Quote:
Originally Posted by NeighborsComplaint
You missed the point. You could argue you made the same trip in a Model A Ford. You have a bone stock Pontiac as-built by the factory with components capable of a 100,000+ mile life and made be driven wherever a road is paved. You have by every definition a street-car that can be driven anywhere they sell gas but, does your car have the performance of an LS?
In order to match the performance of that LS, your car would have its antique behemoth of an engine propped up by a lumpy aftermarket roller cam and lifters, spring pressures to handle the aggressive lift and heavy valve train, aftermarket roller rockers, aluminum aftermarket heads, aftermarket distributor and ignition. Since the motor would no longer be tractable, a loose convertor, tall gears and a modified Turbo400 trans or an aftermarket overdrive trans would have to be fitted.
Try your trip in one of those so-called street cars and the average, weekend mechanic better keep Enterprise on speed dial, they pick you up.
Correctly performed, swapping in a modest LS engine provides the same level of performance along with the reliability of factory engineered components, longevity and real-world gas mileage. In the O/P's case in particular, the time he has spent behind the wheel would be measured in months instead of minutes. An LS swap can even be carbureted and run a small block Ford distributor if simplicity is your game.
I apologize for derailing the OP's thread and am sympathetic to his situation. Were I in his shoes, given his original goals for the use of the car, I would have "rode the LS wave" so I could enjoy driving instead of owning a garage/shop ornament.
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Ask Derek Bieri how his LS swap is working out for him on the Power Tour. He ended up having to give up and buy a 1966 Ford pickup with analog technology in order to continue.
I disagree: I have driven LS powered cars and they don't have the 445 pounds of torque my old stock 400 has. They need to downshift to get up those steep grades. I've driven my dinosaur to Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Mesa Verde, all over the place for the last 40 years at high speeds and in relative comfort and no down-side. I have zero need to ad a complex, failure-prone, soul-less powerplant to my classic cars. If I want the new car experience, I'll drive a new car.