My 1999 OBS C1500 LQ9 6.0 LS Swap

[baronsmith98]

This is a nice build man good job. How does that paint you put on the headers look like it will hold up?

[ChevyMan90]

Thanks guys!

kewljay223: Thanks! I think I remember reading somewhere on here (may have been your thread) that the oil pan does sit kinda low. I didnt notice until I brought this motor home that the oil pan I have is shallower than the usual 4.8/5.3/6.0's that I've seen. Not sure if it's because this is a Gen IV motor or what. I'll have to ask a friend of mine. He told me something about it a while back, just can't remember what he said. Thanks for the heads up though! The truck is 2/4 now but I do want to go 4/6 once the swap is finished!

baronsmith98: Thanks man! I blasted the headers to bare metal and primed, painted, and cleared them. All with the VHT stuff. The picture you see with the old headers and ORY was after about 4 years & 50,000 miles of use. They aren't the prettiest, but they have minimal rust. This VHT paint is a lot better than what comes on the headers for sure. I won't be driving this truck everyday, so I expect them to last a decent amount of time.

[ChevyMan90]

This here has been the most exciting part of the build yet! Pulling the 5.7 and getting the LS in! This is 5 minutes after the 5.7 was out. Needed a lot of cleaning!


After pressure washing and adding some paint. Looks freshened up now. Also put on some new motor mounts!

[ChevyMan90]

Finally got it in. To anyone doing this swap with the Trans Dapt adapter plates, make sure you grind the hump off the back of the original cup mounts before bolting them on! Setting it into its new home..


All bolted up!

[ChevyMan90]

Next I got the headers on. The passenger side was a little more tricky than the driver side, but they do fit nicely.


And here is the point where I am at now! Currently its sitting about like this. I had the power steering/alternator bracket powder coated so it looks almost like a new factory one. Also changed the powersteering pressure hose to one from a 1991 C1500 V6. It bolts up like it was made to be there. The transmission linkages are all hooked up and the driveshaft is in. I still need a few more things here and there. I have a new custom wiring harness for a 99-02 truck w/4L60E so that should make the wiring a little easier hopefully. Anyway, Im working on it here and there making progress. But heres how it sits as of now...

[Mickeymotormount]

Looks great. You'll love the LS power!!!

[kewljay223]

looking great man! great sight to see. but if i was you, i would get that ls1 pan on there now before you go through all the trouble of hooking everything up and putting the fluids all in and everything cuz your just gonna have to disconnect and do it all over again later.... especially since you said you wanna drop it lower to 4/6 anyway which will for sure require the ls1 pan. i know you wanna get things moving now but trust me, you will regret it down the road if you dont do it now. much easier at this point with nothing in the way.... just my .02 cents. anyway, keep up the good work and good luck!

[Jmac527]

Liking the progress on this swap! Keep up the detailed pics, it's helping me see what's what for my swap that I'm just now starting. I'm doing a 6.0 in my RCSS.

[Lextech]

Finally got it in. To anyone doing this swap with the Trans Dapt adapter plates, make sure you grind the hump off the back of the original cup mounts before bolting them on!

I actually like to put the cups in a press and flatten the hump out.

Jeff

[ShaneOmac]

Good looking truck!! Looking forward to the progress of this.