We’ve all heard the fabled stories, walk into your local Chevy Dealer, and walk out with a badass Camaro with 600+ horsepower with plenty of cubic inches already swapped in. But that doesn’t happen anymore – Does it? And if it did, the days of the big block ruling the street are long over, so what could you swap in?

How about 454 cubic inches of LSX iron!

Yes just like the stories your Dad told you about, it is now possible to order a monster horsepower engine setup direct from a dealer. The dealer is DeNooyer Chevy out of Albany, NY – but there is so much more to this story than just one name and place.

Check out Howard’s personal car. This 2010 received the 427 (LS7) conversion complete with a supercharger mounted on the top.

Redline Motorsports in Schenectady, NY is another name to pay attention to. These guys are setting out to be one of the premier LSX shops in the country. “We want to bring to GM what ROUSH and Saleen have brought to Ford,” says Howard Tanner, Owner of Redline Performance. Recently, their shop has been full of 2010 Camaros receiving engine swaps. In fact, Redline has been swapping in LS7s into these cars for almost a year, all of them being sold over at DeNooyer Chevy under the DeNooyer Performance Division name. “Over 20 cars have been produced with the 427 conversion with great reviews,” says Tanner, “However, it wasn’t enough for our program.”

Enter The LSX 454 Crate Engine

When GM Performance Parts first launched the LSX BowTie block back in 2007, they built a killer car known as the Reggie Jackson Camaro for the SEMA show that year. That engine was the first 454 cubic inch LSX. But it was a one off, and used parts from all over the aftermarket to produce the well over 600 horsepower.

Now GM Performance Parts has put together all the fixings needed for 600+ horsepower from their LSX block into a simple to use package – the LSX 454 Crate Engine. This engine comes shipped to your door in long block form, ready for your choice of fuel delivery. “Our hot rod customer can choose either our carbed LSX or production LS7 intake manifolds,” says Dr. Jamie Meyer, who is in charge of Product Integration at GM Performance Parts. “Because the intake effects the engine’s output, we’ve rated this thing at 620-plus horsepower. I’ve seen dyno graphs of well over 650 horse with the right intake/carb/tune,” added Meyer.

The engineers at GMPP spent countless hours of testing in the development of this crate engine, really focusing on making monster torque at low RPM. “When you look at the new 2010 Camaro – a car that can easily weigh more than two tons – torque is king!” exclaimed Meyer. Making it a perfect match to power the late model muscle car. Then, just last a few weeks ago, GMPP announced that these torque monster engines were ready to be shipped out – Tanner and the guys at Redline got the first three.

2010 Camaro HTR-SS454

Within 48 hours of signing for the delivery of those engines, Redline had one of them inside the fenders of the black 2010 seen below – RUNNING. Truly amassing when you consider the task at hand to accomplish that. Sure while 78 cubic inches larger than the LS3 pulled it replaced, the same basic architecture is shared with all LS based engines – so it physically bolted in. That still doesn’t mean the job was easy either. The team played with a few different components before the it was able to run under it’s own power.

One of the big issues was the install of the clutch. The LSX block is set up to use an 8-bolt flywheel, where as the LS3 only has 6 flywheel bolts. Redline solved this problem by using a modified ZR1 clutch with a custom flywheel.

Wanting to stick with the LS7 style fuel injection, but not use the stock intake manifold, Redline opted for a FAST 102 mm LSXR Intake manifold

The second the car was running, it was brought over to the chassis dyno to see what kind of numbers the iron block would produce. With a conservative tune on the car, peak numbers were 515 RWHP and 513 RWTQ. “Testing thus far on a conservative engine calibration has shown average torque from 2000-6500 in the 440 RWFT range,” says Tanner, “But this car has more power from 2500 RPM up than our 427 Camaros.”

Other upgrades include beefier rear axles, polyurethane bushings in the rear cradle and a short throw shifter. Actual dealer cars will also receive their own graphics package on the outside, and embroidered seats on the inside to set these cars apart from their SS cousins.

Tanner says that orders are already coming in for the 454 swap and even the boys over at GM are taking notice. According to Meyer, “The GM platform teams are also impressed with the output of the LSX 454. A production Camaro or Corvette with an LSX 454? It could happen.” For now, the Redline/DeNooyer HTR-SS454 is plenty to wet our apatite.

Tanner put it best, “Bottom line is this is one cranking Camaro with power on tap through out the usable power range.” Redline is exclusively working this program through the DeNooyer Performance Division as the HTR-SS454. Interested buyers can contact Dan Carlton at 518-526-0412.

LSX454 SPECIFICATIONS:
Part number: 19166972
Engine type: LSX Series Gen IV small-block V-8
Displacement (cu in / L): 454 / 7.4
Bore x stroke (in / mm): 4.185 x 4.125 / 164 x 162
Block (P/N 19166454): LSX cast iron with 6-bolt, cross-bolted main caps
Crankshaft: 4340 forged steel
Connecting rods: 4340 forged steel
Pistons: Forged aluminum
Camshaft type: Hydraulic roller
Valve lift (in): 0.635 intake / 0.635 exhaust
Duration (deg @ 0.050 in): 236 intake / 240 exhaust
Cylinder feads (P/N 12598594): LSX454 rectangular port; with 70cc chambers
Valve size (in): 2.20 intake / 1.61 exhaust
Compression ratio: 11:1
Rocker arms: investment cast, roller trunnion
Rocker Arm Ratio: 1.8:1
Recommended Fuel: 92 octane
Reluctor wheel: 58X
Balanced: internal