Latest news with #V8Swap
The Drive
3 days ago
- Automotive
- The Drive
Check Out This Weird SOHC-Converted Chevy Small Block for Sale
The latest car news, reviews, and features. If the only thing holding you back from a GM V8 swap is some sort of social-media-hardened dislike for overhead-valve (OHV, aka pushrod) motor designs, Bring a Trailer may have just the thing for you: a single-overhead-cam-swapped small block Chevy V8. It's not some oddball motor from a limited-production race car, but a garden-variety 327 with a purpose-built SOHC conversion. Pretty wild, huh? According to the accompanying Hot Rod article, the upgraded motors were good for 350 horsepower after the cam swap alone—or about the same amount you got from the L84 package engine in 1963, and that was the top-of-the-line engine with mechanical fuel injection. The low-compression (and carbureted) version offered only 250 horses. Sure, the power's nice, but there are plenty of other ways to get that from a small-block V8 without performing a lobotomy. Why go through all the trouble then? An overhead-cam engine benefits from a tighter valvetrain package with less reciprocating mass. Pushrods are simple, but they're long and heavy, and along with the rocker arms, they both contribute a good bit to an OHV engine's overall parasitic losses and limit their ability to rev higher. The overhead-cam setup eliminates them from the design while also allowing for lighter valve springs, and less mass is always good when you're trying to make top-end power. This particular conversion kit was produced by Pete Aardema. If that name rings a bell, that's because he's always doing something crazy with internal-combustion engines. Remember the land speed record car we featured a while back with a home-built V12? Yep, same guy. While a conversion kit is certainly less ambitious than a home-built engine, this thing is nonetheless impressive. It's effectively a bolt-on upgrade, and it even preserves the factory camshaft to continue functioning as a distributor drive. This could all be done with the heads in place, and all signs point to it being completely reversible. In this case, you get the kit pre-installed on this 1963 Chevrolet 327. And for such a novelty, it's pacing to go for a bit of a bargain. Those numbers always go up near the auction's end, of course, but this little bit of obscurity may not necessarily fetch top dollar. Got a tip? Send it in: tips@
Motor 1
16-05-2025
- Automotive
- Motor 1
A Supercharged V-8 Ranger Raptor R Exists, But Not From Ford
You can buy a Ford Ranger Raptor in the United States. It starts around $57,000, which gets you an upgraded suspension with Fox shocks and a twin-turbocharged V-6 making 405 horsepower. It's a neat truck, but V-8 swapping Ford Rangers is an American pastime. Turns out, it's an Australian pastime, too. This isn't just a V-8-swapped Ranger, though. A company called Killa Conversions & Performance essentially built their own Ranger Raptor R with a supercharged V-8 under the hood. It's called the Raptr8 S, and it uses a third-generation 5.0-liter Coyote engine crowned with a Roush supercharger, among other things. The result is 750 hp—30 more than you get in the American F-150 Raptor R with its Predator-derived 5.2-liter engine. The Australian tuning company shared the news on social media with a cool video and a brief announcement. We don't know what kind of upgrades are included, but we assume it's close (if not identical) to the current Raptr8 listed on their website. That truck only has 460 hp courtesy of its naturally aspirated Coyote V-8 swap. Since it's based on a normal Ranger Raptor, the long-travel suspension is left untouched. Brakes are also stock, though upgrades are available. The company does add a beefed-up 10-speed automatic transmission for both the Raptr8 and the new Raptr8 S. Stuffing a supercharged V-8 under the hood isn't cheap. The conversion alone costs $89,000 in Australian currency, which equals about $57,000 US greenbacks. However, The Drive points out that other high-performance trucks like the F-150 Raptor R—which isn't officially sold in Australia but can be imported—sell for much higher prices. With the price of a Ranger Raptor and the Killa Conversions & Performance upgrades combined, the cost comes in around $122,000 USD. That's expensive, but it's about $110,000 USD less than the cost of an imported F-150 Raptor R. And that much power in a Ranger feels like a small price to pay. V-8 All The Things: LS-Swap Your RC Car With This Scale-Model V-8 Engine LS-Swapped Porsche Cayenne Is the New King of Drift Cars Get the best news, reviews, columns, and more delivered straight to your inbox, daily. back Sign up For more information, read our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use . Source: Killa Conversions & Performance via The Drive Share this Story Facebook X LinkedIn Flipboard Reddit WhatsApp E-Mail Got a tip for us? Email: tips@ Join the conversation ( )
The Drive
15-05-2025
- Automotive
- The Drive
Tuners Create Ford Ranger Raptor R With a Supercharged V8
The latest car news, reviews, and features. In case you hadn't heard, the Ford Ranger Raptor is a weapon. When my buddy Andrew reviewed it last March, he called it an 'instant classic,' and it even won The Drive 's Truck of the Year award. Not only is its Fox Live Valve suspension incredible, paired with that snazzy Watts link rear-end, but the 3.0-liter EcoBoost V6 is also mighty in its own right with 405 horsepower and 430 lb-ft of torque. But what if Ford made a Ranger Raptor R with a V8? That's effectively what Killa Conversions and Performance out of Australia has created with its new supercharged Coyote V8 swap. It elevates the power specs to 750 hp and 670 lb-ft of torque thanks to a Roush blower. Importantly, this switcharoo also involves a transmission swap to the sturdier 10R80 from the stock 10R60 in the Ranger Raptor, Bronco Raptor, and Explorer ST. Now, I can't pretend to know what this rig is like to drive. But I imagine it compares similarly to the F-150 Raptor and its Raptor R counterpart. The supercharged, dual overhead cam 5.0-liter surely makes it faster on the top end and rowdier all around, if not necessarily better in most real-world situations. Both the F-150 and Ranger Raptor are more than capable enough; crank up the power and you start to see diminishing returns on handling and, crucially, balance. But whoever's willing to pony up nearly $57,000 USD on top of the cost of the truck probably cares more about V8 grunt anyway. You have to remember that this isn't being marketed in the States, where you can buy an F-150 Raptor R for $115,000. In Australia, one of those full-size monsters costs the equivalent of $230,000. That means this DIY Ranger Raptor R is a big bargain at the US equivalent of $125,000 all-in. The Gen 3 Coyote on its own wouldn't be a worthwhile swap. Sure, the noise is good, and even though the naturally aspirated V8 makes 460 hp on its own, it's actually down 10 lb-ft of torque compared to the 3.0-liter EcoBoost. That explains why Killa Conversions and Performance went all the way over the top with the supercharger. If it weren't for that, I'd feel a little meh about this truck. If you're going to eliminate the finesse of a factory-built rally truck with more power, you'd better give it enough to blow through the turns it can't make. I'd say that's exactly what they've done here. Got a tip or question for the author? Contact them directly: caleb@ From running point on new car launch coverage to editing long-form features and reviews, Caleb does some of everything at The Drive. And he really, really loves trucks.
