Rebuilding A Dodge Viper With A Chevy V8

Ryan Hagen is on a mission to build a great daily driver that will see some track work out of a busted 1999 Viper GTS. The Viper suffered an engine fire and was sold without an engine, transmission, or any of the front panels. Ryan has spent the last few years slowly rebuilding it.

Since the Viper was missing its factory engine Ryan didn’t feel the need to stay within the family. Viper V10s are great but expensive. Gen 1 crate engines go for $10K and they can reach up to a $22K for a Gen4 version. Although it might not win him points with the purists, Ryan choose to go with a small-block Chevy V8. It is tough to beat the amount of power per dollar the LSx platform offers.

Current plans are to run a 5.3L H.O. small-block engine and then eventually upgrade to a LS3 stroked to 416/418ci or a twin-turbo LS3. One nice benefit of the SBC is how short it is compared to the V10. The front of the engine is almost behind the entire front wheels giving this Viper a mid-engine layout.

Source: Owner/Builder

Original: Engine Swap Depot