Who in their right mind would take a perfectly good C8 Chevy Corvette, unceremoniously rip its LT2 V8 from under its rear hatch, and replace it with something so archaic it can rightfully be called a dinosaur? As it turns out, when San Diego's Larry Hofer gave it a try, it made all the sense in the world.
As the sole proprietor of the Corvette Shop in Southern California, Hofer has probably forgotten more about Corvettes C1 through C8 than any of us have ever known. There's not a single model year since the Corvette's inception in 1953 that Hofer's shop hasn't gotten their hands on at some point. In fact, he's already swapped big block Vortec motors into classic C4 and C5 Vettes. But those were like Matchbox toys compared to the mid-engine, European-adjacent Corvette C8.
A swap of this caliber is going to need a downside more expertise than big-block Corvette swaps of old. But if there's anyone on planet Earth capable of making it happen, it's Larry Hofer. The man literally wrote a manual on how to tune and modify 8.1-liter Vortec V8s and their related 496-cubic-inch marine engines. With this in mind, this C8 Vette's stock drivetrain lasted roughly 24 hours in the Corvette Shop before the team got their wrenches out. Like a systematic group of highly-trained soldiers, the C8's LT-based drivetrain and automatic transmission were free from its former confines. Did we mention that Vette only had 4,000 miles when it entered the shop? Yeah, absolute mad lad stuff.
With that out of the way, Hoffer set to work creating an adapter kit that could link this gigantic pushrod dinosaur to the admittedly brilliant C8 automatic transmission. With that complete, a custom set of accessory drives was installed, including variable cam timing, a dry-sump oiling system, and the headers and alternator from the stock C8 Corvette motor. All these different bits and pieces from two very different eras of GM V8s were made to work in harmony only because of Larry Hofer's artist's hand, plus help from some buddies of his who are also into odd-ball engine swaps like this.
The result makes for an engine that looks like an LT2 on the top but starkly transitions to a Vortec big block as you scan your way down. After testing the new motor in and out of the car, which must've been at least ten times by now, the nearly-finished motor is getting ready for its final fitting into its mid-engine home. One can only assume the finished car will be nothing short of fireworks. Could it even be faster than a stock C8 Corvette LT2? If we were betting folks, we'd put money on that.
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