ok so obviously an ls1 is going to be a pain in the weiner in so many ways due to the fab required on the body to convert to rwd, but i was wondering if anybody else was crazy enough to drop the ls4 5.3l V8 from the 06-08 monte/impala in an 00-05 monte???? i found a good ls4 with 25k miles on it and got all excited and happy, will the fit under the hood and is any fab required? has anybody tried or thought of this?

 

Oh yeah, lots of fabrication is required. You'll have to move and relocate A LOT of items under that hood. I'm not sure all of what's involved, but expect it to be one of the biggest projects EVER. Main reason people never undertake projects like this is because it's so much easier and cheaper to slap a turbo on your current engine, you can boost that 3.8 up to 300HP and beyond easily with a turbo, and for cheaper than an engine swap.

And if that doesn't change your mind...perhaps you should save up that money for the LS4 engine and use it as a down payment for a new car with the LS1 or LS4 in it, so you can have that V8 you've always wanted.

Mine worked that way. I loved my Monte Carlo, wanted to mod it, get the most power out of that V6 I could with the best sound...until she got wrecked, totaled in fact. So I started over with $4,500 to shop around with. Then I found my Camaro.

 

The LS4 CAN be done. I don't know of any members in particular on this site that have done the swap, but it CAN be done.

Of any V8 swap, the LS4 would be the easiest swap, because you already have a front wheel drive engine and transmission.

You would need the mounts, axles, wiring, PCM, and tranny all for the LS4. The LS4 DOES use the same tranny as the 3.8L, however the LS4 got an HD version with upgrades internally for the power.

 

I've seen the swap into an 00-05 Impala... however he had to swap EVERYTHING, including the gauges and wiring and all.

Much cheaper and easier to sell your car and buy one with the LS4 already.

Or do an easier L67 swap and a couple mods and be faster than the LS4 anyway.

 

it would be easier to buy one with an ls4 in it. it has been done by a member on here before. i doubt it would really be as hard as its being made to seem, but most certainly not worth the effort unless your overly obsessed with your headlights and taillights. the 06/07 monte body is more or less identical. the ls4 cars arent really holding any type of value and can be had for a song and a dance. after the time and money youll invest to do this you could have bought one done already.

 

I couldn't agree more with everything there- I could definitely see if your car didn't have that engine option- but to me it would be like a person buying a 3400 monte and swapping in a NA 3800- lots of work, when you could just buy the car you want with OEM reliability.

If you're not dead set on a monte- you could also expand your search to a GP GXP or Impala SS.

 

well i was orig gonna try to swap for a supercharged 3.8 but saw that the ls4 also used the 4t65e-HD (which i was going to put in when i swapped for the sc 3.8. i found an ls4 tho for less than the 3.8 so i figured id find out about it

 

Since you already have the 3.8 you can do something called the L67 top swap. Where you buy all the supercharger parts and fabricate it to your N/A 3.8. These parts can all be found and purchased for under $1,000. And the best thing is it will work with your current transmission. Your transmission will hold up to 300 crank HP with no problem, and that supercharger will add about 50HP, putting you at 250HP.

 

ive heard of top swaps but im not interested in that, i dont want to supercharge a motor thats already got 120xxx miles on it, id rather pay a lil more and swap. the motor in it works fine, but i dont want to supercharge it and start havin **** break in it cause it aint used to boost

 

The top-swap should replace all the parts that would fail with boost, the stock bottom end can handle it. You just have to monitor your KR more because you'll have a higher compression so the boost will be more effective.

Plus you'll be able to get the heads ported and polished and have fun before the install.