Her Name, is Circa. 5.3/t56 swap (56k warning)

[circa]

title ripped from project threads
should probably be in the project thread too... but its a v8...soon :>

I'm gonna take a whack at this swap thing.
I got the motor a 5.3 from a 2001 Yukon, with 12 miles on it and included the wiring harness/ecu and the pedal for the electronic thorttle for 2200 shipped
I should be getting the t56 here shortly from dark horse performance which is a short drive from my work.



not in bad shape except for that dent in the passenger door and another small one on the other side near the tailgate


sexy? Orginally i was going to have a friend cut up the stock pan untill i got word that GMCOPO was comming out with one that *fingers crossed* will fit the s10 crossmember. I dont want to notch the frame/crossmember and that is why I removed the a/c already
I am going to try (keyword) and use the Yukon's harness without modifcations(minus the obvious) because the plan is to not use the factory gauges. and untill i can either glass or install that universal ricey dash... aftermarket gauges will be cluttered.

The truck was in an accident BEFORE I was the owner. and it was repaired well but not great enough. here is a few shots of the minor damage.



The lower fan shroud was craked pretty bad and when i went to remove it....i decided to just pull really hard and i regret doing so. I did not enjoy cleaning up all the plastic pieces.
This is about where I am now... i only have maybe 1-2 hours after work each day and I started like...2 nights ago


God damn battery...


exh. mani's are off starter a/c and the yukon mounts


Decided to reward myself with these...

mmmm wide



That about it for now.... I'll give some updates when I get to it, Hood and core/grille support shoudl be off this weekend and I'll continue to dig deeper into the 4.3
The t56 im buying has a .50 6th gear and i am trying to stay within the Vette's gearing and have the axle ratio at 3.42 or close to it if i do a ford 9 with a "wonderbar" setup... by fatman fab if i can get one for an s10 but thats .... a long time in the future :>
yeah i know...big pics if you want them shrunk let me know!

[circa]

I'm thinking about putting the 4.3 into my jeep once this is finished...

my dad would probably be agaisnt it...but should he be more against 300hp in 3200 pounds truck then 180 into 3400? lol

[LS2Sonoma]

nice, looks great so far man... youre in washington??

[mattryanmusic]

Good stuff, now get to work!

[circa]

yeah washington
hard to work on it when you spend nearly 10-12 hours of your day at work for the money to do it!

[Rinkrat456]

Quote: Originally Posted by circa

hard to work on it when you spend nearly 10-12 hours of your day at work for the money to do it!

I hear ya.

What are the rims? 18/20 17/19...the larger one just looks too large to be 1" more, but it could be the pics.


Any plans for the motor other than stock?

[circa]

after a few thoushand miles i want to do cam / heads and get the valvetrain ready for 6800 revs

and if i have the extra money to do it...kenne bell s/c to hit 800-900+

rims are 17x9.5 and 18x10.5

[jinusow]

Quote: Originally Posted by circa

after a few thoushand miles i want to do cam / heads and get the valvetrain ready for 6800 revs

and if i have the extra money to do it...kenne bell s/c to hit 800-900+

rims are 17x9.5 and 18x10.5

That sounds nice but you're never going to get there. You want 800-900hp from a 5.3l and to use a t56. Rebuilding a t56 really is good only up to 700hp After that range you need to just go to a built auto and the engine internals will all have to be new to run 800-900 plus fuel system upgrades. You're doing laps if you want that much hp you need to just save your money and begin the build from the ground up. You're in for some broken parts and high rebuilt costs if you head down that road. It looks like you got a very clean engine and I bet the trans will look nice, too. I'd just enjoy it and not mess with it til the engine tranny or suspension needs the work done then see where your at for upgrades. I bet that about half the hp you want is all you really end up needing.

[sdime98]

badass...i'll be staying tuned in for this buildup.

[SweetS10V8]

Quote: Originally Posted by circa

after a few thoushand miles i want to do cam / heads and get the valvetrain ready for 6800 revs

When your ready let me know, Ive had an Ls1 on my dyno going 7200 without a problem. Ill give you the vavletrain parts list you can use.

[philntx]

I'd suggest replacing the inner fender well where the battery puked on it. Even though it's not structural, the panel has been damaged. You could also cut it out and weld in a patch.

[Zerocool350]

Good luck with the build. Im currently working on my motor. Cam and valve train stuff. Should be done this weekend.

[circa]

Quote: Originally Posted by jinusow

That sounds nice but you're never going to get there. You want 800-900hp from a 5.3l and to use a t56. Rebuilding a t56 really is good only up to 700hp After that range you need to just go to a built auto and the engine internals will all have to be new to run 800-900 plus fuel system upgrades. You're doing laps if you want that much hp you need to just save your money and begin the build from the ground up. You're in for some broken parts and high rebuilt costs if you head down that road. It looks like you got a very clean engine and I bet the trans will look nice, too. I'd just enjoy it and not mess with it til the engine tranny or suspension needs the work done then see where your at for upgrades. I bet that about half the hp you want is all you really end up needing.

oh i know and im really just shooting for atleast 500hp ...hell 300 is more then enough

[99 BUCKET]

too bad I cant see pics at work : (. sounds nice. whats that word on that oil pan. my motor might be out of my truck soon and I myself might be getting rid of my cut truck pan.

[s10-den]

yep,I'll be keeping up with it...good luck

[circa]

Quote: Originally Posted by 99 BUCKET

too bad I cant see pics at work : (. sounds nice. whats that word on that oil pan. my motor might be out of my truck soon and I myself might be getting rid of my cut truck pan.

apparently will be out mid april... I'll be keeping in touch with them to get all the information. I take it quite a few other people will be also.

must remind others... aluminium isnt the greatest material in the world and it's poreous and after cutting and welding you never know how long it will actually last with oil

where as if you were to buy a steel pan and get it cut and welded it would hold up alot longer then the aluminum one

[s10-den]

is the s10 a 5 speed now?Yea, them rims look like night and day as far as only 1 inch difference.Have you measured them?

[circa]

Quote: Originally Posted by s10-den

is the s10 a 5 speed now?Yea, them rims look like night and day as far as only 1 inch difference.Have you measured them?

yeah its a 5 spd slush box...
i've measured them, might just be the angle i dont know

[mcaanda]

Looks like it should be a pretty good little project out there.

If you happen to need a hand with anything LMK; Im out here in Graham. With the rain that we've been having I find if hard to get the gumption to go out there and do anything w/ my own garage mess!

I, like you would love to see that GMCOPO pan become a reality; keep the fingers crossed.

[circa]

heres an update.

There was a dead, fried mouse on my intake manifold.
Where the battery puked, 3 bolts holding the grille support were rusted/coroded stuck.

hmm i think thats it... maybe a picture of the front with no grille support in a few.. although its not needed.

[Zerocool350]

Have fun with the project. I should be getting started on the tear down of mine about 3 weeks or so. As soon as i get a harness from jarod.

[Rompn]

Subscribing...

[draginthruschool]

hey man looking real good, pick up an optima you wont have to worry about that battery, where in puyallup are you at? a buddy of mine and i are putting a 383 and t56 into his 85 s10 blazer in puyallup, slow process but coming along

[circa]

south hill area near stahl jr and emerald ridge high

[draginthruschool]

cool i graduated from er 06

[circa]

I went to SLHS of 05

I'm still ripping the 4.3 out... slowly, hopefully i can *cough cough* call in sick tomorrow and get a 3 day weekend to work on it.
I'll be buying the mounts and headers from current performance...just havent had time to click 4 times to run it through paypal

[s10-den]

what are you doing for the harness?keeping ac?

[BlueDevil3113]

*subscribes

[circa]

A/C has been removed and if I feel the need to get A/C I will find a "stand alone" system like through vintage air or something.

I am going to try and use the 5.3 harness, I will not be using the stock gauges (hopefully) and if it comes to it... I will just have gauges attached everywhere for the time being

I'll work something out when i get that far


oh and by the way I will be keeping the 'drive by wire' throttle control, coords will be ran through the same hole as the cable for the TBI was. I have the pedal assembly wires and conectors.

[circa]

haha I played hookie from work because it's my birthday so I headed up to the bank to drop a few K's and came back to pull the fenders and random junk from the engine. The paint job is garbage and I am willing to try to repaint it myself.... gotta practice and learn a few things though.
the used car lot dealers got it painted, WITH THE BED LINER IN THE BED.

[circa]

My catalytic converter is stuck...
from that back is off and working on the exh mani's as well

I wanted the cat off so i could go pick up 10 bucks for it