[Dan in Pasadena]

Hi everyone. Hi JJ,

First, thank so much for the kind words about my mom. She was a helluva lady. She's the reason my family moved out of East L.A. - a tough neighborhood even in the mid 50's. She thought there would be too many bad temptations for a boy - I was 18 months old. And that's the reason our family has prospered. All the kids/now adults are well educated, good careers. The next generation - my kids age - are full of college degrees, even an attorney (my daughter I'm proud to say). ALL because of the determination of one woman. Mom was a force, but a kindly, loving force.

The builder I'm using also said the 5.3 would do everything I want except provide "follow on power." I said, "What's follow on power?" His reply is that 9 of 10, 4.8 and 5.3 LS conversions he does, the owner comes back in a year or two saying they wish they had "just a bit more power." He said to give them what they want it's about $1000 from him. But the 6.0 is only $500 more in the first place from him. He replaces all rings, bearings and seals on all the LS swaps he does. He will do a Hime job if it needs it. He warranties them too unless they're a forced induction build; mine won't be.

PS: His claim on the 4l60 is they have some cast parts in them, even a couple(?) plastic parts in them. He prefers to use the 4l80's. Says there are numerous upgrades that can be made to the 60 for increased HP but only a few for the 80. Again, the price differential is minimal, the granny's are rebuilt and he warranties them. I feel pretty good about using the 6.0/4l80 combo.