2018 marks the first year that Holley and Car Craft magazine have teamed up at LS Fest to put on the Bolt-On Power Challenge. In past years, the focus had been on engine swapping, with two nearly identical cars (usually A-bodies or F-bodies), but with so many incredible new parts coming on line from Holley and other manufacturers, we decided to up the ante and have each teams build up two identical junkyard 6-liter LS engines. The team that builds it and fires it first gets to keep the engine, and all the parts on it.
Two teams battle the clock during the 2018 Bolt-On Challenge to be the first to fire-up—and win--a running 6-liter LS with over $10,000 in parts.
Let’s backtrack a little. The Holley LS Fest is the nation’s largest engine-specific event, which sounds a little weird because it’s the only engine-specific event we know of. Paradoxically, this year’s event—held September 7 – 9, 2018 at Beech Bend Raceway in Bowling Green, KY—was the biggest event in not just LS Fest history, but the track’s 60-year racing history. In just its ninth year, this cool little event known as LS Fest has grown into a monster among monsters.
From the start, the Car Craft Engine Swap Challenge has always been a nice side show held in a large tent behind the LS Fest midway. Plenty of shade, bleachers to watch the action, and on-going commentary updates the crowd on the progress and technical challenges. Spectators get a lot of cool insight on the secret life of LS engines, and anyone is able to ask the Holley crew any tech question they want during the event. Plus, there are lots of cool contests and audience giveaways.
The 2018 Bolt-On Power Challenge uses the same format as last year’s Engine Swap Challenge, except there are no vehicles involved—just pure bolt-on power using Holley parts, and some well-chosen pieces from other supporting LS Fest vendors. Two local/regional teams (with two mechanics each) are chosen in advance by Holley, and this year featured two professional Chevy dealership mechanics on one side, and a father/son team with a small-town speed shop on the other. It was “Pros” versus “Joes,” as the saying goes!
In each corner is a 6-liter LS plucked from a junkyard. Each is wired and plumbed beforehand, and both teams start the clock by firing the stock engine to verify their good running condition. With a blast of an airhorn and the click of a stopwatch, both teams dig into their engines, pulling off old parts and bolting on new goodies. The two piles of parts in each team’s corner are the same, and are selected to complement each other so that the winning team will have a sweet-running pump-gas street motor to take home.
Those parts are pretty incredible too. The list includes a set of long-tube Hooker Blackheart headers, a Holley Sniper EFI intake and throttle body, Terminator LS EFI system, Holley’s low-mount accessory drive, AFR CNC 210 cylinder heads, a Brian Tooley Racing cam and valvetrain, a new Optima battery, Sniper universal EFI tank, ACCEL ignition coils, Mr. Gasket gaskets, ERP headbolts, and a Holley rear-sump LS oil pan.
We won’t beat around the bush: the teardown and assembly are fast-paced, and there are lots of shortcuts taken with things like cleaning surfaces, installing gaskets, using RTV sealer, reusing dirty fasteners, and that sort of thing. All that matters is that it has to run continuously for 30 seconds once built. You wouldn’t want to put these engines into anything quite yet; the winning engine will no doubt be disassembled, and built later in more meticulous fashion, but it does highlight the robust nature of the LS reactor core.
Oh, and there are some interesting rules about tools as well. Both teams bring their own set of tools, which are limited to standard wrenches, sockets, drivers, etc. Holley provides the specialized time-saving tools too (some of them LS-specific), but with a twist: to even the playing field, a time penalty is assigned each time a team pulls one out. This keeps it real, in Car Craft style.
On the left side of the stage was the team of Collin Pendley (25, Morgantown, KY) and Nick McIvor (27, Bowling Green, KY), both of whom work at Campbell Chevrolet in Bowling Green. Our “Joes” team on the right side of the stage was comprised of Eric Bujnevicie (40), and his son Austin (21), both from Cookeville, TN. Team Bujnevicie operates a part-time garage out of their home, called Psykotic Kustomz.
Muscle Driver Clock Gone Bad Instructions
Would the pro team from the Chevy dealership win the 6-liter and over $10,000 in stuff? It sure seemed that way in the beginning. Pendley and McIvor got off to a quick start, their dealership training kicking in as the pair worked quickly in hushed tones. Stock parts were carefully arranged on a table helping them keep track of everything. Their experience was evident as they efficiently worked on different jobs, helping the other only when asked.
Team Bujnevicie on the other hand appeared to fumble and get behind in the early going. The tension between father and son was palpable, and the work area seemed disheveled. About an hour into the competition, it seemed to all as if the pros would take the loot without being contested. That’s when father and son finally clicked, and the giant lead started shrinking. By the time the Sniper EFI intakes were bolted on, the two teams appeared dead even.
Muscle Driver Usa Clock Directions
As the stopwatch hit the two-hour mark, the pace suddenly slowed in the Bujnevicie corner. Was there a problem with the electronics? Did they forget something? Wrenches silent, father and son began pouring over the engine. Then Austin began pouring oil into the engine. Light applause turned to celebration when the LS came to life at the first engagement of the starter. (That’s the power of easy-to-install, self-learned EFI, folks.) The underdog “Joes” had won. The tale of the tape: Team Bujnevicie stopped the clock at 2 hours, 10 minutes, and 24 seconds. Pendley and McIvor looked on helplessly, but soldiered on to finish the assignment in 2 hours, 25 minutes.