How to Swap GM LS-Series Engines into Almost Anything (S-A Design) [Paperback]

Jefferson Bryant (Author)

Book Description

Series: S-A Design | Publication Date: January 15, 2009

In 1997, the LS1-powered Corvette hit the streets. At the time, the new LS1 garnered much fanfare, but in reality, its release marked a seismic advance in V-8 engine technology that ushered in a new era of performance. The LS1, featuring ground-breaking architecture, was the first of the third generation of LS engines, which delivered towering performance and efficiency from its compact design. High-performance enthusiasts quickly gravitated to the wide range of Gen III and IV LS engines that followed, and these engines were transplanted into hot rods, muscle cars, sports cars, and many other vehicles.
How to Swap GM LS-Series Engines into Almost Anything shows how to fit these powerhouse engines into popular GM
F-Body cars, such as the Camaro and Firebird, and also how to install these powerplants into non-GM muscle cars, sports cars, trucks, and of course, hot rods. This book includes a historical review, complete specs, and detailed information so you can select and fit the best LS engine for a particular vehicle and application. A section on mounting kits, explaining how to install these engines into a variety of cars using readily available motor mount kits, universal engine mounts, or fabricated mounts. In addition, the book shows you how to perform necessary oil-pan modifications and adapt accessory drivers as well as choose the most suitable fuel pump, exhaust system, wiring harness, and electronic control module. This guide takes it a step further, revealing how to select the best reprogramming equipment and software for a vehicle and its application. Finally, the book covers the range of compatible transmissions for LS engines.
How to Swap GM LS-Series Engines into Almost Anything is your complete guide for swapping the legendary GM LS Gen III and IV engines into any vehicle and creating a truly unique ride.

Editorial Reviews

Review

For those looking for more info on popular Chevy LS engine swaps, this new book from CarTech is just the ticket. ---Classic Trucks, November 2009

We read the whole book from cover to cover as soon as we got it, and little gems of knowledge jumped out at us from nearly every section. ---Grassroots Motorsports, June 2009

A book that you'll want to read first to give yourself an idea of what this kind of engine swap involves, then you'll want it handy when you start on the LS-engine swap that you'd only been dreaming about. ---Corvette Fever, reviewed by Scott Ross, September 2009

About the Author

Jefferson Bryant is a life-long automotive enthusiast. For the last 15 years Jefferson has pursued the automotive arts, reaching a long-time goal 5 years ago of writing for automotive hobbyist magazines. His articles have appeared in Car Craft, Rod and Custom, MuscleCar Enthusiast, and many more.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: S-A Design (January 15, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1932494812
• ISBN-13: 978-1932494815
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #57,226 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #27 in Books > Professional & Technical > Automotive > Customize
  • #88 in Books > Professional & Technical > Automotive > Repair

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Planning an LS Engine Swap? Read this, December 28, 2009

By 

Hib Halverson (Southern California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How to Swap GM LS-Series Engines into Almost Anything (S-A Design) (Paperback)

"Restorod." Of late, amongst automotive enthusiasts, the term describes an older car fitted with a late model powertrain. The most popular late model engines to put in older hot rods or muslecars are GM's Generation 3 or 4 Small-Block V8s which are known to hot rodders as LS-series or LSx engines and have been the stock Corvette engines since 1997.

The swapping of Gen 3/4 V8s in to older cars has become so popular that a cottage industry has sprung-up selling adapters, oil pans, engine mounts, headers and other parts necessary to put LS-series motors into old Novas, Camaros, Chevelles, Vettes and even more unusual endeavors such as Buicks, BMW E36es and Jaguar XJSes.

With the level of enthusiasm as high as it is, it was inevitable that someone would write a book about transplanting Gen 3s and 4s into other cars. It was CarTech books, already the publisher with the best line of LS-series books on the market, which responded with How to Swap GM LS-Series Engines into Almost Anything.

Author, Jefferson Bryant, covers a wide-range of engine swapping subjects of concern to anyone putting a Gen 3/4 into an older car. A few of the key topics are oil pans, engine mounts, wiring harnesses and cooling systems.

A very useful addition to the book are several sidebar articles about specific engine swap projects but while they're a nice feature, there's not enough of them.

The majority of the material in the book is accurate. No doubt this is because of the Author's experience as a long-time automotive tech writer, however, there is a sprinkling of questionably-researched statements in the book. Examples are Bryant's claim that the Gen 3/4 engines are the first time GM manufactured an aluminum block, that the Gen 2 V8s (LT1/LT4) were poor performers and a blanket statement that GM's Dexcool antifreeze causes cooling systems to "sludge-up". All of those are incorrect.

The other slight problem with How to Swap GM LS-Series Engines is CarTech's limited editing. I think, had this book seen a stronger intervention by someone editing for length, some "wordiness" could have been eliminated making more space for sidebars on specific LSx swaps.

That said, the problems with this book are comparatively modest compared to its significant value as a resource for hot rodders with older cars looking to dump old Small-Blocks and even some Big-Blocks for more powerful and much lighter Gen 3s and Gen 4s.

So, if you're thinking about stuffing an LS9 into that ancient Chevy Vega sitting in your backyard, read this book.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent reference for beginner, August 25, 2010

By 

Ricardo David (Green Oaks, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: How to Swap GM LS-Series Engines into Almost Anything (S-A Design) (Paperback)

Every potential customer for this book has the crazy idea putting in a great new motor into some classic ride. If you are beginner, like me, trying to understand where to start, this book is an excellent starting point. I did the initial internet research and their are a lot of excellent forums on the web with great info but at first its too much zoomed in detail. What I like about this book is that it allows you to take a step back and understand the details of the swap from a system perspective. It presents all elements that will have to be considered and then presents various solutions and products to address those issues. Now that I have this book as my roadmap I can take the time to zoom in to the individual problems for my applications and make better use of the information on the internet.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book - some information that was not readily found online, July 8, 2010

By 

Jeremiah Church - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: How to Swap GM LS-Series Engines into Almost Anything (S-A Design) (Paperback)

The book was worth the amazon price. As others have stated it pushes some companies products FAR more than it should. That said, that company does make solid products...

Overall it covered parts of the swap process that have not been well documented online. I did significant internet scouring and information gathering for weeks before reading this book and this book still addressed a large amount of information that was not readily found while searching. Other parts of the information that is easily found online was laid out well in the book - the sections on the oil pans and accessory layout is very useful and a lot more straightforward than you will find online. The wiring information - something else you can also find online was laid out in a very easy to read and succinct section - much easier than verifying ten different postings on internet forums.