Engine
For the hot rodder who demands usability and performance, Smeding Performance’s 408” LS3 engines are designed to take your project to the next level. These aren’t your typical cookie-cutter kits—they’re full-fledged, turnkey engine packages built to drop into your classic chassis and turn it into a road-ready rocket. Whether you’re chasing street-friendly power or show-stopping performance, Smeding has you covered with engines dialed in for hot rod perfection.
When it comes to adding power to your small-block Chevy, the camshaft is an integral part of the performance equation. Luckily for owners of Chevy’s latest iteration (Gen III) of the famous small block, the modern fuel-injected LS1 responds just as well to camshaft upgrades as the LT1s, L79s and L48s of old. Naturally, cam technology has come a long way since the days of the Duntov 30-30 profile. The improvements in cam technology are important, as the new LS1 is head and shoulders above any of the old ’60s and ’70s muscle-car small blocks, regardless of the advertised power ratings.
Here’s a question that ought to neatly divide our reading audience in two: Which Camaro is better, the ’68 or the ’98?
During the muscle-car wars of the ’60s and early ’70s, few companies produced motors that were surrounded by the kind of aura that ebbed and oozed like a fog around Mopar. Engines like the 426 Hemi, 426 Max Wedge and 440 Six Pack were among the most coveted and feared of the era. It says something of a car company’s commitment to power and performance when a multi-carbed 440 big block is not the most wanted engine in a manufacturer’s lineup. So it was with Mopar, because for many, the 440 was the engine you got if you couldn’t afford or couldn’t find the car you wanted with a Hemi.
We’d all love to drive the latest, hottest historic vehicles, and those who can should rejoice that they are able to drive whatever currently spins up their tach. Regardless of brand, style or even condition, these vehicles are often extensions of us and are considered with the same regard as friends or family. Rather than overlooking them when troubles arise, every effort is made to ensure that these relationships last and grow through interaction and improvement.
If you’ve ever imagined a time when you could simply pick up the phone or send an e-mail to General Motors and order the engine of your dreams, pull it out of a box delivered to your door and plug it into the car of your dreams, then stop dreaming as that time has come. While it’s not new information that GM Performance Parts provides an assortment of engines to choose from, it’s never been easier to select the one that is best for your budget and the intended purpose of your car.
Low in its architecture and functionally beautiful, the LS2 engine is an ideal replacement for a previous generation of Chevy powerplants. It offers good
performance, greatly improved economy and plenty of support from an industry leaders.
In 1999, Stotts decided to replace the carbureted 350, which was installed in 1991, with a Corvette TPI motor. Stotts wanted to bring the car into the new millennium with style, adding the extra convenience of electronic fuel injection. A resident of Mena, Arkansas, Stotts visited nearby Street & Performance to get started on his project. The S&P guys are well-known for being wizards when it comes to figuring out how to stuff an EFI motor in an older car and actually making it work.
Bob Gruitch just thought his car was not performing up to his expectations. A ’55 Chevy equipped with a 502 big block, square port heads and a Crane H296-2 camshaft should be more than enough power. But it lacked power and didn’t idle all that well, especially in gear. This shouldn’t be happening with an engine built by John Gianoli at Reggie Jackson’s High Performance Engine Shop, so Gruitch figured he had something wrong and brought the car to John Bishop’s Hot Rod Tuning Service to have it checked. He’s lucky that he did.
When GM introduced the Gen III small block in the F-body, it rekindled a dying performance flame with its new-generation small block. While the Gen I small block actually kick-started the hobby and got it into gear, it’s the latest family of small-block engines that has grabbed the attention of enthusiasts everywhere—and for good reason.
