Part 2: Classic Cubes from a Modern LS1

On The Street
Our thanks to Burke Bradley, the owner of this sweet '04 RA7 GTO. As a practicing anesthesiologist at a major Houston-area hospital, he surely knows how to lay them down with the best of them. Bad pun, but then again, isn't it ironic that he chose natural aspiration over nitrous oxide for his personal ride?

Driving duties on this beautiful day in Houston were handled by Jayson Cohen. With more than a few quick rides under his belt, even rowing the GTO's gearbox was a breeze for him.

Upon entering the car and firing it up, one instantly knows there's power just waiting to be unleashed. The engine has a small, healthy lope to it and settles in between 900 and 1,000 rpm. You can hear the performance exhaust, but it could never be described as obnoxious. Cruising around like normal people on the roads of Houston wasn't much different than driving in any other Pontiac. There was no exhaust drone; the engine was crisp and idled great.

When the traffic cleared and Cohen dropped thehammer, our pedestrian ride turned into SuperGoat. Even with the sticky Michelin Pilots in the rear, the tires were a smoking blur. Starting out in First gear, Cohen got rubber in four gears before letting off. We aren't just talking about measly tire scratches here, but big, bad, ugly positraction black marks, even in Fourth. Putting the pedal to the floor planted me firmly to the back of the seat and held me there! There is 10-second power in the car, but keeping the tires from spinning is an entirely different subject. Suffice it to say this '04 GTO moves with rapid alacrity.

A funny thing happened shortly after we returned to the shop. One of Houston's finest was camped out a mere 50 feet down the road from the shop the rest of the afternoon. We guess he just wanted to get a glimpse of what modern MTI Pontiac power is all about. Hello, Officer Friendly! --R.A.

Cylinder-Head Flow Comparison
All flow numbers are quoted in cfm at 28 inches of test pressure. Gen-III cylinder heads were tested on MTI's SuperFlow SF600 flow bench. Traditional Pontiac cylinder heads are also quoted in cfm at 28 inches test pressure but on Butler Performance's SuperFlow SF600 flow bench (Butler Performance, (931) 762-4596, Butlerperformance.com).

Pontiac 7F6 heads are the ''72 round-port H.O. units. Butler Performance Edelbrock race port, shown for comparison purposes. Although this is a bit of an apples-versus-orange comparison, it points out that the stock LS6 castings (with some magic from MTI) rival what it took the aftermarket and talented porters to achieve over the years.