In 2013 Emtron Australia created a range of high-end engine management systems for a market requiring additional power and flexibility. The company's aim is to provide the latest electronic component architecture and ensure only the best performance.
Push-rod engines like Chevy's LS-series V-8s are famous thanks to their compact design, reliability, low-end torque, and reasonable weight. What they're not so great at doing is revving. That's been fixed with this particular LS7.
Ben Strader, the founder of EFI University, decided he wanted to make an LS7 small block engine rev past 11,000 rpm—no small feat considering factory redline comes in at 7000 rpm. The endeavor turned into a three-year-long project called "Spinal Tap." Most of the time was spent trying to figure out how to design a valvetrain that wouldn't vibrate to pieces as revs climbed.
After teaming up with Emtron and Comp Cams Strader finally got the engine sorted earlier this month, and uploaded a video to Facebook of its first dyno pull. After breaking down the project's timeline, he fires it up and takes it all the way to a maximum speed of 11,230 rpm.
The sound is, unsurprisingly, spectacular. It's like a NASCAR engine but better. Strader told EngineLabs the engine made peak power of 921 horsepower at "just" 9300 rpm, and 545 lb-ft of torque at around 8000 rpm. He states in the video power was never this project's goal, so these numbers are just a fun byproduct.
We're just curious what a '69 Camaro would be like with an engine like this under the hood.