Patriot Performance and REV also came through to make this project a reality with a killer set of valvesprings, titanium retainers, and stainless steel valves. The Patriot double valvesprings have proven very reliable with up to .650-inch lift cams, while the titanium retainers keep the valvetrain light for quick revving. Meanwhile, the 2.055 intake and 1.60 exhaust valves from REV are responsible for not only respectable flow numbers, but also great longevity due to the swirl-polished, one-piece forged construction and hardened stems. The final element was a set of Cometic .040-thick gaskets, which would help achieve ideal quench height and a slight bump in compression-now approximately 10.78:1 thanks to the 64cc combustion chambers. With a custom tune from A&A dialing in the combination to run on Cali's 91-octane pump gas, we hoped to see somewhere around 415 hp on A&A's Dynojet chassis dyno. Knowing this would be more than the 65,000-mile stock clutch could handle, as it was already beginning to slip, we also enlisted the help of LuK Clutches. The single organic disc Pro Gold has proven itself on even more potent Gen IIIs than Sivori's little 346-cube mill, and thankfully it's also a very livable and driveable clutch. With all the pieces finally in place, the only thing left to do was bolt them to the Vette and see what it could do.
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After giving Andrew Sivori's '99 C5 convertible a bath, it was tucked into the back right corner of A&A Corvette Performance's 4,500-square-foot shop amidst a sea of C5s and C6s. The Oxnard, CA-based shop is most famous for its in-house built centrifugal supercharger kits for C5s and C6s, however, the five-man crew has built more than its share of hi-po naturally aspirated Gen III and IV-based combos. |
After removing the intake, plug wires, vacuum hoses, alternator, coil packs, oil dipstick, and fuel lines to prep the LS1 for liberation, all that's left is the exhaust system before the front cradle can be dropped down. The shocks need to be unbolted at the lower A-arm, and the upper A-arm needs to be unbolted from the frame while paying close attention to the number of washers on each to ensure proper alignment during reassembly. The driver-side caliper is left on the car and tied out of the way, while on the passenger side the brake line is disconnected at the ABS module (since it threads through the cradle) and the caliper stays on the rotor. | 
In order to push the cradle and motor forward off the torque tube, the electric fans, radiator, and water pump are removed. A 13mm socket is used to disconnect the torque tube from the bellhousing. | 
A&A built its own hydraulic cradle lift for pulling motors, which is put to good use for just such an occasion. |