Why I Think the 1996 LT4 Is Better Than an LS

For my C10 build, I chose to use the LT4 out of a 1996 Corvette, and personally, I think it’s a more interesting engine than doing another LS swap.

The 1996 LT4 is a 5.7-liter, 350-cubic-inch small-block Chevy that was rated at 330 horsepower and 340 lb-ft of torque from the factory. It came with aluminum heads, a higher compression ratio, a more aggressive camshaft, larger valves, and a higher redline than the standard LT1. In the Corvette, it was paired with a ZF 6-speed manual transmission, which is the drivetrain I’m using for my C10.

One of the biggest reasons I like the LT4 is that it still feels connected to the traditional Chevy small-block. It has a lot of the character of an older 350, but with fuel injection and more modern technology.

An LS is obviously a great engine. They make good power, there are parts everywhere for them, and they’re one of the most popular engines to swap into almost anything. But that is also part of why I wanted to do something different.

You see LS-swapped C10s everywhere.

You don’t see nearly as many C10s running a 1996 Corvette LT4 with a six-speed manual and Corvette suspension.

That makes this build more interesting to me.

I also like the fact that I’m taking so much of the drivetrain and suspension from the same donor Corvette. Instead of buying an engine from one car, a transmission from another, and suspension from somewhere else, I’m trying to bring a large part of the Corvette into the C10.

The LT4 also has something I think newer engines sometimes lose: personality. It’s from that transition period where Chevrolet was combining old-school small-block architecture with newer fuel injection, aluminum heads, higher compression, and better performance.

Is an LS easier to make huge power with? Probably.

Does an LS have more aftermarket support? Definitely.

Would an LS swap probably be easier in some ways? Yes.

But that doesn’t automatically make it the better engine for my build.

I’d rather have something a little different that makes people stop and ask what’s under the hood.

For me, the LT4 has the right combination of old-school Chevy character, Corvette history, fuel injection, good factory power, and uniqueness.

And when it’s sitting in my C10 with the ZF 6-speed behind it and Corvette suspension underneath it, that’s going to be a combination you don’t see every day.

That’s why, for this build, I’d take the 1996 LT4 over an LS.