Going Back in Time - Trading Technology for Old School Cubic Inches in a C8 Corvette
It’s commonplace to see classic cars and trucks with modern upgrades. Air-conditioning, better stereo systems versus the basic AM radio and one speaker, and detailed instrumentation and gauges that replace factory warning lights.
Chad Noel’s ‘63 Corvette that completed Sick Week in 2023 is a great example of modern power in a classic wrapper.
We also see modern engine and transmission swaps, sometimes to the point where there are more vehicles at a car show, event or gathering with modern drivelines than classic ones.
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But sometimes we see things go the opposite way, trading new and modern for traditional and proven. That’s the route Larry Hofer is going with his C8 mid-engine Corvette, trading the factory-installed LT2 small block for over 8-liters of old school Chevrolet big block power and torque in what is reported to be the first-ever big block swapped C8 Corvette, a car with just over 4,000 miles on the odometer.
As the owner of the Corvette Shop out of San Diego, California, Hofer’s decision to change engines might make a little more sense once you hear his reasoning. “All my other cars that I have are all big block cars,” said Hofer. “So this is just the next evolution.”
Not convinced on his idea yet? Hofer, who is noted as a big-block guru that has penned a number of technical manuals, also co-wrote the Chevrolet 8.1L Vortec / 496 Performance Manual with Don Taylor that was released in late December 2019. So it’s no surprise that Hofer is employing one of the 8.1-liter engines, originally available between 2001 and 2009, for this Corvette swap.
Hofer managed to retain the Corvette’s 8-speed transmission and adapt it to the big block, but there have been some necessitated changes with the engine swap. “We had to put a dry sump on it,” Hofer said in regards to the oiling system. “And we had to cast up new cylinder heads for the direct injection.”
No one made a cylinder head for this, and because Hopfer choose to keep the direct injection, fuel rails and high-pressure pump that injects fuel directly into the cylinder heads, it meant the new heads were a requirement. Larry Stork whipped up a sheetmetal intake to work with the heads and clear the Corvette’s mid-engine location, and Stork was also tasked with fabricating a new dry sump oil tank.
Hofer had to create a front accessory drive, including the variable cam timing, and in doing so, managed to retain factory air-conditioning.
The factory cooling system and electronics will be re-used, and HP Tuners was contacted to help make all the electronics work together. Considering they were the first to crack the C8 Corvette software after three years of work to allow tuning on the factory ECU, Hofer is optimistic about his project.
YouTube creator Greg Quirin has been documenting this project, and the initial video on the big-block swap is below:
Quirin revisited Hofer just last week for an update, and the big block, complete with custom-fabricated exhaust, is nearly ready to visit its new home:
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Greg Quirin.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com