslist for $500 to $2,000 for the complete vehicle because of book value vs cost to Smog here in Calif..
A salesman at a local recycler had a 350 out of a pickup w/ cast iron block for $2,500, and a 350 from a passenger car with much lower intake plenum for the same price.
What to do. Beyond that, I don't even know the differences in LS engines, but I am always looking with the dream of dropping one into an early '60's Ford pickup.

Here in northern California, I can buy a complete engine at Pick-n-Pull for $300 with all accessories on a 50%-off day. There is no guarantee on these engines.
But for the price, I would do a complete tear-down just to see what you have purchased, (unless condition is known, but who's word do we take, until we investigate).

Lonnies Performance

From a performance perspective, the LS3 is the way to go, but also the most expensive. It is mated to a manual trans.

The L99 is the lower powered automatic version of the LS3 with variable valve timing, but they will be coupled to a 6 auto speed trans, which as you mentioned, will not fit the tunnel.
The engine you are looking at is an L99.... it may be a decent option since you get everything. You will have some custom work to get it compatible with a 4L60E or 4L80E trans.
I think the accessories will clear.

You can get a drop out LS1 w/ 4L60E trans from a 4th gen Camaro (98-02) for a decent deal (under $2K). You risk the unknowns of a 20yr old engine, but will provide around 350hp.
You may also have interference with the alternator & steering box... not sure on your vehicle.

Truck engines are relatively cheap, but the intake & front accessories can cause some clearance issues in cars.
Once you buy new brackets & accessories, it starts adding up.

My advice is for the best chance of a drop in solution is to buy an engine from an 08 up Vette set up for a manual trans. You get 425+ HP.
The accessories work well in most GM swaps (this bracket/accessory setup is over $700 alone).

The AC compressor causes interference with almost all early GM frames. You can get a high mount AC setup from LSX Concepts, or notch/box the frame for AC clearance.

Buy or build a good 4l60E trans & get an aftermarket wiring harness to make it all work together.

Olds64

DOH! Thread resurrection.

I hope the OP didn't buy the engine. $4000 is way high. I'm with Greaser on this one. You can get an LS engine on the cheap from the pick-n-pull if that's the way you want to go.

70ish

Whichever LS you decide to get make sure the CPU/ECU unit is included, as well as the wiring harness. Most provide this with the motor. also it's best to buy an automatic engine with an automatic trans, manual to manual. You will see manual LS motors (like in GTO) are more expensive an auto. look on ebay to get price ranges. Contemporary Corvette on ebay is one datapoint. lots of aftermarket parts to mount and adapt LS to A-body. Remember the tunnel might need alteration depending on the trans. the T56 i'm about to swap to needed tunnel modifications.

Ed

78Cutlass4Speed

No, I didn't buy the engine. The price did seem a little high so I didn't pull the trigger. I'll probably wait until spring now anyways since I don't have heat in my garage and funds are a little low after the Christmas season. I've been reading up on the swap on several sites and know that there'll be some snags along the way. Things that will obviously cost money. I'm also a little torn about putting a non-Olds engine in the car. The 455 was Olds and the 350 in it now is a 1969 Olds motor. I've seen a couple of local cars, 80's Cutlasses, that have an LS swap and it looks like a factory installation. They did a great job. Plus, it's hard to argue with 350+ horsepower in stock form with the potential for a lot more. Wish I could afford an LSA set-up from a Cadillac CTS-V or Camaro ZL-1. Just dreaming, of course.

Olds64

This is why so many folks are swapping LS engines now. Plus, it's so cheap vs. building an Oldsmobile engine. I've considered an LS4 swap into my 96 98, but I'll probably just do a supercharger top end swap if I ever make the leap to modify the drive train.

krold

ive done a bunch of conversion depending on the type of car the tunnel comes into play i sell complete cut outs with ecu and harness and trans for anywhere between 1500-1800...motors no accessories 800 -1000,,,,4l80 4l60 250-350...i have found buying whole kits is the way to go the most difficult conversion is the 66-67 models i had to fabricate a complete tunnel for that one...

ach1992880

The grass is always greener no matter the decision you make.

I have an 11:1 370" cammed (227/232 @ .050) with CNC ported cathedral heads LS with long tubes, 3k stall 4l70e and 3.73 gears in my 71 Cutlass. Latest dyno put 420hp/400tq at wheels.

my buddy has a brand new .030 over Pontiac 455 9.5:1 with decent forged Icon pistons, forged rods and stock crank running pocket ported 6x4 heads with the larger 1.77" exhaust valves, RPM intake, Ram Air 4 cam (231/239 @ .050) long tubes 2,600 stall converter, TH400 and 3.42 gears with a Cliff Ruggles quadrajet in his 1964 Catalina.

I love the way his car feels with such a broad torque curve, he hates that my car walks away once I get some RPM. Weight isnt on his side, and he is a good set of heads and a better cam away from making a ton more power. No matter which way you go you'll second guess it. I spend a lot of time wondering how my car would be had I spent all of the $$$ on a decent 455/th400 as opposed to going LS. That isnt to say I am in any way disappointed in how it drives.

Lonnies Performance

In some ways I remain a purist & hate to modify a numbers matching car that has collectible value.... but on the other hand, having modern drive train with good street manners, great mileage & performance that rivals old technology is hard to argue with.

I recently did a LS3 swap in my Firebird.
I removed a 180 HP 305 that got 16mpg... Now it gets over 20mpg & with a mild aftermarket cam, headers & throttle body on the LS3, it's a solid 11 sec car on street tires.
I never regretted the swap.

olds 307 and 403

The 4L60E is a POS, skip it. Old School motors, even your Olds 350 have a much better torque curve than the LS. Now 4000 rpm p!us is where the LS really shine. You really just need a mild cam and converter to improve performance. I guarantee a LS motor will suck down low with a truck converter and your gears, aren't the California cars 2.56 geared? Even the 2.73 gears are no good and you need 28 spline Moser axles along with better gears and a Torsen posi from a 4th gen F body to have any hope of it not exploding.

78Cutlass4Speed

I haven't heard too many good things about the 4L60E. That's surprising since I had one in my daily driver 1996 Buick Roadmaster Limited sedan and I never had any issues with it. Zero. The fluid was changed every 50,000 miles, and it performed beautifully. I owned it for 12 years and had nearly 300,000 miles on it when I got rid of it. The LT1 in it was only rated at 260 hp and 330 ft/lbs of torque but it seemed like a lot more. It did have the trailer towing package with 2.93 gears and a posi. It was rated to tow up to 5,000 lbs which I did on several occasions when dragging a project-car Cutlass home. It was a great car, probably the best one I've ever owned.
The rear end in my Hurst isn't an issue, yet. It still has the 8.5 inch 3.73 posi in it from a 1985 442 that I installed almost 20 years ago. I'll probably be pulling that out in the spring and replacing it with the original 2.73 rear that came with the car. It was an open rear until I had an Auburn Pro series carrier installed a few months ago. Although I do have a 200R4 that came out of a 1987 442 just waiting to be installed...
I do have several options:
1 - Put the 2.73 rear back in and go back to stock, eventually rebuilding the motor for a little more power
2 - Keep the 3.73's and install the 200R4, rebuilding the motor for a little more power
3 - Install an LS and OD trans and ditch the Olds 350/TH350 and keep the 3.73's
I'm sure there are many more things to consider. I'd like to have a reliable, long distance cruiser that I could drive across country with if I wanted to, along with the occasional shenanigans when I'm feeling mischievous. The wow-factor of an LS swap would be awesome but might be more hassle than it's worth.

Aceshigh

4l80E is a very desirable and stout setup.
Anyone whom tells you different is not aware.

Jake over at Jake's Performance sold 4L80Es by the truckloads to racers off LS1tech.com for drag racing conversions
I have a 1970 that is getting a 6.0LS / T56 swap and the entire trans tunnel was cut out and rehabbed to fit the monster

RetroRanger

Aces ?

I havent seen a post from you in many moons

whats up w your car ? last we heard you were LS swapping and then were moving before it was completed I think ?

Aceshigh

Hey what's up brother. Damn you have a hell of a memory.

Yes, I moved, and put the car on hiatus during the move, and home updates.(project after project after project)
It's been several years and I got stuck at my transmission tunnel fabrication as I have ZERO experience doing that part.
I got the front half done this Spring with a coworker of my brothers who fabs , and now I just have to weld in and fab the rear 1/2.

The T-56 transmission is HUUUUGE, so I had to plasma cut out the entire tunnel.
I haven't finished it, and I literally just changed careers after 20 years to work in electric utility work in Chicagoland.

Sadly I lost motivation to finish for awhile there.
I bought 2 more new motorcycles, a $40,000 chopper and a new Harley CVO Breakout.
I already have an LS1 swapped 78 protouring Z/28 so my Olds took a backseat for awhile.

I have $5 or $6K that's been sitting in an account for my Olds project to be completed , I just haven't found the time.
I also ended up going backwards and goin to the Holley swap kit because all my other stuff gave me bad angles

As you can see my being back here is me trying to reinvigorate my drive to finish it finally

RetroRanger

Nice good to have you back! Thats a lotta life getting in the way of car stuff.

looks like its longer than i thought 2013ish!

heres your old build thread
https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...4/#post1018858

i always liked the look of your car i love the green and the Stripe looks great against the green.

garys 68&72

Aces, good to see you back. I retired this year to central MO and driving mine every day. Small town and getting a lot of comments on it. Way fun to drive too.

Aceshigh

Oh yeah , 2013 somewhere in there.
Life definitely gets in the way, and I had another child as well the following year so that ate up a chunk. LoL
I really COULD have had it done, but I kept allowing other things to pull me in different directions.
Congratulations Gary on your retirement and now fully enjoying life.

I have a friend that relocated to Missouri recently from IL to basically GTFO of this commie run state (IL) in search of liberty living.
He's definitely MUCH happier down there he said. He's from Poland and grewup under Communism, and serves in the US Army as a sniper.

He runs the AK Operators Union site and Youtube channel.
I look forward to one day being able to cruise mine as well, but I'm sure once done the Twin turbo fabrication begins. LoL

Frankly its disheartening seeing my Olds up on those DSE home made stands for all these years.
I should get it done hopefully this year thanks to COVID plandemic BS

garys 68&72

Hey, there is a lot of room for a turbo or 2 in the engine compartment. Who a I kidding, I've put off changing he gas gauge sender for months...
But you're right, due to the pandemic, I did restore a 72 jetboat this spring.