[Schurkey]

Originally Posted by Sirrotica

First thing is the original posters question, " Can old Pontiacs perform like LS motors?"

I don't own anything with an LS.

I was peeved at Jay Leno, when he disgraced his Toronado that GM built a big-block Olds and FWD; when he turned it into LS-powered RWD.

I don't spend much time looking at LS-powered anything at a car show. If it's new enough to have an LS from the factory, it's too expensive for me. If it's an LS transplant, I just don't care.

Having said all that, the LS is the best pushrod V-8 on the planet. It wipes the floor with most OHC V-8s as well. Six years of development head-start, plus The Magic of Overhead Cams, and the 2-valve Ford Modular got it's ass handed to it when GM put an LS in the first model-year vehicle. (MY 1991 vs. MY 1997)

Can old Pontiacs perform like an LS? No.

Hot-roddy folks tend to not really care about emissions control, or long-term (high-mileage) durability, and actually dislike smooth idle and a civilized exhaust noise; lots of stuff in the real world gets compromised to achieve big power numbers. Three letters and the Pontiac is out-of-the-running: NVH. GM doesn't have the luxury of ignoring all the inconvenient details and Government regulations.

Given equal electronic management the Pontiac can come close, cubic inch for cubic inch--but only when using heaps of aftermarket parts. The Pontiac might have a lower-rpm torque peak, and a lower-rpm horsepower peak. That might make it more usable with a conventional, non-overdrive transmission and "highway gears". Add in a 4-plus gear automatic or a 5--6 gear manual, and I'm not sure the benefit still exists.

GM did it the hard way--solid, magnificent engineering of the basic package coupled to electronic controls of a sort not even imagined during the 60s let alone the '50s (and still impractical when the last Pontiac engine rolled off the assembly line.) It's so far ahead of the "old Pontiac" that the only hope for the Pontiac is to utilize as much LS engineering as possible. This would start with the electronic controls. We'd need integrated accessories so the alternator and PS aren't flopping around on spindly stamped-steel brackets. We'd need a proper intake manifold suitable for fuel injection--assuming we aren't going "direct injection". And I don't know what we're going to do about engine weight.

Making a Pontiac perform "Like an LS" is like making ME perform like some top athlete. Yup, I can do it...if I have a big enough head start and I can ignore all the rules. Without a system of handicaps giving me unfair advantage, I don't stand a chance.