Corvette motors

[Robert Lawrence]

I would hesitate to put something other than a Ford V8 in a '40, as it does represent the heart of the car...
However...
Over here in the land of Oz, Holden Special Vehicles tinkers with family cars and sells them as part of an agreement between GM Holden, and TWR.
Most of them have more powerful v8 motors, the basic unit is based on the current Chevrolet "Gen 3" all alloy V8.
Recently they built a show car, called the "HRT Ute"
(or HRT pickup for you guys in the US of A),
weighing in at 3705 lbs-
named after their Holden Racing Team.
My point is this: what a motor! And if it could be duplicated by a Ford V8, and placed in a '40, the world would be a better place!
It is apparently completely smog and noise legal, with the following figures:

5.7 Gen 111 v8, all alloy, based on the Corvette LS6.
4" GM powertrain crank, resulting in 382 CID.
10.6 cr, Ok for our low "high octane" unleaded fuel.

1300 revs, torque 350, power 87
1900 revs, torque 376, power 136
4800 revs, torque 443, power 405
5800 revs, torque 425, power 469

As you can see, almost as much power as the fabled 7 litre '40's, in a motor that might well weigh hundreds of pounds less than the old one.
Food for thought anybody?


[img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
[img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

eight smileys for that special noise!

[ChrisL]

Do I get an inkling of someone trying to stir the pot here? [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

One word comes to mind - "ROD"

as in...

Push ROD
and
Hot ROD

Gimme a break, (sorry Robert [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img] ), but I find it hard to take this car seriously in the 2000's. What on earth were they thinking? (or maybe its just my blue oval streak showing here) [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

C'mon you USA guys give us the details on the Saleen quad-cam Ford V8 and lets put these GM guys finally to shame. No doubt this engine will eventually find its way into a '40.

(Doing a bit of $h1t stirin' here myself me thinks [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] )

[Ron Earp]

You can do exactly the same with a Ford:

Take a 351 out to 377, 408, and even 427 - make even bigger numbers.

And it is cheap, at least here in the states.

Ron

[Gary Gibbs]

I wonder what is the weight of the aluminum GM motor? You can get an all alum 7 liter (up to 500 cid) at ~420 lb.

[Mark Worthington]

The LS1 and LS6 GM engines have been the bane of Mustang enthusiasts since 1997. There's a company in either Texas or Florida called MTE that offers CNC porting for LS1 and LS6 heads, as well as a stroker kit. It is not unusual for an MTE F body or Corvette to achieve 500+ rwhp in naturally aspirated form, while still retaining decent street manners. The LS1s do tend to bend pushrods easily when over-revved, and the 2001 LS6s experienced high oil consumption problems, which was fixed with a new oil ring design for the 2002 Z06 Corvette (405 hp off the showroom floor).

Considering that the Ultima GTR uses an LS6 mated to a Porsche transaxle (G50?), I'd say the LS6 is indeed quite feasible for a GT40. The exhaust system would have to be custom fabricated, of course, along with the motor mounts. It really comes down to issue of anything other than a Ford engine in a GT40. I'll stay out of that debate, thank you.

[ March 20, 2002: Message edited by: Mark Worthington ]

[Mark Worthington]

BTW, lots of tech info on LS1 and LS6 cars and engines at www.ls1.com

LT-5's are expensive.
4.6 L SOHC Ford Motors are cheaper and getting easier to find used as more Cobra (Mustang) owners crash them.

Why not duplicate what SVO is doing
and go with a Rootes blown 4.6L.
I'll bet that would be cheaper than an LT-5,
and be really impressive. The big drawback would be lack of a trans adapter,
but a bright individual should be able to
overcome that.

If not, there's always the dull and boring way...crush 'em with cubic inches.
A 351W can be taken out to 427, and with
decent aluminum heads and a big ole Holley,
can make a VERY boring 500 HP and idle smoothly. And for a modern look, go for
fuel injection and 20 mpg in the process!

MikeD

If

[Robert Lawrence]

Well you guys are certainly passionate about your motors!
It goes to show that the engine really is the heart of the car..especially a '40.

And that I should NOT float the idea of a supercharged Honda S2000 motor.

[img]images/icons/tongue.gif[/img]

[Ian K]

Like I said before, how about an LT5
out of a ZR-1? Some mods have pushed it
to 475HP/400+ lbs/ft, and some guys
have over 500HP/460lbs/ft.

Oh, and no push rods to bend!

Ian

[Mark Worthington]

Believe me, I'm a big fan of 32-valve V8 engines, but I'm afraid that trying to shoehorn a DOHC 4.6 or an LT5 into the GT40 would be an exercise in futility. The modular Fords have a small bore spacing so they could probably fit front-to-rear, but they're taller and wider than the 427, especially if you had a roots blower on top of one.

[GT40 MKII]

shelby has aluminum 427's. they may be costly, but wow
http://www.carrollshelbyent.com/

[imsa]

Here's a 427 for under $5,000. Note the timing belt on the cammer.

IMSA http://www.conleyprecision.com/prod01.htm

[ March 23, 2002: Message edited by: imsa ]

[ March 23, 2002: Message edited by: imsa ]

[ March 23, 2002: Message edited by: imsa ]