It’s safe to say that yesterday’s April Fools Day item about Ford adding junkyard LS engines as an option in the 2015 Mustang was a “success” in that it went about as well as expected: The GM crowd crowed in triumph, the Ford boys cried foul, and the Mopar crew were split in opinion due to their hatred for both the Mustang and the dreaded “LESS” engine.
So here’s the thing: I honestly don’t get the animosity towards mixing and matching of parts between brands. Maybe it’s because I didn’t really come from a “car” family, as my uncle is the only blood relation that is also an enthusiast (Funny enough, he’s also a Ford Mustang guy; go figure), or because my vehicles of choice are from the 80s, which is well past the Golden Era where each car company actually produced their own powerplants, but I don’t understand the negative reaction that most enthusiasts have when they see a “mixed breed” in regards to cross-brand or cross-era, such as this 2.3L swapped into a ’68 Mustang.
You may think this is an abomination, but I consider it 100% pure awesome.
Getting away from engines for the moment, this same reaction seems to occur with other vehicles parts as well: “Keep that Ford nine inch away from my Chevy“.
Again, what’s the big deal? Giving credit where credit is due, the Ford nine is one heck of a rear axle, and can take some serious punishment. Plus, with all of the aftermarket copies being made, the price of a “new” Ford nine inch is at the point where it’s often more cost effective than sourcing a used GM 10 bolt or 12-bolt and rebuilding it. Besides, isn’t that the point of hot rodding and this hobby in general, to find the best parts that you can for a price you can afford and make them work?
Using my Monte Carlo SS as an example, it’s a complete mutt of a car and I’m proud of it. Here’s a quick listing of all the parts sourced from other vehicles that I can think of off the top of my head:
– Front brakes from a 4th gen Camaro
– Steering shaft from a Jeep Cherokee
– Rear axle from a Buick Grand National
– Electric fans from a Dodge Intrepid
– Dashboard from a Grand Prix
– Rear seat belts from a Pontiac Bonneville
Heck, even my Monte Carlo LS has wheel centercaps from a PT cruiser!
The above isn’t close to being a complete list of all of the non-Chevy parts on my Chevy, and I’m not even touching on the aftermarket parts that were inspired by looking at cars from other brands and their trends, such as the Momo steering wheel and quick disconnect hub.
Circling back to the LS engine, I completely get the hatred towards it as it’s the New York Yankees of the automotive world: Everywhere you look there is a vehicle that has one of these engines swapped into it, and after a while that gets boring. However, don’t take this for some sort of Illuminati-style conspiracy for GM world domination, but instead consider the facts: They’re reasonably compact engines that can make respectable power for relatively little money, and thanks to GM having put a version of them in almost every van and truck made in the last 10-15 years, junkyards are chock full of donors.
I recently picked up a low-milage 5.3L with a complete harness, all engine accessories, and a six-month warranty for a little over $600. That said, in all seriousness if a newer Ford 4.6 or 5.0 (Or even another brand for that matter; I’d take a Hemi in my Chevy) were that cheap and easy to swap into my car, I’d do it. Really. The same goes for installing a non-Chevy rear axle in my Monte Carlo LS. When you see the prices that people are asking for a used 7.5″ or 8.5″ rear on Craigslist and the car forums, it makes you take a long hard look at all of those Ford 8.8s rusting away in junkyards across the country. Well, I’m taking a look anyway.
I’ll freely admit that unlike many Hot Rodders of yore, I’m less of a pioneer and more of a student of the Internet Age, always looking for new ideas that inspire me to improve *my* car for *me*.
This leads me to my final point, which is a counter to the knee-jerk response of “You ruined the car!” whenever a “traditionalist” car guy seems a vehicle or modification that puts them outside of their comfort zone. You know what ruins a car? When the owner does something to it that makes it less enjoyable for them.
Long live the LS1 and hot rodding.
I’m with you Dave. I’ve done two of the least cost effective horsepower swaps possible, a Big Block Buick with EFI and a soon to be Pontiac L6 with a turbo. Lots of dollars for the same or less horsepower of a bargain LS swap and a few bolt ons. But both those cars and power plants are more about the journey than the destination so that’s how I justify it to myself. I’m increasingly looking at doing a turbo LS for my Thunderbird as my motivation to do a third expensive per HP rebuild is low. For what seems to be about $3500 I can have a nice 500-600HP engine in the T-bird that knocks out great fuel mileage as well, where as with the FE engine, $3500 would get me about half the horsepower and quarter of the fuel mileage.
It’s like a belly button now, everybody has one. Dare to be different for a change. Its as boring as the SBC….
I totally get why they are so popular. They are great engines and proof that the pushrod concept is still possible in an age of dohc motors. But, I must admit that when I see a cool car in a magazine or on tv and they open the hood I am disappointed to see one in everything. To me a old cutlass or firebird, lemans, ect just become souless and blend in with every other car these days wih one in them.
/Why all the hate for the Less? Because they’re like everything else Government Motors makes. They suck.
Alright, so what are your thoughts on mixing and matching parts between brands? There’s a few hundred words on that topic in this blog item that I was hoping you guys would read and comment on, not just the dreaded LS.
I can’t tell you why I’m against brand swapping, but there is nothing that turns me off of a car more than another brand engine. I’m a Ford guy through and through, but I would never put a Ford engine in a GM or a Moparts….
I’ve swapped parts from one make to another. I’ve used a Chrysler 440 in a Plymouth, a Dodge 8 3/4 in a Plymouth, and a Plymouth 4 speed in a Dodge.
The only way I can see using some other company parts on a car is if the car is no longer made, like the Hudson or Studebaker where hot rod parts aren’t available.
But to each his own. If it floats your toothpick do it. Just don’t expect me to get all excited over a non Ford engine in a 32 Ford.
BTW. If I ever get my Hemi Imperial on the road my next pro will be a 360 in a 38 Graham. It’ll be my first prewar car ever.
Yeah …. IF .. being the key word … assuming of course there actually is one to get back on the road
I can see using other companies parts in a car, just never GM parts. The weakest part you can ever put in your Mopar (or Ford), is ANY GM part.
I thought about putting those late model Caddy tai lights in my mid ’80’s Dodge truck. Then I thought, he’ll, I’d be getting pulled over for my tai lights working all the time…
@ Dave Nutting –
Oh hey ! You wanna hear about mixing and matching parts ? Oh brother do I ever have a tale to tell you [ albeit a true one ]
Full Discloser first though . Ferrari purists .. turn your head … nuthin ta see here
Back in the day some madman genius wrote an illegal and hard to obtain booklet called ” The Anarchists Guide to Ferrari Ownership ” The essence of it being he found all the parts in any given Ferrari [ and brother back in the day there were plenty ] that in fact Ferrari was sourcing from US automakers and part manufactures and gave the corresponding US part numbers .. many of which could be sourced from the likes of Pep Boys Sears etc
Well … back in the day when a used Ferrari was a used Ferrari and not a freaking overpriced classic …. I first got a 246 GT .. which I then traded up for a used 365 GTC/4 [ for much less than a new Vette would of cost back then ] The 246 coming with that gem of a booklet which I kept * . So … between that … and the fact that one with a good set of tools – decent mechanical skills etc made Ferrari ownership more than affordable for someone ” Almost Famous ” and not quite wealthy .
An example ? The air cleaner element for the 246 . From Ferrari ? $52.50 … same element from Pep Boys ? $5.95 .
So mixing and matching parts from different brands you ask ? Hell .. if it wasn’t for that bookllet and all the mix & match parts I bought on the cheap … I’d of never been able to afford Ferrari ownership of any kind . Never mind a stonking V12 [ the 365 GTC/4
So in n answer to your question more directly
If it makes ownership more affordable I say …. +1 …. Hell Yeah … and completely IMO BangShift approved
* Upon selling the GTC/4 knowing that’d be the last of the ‘ F ‘ words in my garage I sold the booklet to the new owner as well . For one hell of a damn fine and huge profit [ the car ] I might add
Now THAT is a cool story! I’d love to get my hands on that booklet to read it.
Can’t seem to find any reference to it online with a quick search, so it must be a pretty well-hidden secret.
Other than the fact that the motors being extremely over used there is absolutely nothing wrong with the LS . Period .
Jeeze .. you really are hung up on some serious stereotypes and prejudices aren’t you 440 ? Somehow I’ll bet theres more than a bit of Xenophobia as well as Fascist leanings there just waiting to be exposed as well .
Too bad . Life’s passing you by while you bury your head deeper and deeper into the sand .
I ain’t stereotyping anything.I don’t like Chevys, never have and never will. That’s because I’ve never seen one worth a damn.Not because some told me I needed to hate Chevys like folks tell Chevy guys to hate anything that ain’t a Chevy.
That doesn’t mean that I can’t appreciate the work that someone had put into one. I’ve seen some mighty good looking Chevys. And I appreciate the amount of work that is put into them by the owner. That is if the owner really if the work. And that can be said of too many cars of all makes.
I agree with Dave on this. Do what makes YOU enjoy YOUR car. I’ve never been much of a brand loyalist, and I can see merit in a lot of what different manufacturers have done. I don’t understand this hatred of “cross-breeding”. Let the good attributes of both (or many) brands come together to compliment each other. Mutts can be the best dog you ever had…
(said by a guy who is putting a 302 Ford in a old Mercedes)
To expand on my first comment. There is a 9″ under my Skylark, and the Firebird will probably eventually get one as well. Both cars run OE Ford fuel pumps as well. I have LS ignition coils on both cars (I looked at the Fords, but they don’t have built in ignitors). The Skylark uses a Ford Escort 36-1 crank trigger wheel. A Ford Taurus continuous duty fan relay powers my entire EFI power system in the Firebird.
Not as much cross breeding, but the Skylark has essentially a Cadillac under carriage with big brakes all the way around, and an Oldsmobile dash cluster (well half of it now..) that wasn’t available on Skylarks. The Firebird has a late ’80’s CS130 Chevy alternator on it now as well as a Cavalier 2.4L cam sensor. I’m using mid-90’s LT1 electric smog pumps for crankcase evacuation. The Firebird has a Buick 455 starter motor behind the OHC nose cone for extra cranking oomph.
I’ll use what ever parts I can get the cheapest and still accomplish the task I’m trying to accomplish.
We can all agree Mopar has no good ideas, ever, right? LOL. Now I’m just trolling, lol.
Yeah the LS is in everything under the sun. It’s like when the SBC was first introduced. If tehy’d internet back in the 50’s, there would be haters spouting how much they hate the new Chevy engine.
Personally I like the LS. I have first hand experience sticking one in a 3rd Camaro, and love how it can be modified on the cheap. Going fast is more important than pleasing keyboard jockeys.
Cross breeding isnt a problem for me either. I put together a 53 Ford F100, with Dodge Dakota front suspension, a SBC, T350 trans and a Chevy rear. To me it was the most bitchin’ truck ever.
Would it be a ‘bitchin’ truck if it was a 53 Chevy with a Ford engine?
I for one get enough of the LSX platform. There is a 4.8 waiting in the garage for a swap some day.
About mixing other brands, always wondered if putting a newer Crown Vic front suspension is worth the effort for my 95 Caprice?
I must admit that I’m flat out done with mags that show an LS in an old Camaro, they have got to move on, unless there building it for the mid-life crisis crowd, that doesn’t even know how to build a car. Man, I love all engines from 13B’s to the giant oil burning ship engines. I think it doesn’t matter what engine or chassis anything goes into, I remember a guy that put a 4V Cleveland into a Vega wagon that had a Dana 60 out back in the early ’80’s. It was a cool car that hauled ass!
I just love the articles that start “Joe Blow wanted something different so he took a 68 Camaro,a LS and…….”
It’s not 1949 anymore. There’s simply no need to put a “LESS” (LOL) in a non-GM car. You can make all the power that you can hook to the street and strip with a Mopar-in-a-Mopar or a Ford-in-a-Ford.
The LS is ugly, boring, uncreative, and way too faddish . . . truly a belly-button swap now. And some of the LS advocates talk way too much smack.
Build ’em however you want. Just don’t be shocked when not everyone genuflects to your doggerel, copy-cat stylings.
Ford really screwed up designing the 4.6 and 5.4 to so damned big, they hardly fit in any old Ford without butchering the car. That and 4.6 doesn’t make squat for power without large by huge dollars thrown at. Those are the two reasons Ford guys are tossing the LS engine in their Mustangs and such. It’s not like the Ford mod motors are any harder to find at the salvage yard.
Personally, I believe hot rodding started by cross breeding and it hasn’t stopped since. When the Olds and Caddy V8’s came along in the early ’50’s, the Ford guys were swapping them into their roadsters almost instantly. A built to the moon Flathead still wouldn’t crack 300 hp mark even with a SCOT blower on it. But, a stone stock Caddy 365 was rated 315 hp. Put dual fours on it and it moves closer 350 with nothing else.
The ones I see being the haters of cross breeders I see the same as those guys who cheer for the home. You think many guys from Philly cheer for the Cowboys? It’s about brand loyalty, even if the home team sucks that year. Ask a Cubs fan.
Do whatever you want.
But Fox (1978) and later Fords easily accept all modern Ford engines. And there are plenty of 1,000+ h.p. MNRA Fords that disprove the flathead-to-OHV analogy. The modern Fords were so effective at Engine Masters ’13 that they had to be outlawed to stop the bitching.
A big power engine costs money, regardless of brand. And many of the crossbreeders spend enough on aftermarket “LSX” parts to build a powerful Mopar or Ford engine.
Most of the LS crossbreeders aren’t really true Ford and Mopar guys. They’re just cheap Chevy guys.
I know that Kaase had $100k in that mod motor, so let’s not pretend it’s cheap to make that power.
Really now? The same old Chevy engines just bolt into anything crap?. Any Chevy engine into most any non Chevys I’ve seen the car was butchered up.That includes y’alls Less into Fox bodies.
ISure, you can make the same power with any other engine, but not for the same money. As far as swapping engines and makes, I have no problem with it. Although, I do appreciate the effort of some to hot rod defunct engines so their rides stay all Pontiac, Olds, AMC etc…
1) Putting an LS into say a 32 Ford or anything prewar ? Fine and dandy . In a Mustang of any vintage ? Ludicrous & Obscene
2) The LS has become the most over used ” gee I don’t have an ounce of creativity in my entire being ” motor in hot rodding and customs . To be honest … it aint a bad motor mind you …. but it aint that freaking good either to be used as much as it has been . GM doing their Smoke & Mirrors marketing and the general public [ general …. get it 😉 ] falling for it Hook Line & Sinker
Look … I get it already … the LS is the lazy mans – haven’t had an original thought since 12 years old – follow the crowd like a GearHead lemming engine of choice …
But thats the whole damn problem with it as well . See one in anything thats not a Chevy/GM and the first thought that hits you is ; ” Nothing new to see here ” and move on . Because 99% of the time … you’ll be right !
Sometimes, a cross branded engine swap can seem like it’s trying to say, “F your brand, they can’t make a motor good enough for my project.” This is especially annoying if there’s an obvious counterpart that is an easy bolt in for the chassis without going cross branded (e.g. putting a small block Chevy in a muscle car era Mopar).
This isn’t as annoying with smaller items (which often were subcontracted out anyway). And it’s not quite as bad when someone’s swapped in an engine with no clear equivalent – I can understand why a guy putting a 2JZ into a muscle car era Mopar didn’t try using a turbo slant six (even though I think the turbo slant six would have been more awesome :D).
As someone who has never swapped an engine (and probably never will), putting an LS (or any “different” engine) into a car which did not previously have it (GM or otherwise) is pretty cool and I respect the people who have the skills to do it. Personally, I prefer to see Fords (especially vintage rods and Cobra clones) with Ford engines and it does get tiresome to see modded GM chassis with SBC, LS, or BBC installed. People enjoy the car hobby for different reasons. Sometimes it is just about the journey and not the destination. If someone is pushing him or herself to his or her personal limit by putting an LS into a previously non-LS equipped car, why should we be critical? Let them have their vision. As far as brand purity goes… sometimes it is fun to have all one marque, sometimes it is fun to mix and match. It just depends on the project and the vibe. Kumbaya
Hate all you want but the same guys were saying the same things about the Small Block Chevy. It’s like everyone is now a jaded Hot Rod Hipster with their favorite engine of the past being the undiscovered band they carry a torch for. “LS Motors and LS swaps are too mainstream man. I need to keep it real with a Flathead Ford, or an old (insert name here) big block” that weighs 300lbs more, costs 5X to build and will probably blow up over 6000 RPM due to oiling issues. LS Powered Camaros or non GM LS hybrids must be the Nickleback or Justin Bieber of the gearhead hipster universe. Meanwhile those LS guys are having fun driving their high powered cars reliably and with good mileage.
LS motors took the best features of all pushrod engines over the past 50+ years and incorporated it into a single platform and put it in all trucks and performance cars for over a decade. They make good power, handle modifications and power adders well, are very durable, compact, efficient, etc. And best of all just like the SBC, they’re cheap.
So everything is cool on my end. I love all of it. Have fun and to each their own, but technology moves forward and the LS motor launched a new era of hot rodding and competition among the brands. Without the LS, the modern Hemi and Coyote mod motors probably wouldn’t even exist. But some of you guys hate those too so whatever. I love the car community but I’m tired of all the bickering and disrespect. You do you.
“LS motors took the best features of all pushrod engines over the past 50+ years . . . .”
If that were really true, GM would be running ’em in Nextel Cup. . . .
No one will argue anymore that the LS isn’t a cheap JY star . . . The vehicles they came in are junked with alarming frequency . . . But they’re sort of like buying Chinese potato chips at the dollar store . . . You get what you pay for . . . And everybody will know that you went cheap . . . .
Putting an unnecessary LS in a “Brand X” vehicle is plainly disrespecting both “Brand X” and their loyal fans.
Well said sir. Admittedly, I was against LS motors as well, (primarily that EFI voodoo) until I REALLY looked into them, and saw the power to $$$ potential. I’m in this to ENJOY my car, not impress a bunch of brand loyal blowhards. And like many out there working on a budget, I’ll go the route that gets the best power (fun) for my limited dollars.
Oh, but if I’m not willing to “pay to play,” I guess I’m not loyal to the *insert brand here* cause. Whatever.
You want disrespect? Show up at a track or show with a Chevy powered by anything but a Chevy. Then you’ll know what disrespect means. There are no bigger crybabies than Bowtie-wearing crybabies. Me, I don’t do the crossbreeding crap but I have no problem with cross-era swaps. Eventually my ’78 Fairmont will sport SN95 4 wheel disc brakes, for just one example. Sure beats the hell out of its ’70s era craptastic tiny drum/disc setup.
That’s Chevy cry babies for ya. they only respect other Chevy guys and Chevys. The bad mouth every other brand, specially Fords, then cry like the little brats they are when someone says they don’t like Chevys.
I actually used to like Buick and Olds until GM went with the corporate engine and ruined them by putting Chevy engines in them.
GM needed to use either the Buick or Olds engine for their corporate engine when they went to it. But instead they chose the second worse engine of the five brands.
And that is exactly why I want to build up a ’72 Nova with a 5.0 Modular in it. Just to piss off Chevy fans by running a nice and fairly desirable car with the most hated Ford V8 of the 21st century in it.
How about taking a 4.2 V8 out of a ’80-’81 Mustang, assuming you can find one? By going 20th century, you could have an even more hated V8.
There is a guy running around town with a supercharged BBF in a 55 2 door Chevy. He ruined that car by putting a bad ass 800+ horse Ford engine in it, but a run-of-the-mill stock LS in a 32 is God’s gift to hotrodding?
Firstly, I agree 100% – the spirit of hot rodding is to use whatever works better. OK, don’t want GM in your Ford? What about other manufacturers….like Holley or Ridetech or Edelbrock or whatever aftermarket part you want to mention?? Whats the difference? Believe me, I’ve worked in GM and Chrysler plants and nobody there swears an alliegence to the company, nobody who actually makes your hallowed car or part cares – go to the car park of workers there, you’ll see as much diversity of brands as anywhere else.. so if those making the cars don’t care, why do you?
I’ve often wondered that myself on what happened to mixing/matching and having fun. My experience comes down to two recent cases:
Had a ’63 FJ40 that I restored the body and frame but instead of the anemic F I6 I put in a breathed on Pontiac 400 and later H42 4 speed/transfer case combo. Looked damn near factory, had a slight rumble, was silly quick for what it was, and no one but me seemed to like the combo. I would’ve kept this one regardless but life got in the way with a new career.
Have a ’69 FJ40 that I sliced into an FJ45 style cab, then chopped/sectioned 3 inches (bit of a z cut) that maintained factory glass and had great proportions, planned to make a solid axle drag car out of it but the chorus of “yeah but why not build a Chevy II/Falcon/etc if you want to do that” won out so it sits on the side of my garage while my Camaro is built since metal finishing a car just to hear “why” over and over gets old. Its future is in the air right now on if I finish the frame and fabricate a bed for it or just keep the body as a novelty.
Never heard ill on my Camaro, go figure.
I hate the LS for the lack of creativity that is applied to it… If I see another plastic (but very well designed) beer barrel style manifold under the hood of a $$$ rod Im going to barf on it (not on purpose mind you, Ill try to run for the trash cans)..An whats with those freaking utility belt valve covers. Ive had it. Rods are custom, OEM is production. DO SOMETHING DAMMIT Make it look like its yours, not the dealers next scan and troubleshoot. Get rid of the freaking EGR, DO IT! Don’t notch the frame to make room for it… you know who you are. If its cheap power in a sleeper or race car, Ill understand. But don’t open the hood looking for “aw geeze”. The G3 Hemi has the same problems as the LS in the visuals dept.
I drive a mixed match vehicle from the factory… Mopar power, jag suspension (up front) fiat door handles, some things I don’t feel comfortable divulging, etc. No problem.. But hey, they even made their own valve covers for the mopar motivator to set it apart.
Hey Dave its funny you say that about the LS being the NY Yankees of motors around your parts because we say around here its the Boston Red Sucks of motors. Anyhow as far as motors in my opinion a Olds goes in a Olds a Buick in a Buick and so forth. I and many other immediatly lose interest any other way.
The LS is one ugly engine. We all agree on that. Right? Damn right! It is and will be the new engine of choice like it or not. If 440 6pac is a true Mopar guy he won’t ever like anything else. Mopar or no car they say. The bleed Ford blue guys would never put a Chevy in anything other than the lake. Face the fact that it is the so compact makes good power on the cheap, and gets amazing MPG. I won’t be putting one in anything I own. My Pontiacs will always be Pontiac powered. Maybe even my Model A? Get ovwr it, the LS is here to stay.
Damn right ratpatrol! GM took the SBC to new heights when it built the LS platform.
Hell even GM purist fans hated the LS engine when it first came out because nothing interchanged with the GEN1.
I had a 2004 GTO and was hooked the first time I drove it. Made 20 extra HP/TQ with just a $150 tune and still got 27MPG on the highway!
Suck it non-LS fans!
All right screw it. I’m buying this and putting an LS in it.
http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/cto/4399716766.html
boosted 2jz in a 68 tang? pretty awesome!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_HSRDeZ08M
it makes me chuckle when people crap on about how ugly an engine is….uh, kids, its a piece of machinery, not a piece of jewellery…are you putting it in your car to make the engine bay look pretty or to make the car go quick? what makes a Windsor or a sbc look any better? The two threads in all this are a) its ugly (really? keep the friggin hood shut then) and b) everyone uses them ( why? because they WORK.) Honestly, if the only reason you’re putting an engine in is because it looks purty at the show then in my book you’re missing the point of why the damn thing is there in the first place. Call me crazy, but I had this nutty idea that cars were primarily there to drive, not to look at. Don’t like how it looks? Do something about it – plenty of others have. How many people modify the outside of their car or their interior to make it look better? But what, its too hard to modify how an engine looks ( if you even care) Ok, rant over…
Guys if it works and makes you happy have fun!!! Last year at the Phx NHRA I saw a hemi motor in a ford, a dodge, and a toyota and not a single fight over it!!! Everyone enjoyed the show!!! That’s why so many flavors of ice cream.
I respect the LS motor’s affordable power; when the chips are down, you can’t beat price.
That said, I agree that they’re kind of boring and it’s disappointing to see a nicely conditioned Pontiac or Olds with an LS under the hood. In a world of infinite options, it just seems that LS swappers went ugly early and ignored the possibilities.
I’ll never bash on someone’s LS swap: it’s their choice, but I find myself ignoring or skipping past their cars more frequently at shows and events.
My personal preference?
Find a decent rig you like, bring it back to life as-is and wheel it. Life’s too short to waste on jackstands.
Putting an LS into a Ford will cause the car to develop borderline psychotic symptoms and try to wipe you out at the earliest opportunity! I’m recovering from a broken leg after I sneezed near my mustang and it thought I’d said Chevy – and then tried to run me over. Forget Christine, the ultimate evil car would be an LS equipped Ford – I’m now burning a plastic model of a Chevy as a peace offering or maybe I should stop inhaling the nitrous before it gets into the fuel system!
A used LS engine would be an improvement in the new Mustang.
Every Chevy smallblock of a particular era gets hate because it shows the guy in question cares about going fast with simplicity, compactness, light weight and common sense, without spending a metric ton of money.
I love all engine swaps. That stupid Toyota turbo engine in the Mustang? Good stuff. Viper V10 in a Camaro? Sure why not. Whatever floats your boat.
Even if that boat is a “boring” 700 horsepower, turbocharged stock-long-block 4.8 out of a pickup truck you bought for $600.
There’s a 4.8 under the hood of my S-10 project for a reason.
This is a stupid discussion. Thanks a lot NUTting . . . We all know that BS staff is packed to the gills with GM fanboys.
But those who say a used “LESS” would be an improvement in the new Mustang are either trollers or idiots. They’ve obviously never driven or raced a Coyote-powered car. I do both . . .