Engine: LS Chevy into '60 Lark - The Slow Swap

[SweetSixtyn]

Okay. My daughters '60 Lark Hardtop got the best of me. Maybe it saw the LS engine sitting under the workbench? Maybe it just has an attitude problem like my wife's old '54 GMC pickup. But in the Lark's favor - it hasn't drawn blood yet! A couple weeks of fighting it and no blood. That has to be a good omen, right? I already swapped in a Chevy S10 rear axle and that only took a few hours after measuring.

Now I've decided that our best bet is the modern driveline swap. The plan is to install a 2003 Chevy LS-style 5.3L engine and 4L60E automatic trans. I may go with a 5-speed manual if I can find one so my daughter will have one hand on the steering wheel and one hand on the shifter instead of the phone or a boy! I'll also be doing this swap mostly at home to prove to my daughter that I'm not as dumb as I look. Only the critical stuff will go to my shop or to my friends shop. I have an aftermarket front frame clip from Chris Alston's Chassisworks that is based on the Mustang II front suspension. This looks very close to the Lark frame dimensions so this may also go in. If I do put this in I will probably just build a complete replacement frame.

[SweetSixtyn]

Alright here we go.

My daughter and I started by cleaning the garage up a bit. I'll switch to the bare case 4L60E I have if I decide to go that way. Initial measurements show I may need to use the Corvette style shallow accessories up front. The truck stuff will probably make the engine too tight a fit in the engine bay. Thank goodness I already have a foam based prototyping engine block and a matching TH700R4. Since I need to repair the floor anyway the addition of a new trans and driveshaft tunnel won't be a big deal.

[SweetSixtyn]

Since all the front sheetmetal was off the car to replace a fender and the grill panel things started off quick. We disconnected all the electrical from the engine. Next was the motor mounts, engine ground wire and exhaust manifolds. The collectors were near impossible to loosen. It's sad that I had to default to my Harbor Freight cheapo ratchet because my Craftsman ratchets notoriously slip gears. Unhooked the speedo drive, shifter and the kickdown rod(?) and the trans mounts. Geez, those were the hard ones!

[SweetSixtyn]

The exhaust crossover definitely makes engine removal harder. Air impact wrenches and swivel sockets are a bit dangerous though! Tuning may not be my thing but I always win doing demo and reconstruction!!

[CaffeineRacer]

Looks like one hell of a project. Keep posting project updates and pictures! This is interesting.

[53commander]

Your first post makes it seem like it's just another day of fabricating, impressive to say the least. By the way I can do all those things too.....in my head anyway.

[IntrstlarOvrdrve]

I'll be following this, as I am going to do the same in my 64

[Pat Dilling]

Good luck on your conversion, the LS Motors have become the swap of choice into anything imaginable. The Conversion & Hybrid forum at LS1Tech.com is a great resource. Tremendous volume of reading in the "Stickys" at the top of the forum and lots of experience and helpful people there. Introduce yourself then use the Search feature first before asking basic questions. Whatever your are doing, it has probably been done before! Also there are a number of vendor/sponsors there that specialize in LS conversion parts that may be useful to you.

http://ls1tech.com/forums/conversions-hybrids-28/

[SweetSixtyn]

Last bit of work done Thursday. Plopped in the foam LS engine and trans.

[Alan]

What we want to see is the drivers side and all the steering box clearance you have.

[IntrstlarOvrdrve]

What mounts did you put in? And what oil pan are you running? Did you modify the cross member?

[SweetSixtyn]

Whoa. Hold your horses boys and girls. Since I have five years to finish this project, not the five days that SScopelli is building his in, I'll try to address the fit with a stock frame and suspension for you. I'll probably be swapping in a custom built frame but I'll try to build mounts and get all the clearances for a stock frame first. This will allow others to copy the process - if they want to. I'll start with the truck pan but will probably ditch this because it has a pretty deep sump. I'll also start with a set of stock exhaust manifolds and a set of inexpensive imported stainless headers available from many suppliers and also found on ebay. The other major players are the intake manifold and the accessory drives. It already appears that a truck intake could be used. We'll see after the mounts are made. By accessory drives I mean the water pump, alternator, crank, power steering pump and AC. I'll let you know about these after the engine is mounted. Last is the transmission mount. I can probably design a bolt in crossmember but I'd like to remove the stock crossmember. It really gets in the way.

Be patient though I'm rolling out a major redesign on my truck conversion kits as well as trying to completely redo my website. I don't have time to work on this every single day.

[SweetSixtyn]

The transmission tunnel is really in the way. I wish my plasma cutter hadn't floated to the Lincoln graveyard in the sky! I can't get the engine up to a standard 4* driveline angle. I'll pull the foam parts out, attach a pan and remove the stock exhaust. Once this is done I'll get more pictures posted.

[4961Studebaker]

Seems you know the path to take. Figure out early on your exhaust manifolds and radiator placement. Most well designed serpentine belt systems will not stick out past the water pump pulley. However power steering pumps and AC compressors will be a challenge that can be over come.

Stock Stude suspension, consider trying the stock CAST iron ls1/6 exhaust manifolds used on Vettes GTOS in 2004.
For clearance I ended up using Sanderson 1 5/8 LS headers for both sides.


I have factory ex manifolds you could try, as well as an oil pan used in the hummers. I'll get a item number later. Shallow up front deeper in back. Neither work with my lowered car w mustang II style front

[SScopelli]

Whoa. Hold your horses boys and girls. Since I have five years to finish this project, not the five days that SScopelli is building his in, I'll try to address the fit with a stock frame and suspension for you.

Well I'm glad to see I lit the fire and got you going on this. Nice looking 60 HT. I think 5 years is a great goal to hit and hopefully your family can get involved in this.
My first car was a 62 Daytona 289. The engine was in the trunk and my dad's words were, "you fix it, you own it.." So to do this for your daughter, you're an awesome dad, with humor to boot..