LS Motor Avanti

[Pat Dilling]

I read with interest the article by Barlow Soper in the new Turning Wheels about his planned engine swap to an all aluminum LS motor in his beautiful Avanti. If anyone has contact info for Barlow I would love to contact him to discuss his project and offer the benefit of my experience if he wants it.

Pat

[Sdude]

Maybe he needs a home for the Studebaker motor he's taking out?

[candbstudebakers]

He should be in the roster.

[52-fan]

As beautiful and unique as his Avanti is, I wonder why he doesn't just modify the Stude engine to not be such a monster. The Chevy will enhance the handling of the car, but much of its special nature will be gone. Of course, its his car and he needs to be happy with it.

[Pat Dilling]

I was able to get in touch with Barlow (thanks Jon). We had a nice long conversation and his project is moving along nicely. He is getting ready install the motor and all the attachments to see how it all fits compared to his mock ups. There are more articles to come for Turning Wheels so I won't steal his thunder. To answer 52-fan's questions, his goal is to maintain the power to weight ratio he has with the beast of a Studebaker motor and have a car that is more enjoyable to drive. His car is already significantly modified with a Jaguar rear end and 5 speed trans so taking away from originality is not a significant factor. His goal is a vehicle weight of about 3100 and with 430+ hp it should be a rocket that is pleasant and fun to drive. I am looking forward to seeing the results!

[52-fan]

I understand his goal as he stated it in Turning Wheels. It just seems a shame that such a unique engine with one off parts would be sidelined.