383 Chevy Small Block LS1 Engine Build - LS Resurrection

Although most of Turn Key's Gen X engines are fuel injected-and we intend to try out EFI on this particular engine-we decided to go carbureted for this project. "We'll cater," said Turn Key's Kory Enger, so we bolted up an Edelbrock Victor Jr. LS1 manifold and teamed it with an MSD 6LS ignition controller. While we were looking to save a few bucks compared to the cost of an EFI system, the setup we used had one big advantage: simplicity. And sure, we're saying that installing the manifold, slapping on a carb, and dialing it in was simple. But the same thing goes for the MSD ignition controller-it truly is plug-and-play, especially if you go with one of the preprogrammed timing curve modules. How simple was it? This writer actually hooked most of the harness up, minus the power and ground wires. With that done, all that was left was to fire her up and have at it.

When all was said and done, it was hard to be disappointed with the results: 560 hp at 6,500 rpm, along with 505 lb-ft of torque at 5,100 rpm. And despite our emphasis on the upper end, we still managed a pretty broad torque band, maintaining 400-plus lb-ft from 3,300 rpm all the way to the end of the run at 7,000. They're good numbers, especially when you consider that we're dealing with only 383 ci and 10.3:1 compression. There's more in store for this thrown-away LS, but we're off to a good start. Check it out.

Quick Notes
What we did
Turned a cast-off LS1 into a potent stroker motor

Bottom line
We got big-block horsepower numbers from an aluminum small-block

Cost (approx)
$12,294