Hey guys this is my first post but I have been a long time lurker. My dad is also on here (rlay). We are just finishing up his 69 camaro, full resto. and about to start on mine. (dad has a 69, brother has a 68 and I have a 67 all primed up ready to go back together) I am looking for a reliable source for a 5.3 I want to put in my 67 camaro. I really wanted something local, but I am not really getting any where with that. Any recommendations? Thanks in advance!

I don't know of anything in your area but they should be pretty easy to find.

http://www.car-part.com/

What do you want to spend? Pace Performance sells complete drop in ready "breathed on" GMPP LS crate engines with carb, coils, and ignition controller from $3000 (4.8L) and up with 24 month 50k mile warranty. Might need the muscle car pan as they're not specific on which one they come with.

Not sure where in La you are, but a salvage yard here has 30+, most already pulled. Scott

I live in Ponchatoula (north of New Orleans) and work in Baton Rouge. The salvage yards I have called only have one here and one there. Costs were ranging from $850-$1100 for just the engine assembly and no harness or computer. All were pretty high mileage. They have a LKQ near by but I have not called it yet. Do you happen to know the price range for the ones in Fla.? Thanks again for all of the info.!

You need to go to a bigger city. Can get them anywhere in Dallas or Houston. Surprised your having trouble around New Orleans.

You should be able to get complete engine, top to bottom and wiring harness and ECM for $850. Don't let the cheapness of the engine fool you. It can get expensive retrofitting one into an older car. Ask me how I know!

I don't know of anything in your area but they should be pretty easy to find.

http://www.car-part.com/

Well if you would just go to the site I listed above and fill out the information for your area and input part wanted as "engine" you can find one in Louisiana for between 350 and 750. LKQ had one listed for 300 with 138,xxx miles.

Thanks, I did that and came up with those results. I also searched LKQ's website and found a L33 (aluminum block/heads) they had listed sugg. retail for $1000 at the one somewhat local. Stupid question but i am guessing this does not include harness and ECM? Since it says suggested retail does it mean when I stop there it may be a lower price? Sorry about all of the questions, but this is my first time dealing with salvage yards and I would like to be armed with lots of information before I make a decision. Specifically from guys that dealt with them already.

The L33 are more expensive because they are rarer. You have to be careful when comparing prices because you will see people selling only the engine for $850 and others selling the engine plus harness and ECM for the same price.

Should i be looking at he L33, I thought with the aluminum block it would be a better/lighter motor?

I don't want to put a lemon into the car, so please let me know if I should steer away from that and to a LM7.

The price is engine only, ecm is $100 and harness is extra also. This motor only has 49k miles. Most of the other motors had in excess of 100k, for $850-900. So i didn't think $1000 was bad for a L33.

The computer would be nice to have but you can get one programmed for $200 or less and most guys don't want your old harness to rework so if one without the harness is significantly cheaper go for it. Guys will tell you to sell your old harness on ebay but good luck with that. Shipping on engines isn't that bad. Also consider that you are either notching your frame or running an aftermarket accessories drive. The other way to go would be to get a vette engine (don't get the ls2 with 58 tooth reluctor) as it already has an accessory drive that will work and you won't be switching truck accessories over. The extra cash might be worth it to save some headache. Is there a reason you want a 5.3 other than they are relatively cheap? Don't forget that the basic engine is only part of the cost you will incure and what seems cheap up front isn't always so cheap at the end of the line.

Gotya, Actually a guy i boat with has a LS2 6.0 out of his GTO that he totaled with ~28k miles. i am going to check it out Tuesday. He was going to use it for a s10 project but he bought another boat and now wants to sell it.

Not sure where in La you are, but a salvage yard here has 30+, most already pulled. Scott

- See there is more supply than demand for these engines s/b able to get a complete 5.3 for 500$ maybe 750 with harness and ECM these are great engines and dont fail that often so there alot around check craigs lists too

Gotya, Actually a guy i boat with has a LS2 6.0 out of his GTO that he totaled with ~28k miles. i am going to check it out Tuesday. He was going to use it for a s10 project but he bought another boat and now wants to sell it.

For the sake of transmissions, it would be better if you got a 28 tooth reluctor ls2. They switched somewhere around 06. Back on the block above the starter will be a grey or black plug. You want it to be black. It just leaves you with more options for auto trans and who you get to do your harness. You could do your own harness or the cheapest I found to do the 58* was PSI.
When you think that you've already got a low intake, more cubes and more power, you might be further ahead with the gto engine considering you're going to have to do the same work to the accessories. That said, the 5.3 might come with an lh8 pan that some say hangs down to low. I just saw a nova with that pan and he could have dropped it a good 3 inches before it was a problem with speedbumps. On the other hand the gto pan is used by either second gens or chevelles or something so it could be sold so you can pick up the holley pan for $400.
I think I may have already said this but you can get an engine shipped for under $300 pretty much anywhere in the US so if you can find a better option but its further away, I wouldn't think twice. I found some LS1 vette engines on car-parts.com for less than $3000, ls6s for a little more and you would already have the accessory drive that would work. I also know of a wrecker in WI that had a 28* GTO ls2 with a cam, ignition and headers for the same price I bought my c6 ls2. I would guess those headers could have been re-used.
All I'm saying is that you have to look at what you want in the end, how much work you are willing to do to the engine and what you want to spend. You could end up spending the same amount of money and ending up with less potential unless you are a really good scrounger. I've seen a corvette drive and accessories go for $500 and intakes for less than $100 used. With the right buys your 5.3 might end up costing you less than $1500. I'm just giving you the options I went through in my head before I bought my engine.