LS engine architecture is indisputably amazing. There are examples everywhere, including the pages of Car Craft, of engines plucked out of salvage yards making reliable horsepower even at 1,000+ hp.

General Motors introduced the third-generation small-block V8 engine, the 5.7-liter LS1, in conjunction with the new C5 Chevrolet Corvette in 1997. That launch marked the beginning of the LS engine ...