Since the late 1990’s, hot-rodders have been swapping LS series engines into everything from ’32 Fords to ‘60s muscle cars to even the occasional import with excellent results. While most gear heads absolutely love the look and performance of seeing an LS engine under the hood of their favorite cars, some purists may not share the same views. But is it arguable that some vehicles are better left alone? Vehicles with unique high-performance powertrains, that were built in limited production, for only a short amount of time, are considered by some to be sacred territory and are better left with their original powertrains under their hood, like their manufacturer intended.
A couple prime examples are the ’84-to-’87 turbo Buick Regals and GMC Syclone and Typhoons, which were built between 1991-1993. Both of these vehicles were equipped with turbocharged V6 engines, with the Buick being able to spin the rear wheels through the first two gears, while the GMC’s were gripping the tarmac with all four hides. Though I won’t bore you by getting too in-depth with the stats and specs on these cars, I will say that these vehicles ran low 13s and low 14s, respectively in the ¼-mile - depending on model year and application; the '87 GNX and '91-'92 Syclones being the fastest of the bunch.
These were of course, very respectable times for factory V6 powered cars for the era, considering V8 powered Mustangs and F-bodies could only muster high 14s or low 15s from the factory at best. To top it off, these “buzzin’ half-dozens” were easily modified and when modified correctly, could pull low 12-second time slips with not much more than an upgrade in the exhaust, chip, extra boost and some sticky tires. Some might even argue that these boosted V6 mills respond even better to mods than the LS engines that people are replacing them with!
Having driven examples of both of these cars, I can personally attest to the fact that NOTHING compares to the thrills that these mills produced from out of the box. The way that the surge in power comes at you as the turbo spools up and the eerie soundtrack of near silence other than a faint whistling of the turbo combined with the "whoo-tshh" of the wastegate blowing off the unused boost as you let off of the throttle will put a smile on ANYBODY'S face.
Truth be told, I currently own an '87 Grand National that's near stock and I get more enjoyment driving it than I do my H/C/I 2002 WS6. The combination of its looks, ride, performance and soundtrack gives it that unexplainable "X-Factor" that I haven't been able to find anywhere else. I also get more comments and compliments with this car in the year that I've owned it, than the 8 years that I've owned this T/A. However, if you require a car that doesn't have a high theft rate, handles like it's on rails, stops on a dime and has a "thunderous" noise emitting from its tailpipes, then this isn't the car for you. That's where a car like my WS6 would come in.
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