Our new engine was designed...
Our new engine was designed to closely imitate GM’s potent LS7, while also out-performing it. The aluminum-block SBC displaces 427 cubic inches and features 23-degree Pro1 CNC aluminum heads from Dart Machinery.
Though it may seem that an engine swap in any car would be cumbersome, these older Corvettes make the job less difficult than you might surmise. There's a surprising amount of room in the engine bay, and the car's systems are fewer and simpler than on newer models, making this a basic, nuts-and-bolts operation.
Because the five-speed transmission is a tight fit—and since changing an engine in any car with a quality paintjob demands extra care—we enlisted the professionals at Inline Performance Specialists in central Florida to lend us an extra set of hands. With the assistance of Tod and Garret Struck at Inline, we made short work of the operation, easily completing the swap over the course of a Saturday.
Making the job easier, of course, was the fact that we'd already tuned our LS7-killer on Auto Performance Engines' engine dyno. Nothing beats simply bolting an engine in place and turning the key to have it start and run properly from the get-go. (There's still something to be said for the basic approach of a quality carburetor and electronic ignition.) With our Stingray running, we only had to verify that ignition timing hadn't changed, then hook up our exhaust system. Unfortunately, due to the design of our car's exhaust and the new Hooker headers, we did need some new parts to make it work.
This month we'll show you the installation of our LS7-killer SBC, along with the parts necessary to ensure that Project C3 Triple-Ex stays operational for a long time. This is shaping up to be a seriously fun car, and an initial, open-header blast around the parking lot (OK, and maybe down a back road) revealed that our Vette now has power to spare. We've ordered an exhaust system, so it won't be long before we can drive the car on the street and take it to the track for testing. Be sure to follow our project in future issues of VETTE, and look for videos of our first drive on vetteweb.com.
We dyno-tuned our LS7-killer...
We dyno-tuned our LS7-killer at Auto Performance Engines, ultimately making more than 613 hp and nearly 540 lb-ft of torque running on 93-octane fuel purchased at the station down the road.
To gain an extra set of hands...
To gain an extra set of hands during our engine swap, we enlisted the help of the guys at central Florida’s Inline Performance Specialists. With their help, we quickly had the 350 ready to pull from the engine bay.
With the engine out of our...
With the engine out of our Stingray, we took the time to give the compartment a thorough cleaning. This is a great time to degrease and touch up any areas that need paint before installing the new engine.
With the car taken care of,...
With the car taken care of, we concentrated on fitting the accessories to the new engine and prepping it for installation. Since our LS7-killer is dimensionally identical to a standard SBC like the one we’re removing, the swap should be painless.
We chose a Centerforce DFX...
We chose a Centerforce DFX series clutch to handle the power of our new engine. We’ve found the Centerforce products to work well, without the heavy pedal effort required by some performance clutches.
The Centerforce clutch kit...
The Centerforce clutch kit includes a new flywheel, clutch disc, pressure plate, throw-out bearing, alignment tool, and all hardware necessary for the installation.
The flywheel and clutch assembly...
The flywheel and clutch assembly are SFI certified, ensuring safety and legality at sanctioned racing events.
After tightening the flywheel...
After tightening the flywheel bolts to the specifications in the Centerforce instructions...
...we installed the DFX clutch...
...we installed the DFX clutch disc and pressure plate using the supplied alignment tool. Thread-locking compound was used to ensure the fasteners stay in place.