John: You missed a key piece in my plan: it's NOT just a V8 that has been done thosuands of times. I have not yet seen, despite looking hard everywhere I know, an LS engine in an AD truck.
The LS engines would normally be way inappropirate due to their need for a computer and a huge and ugly wiring harness.
However, recent developments in the marketplace make it possible to run a CARBURETED LS engine that looks very "traditional", without any "powertrain control module" (computer) and without the harness. These engines are so lightweight compared to a regular smallblock, and are so ridiculously easy to soup up inexpensively, that they are STARTING to transform the street rod scene. To my knowledge, I think there is actually a chance that my AD will be the FIRST AD to actually run an LS engine.
If I am incorrect on that - if any of you know of another one - PLEASE let me know. I would really like to speak with its owner, and see what issues he or she ran into relative to steering clearnace, oil sump, and engine front-mounted accessories!
BY the way, I have a BIG surprise planned when I do the LS thing. The visual impact will be "memorable".
Jim G
