[55chevypanel]

My 350 I bought my truck with is crap , a boat anchor , a future planter ..scrap at best !

I am wanting to do a gen III 5.3 LM7 with the edelbrock carbed intake edelbrock intake .

I am curious if anyone else has run this setup and what probs , if any , did you run into ?

My first concern was the stock fuel pump was meant for FI .. si this gonna be an issue going to carbed , do I need a new fuel pump ?

any info would be helpful and appreciated

[shane.,herold]

the pump will be too much pressure for the needle and seat of any carb. get just a standard pump puttin out like 7-15 psi. and i recomend a pressure regulater. and also the cam, the cam in the engine is designed for fuel injection. i dont know the specs but it would probobly be super beneficial to get a cam not made for efi .

[techinspector1]

No modern 4-bbl needs more than 5 psi at the bowl inlet and as a matter of fact, will bleed raw fuel into the intake manifold, causing you a tuning nightmare, if you try to force any more pressure than that into the bowl inlet.

[cobalt327]

Originally Posted by 55chevypanel

I am wanting to do a gen III 5.3 LM7 with the edelbrock carbed intake

My first concern was the stock fuel pump was meant for FI .. si this gonna be an issue going to carbed , do I need a new fuel pump ?

The fuel pump is mounted in the tank, not to the engine, so it's a moot point. You'll just need an electric pump from the aftermarket.

This would be a real good swap I think. Edelbrock p/n 7118 is an MSD ignition controller that also comes w/a dual plane intake for the 5.3L intake for something like $650.

With the carb, MSD controller, headers and the stock cam, this deal will make over 320 HP, and about 350 ft/lb. With a cam, you will make more HP obviously. You'll need springs to go w/the cam.

[55chevypanel]

Originally Posted by cobalt327

The fuel pump is mounted in the tank, not to the engine, so it's a moot point. You'll just need an electric pump from the aftermarket.

This would be a real good swap I think. Edelbrock p/n 7118 is an MSD ignition controller that also comes w/a dual plane intake for the 5.3L intake for something like $650.

With the carb, MSD controller, headers and the stock cam, this deal will make over 320 HP, and about 350 ft/lb. With a cam, you will make more HP obviously. You'll need springs to go w/the cam.

my plan was the edelbrock intake and a 650 cfm carb -- but everyone could use more power , right

how much more power do you think it will make with the cam and the required different springs ? enough to be worth the extra 600 bucks?

[ap72]

Originally Posted by cobalt327

The fuel pump is mounted in the tank, not to the engine, so it's a moot point. You'll just need an electric pump from the aftermarket.

This would be a real good swap I think. Edelbrock p/n 7118 is an MSD ignition controller that also comes w/a dual plane intake for the 5.3L intake for something like $650.

With the carb, MSD controller, headers and the stock cam, this deal will make over 320 HP, and about 350 ft/lb. With a cam, you will make more HP obviously. You'll need springs to go w/the cam.

you don't need any pump, just a bypass regulator and a fuel pressure gauge.

With a cam, springs, and headers you can easily crest over 400hp.

[55chevypanel]

Originally Posted by ap72

you don't need any pump, just a bypass regulator and a fuel pressure gauge.

With a cam, springs, and headers you can easily crest over 400hp.

awww crap .... I was happy with the 325 - 350 hp before it sounded like a good # for the family hot rod ... but 400+ is sounding just a little bit better

[cobalt327]

Originally Posted by 55chevypanel

awww crap .... I was happy with the 325 - 350 hp before it sounded like a good # for the family hot rod ... but 400+ is sounding just a little bit better

What are you putting the engine in?

[55chevypanel]

Originally Posted by cobalt327

What are you putting the engine in?

55 chevy panel truck

[cobalt327]

Originally Posted by 55chevypanel

55 chevy panel truck

Yeah, that's what I thought. Nice, BTW.

I see the "intake" you linked to is the same thing I linked to, w/the ignition controller and all. I think that's the way to go, personally.

You'd want to add a decent electric pump along w/the carbed intake if you choose that route. A 650 CFM-range carb will be fine, too.

I read that over 14 million 5.3L engines have been made since 1990! Car Craft magazine is supposed to be doing a series of articles on a build up of the 5.3L, so you might want to watch for that. Besides, there are forums like http://ls1tech.com/forums/ and others, that have a ton of good info on the LS.

[55chevypanel]

Originally Posted by cobalt327

Yeah, that's what I thought. Nice, BTW.

I see the "intake" you linked to is the same thing I linked to, w/the ignition controller and all. I think that's the way to go, personally.

You'd want to add a decent electric pump along w/the carbed intake if you choose that route. A 650 CFM-range carb will be fine, too.

I read that over 14 million 5.3L engines have been made since 1990! Car Craft magazine is supposed to be doing a series of articles on a build up of the 5.3L, so you might want to watch for that. Besides, there are forums like http://ls1tech.com/forums/ and others, that have a ton of good info on the LS.

Thanks , I love the stance it has .. now I just need to get her moving and prettied up a little


now the battle of my wallet starts if I spend the extra for the extra power . just still wish I knew how much get up my truck will have with the 320 hp - most of my other builds have been cars that run between 2300 -1900# .So I am at a little bit of a loss as to the power I need to produce to get the hustle that I expect .

the truck had a 600 cfm carb on the 350 i had before so it should have a proper fuel pump ... but very likely has been gummed up from sitting . Any suggestions for a good fuel pump for this application ?

14 million made is part why I picked the engine cheap and makes good reliable power right out of the box . and you can hook it up to an 4l60e which also are readily available and pretty cheap too .

thanks for the heads up on the car carft articles I will keep an eye out and I will definitely check out the ls1 forum! Thanks !!

[cobalt327]

Originally Posted by 55chevypanel

just still wish I knew how much get up my truck will have with the 320 hp

Not enough (is it ever? lol), but I would still consider building it w/the stock cam- to start with- and go from there. The stock cam has 100K mile durability, real good idle and "manners", good low-end torque- plus is already there and installed, ready to go, as-is.

Plus:

There will be one less variable with setting the engine up to run, One of the supplied maps that come w/the ignition controller will be right for a stock engine/cam- so should work great, the cost will be less going in, and changing cams isn't hard at all- the intake doesn't come off, so just the valve covers (to remove the p-rods) and front dress needs to be removed, then the cam rotated to allow the lifters to be held up out of the way by the plastic lifter guides, then the cam comes right out.

the truck had a 600 cfm carb on the 350 i had before so it should have a proper fuel pump ... but very likely has been gummed up from sitting . Any suggestions for a good fuel pump for this application ?

If the electric pump you now have is rebuildable, I'd do that, and you could even use the 600 CFM carb, if you still have it.

These engines seem to like headers a size larger than the Gen I engines, so a set of 1-3/4" headers should work well. I'd definitely use full length if possible.

[ap72]

320hp will get it moving, just don't expect it to be any better than a stock modern truck that came with it. If you want to know about how it will feel take a ride in a 5.3L Silverado. I'd do the cam while its out of the truck, though Cobalt brings up good points.

Remember you don't cam them the same as gen 1 engines either. a 225/230 cam on a 110 LSA is about as radical I would go with that engine if you plan on making a family cruiser out of it. It'll easily put you over 400hp with good headers.

[55chevypanel]

Originally Posted by cobalt327

Not enough (is it ever? lol), but I would still consider building it w/the stock cam- to start with- and go from there. The stock cam has 100K mile durability, real good idle and "manners", good low-end torque- plus is already there and installed, ready to go, as-is.

Plus:

There will be one less variable with setting the engine up to run, One of the supplied maps that come w/the ignition controller will be right for a stock engine/cam- so should work great, the cost will be less going in, and changing cams isn't hard at all- the intake doesn't come off, so just the valve covers (to remove the p-rods) and front dress needs to be removed, then the cam rotated to allow the lifters to be held up out of the way by the plastic lifter guides, then the cam comes right out.

If the electric pump you now have is rebuildable, I'd do that, and you could even use the 600 CFM carb, if you still have it.

These engines seem to like headers a size larger than the Gen I engines, so a set of 1-3/4" headers should work well. I'd definitely use full length if possible.

good point I am pretty anxious to get her on the road , but trying to not lety that get the better of me . I don't want to rush the process .. do it once and do it right the first time .

you make a good point about the trouble shooting the install is easier w/o the extra variable . I wonder if there is enough room to pull the cam later with out pulling the engine ?

sadly the carb that was on there seems pretty beat up with a few linkages bent . when it came time I was gonna go through it , but might jump drop the cash and get a new one that is just plug and play

I had heard that some where too -- there was a set of hedman headers that I was looking at that i am pretty sure were 1 3/4

[55chevypanel]

Originally Posted by ap72

320hp will get it moving, just don't expect it to be any better than a stock modern truck that came with it. If you want to know about how it will feel take a ride in a 5.3L Silverado. I'd do the cam while its out of the truck, though Cobalt brings up good points.

Remember you don't cam them the same as gen 1 engines either. a 225/230 cam on a 110 LSA is about as radical I would go with that engine if you plan on making a family cruiser out of it. It'll easily put you over 400hp with good headers.

this is the cam I was looking at and the one edelbock suggest to go with that intake ... cam

crappy part is the springs they are saying I would need are as much as the cam !!