{"id":6502,"date":"2014-06-26T17:42:45","date_gmt":"2014-06-27T00:42:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/?p=6502"},"modified":"2015-11-11T09:51:30","modified_gmt":"2015-11-11T17:51:30","slug":"bangin-the-gears-modern-motor-swaps-yay-or-nay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/bangin-the-gears-modern-motor-swaps-yay-or-nay\/","title":{"rendered":"[Bangin’ the Gears] Modern Motor Swaps: Yay or nay?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"ModernMotorSwaps\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Love\u2019em or hate\u2019em, modern motor swaps are a big part of the industry. But with all the hoopla about LS-swap this and modular-Ford-swap that, we forget that enthusiasts have been swapping newer, more powerful motors into their hot rods for years. Need proof? We only need look at the many Flatheads swapped into pre-deuce Fords or the many early coupes and roadsters that received hot-rod Cadillac motors shortly thereafter. So why should the thought of a modern Ford, Dodge or Chevrolet motor swapped into an older vehicle evoke as much anger as it does applause? Maybe because we\u2019ve reached a point in the industry where gearheads are looking back as much as they\u2019re looking forward. Before writing me off as another LS-fan boy, I might add that I love a period-correct combos just as much as I love a resto-mod build\u00a0(or however you want to label it) powered by a modern drivetrain. I\u2019ve learned to appreciate a wide scope of vehicles for an even wider range of reasons\u2013in the end, if someone invests hard-earned time or money into something he or she loves, I can appreciate it. But I digress.<\/span><\/p>\n

Walking a recent car show, I decided to sit back and listen to the comments from two different Chevy II Nova owners with modern twists to their rides. Both had LS-swaps; one still utilized the stock intake manifold and was largely stock, while the other had been converted to a carburetor setup with the coils relocated out of sight. The stock LS swap received as much praise as it did criticism. Proponents vowed \u201cI love LS swaps,\u201d and \u201ca classic car with modern drivetrain and electronics means you can daily drive it,\u201d while opponents commented \u201cthe new motors are so ugly, he could have made just as much power with a SBC,\u201d and \u201che should have left it alone, it\u2019s not true to its roots,\u201d \u2013the stalemate was exactly what I expected.<\/p>\n

But the real conundrum started when I eavesdropped near the carbed LS-swapped Nova. The majority of onlookers took a gander and followed it with some praise without ever mentioning that it was an LS motor. Were they even aware? The remaining majority noted that the headers weren\u2019t like an SBC, which prompted a closer look into the motor\u2019s true identity. Most onlookers then commended the owner for keeping the carburetor and inquired how he\u2019d done it, while others shrugged their shoulders as if they\u2019d never considered the option or were indifferent at best.<\/p>\n

Of course, this prompted even more pondering as to the root of the controversy; is the modern motor the problem or is it the fuel injection? Perhaps it\u2019s both. I polled locals at several local shows and was again met with opponents and proponents with only a handful of gearheads that were indifferent\u2013when asked what these same people thought about a traditional SBC topped with modern fuel injection, the results were identical.<\/p>\n

So again, I was left with little more than my thoughts\u2026and a cold Coke this time. What I\u2019ve come to realize is that it’s not so much the fuel injection or the modern motors, but just about anything modern and new. Look at independent front suspension and aluminum wheels. You either love\u2019em or you hate\u2019em, which again brings me back to the reality that our industry is looking backwards just as much as it is forwards\u2013and if you ask me, I\u2019m OK with that. I will add one caveat though: No matter your stance, we should be accepting of all hot rods no matter the marquee, the style, the year or the color because in the end, we\u2019re all apart of a special industry that should acknowledge our differences, share our opinions and above all, stick together.<\/p>\n

Until next month, enjoy the summer and send us pictures of you and your hot rod, whatever it might be.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Love\u2019em or hate\u2019em, modern motor swaps are a big part of the industry. But with all the hoopla about LS-swap this and modular-Ford-swap that, we forget that enthusiasts have been swapping newer, more powerful motors into their hot rods for years. <\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":6504,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[17,3712,9],"tags":[1002,1001,14,216,999,892,1000],"class_list":["post-6502","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-guest-column","category-hot-rods","category-tech-tips","tag-bangin-the-gears","tag-carb-set-up","tag-hot-rods","tag-justin-fivella","tag-ls-swap","tag-mustang","tag-stock"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/ModernMotorSwapsFeature.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p42YSK-1GS","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6502","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6502"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6502\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20818,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6502\/revisions\/20818"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6504"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6502"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6502"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6502"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}