Thanks for the link to Dan's Amigo. Does he post on this forum or only on 4x4wire?

How do people handle the starter mounting on the LS4? I suppose having a longer engine and having to weld up custom exhaust headers could be trivial.

My interest in the 3800s is to find the absolute cheapest and easiest swap to get a reliable Trooper/VX that's comparable or better on power and easy and cheap to maintain. I agree that a stock L36/L67 isn't a great power increase but that's not my main goal. I'm thinking of the best/cheapest alternative for saving the Troopers/VXs getting scrapped due to the 3.5 oiling issue. Forced induction on the 3.5 doesn't solve that! Near stock power would help the 4L30e too, and it seems like overhauling the trans during the engine swap and replacing the solenoids and doing some minor updates/upgrades to the 4L30e might make it reliable enough.

Since the Trooper/VX came with a V6, it just seems easier to drop another V6 in there but I must admit I haven't looked closely at how much room there is in front for a V8 - maybe there's so much room it's a non-issue, but I just figure an engine of similar dimensions as the 3.5L has got to be easier.

I'm not keen on the LS4 because (aside from the starter issue) I just personally don't know it well enough to know how to integrate it's control system into the Isuzu. Yeah, I know we can use aftermarket ECMs like Megasquirts but that just adds cost as one can just about always get the entire 3800 wiring harness and PCM thrown in for free. And since the Isuzu and L36/L67 both used the same GMPX style/series PCM with the same connectors (just change the colored plastic header to the right color ones) one could potentially re-pin and integrate the Isuzu and L36/L67 harnesses together and just about make that 3800 swap look factory.

Maybe I'm being naive since I haven't had the opportunity to attempt this swap yet, but I'm hoping the oil pan fits and F body exhaust manifolds bolt in perfectly, so the only custom thing to fabricate would be motor mounts and a U turn on the intake to turn it away from the firewall. Yeah, I know Holdens have a U turn (I was actually there when the guys initially mocked it up) but it turns the wrong way for us since their cars are RHD. I think our steering shaft would be in the way.

Anyway, I'm thinking the 3800 would be perfect for a really cheap swap that wouldn't cost much more than the cost of the engine + F body headers & related exhaust work + motor mounts + induction U turn mods + throttle cable mods + fuel line mods + misc wiring mods. That would be about as simple as any swap could be.