V8 Corvairs are cool, and I’ve seen several built over the years. Some are front-engine, some “mid” engine, but everyone I’ve ever seen has had the engine running the right direction. This one here however is going a totally different route. And by different I mean transverse mounting the LS. It’s an LS4, which came in front wheel drive V8 Impalas, and other than a few minor things it is just like all the other LS engines you know and love.
Here are the first two episodes on the build.
Video Description from John Reynolds.
The first requirement is to simply make room for the power train. After building a wooden dolly on casters to roll the engine around, it’s time to trim the inside of the body to make the engine fit. A plasma torch is used to clear irregular shapes like spring perches and a 6″ cut-off wheel on a 4-1/2″ grinder is used to slice most of the sheet metal. Bare with me as I get better with the video editing.
I am preparing a 2006 SS Impala to run next April on the Ohio Mile. I hope that Steve and CJ are continuing to improve and hope they will be able to be at the event. The Impala has a LS4 engine turned traversal in the car and of course it’s front wheel drive. It came from the factory with a 305 HP LS4 engine but based on advertised numbers and I know they can be whatever the product manufacturer wants to say they are but having been a HotRodder for longer than I like to admit it’s not hard to come to a conservative number. Based on that I feel like I will be going with 360 HP. I will be running General High Performance Z rated 17” tires and hopefully since these cars were tested as they came off the assembly line at 150 MPH I hope with a little lightening plus the additional 50-60 HP it will achieve that speed. I would like to build it in attempt to set a record in a predetermined class but it’s not like the old days with the ECTA and the white rulebook. You could see what class you were to be in and the engine classifications were self explanatory. If there was a question of what you could or couldn’t do a quick phone call to Keith cleared that up right away. I sat out a few years and came back last year just to try and get a 4,400 Crown Victoria to run over 130 and at 8:10 on Sunday AM ran 132:359. This will be my last Hoorah and I will miss the speed although my speeds aren’t so fast but much more fun than going down a 1/8 mile drag strip.
Wishing everyone a happy and safe New Year,
Garrell Patterson