We’ve seen a lot of 5.3 liter LS V8 swaps happening as of lately, and we can see why. They’re inexpensive and they’re reliable when it comes to making boost. Like this 5.3 swapped truck for example, which comes to us from YouTube user 97jettatrek.

The truck you see pictured above and in the video, is a 1985 GMC Sierra Classic 1500, and we have to admit, we’re a fan of LS swapped trucks. We see a lot of these pulling some serious numbers down the quarter mile at the track. Some have even gone as sub 10-seconds.

This ’85 Sierra Classic is a little different, however. The 5.3 liter Vortec V8 was sourced from a mid-2000s Silverado. The new engine uses a single Garrett GT45X turbocharger, and for two reasons. The first reason being that they’re very popular with trucks, specifically diesel trucks. The second reason is that they’re also popular with LS engines.

Apart from the turbocharger, the only other components upgraded on the stock 5.3 engine were 80lb fuel injectors, new valve springs and head studs, and new head gaskets.

The truck is currently using a stock GM Th400 automatic transmission, and the factory ECU has been replaced with a custom-tuned version 3.0 Megasquirt II ECU. The new ECU allows the truck to run at 9.5 pounds of boost. The new engine uses Megasquirt’s Sequencer Coils, which are specifically setup for GM LS direct coil control.

Unfortunately, a few days after posting the video, the owner has updated us with an unfortunate scenario. The truck has succumb to engine failure, however, the owner is excited to announce that they’ll be swapping a 4.8 liter GM engine into the truck as a replacement. We’ll be sure to update you as soon as we get word from the owner in the future.