Being a loyal GM guy in search of a luxury sedan for his wife, Bob Johnson thought the Cadillac CTS was a natural choice. It was this purchase that led him to discover the V-series, which he instantly decided would be the perfect way to dive headfirst back into a hobby left behind many years ago. After the 61-year-old contractor picked up his 2005 CTS-V, it wasn't long until he was upgrading the shifter and exhaust system. Next, he decided the short drive from Coatesville to Columbia City, Indiana, was in order, as the Exotic Performance Plus D-1SC ProCharger kit might make a nice addition to his LS6, along with a set of Kooks 1.75-inch long-tube headers.
Achieving around 600 hp, though, only made Bob crave more. First, he decided it was best to do away with the baby-sized rearend that was just a ticking time bomb, so he took the Caddy out to a shop on the East Coast that claimed it could retrofit an 8.8-inch IRS rear out of a '99-'04 Mustang Cobra. Unfortunately this venture didn't quite pan out, and he shipped the V to Ohio so that another shop could finish the job. Finally it was time to head back to EPP for a forged bottom end and a few other upgrades, but just before the V went under the knife Bob had a change of heart. At the suggestion of a friend, he decided to preserve the pristine LS6 and build a fresh stroker motor with an LS2 block. And he also asked to upgrade from the nearly maxed out D-1SC to an F-1A blower. How could EPP say no?
The easy part was taking a fresh LS2 block hot off the line from C&P Machine and stuffing it with a Callies 4-inch-stroke forged crank, Compstar forged rods, and Diamond forged pistons. For boost, a 9.5:1 compression was chosen, along with Total Seal file-to-fit rings, ARP head studs, GM MLS head gaskets, and a DM Performance girdle. EPP says the extra-thick deck surface on Air Flow Research heads also lends itself well on boosted applications in helping to resist blown head gaskets. With 320 cfm at 0.600-inch lift, they are no slouch in the flow department either. The large bore 72cc chamber option was selected to match the block and desired compression, coming standard with 2.08 intake and 1.60 exhaust valves. These heads were matched to EPP's 232/240-duration blower cam, a familiar combo to the crew. The long-block was topped off with an SLP oil pump and timing chain, as well as an LS2 intake and throttle body for additional flow.