Alright I have 93 Formula that I might want to do a motor swap or turbo or both. My questions are will an LT1 tranny bolt up to the 6.0 block, what is the compression on the stock 6.0 truck motor (i think its around 9.5, but I could be wrong), does the 6.0 have the same crank and rods as the LS1, how does the lq4 heads flow vs ls6, what the best stand alone setups are available for the gen III motors? Thanks

 

I think the LT1 tranny will bolt up but not without changing a couple things first.

The 6.0 heads are supposed to flow exactly the same as the LS6 heads, the only difference are the larger combustion chambers to reduce the compression ratio.

As far as the crank and rods....I think they are the same....I know the blocks bore is 4 inches on the 6.0L and the LS1 is something like 3.889

I believe both cranks are the same...3.622

There are aftermarket cranks with a 4.000 stroke to increase an LS1 from 346ci to 382ci.....and boring .030 over can increase this to around 387-388 and 6.35L or so *I think*

I may do this on my LS1 but I think Im just going to wait for the LS2 to come out for a while, then when the deals are good on the LS2 block then just buy one of those and build on that.
I was going to do a 6.0L swap (truck engine) but I would much rather retain an aluminum block so Im just going to wait unless I come across a good deal on a 4" crank.(Plus if you just swap the crank the displacement increase is from a longer stroke.....I prefer a bigger bore..so LS2 for me)

I cant wait for the 3 valve heads to come out.....Ford is in trouble if they do.

And if VVT(Variable Valve Timing) does make it into production and they make it usable on the LS1! Wow! Even if its not interchangable, Ill still love it! just swap to whatever motor has it. (LS7 I believe is supposed to have it...seeing as its an LSx motor I would think it would be interchangable) This is all speculation on my part though)

BTW a bad *** combo would be a 6.0L block with a 4.250 crank to produce 427ci.... Only disadvantage is that the block is iron, not aluminum....

 

If you go with 6.0 heads go with the LQ9 heads. They flow like the ZO6 heads. 6.0 Block is better for racing, also more peace of mind in that block. If weight is a factor the go tubular on the front end. The LS2 even the block will never be affordable compared to a 6.0 iron. I'm not sure about the 5.3's but if they are just smaller bore and crank than the 6.0 but have the same dimension potentials then you might want to check out the SSR 5.3 It's alluminum. If it is made the same way as the iron version I would just wait for these to hit the junkyard.

 

I honestly don't mind the iron block, mainly because of the extra strength it will have later when I would go turbo. What besides the motor and computer would I need?

 

If it were me I would get the 6.0 block from ebay, LQ9 heads from ebay, any workable computer and either get LS1 edit or take it to a shop and let them tune it but you can do it cheaper, if you have an automatic you will need the adapter kit from gmpartsdirect.com which is like 35 bucks, you will also need some custom frame and motor mounts which some companys make not sure who though but I would just go ahead and get a tubular LS1 K-member which it will bolt right up to.

 

AFAIK, the ONLY differences in the LQ4 and LQ9 are different pistons and tuning. Same heads as the LS6 except larger combustion chambers.

 

LQ4=iron LQ9=aluminum

 

LQ4 heads are aluminum. They were changed over in 2002.

That engine is in my '03 2500HD.