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Alluminum 5.3 Liter Conversion - Leeroy JenkinsWe get current with an all-aluminum 5.3-liter conversion in our beat-up '87 S-10. From the August, 2012 issue of GM High-Tech Performance By Justin Cesler Photography by The Author
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Welcome to the introduction of Leeroy Jenkins, our down and dirty LS-10 that's big on getting it done and short on overthinking things. It's a junk truck that we purchased at auction for eight hundred bucks and it's going to stay beat up and reckless for as long as we own it. We've driven it around for months in stock form and had a blast, even with the beater four-speed manual transmission, sloppy clutch, and one-wheel peel open differential. Now, we're not here to brag or anything, but we should mention that our '87 S-10 did come with the notorious Iron Duke TBI engine, which weighs in at a whopping 2.5 liters of displacement. Rated at--wait for it--98 whole horsepower and 132 lb-ft of torque, the Iron Duke was a legend in its day, but, let's be serious, you know that's just not enough anymore. Naturally, we needed roughly three times the stock horsepower if we were going to drive this S-10 for the long haul and talk about it in the magazine. As you would suspect, the first thing we did was dream up building some sort of crazy twin turbo 408 to run on E85, but that just wasn't in the cards. We're journalists, not millionaires after all. Thus, after many a think tank session (that's code for joking around in the shop for hours on end), it dawned on us that tons of power wasn't really what we needed for this project. In fact, for all of its shortfalls, the old inline four-cylinder did have some admirable qualities, mainly it's durable design and ability to lightly sip on cheap 87-octane for miles and miles at a time. Those two qualities, and those two qualities alone, were elements we wanted to keep with the truck during our upgrades, so it was an easy choice to go with LS power. Finding an LS engine these days is pretty simple, but finding one in good condition that you can trust for your money is a slightly more difficult task. After some basic searching, we sort of hit a dead end, until our friend Jared Ochs tipped us off to Stu at LSX4U.com, also known as Just Chevy Trucks; an operation dedicated to selling swap ready LS engines to enthusiasts. After a quick phone call, we found ourselves on YouTube (http://youtu.be/U5aw4YrGRzo) watching and listening to an all aluminum 5.3-liter L33 engine running in a recently wrecked '06 4WD Silverado. With just over 100,000 miles on the odometer and good oil pressure, we were sold, and Stu and his crew were quick to get the L33 loaded up on a pallet and sent our way. When the L33 arrived, we knew we made the right choice. Everything looked to be in good shape and the all aluminum block looked great. Rated at 310 hp from the factory, the L33 wears a set of LS6-esque 799-casting cylinder heads, along with flattop pistons and a slightly higher lift camshaft when compared to regular LM7 iron block engines. At 9.9:1 compression (compared to the traditional 9.5 found in many of the other Vortec offerings), the L33 offers plenty of performance on regular 87-octane, which is exactly what we were looking for. With the right engine in hand, we needed to make a couple of other choices regarding the powertrain. For the transmission, we chose to ditch the factory four-speed manual box, opting to let a rebuilt automatic transmission do the shifting for us. A quick trip to Monster Transmission and Performance in Brooksville, FL was all it took to get our S-10 hooked up with a Mega Monster 4L65E, which features high performance Kevlar bands, modified drive gears for increased planetary lubrication, and a quality shift kit for firm, snappy shifts. Rated to 650 hp, the Mega Monster SS can handle much more than we plan on throwing at it, which is always a good thing. Commanding the shifts is a Current Performance tuned PCM, while we chose a Lokar shifter from Summit Racing to get us in gear. As for the rest of the drivetrain, well, we're going to throw caution to the wind and just run with what we've got... that's one old driveshaft, an open differential, and a set of 195mm rear tires mounted on 14-inch rims with drum brakes. That should be fine. 1 Our ’87 S-10 pickup truck... 1 Our ’87 S-10 pickup truck came with a 2.5-liter Iron Duke four-cylinder engine, which was rated at 98 hp from the factory. For an $800 beater truck, it ran well, but a GM High-Tech Performance enthusiast can only handle that little power for so long… It’s time for a 5.3-liter L33 engine swap! Last, but certainly not least, we needed to find someone who actually knew what they were doing to help us put the truck together. This was a no brainer, as Jared Ochs of Current Performance was located just an hour away from our facility and came highly recommended by almost anyone we asked about the LS-10 swap. If you're not already familiar with Current Performance, these are the guys to go to for swap related wiring and in our case, hard parts for S-10 LS swap kits. Jared has been doing this for a long time and stocks everything you need for this swap, including the mount kits, radiators, fans, headers, linkages, and sensors. And, as we said, he and his crew are wiring masterminds, spending a significant portion of their day constructing OE quality harnesses for every LS swap you can imagine. Want to put an LS7 with a blower in a Jaguar? They've got you covered. What about a Honda S2000 or a '33 Ford? Yep, been there, done that. Seriously, if you're looking for swap stuff, check out Current Performance. We did and just two weeks later we were sliding sideways in our LS-powered '87 S-10. Well, not exactly sideways, since we are still on the open "one wheel peel" differential, but you get the point... Leeroy Jenkins is a blast. We can't wait to log some more miles in this truck!  2 The 5.3-liter Vortec engine...  2 The 5.3-liter Vortec engine family has long been a favorite of LS swappers looking for maximum bang for their buck. We tasked Stu from Just Chevy Trucks with finding us a suitable engine and what we got in return was this killer all aluminum 5.3-liter L33, which is outfitted with 799-casting (think LS6) cylinder heads and 9.9:1 compression, a combination that resulted in a 310hp rating from the factory.  3a The crew at Just Chevy...  3a The crew at Just Chevy Trucks verified our engine was in good working order before they pulled it out and even sent us video of it running in the ’06 Silverado it came out of.  3b Once the engine arrived...  3b Once the engine arrived at Current Performance, we partially tore it down for a quick inspection and found everything to be exactly as described, which was great news.  4 If you’re a fan of LS engine...  4 If you’re a fan of LS engine swaps, you should be quite familiar with Current Performance already. If not, these are the go-to guys for swap wiring and parts, especially when it comes to the S-10 market. Here, you can see the Current Performance LSX S-10 engine swap mounts, which work on both first- and second-generation trucks and are available through mail order for your own project.  5a Along with the LSX engine...  5a Along with the LSX engine mounts, Current Performance also provides cooling and wiring solutions to make the swap a breeze.  5b This slick dual core,...  5b This slick dual core, dual pass aluminum radiator drops right in to any S-10 truck and re-uses the original mounting parts. Those fans are slim 11-inch units from Spal, which flow upwards of 2,700 cfm for plenty of cooling at low speed.  6 For the second-gen crowd,...  6 For the second-gen crowd, Current Performance stocks a ton of these quality Sanderson shorty LS headers, which fit tight to the block and provide plenty of clearance. They fit everything from the 4.8-liter Vortec to an LS7, and come with either 1.5-inch or 1.625-inch primaries, depending on your overall power goals.  7 No modern swap is complete...  7 No modern swap is complete without a wiring harness, and this is truly where Current Performance stands apart in the swap market. Jared and his crew can wire anything and everything using OE-quality GM connectors, factory style looming, and top of the line wiring. You can buy the harness with or without the PCM and in almost any configuration you like (standalone, modified, custom, etc.) which makes it an easy one-stop shop.  8a Back to Leeroy Jenkins...  8a Back to Leeroy Jenkins (that’s the name of our S-10; deal with it), it was time for the Current Performance crew to really get to work.  8b It took almost no time...  8b It took almost no time at all to get our junk Iron Duke out of the engine bay, at which point it was time to remove the factory engine mounts and bolt the new swap mounts in place.  9 With the mounts installed...  9 With the mounts installed in the factory K-member, the Current crew switched over to our L33 engine and bolted the engine mounts in place using the supplied hardware. These plates feature slotted bolt holes to allow for easy alignment, so we recommend you get them snug to begin with, but allow some room for re-alignment once the engine hits the engine bay.  10 There isn’t much that...  10 There isn’t much that has to be done to the L33 to make it fit, although you will have to swap oil pans. Current keeps these GM Muscle Car pan kits in stock (also known as the H3 Alpha pan to some), which come with everything you need for an easy swap (pan, gasket, hardware, windage tray, dipstick, and dipstick tube), while increasing ground clearance and clearing the factory K-member. Note, you may have to do some trimming to the K, but it depends on your mount selection and truck generation.  11 With the L33 stripped...  11 With the L33 stripped of its water pump, intake and exhaust manifolds, Jared Ochs and Steve Kreischer got to work dropping it in place. Unlike many of the cars we’re used to working on, the L33 can go in through the top of the engine bay and really did just slide right in place using the new mounts and slightly trimmed K-member.  12 With the engine in place,...  12 With the engine in place, you can see how the Current Performance mounts work. By keeping the engine side of the mount loose, Steve was able to position the engine perfectly before locking everything down. Now, every swap is different, so you may need to move your engine forward or backwards for that perfect fit, but that’s easy with the slotted engine stands.  13 Once everything was situated...  13 Once everything was situated in the engine compartment, Jared and Steve got to work installing our brand new Mega Monster SS 4L65E and 2800-stall converter, which came to us from Monster Transmission. Rated to 650 hp, this stout 4L65E features Kevlar bands, performance red clutch packs, and a quality shift kit for maximum performance and reliability (go to the GMHTP website to check out the buildup).  14a The Monster 4L65E slides...  14a The Monster 4L65E slides almost perfectly in place, although Steve did have to make a couple of modifications to the factory transmission crossmember to get everything bolted up.  14b Compared to the stock...  14b Compared to the stock mount (on the left), you can see where Steve cut, welded, and boxed the mount to get our new transmission mount in place. Of note, you will need to shorten your factory driveshaft, we needed .5 inch taken out of ours, along with new U-joints and a quality rebalance.  15 Up top, you can see everything...  15 Up top, you can see everything starting to come together. We chose to install a traditional LS1 intake manifold to help with hood clearance, along with a set of LS1 F-body fuel rails and injectors. If you look close, you can see the beginnings of the S-10 LSX swap harness going together, along with parts of the cooling system and alternator mounting kit.  16 Up close, it is easy to...  16 Up close, it is easy to see how high quality the Kwik Performance high-mount LS1 alternator mount really is. Cut from lightweight 6061-T6 aluminum on a water jet, the Kwik Performance alternator relocation kit allowed Jared to reuse our stock alternator, while freeing up room near our K-member. If you’re planning to run power steering, you can mount it alongside this bracket for a clean look.  17 While the S-10 bay has...  17 While the S-10 bay has a lot of room, it doesn’t lend itself well to long front accessories. As such, Jared and the crew find it much better to run F-body front accessories, or accessories meant for that style. Here you can see an Edelbrock water pump, which features F-body style fitment and a wide pulley, to allow it to work with either truck or F-body belt locations.  18 Cooling a big V-8 engine...  18 Cooling a big V-8 engine with a stock four-cylinder S-10 radiator is a terrible idea, so an upgrade must be considered. We’ve already shown you the Current Performance dual-pass, dual-core aluminum radiator on the ground, now you can see how compactly it fits in the engine bay.  19 Finally, the cooling system...  19 Finally, the cooling system is wrapped up with this slick overflow tank, which Current Performance builds specifically for swap trucks. It bolts in the empty space above the passenger-side wheelwell and incorporates mounting points for a stock PCM. It’s a little fancy looking for our truck, but it works as advertised and opened up room for the air intake tubing.  20 Thanks to the front mounted...  20 Thanks to the front mounted throttle location, it’s fairly straightforward to build an intake system for a swapped S-10. Using the stock MAF and a large cone-style Spectre filter, Jared built us a slick little cold-air intake, which draws fresh air from behind the driver-side headlight.  21 Regarding manifolds, you...  21 Regarding manifolds, you have several choices depending on your particulars. Shown here is a set of Sanderson shorties bolted to a 6.0-liter in an LS-powered second-gen S-10. Current outfits the majority of their swap trucks with these headers and they fit well while supporting a significant amount of horsepower.  22 However, our first-gen...  22 However, our first-gen swap didn’t exactly have enough room for a set of tubular units. Luckily Jared had a set of ’98 F-body manifolds in stock, which fit super tight to the block and are made from stainless steel (as opposed to the ’99 and up cast iron units), which meant they could be “massaged” to fit in our bay and still allow for the factory steering shaft to pass through. It’s tight, but it works!  23 With the majority of the...  23 With the majority of the swap complete, it’s time to talk about wiring. This is just one of the many wiring boards found within the wiring room at Current, and it shows you just how seriously they take quality wiring at this place. Note how every harness is trimmed to length and features new wiring and OE connectors.  24a It’s hard to tell that...  24a It’s hard to tell that this isn’t a factory job and the harness looked great laid out in the engine bay.  24b It’s hard to tell that...  24b It’s hard to tell that this isn’t a factory job and the harness looked great laid out in the engine bay. On the bottom you can see the additional relays needed to make everything work properly, along with a set of fuses to keep everything safe. Key on, everything powers up like stock and you wouldn’t even be able to tell anything was done without popping the hood.  25a Last but not least, Jared...  25a Last but not least, Jared and Steve hooked up our new Pacific Fabrication fuel system, which shipped to us with everything needed to fuel our L33 engine.  25b It’s a universal system,...  25b It’s a universal system, but comes with all of the fittings, lines, hoses, and clamps that you need, along with a new high-volume pump and fuel filter capable of maintaining the LSX fuel pressure of 55-psi base.  26a Don’t even act like you’re...  26a Don’t even act like you’re not jelly of our sweet interior. Inside, we left the cabin all stock (orange cup holder screwed to the dash and all), with the exception of the Lokar 4L60E/700R4 shifter that we acquired from Summit Racing.  26b It bolted almost right...  26b It bolted almost right in place of the factory manual shifter and even retained the stock shift boot for an ultra-stealth appearance.  27 You’re not having fun...  27 You’re not having fun with an LS swap until your frying tire. Yeah, tire. Leeroy Jenkins is a beast now, with the ability to fry that one poor tire from zero to almost any speed. In all honesty, Leeroy drives better than ever with the L33. It’s quieter, smoother, and faster thanks to Current Performance, and the L33 engine and Monster 4L65E work perfectly together for maximum cruising and stop light antics. It’s just too much fun for its own good.
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