Whether you're building a full-on Vette Rod, or you just want to update your Corvette with a more-modern powerplant, these books will help you plan that project right--the first time!
Going Gen III? Get These TwoStory by Scott Ross Photos by Patrick Hill Whether you’re thinking of buying a C5 or C6 Corvette and want to upgrade its “Gen III” engine, or if you’re considering swapping one of these new-tech mills into your pre-‘97 Corvette, these two books from CarTech Books should be on your must-read list.
Will Handzel’s How To Build High Performance Chevy LS1/LS6 V-8’s is worth its weight in gold, if only for the step-by-step engine removal sequences for Corvettes and the steel-bodied GM vehicles (i.e., ’93-’02 Camaros and Firebirds and ’99-’06 Chevy/GMC light trucks) that use that same engine platform. There’s a history of the Gen III’s development that took it from a brainstorm to a production engine, and a parts-interchangeability guide that’s bound to inspire more than a few “What if…” project ideas.
An ideal companion volume, and a natural follow up, is Richard Holdener’s Dyno-Proven GM LS1 Thru LS7 Performance Parts. It’s more than just a collection of pretty product pictures. It’s a reference book that shows you what works on these engines, with the dyno data, from thousands of pulls on both engine and chassis dynos, to back it up. Each chapter is packed with comparison tests, on components like throttle bodies, mass-airflow sensors and air intakes; intake manifolds; cylinder heads; camshafts; headers and exhaust systems, as well as power-adders like superchargers, turbochargers and nitrous oxide injection.
If you score both of these books before you start planning your Gen III-powered project, and go through all the information in them thoroughly, you’ll have lots of questions answered, even ones you hadn’t thought of thinking up yet. With all that info, you’ll also be dollars ahead—and saving loads of time, too—even before you spin the first wrench. GET IT: How To Build High Performance Chevy LS1/LS6 V-8’sCarTech Books, 800/551-4754, www.cartechbooks.com.List Price: $18.95 + shippingDyno-Proven GM LS1 Thru LS7 Performance Parts.CarTech Books, 800/551-4754, www.cartechbooks.com.List Price: $24.95 +shipping