hey guys im toying with the idea to build a 5.3L for boost and put it in my truck. it will be behind a built 4l65e. in a 2wd 2door blazer so it wont have to deal with the weight of a full size.

i wanna keep it daily driveable- goals are daily driven, 120+mph trap, and reliable.

I was thinking-
Stock 5.3L-
LS6 intake manifold
PTB ported TB
6.0L heads (ported)
3-way VJ stock valves + nice valvesprings and retainers
1.7RR's
JE 8.5:1 C.R. forged pistons + total seal rings
Eagle H-beams
ARP rod bolts
ARP head studs

Turbo-
GT76 w/ .80 turbine A/R (or should i go smaller to get a quicker spool, i was thinking with the stall it would spool pretty good)

Drive Train-
Built 4l65e
Lakewood u-joints
Ford 8.8"
3000stall converter

do you think this engine would be reliable enough to put a 2wd 2door blazer in the low 11's high 10's range??? I dont wanna bombard the engine with boost to make the power. i would like to keep the boost reasonable. like 12 to 15psi. i see turbo8 is running upwards of 20psi and his stock 5.3L is still holding together so.....

 

Bore it to a 5.7 and you should get into the 10s with 12-15 psi easily. A 76 would be a little overkill unless you want to crank it up later.

 

Use stock rockers first of all.
forged piston and good rods will carry you as far as you can go with a 76.
Use a TC 76 from forced inductions with a .96 a/r for a super quick spool. Stock 6l heads with valve springs will do the trick, a ls6 cam or stock cam will be enough to go 120+ too. Don't over complicate things. The trans will still be your weak link though.

 

yeah... i was figuring that. i see alot of boosted 5.3L/6.0L's still running a built 4l65e. i figure being 2wd and alot lighter that it will last much longer in my truck.

is the stock intake manifold fine for my goals? I know that parish was running stock truck intake manifold on 1000whp on his single set-up.

So-
Stock rockers
6.0L heads + springs
LS6 cam
Nice pistons/rods
ARP rod bolts
ARP head studs

and switch up to the turbo you recommended.

 

a little fyi, a new 6.0 block is around 600.00.

 

I'm gonna have to disagree but I may be wrong so correct me if I've overlooked something...
First off is this a front mount? And are you going for high hp #'s or powerband consistency??
IMHO a 76mm w/ a .96 a/r is gonna lag big time...a 76mm on a 5.3 is too big...ask me how I know. The 5.3 doesn't move enough air to spin the 76mm to it's potential. A .80 a/r housing will help spool it up faster but I was running a .70 a/r on mine and it was still lagging a fair amount. Only reasons to have big turbo is if your going big boost or have big cubes. But big turbo's take longer to spool up and to compensate you get a smaller a/r which will choke it at higher boost therefore negating going big in the first place.
Since your not looking to "bombard the engine with boost" I think a smaller 67mm would work to your advantage and they can get you to the boost levels you want. I went big because I was doing an engine swap to a 6.0L anyways, but in the time the 5.3 was mated to it, it was fun and made a lot of power but a 67mm would of been better suited and made more power overall and quicker. Also take into account mine was a rear mount.
This is just my 2 cents.

 

for that small of a truck, I agree with not overthinking it. If you are going to leave the block stock, see if you can find a 6.0 long block. If you look hard enough, you can find them cheap. You dont need much of a cam either. If you arent going to push it much, just have a good valve job done on the #317 heads and get good springs and retainers. I wouldnt go bigger than a 70 if you arent building the motor. We have had a 3800lb F-body go 11 flat with a 67 on a stock block with a 6 speed. With that in mind, your truck should fly.

 

1 vote for using an ls1 aluminum block with good pistons and rods. You can probably find it cheaper than a 6.0L. You already have a lighter truck, do what you can to keep the weight down.

 

okay well i cant leave anything stock..... for long....

so i figured so i didnt have to worry about for a while i would build the motor before it goes into the truck because i know eventually i will want 600+whp.

all the ls1 blocks i have seen are EXPENSIVE! and hard 2 find. if i can find a 6.0L for pretty cheap i will do that. My only problem is the 4l80e. just getting it to fit into my truck.

i was thinking a .96 a/r is extremely big on a 5.3L as well. i was thinking a .80 a/r would be somewhat better.

im also gonna change my goals to be more realistic.... i want a 10 second daily driven truck. i think with my weight it shouldnt be to hard with more then 600whp. should put me pretty close.

 

super simple would be a completely stock 6.0 other than valve springs and a t76 with .96 ar. for a smaller motor i would step down on the ar but on a 6.0 the spool times isn't too bad. i ran 600+rwhp for a long time and eventualy blew the motor up with a nitrous misshap.

you can run a 4l60e with the 6.0, it will bolt right up but if your looking to go much over 500rwhp and want reliability a 4l80e would be the hot ticket.

even being a 2wd s10 blazer it is still not going to be a lightweight is it? probably end up around 3800lbs? sounds like a fun project!

to get the thing into the 10's with the set up above will probably take some race fuel or meth.

edit.. i forgot. i did have head studs and rod bolts. i dont think rod bolts are needed but the head studs might have been helping me.