im looking to eventually swap out my 5.3 for something bigger as well as the tranny. any recommandations on where to look or engine/trans type? already have a 5" pro-comp lift, cold-air, and soon to change out mass-air, headers, throttle body, e-fan. has 130,000 on it so time is limited. possible a 6.0 up to a 383 stroker

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depends on your budget and how much work you're willing to do. you can swap in pretty much anything you want, but any wiring harness, ecm, motor/trans mounts and such will have to be swapped as well. the 5.3 can be upgraded to get pretty good power. Car Craft magazine did this article a few years ago on an aluminum block 5.3 with great results. your 5.3 is probably cast iron block, but the parts and concepts are the same.

http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles...ine/index.html

 

swapping to the 6.0 will give better low end and you can use your old wiring harness. just tune computer to new motor. the best place to find one is at the local salvage yards.

 

you could get a quick shift kit(I have 1)
you could save your money from a new engine and put in a turbocharger or supercharger.
the turbocharger will actually get you better gas mileage if you don't hot rod it
cuz it atomizes the air before going into the engine so there is not as much unburned fuel.