Our favorite LS swaps from LS Fest West 2023

After attending a few LS Fests it’s hard to be surprised to see one of the world’s most ubiquitous V-8s mounted into an obscure car or other conveyance. However, we were still impressed with the ingenuity and craftsmanship in many of the cars on display at LS Fest West 2023. Here are some of our favorite swaps from the event.

Steve Groenink’s 1973 Celica sat in a field for almost 30 years before he got his hands on it 13 years ago. It was reborn as a Pro Pouring build with a Lexus 1UZ swap, a pair of turbos, and a T-56 Magnum six-speed manual transmission. After winding up in a ditch with that build, Groenink rebuilt the car into the drag-and-drive competitor you see today. It’s powered by a 388-cubic-inch V-8 with LS3 heads, a Concept Performance LSR aluminum block, and aluminum rods. That fiendish build is mated to a two-speed Powerglide automatic transmission. A single Precision XPR 98mm turbo feeds it loads of boost to the tune of 1,163 hp—as measured by the LS Fest dyno. Groenink got eliminated just before making the drag race finals at LS Fest West 2023 but still managed to run a 7.93 E.T. at 189 mph when Las Vegas Motor Speedway’s density altitude was more than 6000 feet.

We’re not sure it really counts as a swap considering a kit car doesn’t come with any engine at all, but Chris Hein’s Factory Five coupe is very impressive nonetheless. After building the car on a budget, Hein rebuilt the car to compete in drag-and-drive events like Drag Week, Sick Week, and Rocky Mountain Race Week. A set of mirror-image Garrett turbos feed a stock 6.2-liter LSA long-block and help it produce more than 1000 hp. Hein shifts the car himself using a G-Force T-56 Magnum with a Tick Performance billet front plate and McLeod clutch. The car has run in the 8s and can rack up highway miles comfortably thanks to its air-conditioned cab.

Adam Rocconi, who goes by @WS6SIX6 on Instagram, bought this Trans Am for $900 when he was 17 years old. It originally boasted a tuned port 305, but now the car is now powered by an LQ9 from a 2004 Escalade that runs Holley Terminator X EFI. Of course, now the 6.0-liter V-8 has new heads and cam as well as an intake with eight throttle bodies from Redux Racing, so it’s making a lot more than its original 345 hp rating. The individual throttle bodies took some tinkering to sync up, although the snappy throttle response seems well worth the effort. Inside, the car’s original Recaro seats were reupholstered and looked amazing with the metallic brown exterior.

Of course, there were hundreds of LS swaps on display and we couldn’t see them all, let alone get the details on all of them, so here are some additional standout swaps that we managed to snap pictures of. Which one is your favorite? Let us know in the comments below.

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