blasphemy

[el dub]

or hot roddin.  Guy lives around the corner from me. Chevy LS 1 motor. He tears it up around here at the stop lights

[6spd68]

General REEliability? 

[myk]

We'll, it's not what I would do but to each their own, and the LS1 is a great motor with a lot of respect for it...

[Mike DC]

  
There was a time when I would have said blasphemy.  But not as much now, because Mopar won't make what I want.  I must admit I have considered switching too.  

GM & Ford have been making aluminum block V8s for 10-15 years.  Mopar still isn't making one, and it's not because nobody is complaining about Charger & Challenger curb weights.

(Yeah I know the aftermarket makes alloy Mopar V8 blocks - for $5000.)

[jaak]

Its the opposite of this (Mike Finnegan's 55 Chevy with a Hemi in it).....

[timmycharger]

Looks like its an SE with cruise control 

[68RT440]

Yuck. I work at a hot rod shop and we put LS motors and small block chevys in all of the old Fords that we build, but a Cheby motor in a Mopar...that's hard for me to swallow..

[68X426]

I would rather see a Slant 6 in it. 

[JB400]

It's just wrong, no matter how you look at it.  I wonder what the price difference is between the LS and a modern Hemi?

[Patronus]

02 

[VegasCharger]

It's just wrong, no matter how you look at it.  I wonder what the price difference is between the LS and a modern Hemi?

[Mike DC]

 

I wonder what the price difference is between the LS and a modern Hemi?

There is probably an overdrive auto tranny behind that LS motor.  The GM 4L60E goes under a B-body without hacking anything.  Don't forget the costs of that when you compare a modern Hemi.  Keisler was selling that same tranny conversion for our cars for about $4k. 

[JB400]

Done some pricing:

Gen 3 Hemi:
 Both are plug and play

        5.7 FI:  $7,625  Source:  http://www.bpeusa.com/P4510593.asp

        6.1       $8,990                 http://www.bpeusa.com/P5155067.asp


LS engine:

     plug and play
       
      LS3 E rod:     $7,978.97          http://www.summitracing.com/parts/nal-19257230

     

Transmissions:

       Mopar A518:     $1,199            http://www.wholesaletransmissiondistributor.com/A518_46RE_4_speed_rebuilt_automatic_transmission_p/a51846re9899.htm

        GM  700R4:  $625   http://www.wholesaletransmissiondistributor.com/product_p/700r48393ca.htm

        GM  4L60E:  $649                
http://www.wholesaletransmissiondistributor.com/product_p/4l60e9496cp.htm
       

[Mike DC]

       
Somehow I doubt that GL owner dropped $8k for a brand new LS3 in that car. 


The Mopar A518 doesn't fit without some hacking. 
The driveline angles are still screwy unless you do SERIOUS hacking and fabricate the entire crossmember at the tunnel area.   

[Ghoste]

Blasphemy.

[Mytur Binsdirti]

What a waste of a good car. Not the drive train, the paint job.

[wingcar]

I have a problem with using a different make of engine in any vehicle.  I love seeing old Mopar Street Rods (a rare sight), but when the hood goes up only to reveal a GM engine....it just seems so wrong. 
I know a Chevy small block is much cheaper and all that, but still it just doesn't cut it in my mind.  You may as well put some "SS" emblems on it as well.....(Just my two cents, and yes I know Dom's Charger in the Fast & Furious series is powered by a Chevy engine.....but, that's for the movies)

[Ghoste]

I'm with you 100%.  I don't care in the least for Chevy drivetrains (in general) (or Generals)(sorry, couldn't resist) in 32 Ford hot rods even if they are fiberglass kits.  I don't get excited about a Ford drivetrain in Camaro, a Mopar one in a Vette or whatever.
Now a Ford big block in a British sports car is impressive.  Same for a 440 in Toyota or a Chev in a canoe.  And of course an old style Hemi in any hot rod is cool.
Hypocrite I know but I just like what I like.

[myk]

I thought the owner put an LS"1" in the car?  Financially speaking, the LS1 is arguably a better buy than whatever Mopar options exist.  You can buy a complete, running, solid 300 hp LS1 for under a grand, but that same grand won't even buy you the "correct" Mopar bare block, assuming you can even find it.

Even then, I still say nay, but it's his project...

[Wicked72]

 

[HPP]

Not a big fan of crossbreds unless you own an orphaned brand. There are enough mopar parts out there to not crossbred.

My wife's Suburban has an LS. My Ram has a Hemi. She's always borrowing my truck because its more fun to drive. What's that tell you about pedestrian vehicle power output?

If you want to be a cheap hot rodder, then why are you playing with Mopars to begin with?

[Mike DC]

     

and yes I know Dom's Charger in the Fast & Furious series is powered by a Chevy engine.....but, that's for the movies

The car builder has gone on record saying that is purely a prop-car practicality.  It's not a Chevy in the fictional storyline.  The studio's official specs for the car still calls it a Hemi.  They actually showed a 426 Hemi block at Dom Toretto's place in one of the more recent movies.

[bill440rt]

Not sure what the hub-bub is all about.      It's just paint & decals. 

[HPP]

That is the same logic the shop that built the recent LS powered, purple Challenger has used. All of their fleet, including a couple of Fords, are all powered by LS engines so when they grenade one, and they have already lost two in the Challenger alone, then they can swap in another from another car and keep things moving.

While LSs do seem to make good power for a seemingly low investment, the same logic above could be used for a new Hemi approach and it will always have higher power potential than any LS ever will.

[Homerr]

Nothing to see here, move along.