So, you've decided to take the plunge and do an LS swap into something. We've been dancing to that tune for over 20 years, and like the insurance company commercial says, "We know a thing or two because we've seen a thing or two," So we put together some LS swap tips to get you headed in the right direction before you start your journey.

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In short, the best engine for your LS or Vortec swap is the one you can afford. Sure, we would all love a shiny new LS3 crate engine from Chevrolet Performance or a rebuilt 5.3L long-block from Summit Racing, but once we crunch the numbers that's not always possible. Hey, you can buy a $15,000 race-ready stroker from Shafiroff Racing or a $300 used pullout track LS. The key is to have fun doing what you can afford. But it is critical that you know what you have, so you can buy the right parts to get it swapped into your car.

LS engines—we include all the Vortec truck variants in this—are remarkably similar, but there are some key changes that were made along the way. Knowing which reluctor wheel your LS has is critical in buying the right ECU and harness. The fastest way to know which reluctor wheel your crank has is to check the crank sensor. If it's black, then it's the older 24x style; if grey, it's the newer 58x type. It really is that easy.

The crank sensor on all LS engines is located on the rear side just above the oil pan and behind the starter.

Yes, you can shine a flashlight in the crank sensor hole to see the reluctor wheel. If it looks like two flat pieces mated together, then it's the 24x variety. If it's a solid square-tooth deal, then it's 58x. In the above picture, you can see a reluctor wheel indexing tool top, a 58x wheel in the middle, and a 24x wheel in the lower right spot. Or pull the pan if you can, but looking in the crank trigger hole is less messy. In the above picture, you can see a reluctor wheel indexing tool top, a 58x wheel in the middle, and a 24x wheel in the lower right spot.

Lingenfelter makes a signal converter that will take the 58x crank pulse and turn it into something your 24x computer can understand. It will also convert the cam signal. At this time, we haven't found something that will let you run a 24x engine in a car with a 58x ECU. The only option to go this direction is to pull the crank and swap to a 58x reluctor wheel.

Cam sensors have moved and changed pulses over the years as well. On early LS engines, the cam sensor was located at the back of the block behind the intake manifold. It read cam timing directly off of the back of the cam. Later, the cam sensor was moved to the front of the timing cover where it picked up the signal from the upper timing sprocket. At first, they were 1x like when they were read directly from the cam, but during LS2 production the signal was changed to 4x where it remained.

Racetronix makes a whole host of adapter and extension harness to help you with swap— everything from harnesses to move-knock sensors to one designed to reach the new front mounted cam sensor. These adaptor harnesses are handy if you are trying to make an LS you acquire with a harness you already have.

That sort of depends on which LS you have. If you have a newer LS3 crate engine from GM and want to go with the throttle-by-wire deal, then we would choose the Chevrolet Performance offering above. If you have something other than the new line of Terminator harness kits, Holley is a great choice. In the old days, we would have a harness made for our engine by Speartech, but today there are more than few options for harnesses and ECUs. Whichever way you decide to go, they will need to know which reluctor you have, where your cam sensor is located, and what pulse your cam sensor is.

Wow, there's a loaded question. To be honest, we've used most of them, and they all get the job done. Most of them involve a plate that mounts to the block and an Energy Suspension type urethane mount that mates them to the mounts on your frame. Some offerings, such as the ones from CPP, are slotted so you can fine tune where your engine sits. Go with a name brand on these, and you should be fine.

The easiest place to grab oil pressure is the spot just above the oil filter. These days, you're likely to find a block off like the one on the bottom right covering it up. If you get lucky, you'll find one like the one in the middle (ready, but not drilled). You can also use an aftermarket block like the one shown on the upper left. The aftermarket ones are nice because they offer multiple ports and more options is always a good thing.

If you have the one in the middle, then chances are it's a blind hole. So, carefully drill it out and hit it with a 1/8-inch pipe tap, and you'll be in like Flynn. Before companies started making aftermarket options, these fittings were like gold.

Here, you can see the fitting at work feeding pressure to an aftermarket mechanical gauge. A sensor for an electric gauge would work just the same but with wires.

The other oil pressure port is directly behind the intake manifold. On a GM harness, this is where the ECU picks up oil pressure from. Sometimes there's a tall GM sensor here, sometimes a plug as shown.

Every LS engine ECU will need to have water temperature, and many will use the factory sensor, usually mounted to the front of the driver side head as shown.

With the front of the driver side head used, you'll need to put your temp sensor on the rear spot of the passenger side head. Most likely, there will be a 12-mm plug there (bottom left). Simply remove it and use center adapter fitting (from Autometer), and you'll have a 1/8-inch pipe port perfect for a sensor. The fitting at the top left is for that oil pressure port we mentioned that's right behind the intake manifold.

Here, you can see the water temp adapter and sensor in place at the rear of the passenger side head. As you can see, the stack gets a bit tall and could interfere with headers.

Early LS and Vortec engines had knock sensors under the intake, mounted in the valley cover. Later knock sensors were mounted on the block. There's no rule that you have to run them—just make sure to tell your tuner if you delete them. Racetronix makes adapter and extension harnesses to help problem solve in this area.

Just about any LS oil pan with fit just about any LS engine. However, not every oil pan will fit your particular car. Back in the old days, we had to notch and cut up pans. Today, companies such as Holley, Moroso, and others have all sorts of options. Make sure you get the pickup that matches your pan. Remember, the most important aspect of the pan is that it clears your chassis. If you're running a stroker, make sure the pan will clear that as well.

An aftermarket pan won't come with a windage tray, so you'll need one. The pans maker should point you in the right direction. Some will want a full length tray, while others will want a shorter "F-body" style. Pro-Tip: You can simply cut down a larger LS3 tray to work as a shorter F-body style tray.

Long tubes make more power, but if you're on a budget, then later model cast iron exhaust manifolds can serve you well. Hooker, CPP, JBA, and a host of companies make affordable long- and mid-length header options. The key factor here is clearing your chassis/subframe as well as your steering. Any sort of EFI system will require at least one O2 bung on your exhaust.

Much like the "what engine?" question, the answer here is "the one you can afford," Seriously, there are dozens of options here. Holley, Billet Specialties, Eddie Motorsports, Vintage Air, and Concept One, to name just a few, offer beautiful serpentine systems crafted from the finest billet aluminum. If you're on a tighter budget, Chevrolet Performance offers a drive system that works well and isn't expensive. Keep in mind the GM AC compressor won't work with most aftermarket AC systems. The cheapest alternative is to go to a salvage yard and pull a complete system off of a junker. Just make sure it will fit in your project. Oh, and factory truck serpentine systems won't work with car-type intake manifolds; you've been warned.

On early LS engines, all four head steam ports were linked together and then to the radiator. Later, GM plugged the two rear ports (creating right and left heads at that point), but the front two were still linked together and plumbed to the radiator. We like using the front steam ports, but to be honest you could just cap them off then "burp" them once the engine is running and at temperature to remove any air pockets. Earls Fittings makes a sweet kit with -AN ports for plumbing your steam lines if you like being fancy. You can even plumb them into the water pump if you don't want to run the steam line to your radiator. Just carefully drill and tap a 1/8-inch pipe hole in the top of the pump.

If you're running a carbureted LS then your fuel needs are no different than any carbureted small-block or big-block engines. If EFI, then you will really want a baffled tank (or at least a sump) with an electric fuel pump capable of supplying at least 60 psi. Both Tanks Inc. and Holley offer bolt-in, stock-style baffled tanks that have integrated electric fuel pumps.

If we could find the guy at GM that decided to standardize the back of the LS block to the same basic bolt pattern of an older GM engine, we would buy him a six-pack. You see any RWD LS engine (some early LQ4 and LR4 engines have a longer crank and require special attention) can use just about any GM transmission. Powerglide, TH350, TH400, 200R4, 700R4, you name it; and if it bolts to a Gen 1 small- or big-block then chances are it will bolt to your LS. Of course, you'll need the right flexplate, spacer/adaptor, and the correct hardware, but it's not hard. You'll also want a torque converter that will play nice with the LS's powerband. Summit Racing sells all of the needed parts to put the old behind the new.

Of course, an LS also bolts up to modern computer controlled transmissions, such as the 4L60e, 4L80e, and just about any other modern GM overdrive transmission, as well as manual transmissions like the Tremec Magnum and TKO lineup.

Here you can go as fancy or simple as you like. Naturally, you want one good enough to tame all the heat generated by that added horsepower. But, to be honest, the LS doesn't care what you have so long as it has electric fans. Some prefer to have the inlet and outlet of the radiator both on the passenger side, and while that does make plumping it all in easier, it's certainly not a requirement.