I came across a good deal on a Vortec 7400 (7.4L V8-454) SFI L29 motor harness, ECM and accessories.
Is this motor capable of producing better performance then 290hp @ 4200 RPM 410tq @ 3200 RPM with simple bolt on or ECM tuning?
Or am I better off continuing my search for a good LQ4?

Don't have personal experience with this engine , but as with ANY engine, they are reverse tuned for warranty,etc reasons. Air intake, headers,exhaust, Computer recalibrating,etc will wake it up a good bit. But this is more of a stomp puller than a high rpm beast as internally set up & internal changes need to be the computer friendly type to work with the factory setup. But as far as a good smooth reliable street engine for a heavy vehicle it should be pretty cool. Check out street & performance for starters http://www.hotrodlane.cc/ And you should have plenty of mounting room with a 71. Later big blocks have at least internal differences from older models, shouldn,t affect mounting. Hope this gets you started into the late model drivetrain club. Ls1/ t/56 since 03.:nana2:

Thanks for the web site, I'll definetley be checking it out, I also picked up a book called "How to swap GM LS-series engines into almost anything" The brief browsing of it at Barnes and Noble gave me a wealth of information and is well worth the price so far.

On a side note, I don't see to many write ups on a 71 El Camino swap but I do on 71 Chevelles. Does anyone know if there is that much of a difference between the two on parts and fitting that will work on both?

both are A-body's- same. Pretty sure any A-body big block motor mounts should work, as any A-body big block headers. For wiring, you can buy new harness, have someone modify or modify yourself through wiringcharts/pin out diagram.Either method, it will easily hook up like any add on item. late model trans will take a little adapting, but should be used as part of a set. Best to get good aftermarket gauges. Will need to buy or adapt fuel pump/tank setup.Hydraulic shop can make custom steering hoses. Not sure about oilpan or accessory drive clearance. In my setup, I notched&reboxed frame.

Just my opinion if you're interested jbrd. It being the BBC Vortec, you do have a little room for improving on the OEM hp/tq specs because it does use a fuel rail and you can use some FORD injectors to increase your fuel supply. Where on the SBC Vortec, only way to even consider doing so with the spider assembly, is to go with a marine set up. The Vortec old school motors don't seem to be popular motors to mod because GM squeezed alot out of them already. Most are wanting Vortec parts to upgrade older school non electronics powerplants, like the heads and use of an aftermarket intake to be able to bolt a carb onto the heads. For the money, it would seem to me, you have many more options these days going with an LS engine and electronics. Also much better fitament, and certianly going to be more economical to drive as far as mpg. Of course depending on how good of a deal you're getting on this BBC Vortec its certainly doable.:dontknow:

ok, on a true vortec and earlier TBI motors, you can swap the distributor with the older HEI and they make adapter intakes to carburate them. so all youde need is the intake and distributor to convert them and drop it right in you wouldnt need to mess with a harnass or computer. the only other difference though is the oil pan (its a truck pan, too long and deep. you need the corvette big block pan to clear the frame) and the exhaust manifolds (unless youre planning on headders. and accessory brackets for the big block. dimensions wise though itll bolt right in place of the small block.

the 454 is a torque motor, high low end and a bit lower rpm range. ( i wouldnt run it over 5000rpm) even the less powerfull ones put out 300 hp or so factory and a bunch of torque. even with a factroy cam and little bolt on go fast stuff itll make your car a monster. worth the swap in my opinion.

Very true if you want away from the electronics and no injection.

I will be staying with the electronics and fuel injection, if i wasn't it would be cheaper and easier just to get an old school BBC.
I still have two more days to research doing this swap before the junk yard opens back up again on Tuesday before I make my decision.
Still cant find a good article on this particular motor and swap combination for the El Camino or chevelle.

you didn't say what year it was or if you,re getting the trans, which you should, butI,d say go for it. I think we all touched on most of the major issues. I,d try to get it in there with as much stock as possible ,then you can always modify later.As Zach said, you could need a different oilpan or like I did,modify crossmember. I also notched my frame for low mount ac clearance.One note from personal experience, you may not want to use the factory ac compressor. you can fit a sanden with adapters. If you can use factory accessory drive setup, this will save a bunch. Also , if you have the balls & patience to modify your own harness, this will save you a bunch. There is a bunch of different adapter stuff these days compared to when I did my Ls1swap in 02/03 ,so you may be able to buy your way out of some issues instead of modifying.

Its a 2003 out of a two wheel drive silverado. I will be using the tranny that comes with it, also the fly by wire pedal.
I have found other company's that offer a oil pan for this application at a price lol.
A/C is not a factor for me but I will have to deal with the wife on that issue later.
I also planned on doing the harness myself instead of buying one.

Best I can tell, your 71 had the same mounts for small& big block, so your actual engine installation part should be easy.If the drivetrain is still with the vehicle, I,d get the vin# ,the fans, & possibly the fuel tank.Some sources I looked up showed the 03 year to be an 8.1 L,but I,m no expert on these models. I,m guessing these arecoil near plug, similar toLs1/2 wiring. I have seen people swap late model tanks, which is a big $ saver also. There are several sources like TPIS that can remove what you don,t need from the ecm, like the vats chip. Also, I have been reccomended the predator brand tuners for tuning & diagnostics. I,m sure you figured you will probably need to modify crossmember, shorten driveshaft. I,d probably test fit engine before buying oil pan if it visually looks possible. What trans does it have?

The two biggest problems with the late model 454 engines, is 1 compression ratio is way too low, and 2 the cam is way too small. The engine is my '83 is an '86 tbi engine originally.

The two biggest problems with the late model 454 engines, is 1 compression ratio is way too low, and 2 the cam is way too small. The engine is my '83 is an '86 tbi engine originally.

Spoken like a true gentleman!:beer:man i really need to get over this sbc inthatuation:secret: i have

Sounds like a nice swap -GO FOR IT:beer:

The motor is still in the truck but the yard wont let me buy the whole vehicle hence there policy not mine. I even told them I would bring back what I don't use. lol
The tranny is the 4l60e and I will try to either move or flip the original cross member, even possibly weld in a new mount if I can. If I have to I'll break down and buy another one. I'll have more fun making my own even if it doesn't work right the first time.
The gas tank is gonna become an issue because they already removed it. Now I will have to buy something that will work right. I would have liked to have the tank to see if I could even get it to fit in the 71.
Can anyone tell me if the cross member is the same in a 71 chevelle and a 71 El Camino? If they are it really simplifies what oil pan I will get. I might even get lucky enough that the one on the motor will work but it will probably hang down to far below the cross member for my taste and driving style.
Basically I want to use this motor and tranny combo to get the whole car together and drive it. Hell, it will have a lot more power then the 350/350 combo it has now. Then once I have all the bugs worked out I will start looking for more power to put to the ground.

I forgot to ad it's vin# U with 62,000 miles on it.

Sounds Like your doin about whatI'd do with it. I saw one post on google search where someone put a late 90's 454 in a 72 chevelle. Said swap was easy,but fuel tank & wiring was a pain,no other details. On Gm efi systems,you had 1or 2 line systems. Most early setups had return line to engine& regulater on engine. Later had one line to engine with regulator in tank ,or near tank like the Ls1 steup explained in your book. they were set at 58psi at the corvette style filter/ regulator/ return unit like I,m running.I have a gauge at my engine, which is nice knowing your pressure is there or not for diagnostics when needed. One of my new books lists spectra premium industries as a more affordable new tank source. As far as used tanks, Even a tbi tank can be used with a simple pump swap. Any multiport pump should work, all the way back to 80's tpi. You could also retrofit a new replacement tank as anotheroption. Merv at emerald coast engineering in Niceville,fl is who I originally got my engine & fuel accessories from.http://www.martzchassis.net/page9.htm :beer:

That's an awesome idea about using a TBI tank and just switching out the pump and pick up. Now I will have to find something to fit under the bed properly.

In my opinion, you take your tank to a radiator shop (assuming it's still a good one) and have it cleaned. Then you cut a hole in the top and weld in a resevoir pan. Then you cut out another top of a tank from your engine's era that has the mount for the fuel pump/filter combo and weld that into your old tank. You must mechanically cut, with no sparks, so make sure you cut it oversize then resize it for the welding after you remove it.

Then you >buy< a new fuel pump (expensive, but the right idea unless you just like removing fuel tanks) that will fit your frankenstein tank. You just have to make sure that the donor tank is the same depth as your original tank. This will work best for reducing pump noise and will provide the proper fuel delivery when you go around corners, etc.

I didn't do this because I didn't have the time, but I am going to do it... no ifs, ands, or buts...

C#

P.S. I would coat the inside of the frankenstein tank with POR 15 tank liner while I was at it.

C#

the 454 is a torque motor, high low end and a bit lower rpm range. ( i wouldnt run it over 5000rpm) even the less powerfull ones put out 300 hp or so factory and a bunch of torque. even with a factroy cam and little bolt on go fast stuff itll make your car a monster. worth the swap in my opinion.

With the exception of the Silverado SS, 454's were used only in HD 3/4 ton and 1 ton vehicles. They were tuned for gobs of low-end torque and reliability under severe loads. As such, cam timing is very, very mild. You can always wake it up with a cam change and some ECM reprogramming.

Bill

With the exception of the Silverado SS, 454's were used only in HD 3/4 ton and 1 ton vehicles. They were tuned for gobs of low-end torque and reliability under severe loads. As such, cam timing is very, very mild. You can always wake it up with a cam change and some ECM reprogramming.

Bill

That was the plan after everything is installed and working properly. Main priority is to get it in and running, then hop it up.

The plan on the frank-en tank sounds like a very good idea too and possibly a cheaper wrought too. Thanks for the idea.

On a side note I have a (wifeys truck) 01 silverado with the LQ4 motor in it. 4L60E trans. Swapped in a LS1 cam, slp air intake, ECM reprogrammed with a tru trac 4:56 gears and 36" tires that completely woke it all up in a very nice manner. Plus I still get 12 to 18 MPG depending on how it gets driven. :yell:

Why is that when you find a killer deal it seems to fall through? The yard told me this morning that they had sold the motor and tranny. :let_it_all_out:
But they have an LQ4 and 4l60e readily available. Now I have to decide what I want to do grrrrr.........

Does 2300 plus tax sound good for a LQ4 motor, power steering, alternator, accessory brackets, harness, ECM with 62,000 miles, 4l60E with 81,000 miles backed by ninety day warranty sound like a good deal?

Lifes full of curves, ain,t it? I'd say that sounds fair. The 6 litres are harder to find than most of the others. You already know a little sumthin/sumthin about this engine & heck, you already got an ls swap book. The only bad thing about that warranty for us hot rodders is it can take most of that time to collect parts & retrofit. At least this swap is more common knowledge & in my opinion, a better engine as delivered. You even have several header choices now for your A-body. The truck oil pan may work. I never read the book you have , But I got a new one printed this year that I,m sure has more info. HPBooks-1566 by Shawn henderson of retroLSX.com . Shows oil pan dimensions, how to {frankentank}, sample installations , A couple of pin out wiring charts,etc. 2nd try's a charm, go for it.

I asked about the warranty and I got it worked out for some more time and they will work with me on it if there is any problems.
The oil pan will probably hang about 1.5 inches below the cross member depending on what mounts I go with. Its either that or a Morosso pan and oil pick up.
I'll definetly have to pick up that book, I have several more to pick up at Barnes and Knoble, I'll just add that to my list too.
The second time better work, I gave them a deposit this time. :nanawrench:

Sounds good, your engine bay is very similar to mine , but with more side room.Guess you need to get towork on a new grocery list of what you want to either buy or make.I,d probably get hooker coated long tube headers. Ls engines prefer long tubes.I'll be glad to assist wherever I can. Better to stick with factory pans if possible.

Yeah the list has changed in a couple of areas, but that's ok.
I'll do factory as much as possible until I get everything in and working right, then I'll hit my weak spots and go from there. Hence the oil pan hanging below the cross member.
Thanks for the tip on the coated long tube headers. Only thing I have checked out on headers was availability and a few reviews.

Isn't that a pedal by wire setup? If so, you also need the computer for the pedal by wire I believe.

Also check out my tips post... dipstick, mounts, transmission lines, all kinds of stuff... you see any 'holes' on that engine ask them to fill them.

C#

I just put a 2009 6L Ly6 engine in my 59ELKY. I had to change the intake manifold so I could close the hood. You may have simular issues if this was a truck motor. I also think you would be better off with a LS style engine because they have made many improvements in engine design. A stock 5.3L LS motor make around 300 HP and gets better mileage. You also can use the more modern transmissions which have also been improved. A VORTEC engine is just a warmed over Gen 1 engine.

I just put a 2009 6L Ly6 engine in my 59ELKY. I had to change the intake manifold so I could close the hood. You may have simular issues if this was a truck motor. I also think you would be better off with a LS style engine because they have made many improvements in engine design. A stock 5.3L LS motor make around 300 HP and gets better mileage. You also can use the more modern transmissions which have also been improved. A VORTEC engine is just a warmed over Gen 1 engine.

X2. the only plus to them is theyre cheap to find and build. easy, too.

best idea ive heard tho is the 5.3 motors out of the trucks and tahoes from 2003 or so on and transplant it. since its a roller motor you can use Vette Z06 cams ( which you can get used for under 100 bucks all day long. an aggresive tune on the puter and boost it. people are getting reliable, good mileage in the tune of around 450-500 hp with a little boost. and since youre transplanting the computer and stuff you can even run the 4l60 trans and molest the tuning on it and change shiftpoints etc.

Isn't that a pedal by wire setup? If so, you also need the computer for the pedal by wire I believe.

Also check out my tips post... dipstick, mounts, transmission lines, all kinds of stuff... you see any 'holes' on that engine ask them to fill them.

C#

Thanks for the tip on filling any holes then and there.