E-rod Powered Supercar

Worried that tough new emissions and registration laws will doom hot rodding. Think again

today, Joe and Mike team up with Sagm Performance and factory five racing to prove you can build a potent ecofriendly legally registered Ferrari Killer for less than you think

here on horsepower, we often celebrate the heritage of high performance. Today's show though is all about the future.

We're gonna show you how to build a car from a special kit using world class race technology

and power it with a high horsepower, environmentally friendly crate engine. Now first the car itself, it's the GTM super car from factory five racing.

It's sleek, sexy aerodynamic and stands only 42 inches from the ground

and with its mid engine design,

it offers excellent weight distribution.

Yeah, you can forget your old notions about kit cars with cheap components and air cooled VW engines.

This is a breakthrough in imagination

design and technology from the closed head lounge buckets

to the functional cold air intake plus an elegant interior layout with custom padding

and a cool carbon fiber gauge layout.

Factory five was founded by brothers Mark and Dave Smith, a gearhead team that started business in a small shop south of Boston.

Their first car developed from a kit was the MK three Roadster

combining popular vintage sixties styling

with modern technology and engineering.

The world's changed

today with the tools we have with computer tools C ad manufacturing that's computer based, a small design team can do really amazing stuff. I mean, top notch work and that's happening across the board. So small companies are able to do and compete toe to toe with, with really a lot larger companies because of technology behind it.

The result says Dave is better quality than ever in our legendary replica

that's now affordable and easy to build.

Then came the type 65 coup a

replica that's faithful to the six original famous world champion road race cars.

The third car to come along is the challenge model, a professional competition racing version of the 65 MK three Roadster

seriously modified to address all the needs of a serious competition driver.

Car number four, the 33 Hot Rod,

not only eye candy, it's also got the same advanced chassis technology of their other cars from kits.

A cool looking hot rod that performs and handles like a sports car.

Their fifth design, the GTM is the epitome of performance and part of its secret lies in the foundation,

a strong yet light CD

designed a steel space frame with independent coil over suspension. I mean, once a guy gets the kit from us, he can, he can take a AC five Corvette, preferably a wreck one, take off the suspension, the engine,

the radiator, gas tank, steering.

Uh, basically anything, anything we could use from the corvette we did. Then you had a used Porsche 911 transaxle, some paint and you're good to hook up and go where 60% of the weight is in the rear of the chassis

and the thing really does hook up. Well,

well, this GTM already has a more than decent LS one engine for power. We're getting ready to swap that out for something even better.

It's the new General Motors performance parts E

Rod crate motor that's been called the future of high performance for good reasons.

It's a 6.2 L L S3 rated at 430 horsepower

and 424 ft pounds of torque.

It's the same engine that powers the new Camaro Ss and the Corvette

big power for sure. But also the smallest carbon footprint of any great motor.

The real secret to it is the technology that exists in production cars today.

Uh If you take a 2009 Corvette or a 2010 Camaro Ss,

they both deliver amazing performance, uh startling fuel economy. I mean, I get people that take their Corvettes and drive them because they wanna make a long drive and save fuel. They wanna get good gas mileage. So the LS series of engines delivers that in a production car

to be able to take that same technology

and that same level of engineering

and put that into a crate motor package is, is really what it's all about.

It's really a good feeling to be able to do the right thing.

So, you know, we don't have to do this. It's, it's a case where it's something that General Motors believes in. We, we're focused on the environment.

All of us as individuals feel the exact same way.

I'm a hot roder and have been my entire life. I, I just, I live for performance and everything about it.

Unfortunately, in the past, you had to compromise some of those things that you worry about for the future

and today you don't, I mean, I have Children and grandchildren just like, you know, you're everybody that watches this program, a lot of them and,

and we worry about what they're gonna be left with. So we have a responsibility to be clean.

The E rod is more than just a crate engine. It comes with an L S3 wiring harness, engine control module with an emission friendly calibration

catalytic converters

and Camaro style exhaust manifolds that are a little easier to work with than the Corvette style that dump in the middle.

Now, it also has 02 sensors and their bosses, a fuel tank, evaporative canister,

mass airflow meter with its boss

air filter

and a throttle pedal for the L S3 is electronic throttle

So when you use this crate motor, you can build any kind of street ride, custom or kit car so it can be registered for the street.

That's all. Thanks to a collaboration that started a few years ago between S

A

and several California agencies.

Joe, this is a very serious issue.

California estimated there are 70,000 erroneously or illegally titled specially constructed vehicles in that state

like kit cars, replicas and hot rods.

So the problem was vehicle owners were going to be threatened with prosecution

and potentially have their vehicles confiscated.

So

Sema stepped in to help find a solution.

First, se A helped enact a bill to create a one year amnesty period for owners to pay back taxes, fees and fines and avoid prosecution. What about future bill? Cars seem a worked with the factories for their participation

to provide crate engines that come with complete emission systems

and that's why we're here getting ready for our first

dyno test of an E rod crate engine built for environmentally friendly high performance.

Welcome back to a horsepower TV. First

geo performance parts do a mission friendly high performance crate engine

and factory five's built from

MT GTM. Soon to comprise an eco friendly high horsepower super car of the future.

As we mentioned earlier, the new E

is factory rated at 430 horsepower 424 ft pounds of torque. Now, we wanna see if we can meet or exceed G M's factory rating and we got a lot of hook up to do and the first thing is swapping out these manifolds.

We're using the Camaro manifolds because they're easier to work with on this application.

Now, we can install the two cat converters from the kit.

Next, the 02 sensors

and the specter mass airflow housing to install a kit sensor. Now make sure the direction is correct with the arrow pointing toward the engine.

Next up is the air filter. This one specifically designed for the E rod and the other filter could adversely affect the emissions results.

A

well designed harness is next,

we wanted to do a harness that the public could buy,

not designed for any specific vehicle, but it was easy to install. Gave them all of the circuits. It was easy to mount the components. Every connector is color coded. You simply slide them down on top,

you'll feel it snap in,

you retract the cover

so you hear it, click, it locks in place and you're done.

It's almost impossible to do this wrong.

Cool.

Finally, we can install the L S3 accelerator pedal and we're ready for some 93 octane fuel and a fire, no leaks. Everything's right on the money. All right, Mike. You ready? Let's do it. Here we go.

Is it running?

How loud do you think 430 horse power needs to be? That is nice, isn't it?

All right. Our dyno is no stranger to LS engines. And while the E ROD warms up, take a look at some of the LS engines. We've done performance builds to here in the shop.

One involved the build up of an LFO version we bought from a bone yard and made 386 horsepower on a budget of two grand.

Then by adding a hotter Cam Beehive springs, 1.85 roller rockers and a fast LSX component intake. We push that horsepower mark at 514.

Later on with the aid of some ultra high tech equipment from sensors Inc we used our

dyno

in a test that proved an LS with E three spark plugs could make more power while producing less harmful emissions.

We used an LS one mule motor to experiment with an EF I to carb conversion.

And after the transformation, our old school meets new world LS produced 490 horsepower. We even built a 427 cubic inch LSX with a stage three CAM

LS seven heads single plane intake and an 850 CFM car.

And now this a big first for us, not just high horsepower but a higher priority lower admissions.

Nobody's more stoked about this than this guy. He owns the car,

man. That thing sounds good.

Oh,

what do you think about that?

Good Lord.

I don't even know if I want to say the number. It's just a nice curve. I mean that curve is just

so,

so

you think that car was fast and

the way it sets,

look at the power, this thing's making at 6300,

495 horsepower, 440 ft pounds at 4900.

Ok.

Wow. I take that

after we get this ha in, can I drive the car?

Nothing funny about that draft. That's serious. Power in all the right places.

Well, next, the E Rod gets a new home so we can plant all that power. So stay with us.

It's the new GM performance parts E Rod trade engine that just made 495 horsepower on our dyno,

I'll take that.

And his future home is this ultra sleek GTM super car from factory five racing

first though. We got to get the car's LS one out to make way for the high horse replacement.

The first step is to pull away the carbon cliver rear diffuser

and for clearance, remove the headers and the starter grab that Jim,

then we can unbolt the tranny and with a little bit of twisting and turning.

It is

free it from the car. We be free

now. The LS one should come out with little trouble.

Oh, let's stop there. Can you pull over towards you just a little bit more?

There you go

straight up, straight up. Keep going.

All right, we're clear to come all the way out now,

cleared the bar,

you can, you can change an engine fairly easily. The transmission comes off the back. So the engine will lift straight up

and that makes it relatively easy with just a couple of guys to get in and out. Is it lunch time?

I'm

hungry.

In order for the E ROD to drop right into the GTM. We have to swap some of the parts,

the accessory drive motor mounts and sensors to name a few. So the E ROD sits in the same location and has all the clearances of the LS one,

the same goes for the oil pan

because of the GTM construction, this pan will be reused to ensure clearance.

It's a direct fit and when it is installed, be sure to use a straight edge to line the back of the pan up with the block,

the bell housing bolts to the block and pan. If the pan is not properly aligned, when you tighten the bell housing, it will distort the pan and put unwanted stress on the block, we even go to the point that cast it right in the oil pan. So you know

oil pan

alignment and torque critical sea serviceman

out

with the old in with the new

once the Z Rod's installed, Judge GTM will have perhaps the meanest and greenest small block ever planted in a kit car

down gentle.

It just makes the car so much more saleable and so much more

easily registered wherever it is. And it just made a lot of sense to me

and

I do recycle. So green is important too. This will make people be able to build a hot rod

and not be apologetic about it.

We can have big horsepower,

it can start, it can run, it can idle, it won't throw raw fuel out the exhaust like a carbureted big block.

And frankly, we, we make more power than we did 40 years ago when we were building big block Chevys.

Meanwhile, with plenty of hands to help out, we've made this E ROD engine install pretty quick and fairly simple.

With only one odd exception,

the intake goes on backwards. See here in the horsepower shops, they even make the car owner work. Yes.

Oh, here comes the Spaghetti

Small,

you know,

you drop the engine.

There we go.

I'm very excited about this E Rod. I think just seeing how much power it made on the dyno.

I really think it's going to make this car fly. I'm gonna drive it, gonna put some time on the track on it.

I'm going to enjoy life at this point. It's taking this car to a whole another level up. It's gonna be fun.

It's gonna be fun. That's, that's the whole idea behind this. All right, Mike, let's fire this thing up.

And so

yeah,

as

that looks a nice smooth start up,

are you sure you're gonna be able to handle all this

to die? Trying?

I like to hear that

man. That thing sounds nice.

It's Christmas. It's got a big bow on the top of it saying it's Christmas

after the break. Well, you guessed it,

we'll be right back.

You're watching Horsepower for a DVD copy of this episode. Just go to Power Block tv.com and order your copy for just 595 plus shipping and handling. Start your own horsepower collection delivered right to your door from the power block.

Ok. Got you.

Well, Penguins can't fly at the North Pole and neither can super cars on a cold track. The temperature at national superspeedway was only 30 degrees.

So even an experienced racer like Jim couldn't push the GTM too much,

but that doesn't mean you can't have fun trying.

So coming down to turn one here,

uh

throw the brakes, throw it down into second gear

and uh this is a pretty tight corner.

So kind of just

the power on slow.

Let the car come out

don't want to go real fast here too because we're still on street tires. But, but the car really has a lot more power

than the tires can handle through here. We can roll out on the, on the straightaway again

and

get back into some of that good horsepower.

You know, there's a perception that hot rodders are rebels and,

and people that don't care, that's just simply not the case

they hot rodders need a path

that let them

get what they enjoy from a car but yet be conscious and take care of everything else involved. And that's what E Rod is.

It's a way to make them to make a mission compliance to keep the car clean

and, and still be fun.

The great technology and engineering might of GM

is, is helping custom car builders build their cars emissions, legal green

just the way we ought to be doing it. And as you see

some serious horsepower,

nice staying cool, good oil pressure.

Nothing like a brand new crate motor.

Well, it looks like there's hope for us yet.

We'll see you next time.