There are 580 reasons to do this.

Well the time has certainly come to decide on a power plant, and I presume the image to the left caught your eye, hence the element of surprise is lost somewhat by now.

So here it is.

The all aluminium Chevrolet Performance LSA, 6.2L Supercharged V8.

 

 

"But its a LS conversion, everyone does a LS conversion..." 

 
Do they?. Well, I am aware of the loathing in certain points of the community towards the USDM engines, the Chevrolet, Ford and Mopar gear, but is it really justified?.

Is there a engine you can buy new today, that makes such power / torque with this reliability, low weight, short block length with so much aftermarket support?.

Ive thought about this, and the answer is no. While some engines tick a box or two, they are too long, or heavy, or have no parts backup. I was considering going the Nissan DOHC VK56 V8 and a Whipple charger, but im a little tired of hand making every single part. Im happy to build a car but im tired of re-inventing the wheel all the time because I wanted something no-one else has.

Secondly, ive never been a fan of low torque clutch kicking engines, this I realised more and more with my 180SX (CA18DET) I had in Europe. Its cool but its '2003' cool, hence why I went to the TB48DET option some time ago, I wanted the torque. I know there are a lot of SR20 people now cursing out the monitor, but in all honesty, I need the torque with all that will be going on in the car with my disability aswell, feet, hands. The last thing I want is to be kicking clutches and waking it up mid turns.

So the options were

• LS3, and at 430hp N/A a fine motor to run. Down the line that has two sub options, High comp 13:1 E85 N/A and bump it to 416cubes or such, with a individual throttle body setup and try to get my own version of a SBC sprintcar / Nascar motor in a LS, something very snappy and ready to fight. This isn’t a cheap option to build on-top of the original cost of the engine.
  
  The next option is a 2.9L Whipple and thats $7k (USD) and another engine build ontop of that, so again were talking big numbers invested.

Or

• LSA. At 580hp (AU HSV version. US version is 556hp) its already a incredibly impressive setup that has a smooth torque curve and will be a charm to drift. This has its own sub-options but they are far easier to attain for now, where you can add a cam, pulley, injectors (depending in base pressure) and you’re already into the 700hp range on E85.   

Of course down the line I may go a Whipple charger on-top, but from now till then this seems to be a far better option.Turbocharging is my #1 method of fast engines, but I didn’t want a drifter with turbos, a maze of manifolds, lines, intakes ... too much to go too wrong and make you regret doing it. This is exactly why I originally wanted a high comp LS3/7 setup, simple. Oil goes in here, water goes in there, fuel goes in that and you turn the IGN on.


With the contradicting selling point of the drift community on one hand saying "bring what you got" as in chassis and engine combos, but then saying "... and no you cannot cut the firewall", you are essentially giving people the option of tired SR20's, long and heavy 2JZ's that cant be set back, or V8's ... that clearly people dislike, just so they can dislike.

Yes there are other set-ups no doubt, but its far from a generous selection of setups. Take Formula Drift US, how many SR's are left in that ?. Soon it will be the same for RB and JZ motors, and its going to be the LS cup.


Sure I could have gone 2JZ-GTE, but I have such a moral problem with a Toyota engine in a Nissan. Thats like a LS in a Mustang, ask either community what they think of that combo and the answers get ugly. Secondly, id spend the whole amount building a tired 2JZ on what I spent to purchase the LSA.

And the LSA is still unique in my opinion.

Version 2.0 ...?.

Ugh.

That one word sums up how im feeling on this matter. Ugh.

Firewall modifications are now a no-no in AU, EU and US drift. Well, almost everywhere. In one way, I totally see and understand why Formula Drift USA (seems to be leading the charge to over-regulate drift) goes about this, to stop tube framed self built cars that will either cost more than most FIA GT cars, or to stop humans getting crumpled in a pile of home-made garbage.

Safety ?. Cost ?.

However, not allowing firewall cuts to allow better engine placement, means that one day, every drift car in the world will be running a LS series Chev. Well ok maybe not every.

While that seems far fetched, what other brand / type of engine gives you such a short length, is as light, with such reliability, torque, power and ease of access to racing parts anywhere in the world to give you infinite amounts of seup combinations?. I cant think of many that fit the bill as well as the current range of SB LS series of engine. And compared to the TB48, that will be flat out boring.

I wanted to create something unique, something very competitve, yet out of the norm. So far ive got about 11k in engine and loose parts sitting in crates, and now I am going to have to abondon the whole idea, and, the car itself.

The issue is that i've cut the firewall on the 32, and now its "illegal". I wanted to be unique, and fit a taller, heavier and longer engine, that has the ability to make a LOT of power into the Skyline, but im now going to be boring and drop in a LS Chev. The TB is far too long to sit in the engine bay, and its too heavy for this Skyline to sit in a general location, much like the RB.

And thus my prior problem, what to go with?. I dont want to go RB26, so my next option is LS/SB Chevrolet. While I know I can build a unique and powerful V8, it isnt the option I wanted to take. And this hence ... ugh.

Thankfully, to resolve the issue of a new chassis, I managed to score another rolling shell for $650. Getting tired of re-drawing the map on this ...

Lets hope this fresh start will be a positive one.

Firstly I wanted to appologise for being so quiet. Its been a hard couple years, with health / paraplegia woes, but were on that case.

As a stay at home dad, ive also taken some time with my awesome daughter Ivanka, and while I love racing, she will only grow up once, and I wanted to be right there in the passenger seat. 

Even now she tells me "... when we build the racing car, .. ".

Understood. Ok lets get this moving.

Damn that time ...

Id say where does the time go, but I know the answer to that.

Last year I went to Europe for a few months, to see some Drift Allstars and enjoy the sight. Plus i was really burnt out and needed that time away to get some motivation and enjoyment back into it.

I have all of these pics and vids yet to upload, and of course ill add something here. So for the lacking content, im sorry, but i do promise its going to be a lot busier now.

Ok, related content - After deciding with Glenn (AKA Lumpy) we need to abandon the Chev bell housing to the TB48, and go with a Nissan unit, then adapt the Tremec at the main case was great to hear, because I was thinking it and had hoped to hear a similar thought.

The biggest sole issue I have with using the Chev bell housing, is that the starter motor is going to be a logistical nightmare to mount, as the starter location is on a web of the block for the bolt pattern. No go.

So it came to finding a aluminum Nissan Patrol bellhousing to suit. After 4 days and many many calls across many wreckers here and over east, I managed to find one - yes. So now onto mounting the gearbox to the engine, so I can then mount the engine in the chassis and laser-line it all up for engine mounts.

More soon !