Buying a LM7 in the states
 

http://www1.garaget.org/archive/121/...78-2493611.jpg

I've just started a project on a Burb from 1971 in Sweden and I'm thinking about ordering an engine from the states due to good prices and availability. My budget is a little tight but I've read about a couple of ls builds that landed around 3000 US dollars which to me seems affordable. :D

My budget is about 3000-3500 US dollars right now and I wonder if there's any company or private person able to offer me a complete engine w/ tranny and tuning for that kind of money. :secret2:

I've been reading and planing around this article (and a couple of threads on forums): 325 Chevy Small Block Engine - Bolt On A Cam And Heads And Add 120+HP - Car Craft Magazine
I hope to reach about the same output.

I'm looking for a solid and reliable engine with a little preformance that will get me about 17-20 mpg in the city and 22-25 mpg on the highway. As mentioned I hope to get this done with a 5.3L LM7 ~400 hp by the crank and a 4L80E or 6L80E tranny.

Any suggestions?

Very nice truck :thumb: with shipping and engine plus trans plus retrofit plus those mods, I see you easily doubling your budget. I like your plan, I just see it costing you a bit more than you anticipate, especially with your lack of easy junkyard access to usable parts and such.

Thank you, I see what you mean though. My thought was to buy the engine from a junkyard in the US for a couple of hundred bucks with all the stock accesories and adding a gear box to that at the same time (have been looking around Ebay so far).

LM7 (complete engine): ~ 600-1500 US (ebay)
Gear box 4L80E: ~ 1000 US (ebay)
Engine swap mounts: ~ 100 US (summitracing)
Tuning and parts: ??

I might be totally off but at the same time it seems to be what it costs as I search around. I could start of with an easy tune and complete it later in Sweden to save a little bit of money for starters.

Is there no solutions to my problem?

How much is shipping? This will play a big part in your total cost. Also, what is your mechanical ability?

I just called and found out that Shipping would be from 300-600 US with Nordtrafik.se. I will be getting some help putting the engine into the car so that shouldn't be too big of a problem. What's interesten for me is the cost for the engine, gearbox, parts and tuning in the US. The rest is up to me to fix.

that's a cool old suburban

Glad you like it! It's actually imported from the US.

A complete Duramax diesel engine could work too, even better in my opinion. Does anyone know where I could find a complete engine with tranny? I'm thinking of the LB7 and LBZ but any suggestions are welcome. 3000 bucks is what I'm aiming at, I will be resposible for shipping.

Wow that's s beautiful burban man!! My dad had one when I was a kid and my brother bought a 70 that we made into a mud truck. They are some awesome trucks. Just really hard to find one that good of shape!! Good luck on the project man