Engine Swapping a LS into a 1979 CJ-7

[oldcj7guy]

I have a 5.3L LS I'll be swapping into my 1979 CJ7 . The front axle is driver drop, high pinion. So far, I see motor mounts from Advance Adaptors and Novak. I assume I'll need the flexibility to bias the engine a little to the passenger side. Any advice about motor mounts I should look at or haven't heard of yet?

 

[oldcj7guy]

If this isn't the right board for this discussion, please point me to a more appropriate one. thanks!

 

[Manic Mechanic]

I don't think the engine needs to be biased to either side. It should reside dead center. Infact a 79 could still be had with a factory v8.

 

[CJ]

@TSB8C will chime in soon...

As far as I can say @Manic Mechanic is correct, no offset needed.

 

[TSB8C]

Agree with prior posts - should be no need to offset the engine. A '79 could have had a V8 from the factory. There could be one exception however. Depending on your exhaust choice, some headers may interfere with the steering shaft and would necessitate moving the engine slightly to the passenger side. But that is rare and shouldn't be an issue if you plan/choose your exhaust options with that in mind.

I've done an LS swap in a CJ (someone else's) and have a SBC 350 in mine. Didn't need to offset either one. For both swaps, I ran dual exhaust inside the frame rails. My SBC is using Hedman Headers #41863678 (black ones). For my friend's LS swap, we used Flowtech #42511576 headers (He was into the chrome and polished look). A prior '77 CJ5 of mine also had a SBC 350 swap and I used headers out the fender wells. Still no need to offset the engine at all.

 

[CJ]

Agree with prior posts - should be no need to offset the engine. A '79 could have had a V8 from the factory. There could be one exception however. Depending on your exhaust choice, some headers may interfere with the steering shaft and would necessitate moving the engine slightly to the passenger side. But that is rare and shouldn't be an issue if you plan/choose your exhaust options with that in mind.

I've done an LS swap in a CJ (someone else's) and have a SBC 350 in mine. Didn't need to offset either one. For both swaps, I ran dual exhaust inside the frame rails. My SBC is using Hedman Headers #41863678 (black ones). For my friend's LS swap, we used Flowtech #42511576 headers (He was into the chrome and polished look). A prior '77 CJ5 of mine also had a SBC 350 swap and I used headers out the fender wells. Still no need to offset the engine at all.

So much great and good information

 

[oldcj7guy]

I like what I'm hearing; thanks!

 

[bshof123]

I'm doing an ls swap in a 78.i have a 350 in it now with federwell headers .where can I find ls 5.3 federwell headers

 

[TSB8C]

For LS swaps, I usually see folks use short tight fit headers and then route their own exhaust where they want it to go. The two options are headers that are "center drop" where the outlet is in the center like the Flowtech "tight fit" 11706, and then "rear drop" where the outlet is angled at the rear of the headers like the Flowtech "shorty" 11576. I've not seen full headers for LS swaps that are "fenderwell exhaust" like I've seen for SBC or AMC applications. Interesting query.

 

[jezz78cj7]

Summit offers a “swap header” for this:

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/hed-69676?seid=srese2&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Brands+%7C+H&utm_term=4582077271684175&utm_content=GSAPI+5ba283b27cfaf

Hope this helps!

 

[bshof123]

Thank you very much

 

[buzz54]

I've done 2 LS swaps in CJ-7s and I've used the advance adapter's mounts and the novak mounts. The novak mount was perfect for a passenger drop axle because they did all the work for engine placement, so it worked well. The novak mount offsets the engine a little over an inch to the driver side to allow front diff clearance issues. If it didn't have the offset, the front driveshaft yoke would have hit the 5.3's truck oil pan. The novak mounts will not work with a drivers drop front diff due to the offset and hitting the driveshaft yoke.

The Advance adpters mounts I did on the second LS swap with a driver's side drop front axle. I prefer these mounts over the novak mounts due adjustability. With the advance adapter mounts I also had to shift the engine about an inch to the passenger side, once again for front driveshaft clearance to the oil pan. With the adjustablity of the mounts it made life easier. I was able to choose how close to the radiator I wanted and to the firewall. The novak mount puts the engine about an inch to close to the firewall so it is difficult to change the sensor on the back of the engine if required.

Hope this helps and good luck!