I heard the LS1 borrowed from other brands which came before

[Ron E]

I did a quickie search. didn't find much. But, it looks like T&D or Jesel can solve those problems. Just requires foot-locker full of $20's for either.

[novadude]

I was told by a knowledgeable guy that Pontiac engineers developed the LS.

That one is a little hard to swallow, since GM powertrain was centralized by the time the LS was conceived. I don't think there were dedicated "Pontiac" powertrain engineers by the time the 1990s rolled around.

[engineguyBill]

The LS engine was developed by GM Powertrain division, at the GM Tech Center in Warren, Michigan. As has been stated already, most of the GM divisions were supplied with "corporate" engines from the powertrain division. There were (and possibly are) some divisions that do (did) design their own engine designs such as Cadillac, and Oldsmobile (Quad 4 and Aurora V-8). Pontiac has not had their own engine design for several decades.

[SchmidtMotorWorks]

The idea that the LS was a copy of any 50's or 60's engine is to look too much at the large features and ignore what makes it great (the details).
More simulation and analysis work was done on the LS than all engines made by all brands from the 50's and 60's combined.

That could probably even be said for some single components, such as plastic intake manifolds on some late model engines.

In the 60's it was easy for the aftermarket to improve on OEM castings, now; not so much.

[dfarr67]

I wouldn't discount engine management in this package. I think it adds to what service mileage these engines are getting.

[PackardV8]

The idea that the LS was a copy of any 50's or 60's engine is to look too much at the large features and ignore what makes it great (the details).
More simulation and analysis work was done on the LS than all engines made by all brands from the 50's and 60's combined.

That could probably even be said for some single components, such as plastic intake manifolds on some late model engines.

In the 60's it was easy for the aftermarket to improve on OEM castings, now; not so much.

For true. One well-publicized magazine test on the 5.3 demonstrated that. "Well, that's the economy model, so let's begin with the later, bigger better 6.0 heads, intake and cam." The power and torque went down. "Well, let's go to the magic aftermarket heads, intake, cam and computer." The power went down except above 6,500 RPM. GM had optimized the combination so no improvement was possible with the parts available for those tests.

A friend of mine owns a street rod shop. He built a '70 short box C10 with a stock 5.3. He sorted it and gave it to the customer who loved driving it.

[PackardV8]

The idea that the LS was a copy of any 50's or 60's engine is to look too much at the large features and ignore what makes it great (the details).
More simulation and analysis work was done on the LS than all engines made by all brands from the 50's and 60's combined.

That could probably even be said for some single components, such as plastic intake manifolds on some late model engines.

In the 60's it was easy for the aftermarket to improve on OEM castings, now; not so much.

For true. One well-publicized magazine test on the 5.3 demonstrated that. "Well, that's the economy model, so let's begin with the later, bigger better 6.0 heads, intake and cam." The power and torque went down. "Well, let's go to the magic aftermarket heads, intake, cam and computer." The power went down except above 6,500 RPM. GM had optimized the combination so no improvement was possible with the parts available for those tests.

A friend of mine owns a street rod shop. He built a '70 short box C10 with a stock 5.3. He sorted it and gave it to the customer who loved driving it. However, at a show, some passerby sneered at the stock intake and ignition. The customer brought it back with instructions to make it look like a hot rod engine, "You know, carburetor and distributor." Now it looks belly button, but the seat-of-pants power is down and it's getting 2 MPG less mileage.

jack vines

[1972ho]

Here is a ls head on a ford Windsor style engine

[SchmidtMotorWorks]

Here is a ls head on a ford Windsor style engine

So; the bore spacing are close and the head bolt patterns are the most obvious square pattern.

[PackardV8]

We were kicking around the LS-on-Windsor topic and a guy said, "No surprise they fit a Ford; you know Robert Yates designed those for GM."

[In-Tech]

For true. One well-publicized magazine test on the 5.3 demonstrated that. "Well, that's the economy model, so let's begin with the later, bigger better 6.0 heads, intake and cam." The power and torque went down. "Well, let's go to the magic aftermarket heads, intake, cam and computer." The power went down except above 6,500 RPM. GM had optimized the combination so no improvement was possible with the parts available for those tests.

jack vines

Really? lol
Here's a dyno plot of a bone stock 2008 5.3L(in blue) pulled from the junkyard, it was rated at 315hp and that was exactly what it made. Pulled the heads on the first cam change to install valve springs and put LS7 lifters in and a quick .003-.005" cut on the heads. I was pretty tired after 5 cam changes and 3 intakes per cam change so I didn't worry about fixing the fuel curve that caused the dip below 4500, I wish I would have . It's my "hotrod" cam kit.

Dyno_5_3L.JPG

[PackardV8]

Very impressive, Carl.

Just for clarification, will your hot rod cam kit and intakes pass an emissions tailpipe test and are CARB approved? If so, even more impressive!

[In-Tech]

Sorry Jack, I didn't design this one for emissions in mind although it really shouldn't be that dirty, it idles fine in closed loop albeit it does have a nice rumpy idle. It's in a vehicle now and will be going to the chassis dyno to finish off once the rest of the truck is ready. I really don't want to give away the cam specs of my kit since I did spend a lot of time/effort developing it and my "truck" cam(this has been through many smog tests perfectly, although It has not been through a CARB bag test). The "truck" cam is still almost 100hp over stock. I will tell you the "hot rod" cam is a reverse pattern to increase mid range torque

[TMSJoe]

The LS Chevy block looks a lot like a 292 Ford. You could almost bolt the LS head onto it.

[makin chips]

The LS Chevy block looks a lot like a 292 Ford. You could almost bolt the LS head onto it.

OK? That's pure coincidence, so what's your point? You dug this up to post that? Lol.