Power

6.0 LS ENGINE BUILD WITH PARTS FROM SUMMIT RACING

BY NOW I’M sure you’ve heard of the Chevrolet LS engine. If not, I’m glad you’ve finally found a way to get out from under that rock. The Lsbased engine platform has definitely taken over as the go-to engine swap in the last 5-10 years, and its popularity is still on the rise. Different variations of the engine can be found in everything from a bare-bones work truck all the way up to a factory-supercharged Corvette. Due to the different vehicle applications in which GM put these engines from the factory, obtaining an LS engine for your swap is easy. Just skim your local classifieds, or make a trip to the salvage yard, and you’ll probably have a dozen or so to choose from on any given day. But what if you’re skeptical about buying a used engine?

Purchasing a used, or “pull out” engine, does come with some risks, and you should definitely consider them before purchasing. Since most of the odometers in newer vehicles are digital, you can’t simply glance into a vehicle to see how many miles are on it. Even if the seller knows the mileage, you still just have to trust his word. Compression tests can be done, and salvage yards will usually give you some kind of guarantee, but what if you want more piece of mind? Good news, there are options for brand-new Lsbased engines.

When the opportunity to build a new LS engine presented itself to us, we knew right where to look for all of the parts we’d need. Summit Racing was our first and only phone call. Summit has been around since 1968 and is continuing to grow every year. In fact, it just completed the construction of its fourth distribution site located in Arlington, Texas. It also carries products from more than 1,500 manufacturers, so we were positive the company would be able to get us everything we needed to complete our engine build.

We discussed our options with a Summit rep and came up with a plan to build a strong and reliable engine that would also make great horsepower. We decided to go with a short-block from Blueprint Engines. We also opted for a complete top-end engine kit from Trick Flow to complete most of the build. However, there are a lot of smaller parts we still needed to complete the engine assembly and get it ready to drop into our project. Follow along and we’ll tell you all about it.