Ron Pope Motorsports                California Custom Roadsters               

Is GM's LS V8 not a thing here?

Steakneggs

New Member
In 3 pages of this engine subforum, going back more than a year, not one mention of the mighty LS that's taking over the world of cheap speed.
I know alot of you prefer flatheads, or live somewhere that doesn't care about emissions, but if I first register mine in SLC in 2020 I have to use a 2020 engine. I think I could get away with the ERod, but that's not in the budget either.
I do have the bare block from my 4th LS, in this case an iron 4.8L block.
The only reason I'm going SBC 350 is because I can make it run with no electronics. I can't afford the discontinued water pump necessary to pull that stunt on an LS.
So, what keeps you guys from running an LS?
 
In 3 pages of this engine subforum, going back more than a year, not one mention of the mighty LS that's taking over the world of cheap speed.
I know alot of you prefer flatheads, or live somewhere that doesn't care about emissions, but if I first register mine in SLC in 2020 I have to use a 2020 engine. I think I could get away with the ERod, but that's not in the budget either.
I do have the bare block from my 4th LS, in this case an iron 4.8L block.
The only reason I'm going SBC 350 is because I can make it run with no electronics. I can't afford the discontinued water pump necessary to pull that stunt on an LS.
So, what keeps you guys from running an LS?


I couldn't find one with over 600 cu in and 800 hp with a sound that makes the ground shake and small children cry two blocks away . . .

Mostly the LS's just need too much electronics and peripherals to allow a clean and minimalist installation like an old school carbed motor

Front View 1.jpg
 
Last edited:
I like old Skool engines. In fact, if not for the 427, I would not have purchased my T. Nothing against LS, have one in my GMC, runs great, thinking about transplanting one into a Ford Dually to replace a worn and fuel thirsty 460.
 
I couldn't find one with over 600 cu in and 800 hp with a sound that makes the ground shake and small children cry two blocks away . . .

Mostly the LS's just need too much electronics and peripherals to allow a clean and minimalist installation like an old school carbed motor

View attachment 17912
No arguing about the cubic inches, 511 is the current limit, but you can get the LS to 800 HP cheaper, easier, more reliably, more driveably, more fuel-efficiently, and more smog-friendly than any big block, with heads that flow 450 cfm, which are less money than comparably-flowing big block heads, or hide turbos in place of mufflers.
With GMs LS timing cover that mounts an SBF diz, it's no more electronics than any other GM V8 since 1965. The only snag is Stewart Warner discontinued the special water pump.
If you like the sound and thump of a nasty big block, well, it's your money, buy what you like. But what the LS saves on fuel buys a lot more miles of smiles.
 
One reason the "newest fashion" motors hold no interest for me is because all I need is a vacuum gauge and my ear to tune my motor.
My T is titled as a "reconstructed 1923 Ford" that just happens to have a Chevrolet drive train.
I bought mine partly because of the 350/350 combo, which gets poo-pooed on occasion as "boring". There was a time (the 70's... yeah I'm an old dude...) when everyone ran that combination in T's... mainly because it could be coaxed into mega-horsepower, was easily worked with and was still very dependable. My engine and tranny started life in a 1970 Monte Carlo, btw... just one of millions of the longest production motors ever made.
There are zero emissions fixtures on it and zero computer sensors on it... because it doesn't need any.
I suppose some people like using technology just because they can... and that's perfectly okay.
I use the technology of my choosing because my goals are dependability, an abundance of aftermarket parts, and good old fashioned simplicity.
(My "upgrades"?... an HEI ignition and distributor (which will last until I am long gone from this world) that cost me about 75$ (beats the hell out of points and condenser any day) and an 80$ set of Summit Racing roller rockers that make the SBC purr like a kitten.
My "under seat" tool box is minimal and the only thing that takes batteries is my flashlight.

Nothing wrong with LS motors... just not my choice.

Your mileage may vary...
 
Don't own any metric tools!
Oh, yeah... I forgot about that part.
Yes... I am guilty of owning both wrenches and sockets in mm, mainly because every time I get a new gadget that doesn't say "Made in USA", I find that all of the hardware is metric (even Allen screws, which is maddening to me...)
So … since I prefer not to use a crescent wrench if I don't have to, and would rather not bugger up surfaces and orifices using a tool that is "close", I have those as backup... the 10mm wrench being the most common one, I have found.

They tried to get the metric system going when I was a child in school.
I am quite sure that we only kept our "inches-feet-yards-miles" system because it was too expensive to retrofit all of America.
From an engineering standpoint, metrics simplify things enormously... and that is the main reason science uses it. (Moving a decimal point beats fractions any day...)
From a humanistic standpoint, basing a number system on anything is still pretty arbitrary, though I suspect our mathematics work better set up with 10's.
But those arguments are far above my pay grade...
 
I remember them pushing the metric system when I was younger. Eventually as we become more international, we're exposed to it.
The company I retired from had a division in the Netherlands. They did everything in the metric system. I had to become familiar with it. Like it or not!
Once you get a grasp of it, it's not so bad.
 
Nothing against the LS platform. Great engines. My taste for toys is old school engines. The very reason I bought my bucket was the ‘67 427/t10 combo. My bucket will go faster than it needs to anyways, there would be no benefit for added hp at this point and computers have no place in MY hot rods, just my taste. I have built and seen other build super cool cars full of micro processors, etc, I long for the simplicity of the old days.
 
I refuse to put computers on The Flamin' Fink! That way, I at least have a shot at fixing it when it breaks down!
 
I remember them pushing the metric system when I was younger. Eventually as we become more international, we're exposed to it.
The company I retired from had a division in the Netherlands. They did everything in the metric system. I had to become familiar with it. Like it or not!
Once you get a grasp of it, it's not so bad.

I like the versatility of thread pitches in metric. Many sizes have a choice of a fine, medium or coarse thread depending on your needs.
 
Having had a motorcycle shop for 25 years, I got used to metrics. Had to deal with both metric and standards, but metric got to be easy after a while. Don't own anything that has metrics now, but most of my kids (all grown) have metric stuff, so my tools still get used.
 
How about Whitworth thread system? Gerry must have some spanners for that!
 

     Ron Pope Motorsports                Advertise with Us!     
Back
Top