LS-Swapped Pontiac Montana Minivan Is Pure Evil Genius
Swapping an LS4 into a Pontiac minivan isn’t as hard as you might think.
By now, you might feel like you’ve seen pretty much seen it all when it comes to LS swaps. Heck, so had we. And then we came across this amazing little slice of madness – a Pontiac Montana minivan sporting a 5.3-liter LS4 transplant under the hood. Apparently, the owner/builder of this mad van, Kevin Piper, built it because, well, he can. But now he’s listed it for sale over at Kijiji for the paltry sum of $8,500.
At first, it might seem difficult to infuse a front-wheel drive van with LS power. But lest we forget, GM blessed us with the parts necessary to do this swap with the 2006-2009 Impala SS. Thus, all Piper had to do was source himself an LS4 to pair with GM’s 4T65-E automatic transmission, which handily was already available in the Montana SV6.
Thus, Piper was able to infuse his van and its stock transmission with LS power by simply fabricating new engine mounts and modifying the passenger-side frame rail. The most difficult part of the swap, as you might imagine, was finding enough room for all the new engine’s accessories to fit in the Montana’s tight engine bay. Well, that and making all the electronics work, a job that took a reported 300+ hours.
Other than that, the only modification Piper made was installing a limited-slip differential. Which helps somewhat circumvent the insane torque steer this thing produces. Now, this Pontiac “Montana SS” churns out a respectable 15-second quarter-mile at 90 mph on the stock motor.
The obvious next step here is slapping on a giant turbo or two, which we hope the next owner takes. Of course, putting that power to the ground will be the challenge. But the first time you smoke somebody in a modern-day muscle car, it’ll all be worth it!
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