When GM Performance Parts made the announcement at the 2009 SEMA show that it would be offering a line of emissions-legal crate engine packages, it was big news for the aftermarket industry. While hobbyists in many parts of the country haven’t had to concern themselves with smog legality when dealing with their classic cars, trouble had been brewing in places like California for some time. After attacking the issue of titling freshly built street rods and kit cars, lawmakers began pushing for tighter emissions regulations, which would have required anyone attempting to put a newly constructed vehicle on the road to meet the same standards as the major auto manufacturers.
Obviously, that would have essentially killed the market for newly constructed vehicles in the state, and as California tends to be influential in establishing such laws, those involved with the automotive aftermarket from coast to coast began to get nervous over the developing situation.
Fortunately, SEMA stepped in to try to negotiate with government officials to come up with new regulations that were more reasonable. The resulting program focused on creating an engine package that could meet an agreeable level of emission output, though hobbyists – particularly hot rodders – didn’t like the idea of a one-size-fits-all small-block Chevy with modest power output, which seemed the obvious outcome.
The program involved quite a few industry members, but when GM Performance Parts got involved, progress moved forward substantially, and in more than one direction. Rather than focusing on a single engine package, GMPP planned several, all based on current production vehicle engines. The line of engine packages was dubbed E-Rod, and the first to roll out was the 6.2L LS3 based on the 2010 Camaro SS engine. To showcase the package, GMPP renovated its ’55 Chevy 210 two-door sedan with the LS3 E-Rod, which comes complete with a fully-dressed engine (though without front accessory drive), E-Rod specific exhaust manifolds, small-diameter catalytic converters, a throttle pedal unit for the drive-by-wire system, an airflow meter, an evaporative emissions canister, a controller and wiring harness. In this tune it rates 430hp.
Among the other package to follow was one based on a truck offering, the 5.3L LS-series V-8. This is the aluminum-block version of the 5.3, and will likely be the least costly E-Rod package, though it still offers 326hp and 350-lbs.ft of torque. Two calibrations are available, one for use with an automatic transmission and one for manual gearboxes.
Now comes news that GM Performance Parts has received an Executive Order (EO) number from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) for the 5.3L E-Rod, making it officially legal for installation in pre-OBDII cars (prior to 1996 model year). This is the second E-Rod to receive an EO number; the first was the 6.2L LS3. There are two other E-Rod packages, one based on the LSA engine – the supercharged 6.2L V-8 currently in the Cadillac CTS-V – and another based on the LS7 7.0L engine in the Corvette Z06. Both of these are expected to receive EO designations in the near future.
In the meantime, the 5.3 and 6.2 E-Rod packages are available for anything from an early-model street rod to a smog-era refugee in need of a legal power boost – we’d like to see an LS3 in an ’80s Monte Carlo SS. To display the 5.3L package in an appropriate environment, GMPP built a ’55 Chevy truck for the 2010 SEMA show, which now resides with Lingenfelter Engineering.
