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This should make Vette owners think twice. | 
The LS2 engine looks like it grew in the Solstice's engine compartment. Truth be told, custom mounts, bellhousing, wiring, and programming made it all happen. Not to mention a fabricated air-induction system. |
Digging into the actual mechanics of the engine exchange, a couple of aspects helped simplify matters. For one thing, there's sufficient space under the hood, and the stock drivetrain is stout enough (the five-speed manual comes from a Chevy Colorado and the rearend from a Cadillac CTS, as previously stated).
The challenging part is fabricating new engine mounts and a bellhousing that fits the Solstice trans. Even harder is the electronics, since the V-8 has twice as many fuel injector leads as the stock engine. That required a spaghetti-plate full of new wires, and crunching the engine computer with new fuel maps and other tedious programming chores.
With all these mods, you might expect the engine bay to end up looking only slightly better than a sausage factory, but that's not the case. The installation is as sanitary as a clean room for a computer chip designer. You'd think this car had rolled right out of a Pontiac dealer's showroom, rather than the skunkworks at Mallett Cars.
How do the car's specs compare, before and after? With a V-8 in the bay, the welterweight Solstice almost becomes a middleweight, nearly 220 pounds heavier than stock, and about 200 pounds shy of a convertible Corvette.
Obviously with more mass up front, the balance is a tad more nose heavy, so some suspension tweaks are part of the operation; namely, stiffer springs and shocks. Other mechanical alterations include a custom air intake, a LUK Pro Gold clutch assembly, Corsa mufflers, and a larger four-core radiator. Additional option packages offer air conditioning, Penske remote-reservoir shocks, 19-inch custom wheels, Michelin tires, and brakes from Stainless Steel Brakes (see the Mallett Web site for more).
While hot rodders traditionally think about going fast first and stopping later on, that's not the case with the well-sorted package on this particular Solstice. SSBC's Mike Jonas, the owner and builder of this one, bolted on a set of his Tri-Power three-piston calipers at all four wheels. These rims are even bigger than Mallett offers-Budnik 20x9.5 inchers, wrapped with Bridgestone Potenza rubber (245/35ZR20).
The brakes were a needed upgrade, because testing of earlier versions of the V-8 Solstice revealed increased stopping distances and a loss of pedal feel. Though not listed as part of the Standard Package on Mallett's Web site, the SSBC brake upgrade is recommended by the company. Bigger and better binders were not the only mod handled by Mike, an experienced and enthusiastic hands-on builder of a wide range of musclecars, show trucks, and street rods. His Pontiac projects include a '97 Pontiac Firebird Formula, an '02 WS6 Trans Am, a tuner Sunfire, and a couple of customized Vibes, along with a Tiger Gold '65 GTO he lent a hand to ("Yesterday and Today Tigers," Oct. '05 HPP).
Mike heard all the idle comments about the Solstice looking like a "girlie car," but he felt it had the basics of a great machine. All he had to do was give it a tougher look in keeping with the big cojones under the cowl. Drawing on his car-building experience and contacts, Mike added a number of personal touches to differentiate this Solstice from all others. They include blacking out the grilles, the addition of custom, molded-in hood scoops, driving lights, and blinkers up front. A custom spoiler and center exhaust outlets were added out back.
For a final finish on the bodywork, Aero Collision, a local body shop and fabricator, applied a coat of factory white and a skunk stripe in True Blue from House of Kolor. Why the blue-on-white paint scheme? A friend of Mike's owned an early Trans Am with some racing history, and he really liked the color combo of the car. Now Mike hopes to make his own history in this Solstice, with a number of events planned in the coming months.