m60 vs s52 vs ford 5.0 vs LS1

[totheredline]

A 302 Ford (stroked preferably) isn't that much heavier than an LS but old iron block SBCs are heavy. Friggin boat anchors, bad choice for a car as light as an E30, fine for a 3,000lb+ American car. A 347 stroker Ford is a decent choice but by the time you are making LS power and have a good manual transmission setup that isn't weak, you are spending close to LS money. May as well have the LS.

I really wanted to go 4.8/5.3 and that's probably what I'll do. Also wondering Wich kit to get gargistic kit looks good but the headers aren't bolt in like the sikky. Then again the the sikky compete kit is about $800 more.

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[varg]

Stick with aluminum blocks, the non-LS iron smallblocks share the architecture but they're easily 80lbs+ heavier and all of the weight is in the worst place to put it; right over the front wheels of a light car. If it's engines that share the architecture but not the LS name and price you want, look for the aluminum ones; LH6, LH8, LH9, LC9. FWIW you'll notice that a ford 302 is quite a bit lighter than an iron chevy smallblock pre LS or otherwise, but they're lighter for a reason; they sacrificed strength for lightness. You won't find anyone running boosted junkyard 302s to 600hp+ at the drag strip, not without breaking them anyway. That lack of strength is not a big deal for anyone who isn't making a drag car though, a 600hp V8 E30 would be more scary than fun on the street.

[Tremelune]

This is a fun discussion. The front-runners appear to be the LS and the S52.

Seems like the S52 is the easier swap, but the (aluminum) LS will have way more power, not that much more weight, and a benefit that nobody has mentioned yet: LS engine and parts replacements are cheap, and will be for the next 20 years.

How much do you intend to do yourself? What are you capable of fabricating? What do you expect this swap to cost, start to finish, in parts vs labor? Do you want AC, etc?