2013 Silverado LS Engine Swap
At Karl Kustoms, we have a sweet spot for late-model performance trucks. There’s something about revamping a trusted friend that gets our motors running.
We do a lot of engine swaps here, but this one was a little different. Our customer brought in a 2013 Chevrolet Silverado LS (like these) with about 150,000 miles on it. The engine was starting to wear out, but the rest of this truck is well-maintained and in great shape! Rather than parting ways, the owner decided to swap out his stock LS376 for something a little more powerful, and we were thrilled to tackle it for him.
Have a look at this 2013 Silverado swap in the video below. Our very own Robbie explains what we did, and why we did it.
What We Kept And What We Changed
- Installed new cold air intake to match the heads
- Installed new torque converter
- Used factory accessory drive and exhaust
- Used factory ECM and dyno-calibrated in house
- Used factory transmission, wiring, and harness
The LS376 swapped out nearly seamlessly with the 480, with just a few necessary changes. We changed out the torque converter and intake manifold to make everything work together but used his stock 6L80 transmission, wiring, and harness.
Seamless Integration And Warranty
Because of this seamless integration and expert set-up, the Silverado is running like new. (Check out another Silverado we worked on here.) We were able to manipulate the factory ECM in-house to let it know its got a different engine with a little bit more displacement, and everything runs just like it should. If something does go wrong, he’s covered by a 2-year/50,000-mile warranty, so he can take it to any GM dealership for service. That’s the kind of quality care you find at Karl Kustoms.
The Sky Is The Limit
Like all of our engine swaps, we dyno-tested this truck to be sure everything is working well for the customer. Not only do we want good power, but we want good street-ability and driveability, too.
This 2013 Silverado will have the same driveability and gas mileage, with an extra 100-120 horsepower to top it off. With this platform, the sky is the limit if he wants to go up for here.
We’re looking forward to putting a supercharger on this Silverado and doing some exhaust work in the near future, but until then, the customer can be confident he has a quality engine swap, a well-running truck with a new 480, and a warranty from Karl Kustoms.