6ltr L98 with 6 speed auto conversion results

Gday guys. So I posted a few days back looking at getting some big numbers out of my td42 silvertop in my old 93 maverick. Its got 330k on the clock so the general consensus is if I dont want to trash a good reliable engine then play nice.

So I rang Killa Kustom Kables in South East Queensland and chatted at length to the boys about cost etc for an L98 conversion with the 6 speed auto into the old girl.

Its affordable for me and now these conversions are becoming more and more common I want to hear about personal experiences. I have generally heard 1 of 2 things. 1 from a few blokes who owned LS vehicles being it was the best thing they ever did and 2 from guys who are diesel purists said they had mates who did LS conversions and had nothing but dramas so stick to the TD.

I have heard guys talk about petrols and water but have seen tonnes of guys smashing through mud and water crossings etc with no dramas. Eg Sam Eyles getting stuck in the Jardine river with his LS gu. He didnt seem to mind touring from perth to cape york in an ls1 considering he is building anothet LS super tourer ute now.

My intention is to run a stock engine, no cam but tuned with diff reduction. Later potentially a supercharger. Undecided on that. Im chasing reliability over huge power considering stock 6 ltrs come with 270kw anyway.

The car will be used as a tough tourer. Will hit hard tracks but no comp, beach drives, long highway drives to campsites, no towing, and wont be the daily. Just for trips so economy isnt a huge consideration. We do big trips as well but not frequently once a year maybe.

I know this is a big post but im trying to get as much info as I can before committing the cash to the build.

Cheers everyone

I know a heap of guys in the comp scene in Vic competing in Winch truck and Challenge class that are competing in Long course like Outback Challenge, cliffhanger and Ironman in Wa. Most started in TDs and I don't think any of them now have anything but LS now. No one is going the other way. LS to TD. A few have gone TD to TB48 too for rough tourer.

Thats interesting to know! I dont know much about petrols but it seems like the LS series are solid reliable engines. And with a smart tune and set up right provide solid low down with respectable economy figures wuen touring. Plus it seems petrol is cheaper to maintain and service with commodores being all over australia its not hars to find mechanics who know them inside and out. Again not speaking from experience however.

depends on how remote your going and I assume the fuel for these motors is 98 octane. One of the blokes on a recent trip had a Y62 that needed 98 Octane and none of the servos we went to up north had it, he ended up buying up a supply of additive from one of the major servos on a main highway. I would assume if you plan desert touring or going through the middle forget it.

Everyone I have spoken to reckon the LS series dont necessarily need premium 98. I would imagine the Y62 being a much newer and essentially niche motor would. The L77 and L76 were designed to take e85 with no adverse affects and was told that you can run standard petrol through the L98 itll just be less efficient. Again just what I have been told when I raised the same point about petrol.

Theres plenty of v8 commodores bashing around in red center hahah

Sorry reading over my last comment and hope it didnt come across like I paid off what you were saying. I had never thought about guys requiring 98 octance for high performance newer model v8s. Out of curiosity was it mentioned that this was a common thing for blokes running petrol engines to get a supply of additives or is it unique to the newer models? Any chance you would know if he could run a lower quality petrol with little to no drama of he had to and just chose not to risk it or just flat out cant run any other petrol?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by 93mavGQ

Everyone I have spoken to reckon the LS series dont necessarily need premium 98. I would imagine the Y62 being a much newer and essentially niche motor would. The L77 and L76 were designed to take e85 with no adverse affects and was told that you can run standard petrol through the L98 itll just be less efficient. Again just what I have been told when I raised the same point about petrol.

Theres plenty of v8 commodores bashing around in red center hahah

---

Hi, I used to have a Clubsport with the LS2 engine
307 kw and it would run on all fuels. It was recommended to use 98 but we used 95. On the fuel door it said it could use E10, They also claim it was preferred to use a mobil 1 oil but we used Penrite. They say in the handbook that if you use 98 premium fuel you will get the most performance out of your engine, so we only used it on trips
Cheers


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Yeah I read about the 77 and 78 running on e85. They roll the DOD feature which if I cam it later is a pain in the ass. So L98 it is.

Spoke to both killa kustoms and gryphon engineering in cairns and both were super helpful answering all my questions and giving advice. Both came in around the same 20 grand price for drive in drive out conversion with the 6 speed auto tranny and exhaust etc etc. The bloke from gryphon engineering agreed to let me get in on the tools and help out with the conversion so I could learn myself abit of potential fault finding and general knowledge about the new powerplant so if I run into trouble somewhere in the middle of no where im not completely lost.

With a conservative tune and the auto should be pretty much as economic as my NA td42 is without towing anything. I was just about to put in an order for a cheapish turbo set up for the old td to see me through till I get the conversion done but now I think I just want it done asap and save the coin for the dual cab chop and canopy later on! Haha

Bloody money pits. Ah well if I was prepared to waste the cash on a v8 79 series that is just like every other one of the million 79s on the road then I may as well spend it on building something I can really be proud of.

Built not bought!