Another LS Swap

lincolnfam

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This one's finished!

Let me start by saying this project involved lots of fabricating and other custom work. There's no easy way about it. I did the swap with a friend who's full time job is being an mechanic so we had access to a lot of really good tools and knowledge base. That being said, hopefully what I experienced and share can make it easier for the next person wanting to swap their LS.

Reason I committed to the swap was I picked up the lincoln w a misfire that I thought was a bad coil. Turned out the engine was bad. The previous owner had already replaced the engine once so I decided junkyard 3.9 was off the table. Looked for rebuild kits for the 3.9 and at the time ZERO were available. New crate engine was $5000. I figured if I'm forced to throw cash at the car, I'm gonna make it fast and do it right!!

I got a lot of good info from SKM (StuKellyMotorsports) thread on his drift LS swap, and a few other threads on here. Other technicalities just good ol google search and LS1tech etc...

ADVICE:

Oil pan that works Moroso 20138

The headers that SKM used (patriot block hugger tight tuck) and apparently worked for him DID NOT WORK for me. The casting from the factory varies too much from pair to pair, I could see with the two I had. He probably got a nicely tucked pair. We cut and re-welded mine and they still don't fully clear the steering column. Working on a solution. It is very hard to clear the steering column with the exhaust if you have it routing out the back. My advice is flip the headers around and run them out the front with turbos or something. It'll make mounting the engine easier too.

Lastly, definitely go with f-body or corvette accessory drive. We went with the truck balancer to save money and a Holley bracket that mounts the alternator down low. We ended up having to buy an aftermarket fan because it didn't clear the stock one. Even with the aftermarket fan we had to notch the engine crossmember to clear the oil pan. Also the truck balancer is extremely close to the sway bar, difficult to get belts on and off.

Had to hammer trans tunnel even with 4l60e, prob wouldnt try 4l80
Engine mounts we used stock lincoln rubber bushings and stock chevy engine plates with extra bit welded on
Trans mount we used stock lincoln mount with a little polyurethane trans mount bolted on top. you can get those at autozone/orelly

For the cluster I found a c5 factory corvette cluster used for $130. With lots of wiring and some hptuners magic we were able to make it fully work apart from the fuel level gauge - figuring that out

I'll try and answer questions but again I got most of the vehicle specific info I needed from threads on this site!
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Congratulations on actually doing a working ls swap. Can you give us some stats?
 
Congratulations on actually doing a working ls swap. Can you give us some stats?

It's a 6.0 truck engine we built with heads/cam, 4 inch CAI, headers with catless exhaust and high flow mufflers. We also have the rings gapped for boost but it is NA right now so losing some horsepower there

Tuner was having some issues on the dyno with their program and the torque converter wasn't locking up. Despite that it made 390whp and 383 torque
 
It's a 6.0 truck engine we built with heads/cam, 4 inch CAI, headers with catless exhaust and high flow mufflers. We also have the rings gapped for boost but it is NA right now so losing some horsepower there

Tuner was having some issues on the dyno with their program and the torque converter wasn't locking up. Despite that it made 390whp and 383 torque
Holy crap, that has gotta be fun. *huge high five*
 
Congrats on the super clean swap and dash. It looks great!

Lastly, definitely go with f-body or corvette accessory drive. We went with the truck balancer to save money and a Holley bracket that mounts the alternator down low. We ended up having to buy an aftermarket fan because it didn't clear the stock one. Even with the aftermarket fan we had to notch the engine crossmember to clear the oil pan. Also the truck balancer is extremely close to the sway bar, difficult to get belts on and off.

Can you snap and post some pics of the crossmember notch and how close the truck balancer is to the bar?
 
Hot d@mn. Love a good LS swap, and a much bigger fan of a 6.whoaah over a 5.7 or 5.3...


Tip of the hat good sir. Tip of the hat.
 
How do you plan on passing smog and getting it registered?
 
How do you plan on passing smog and getting it registered?
If you live somewhere like here in Mn, we dont have to do emissions.:D We have an 83 f-250 whose exhaust is nearly non existant, but we can still drive it. And I can run my old beater with a rusted out catalytic converter. I love not having to pass safety or emissions.:cool:
 
If you live somewhere like here in Mn, we dont have to do emissions.:D We have an 83 f-250 whose exhaust is nearly non existant, but we can still drive it. And I can run my old beater with a rusted out catalytic converter. I love not having to pass safety or emissions.:cool:

But the OP lives in Kommiefornya and we aren't allowed to do ANY engine swaps (other than what the car came with) or intake upgrades (without a CARB sticker).
 
But the OP lives in Kommiefornya and we aren't allowed to do ANY engine swaps (other than what the car came with) or intake upgrades (without a CARB sticker).
I never really was a fan of căh-li-forn-ī-ā. That is unfortunate. Lincolnfam could always swap cars with me, mine will pass emissions.:rolleyes:
 
Congrats on the super clean swap and dash. It looks great!



Can you snap and post some pics of the crossmember notch and how close the truck balancer is to the bar?

It's difficult to get belts on and off
IMG_1442.jpg


Shaved the lip that sticks out
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You could mount the engine higher up but may run into issues with the trans. Remember the truck drive doesn't work with the oem cooling fan
 
It's difficult to get belts on and off
View attachment 828573738

Shaved the lip that sticks out
View attachment 828573739

You could mount the engine higher up but may run into issues with the trans. Remember the truck drive doesn't work with the oem cooling fan

Thanks for the pictures!

It is definitely lower using the Moroso pan than using the GTO pan.

I notched the crossmember for it to fit using the GTO pan and truck accessories.
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I'm using a dual fan setup from Ford Contour (Mercury Mystique). It will be controlled by the Truck PCM.
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With the Moroso pan, I can move the engine 1"-2" down and only do a small shave and box on the crossmember to move it back from the swaybar.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the pictures!

It is definitely lower using the Moroso pan than using the GTO pan.

I notched the crossmember for it to fit using the GTO pan and truck accessories.
View attachment 828573789

I'm using a dual fan setup from Ford Contour (Mercury Mystique). It will be controlled by the Truck PCM.
View attachment 828573790

With the Moroso pan, I can move the engine 1"-2" down and only do a small shave and box on the crossmember to move it back from the swaybar.

glad to see youre going through it too! I was scared to cut to crossmember too much for integrity
 
I figured boxing up the crossmember should bring back some strength. But the engine is just too high with the GTO pan. I have to decide to modify the GTO pan or switch to the Moroso pan.

Does this pan have provisions for a dip stick?
 
I figured boxing up the crossmember should bring back some strength. But the engine is just too high with the GTO pan. I have to decide to modify the GTO pan or switch to the Moroso pan.

Does this pan have provisions for a dip stick?

yep on the passenger side, just used moroso universal dipstick
 
People need to understand ls swapping this car is not such a wild task. You need to know how to weld. Or know someone that welds. If you're willing to shell out the extra cash to buy a standalone harness that saves you from the wiring. My one piece driveshaft cost $300 and all I had to do was measure from the trans to the diff. Now I have a reliable engine making 400whp and getting 16mpg city/23 highway. If any parts go out there is an abundance online or I could go to a local junkyard and grab them off a totaled tahoe for a couple bucks. Not sure why people are putting so much effort toward upgrading stock engine internals, seems to take more effort and money which is what they were trying to avoid in the first place. Like I said the reason I committed to the swap was there were ZERO jag parts available online for me to rebuild the 3.9. Couldn't be getting fucked over like that anymore, and now my car's fast.
 
You are not wrong!

It takes some time and effort. There have been a few builds that show you can retain all the creature comforts and still have a fast car.

For the least amount of work:
  • Moroso pan
  • Non-Truck FEAD
  • Standalone harness
Everything else is a bit of fab work (brackets, driveshaft, trans crossmember).
 

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