We wanted to build a wicked wagon packing some serious LS power, that’s how Project Swedish Meatball came to be. This 1994 Volvo 940 wagon is now rocking a 5.3 LS engine that will be fed a steady diet of boost from a turbo. The goal of this package is to have an engine that can make a reliable 700 horsepower with nothing but off-the-shelf parts.

Building A Boosted LS

Before engine assembly began, our 5.3 LS made a trip to the spa. Craig Haslem at RPM Engine and Machine was tasked with making sure the block, heads, and rotating assembly were ready to be mated together. This was an important step to make sure our engine would make lots of horsepower for a long time.

The block and heads were flat, square, and ready to rumble after Haslem worked his magic. Our Summit Racing Equipment Pro LS rotating assembly was balanced and prepared for assembly by Haslem as well. You can see everything that goes into preparing an LS engine for boost right here.

The Short Block

Once Haslem was finished, we took all the parts over to Big 3 Racing so Bob Hess Jr. could get everything assembled. The backbone of the engine is a Summit Racing Pro LS forged rotating assembly. This crank, rods, and piston combo can handle upwards of 1,200 horsepower. We also sourced parts from ARP, ATI, Melling, and Brian Tooley Racing to finish up the short block. The valvetrain was selected based on what we learned from Brian Tooley Racing right here.

This short block is rock solid thanks to the Summit Racing Pro LS rotating assembly. Summit designed these parts to be boost-friendly and very robust. The Melling oil pump is going to supply the engine with plenty of oil to keep everything lubricated. All of the OEM hardware was tossed aside in favor of ARP products. We learned some tips on how to install ARP hardware properly here. ATI sent us the correct balancer for this combination. You can learn more about all the parts we used in the short block right here.

Make sure you follow the Swedish Meatball project page here. We’ll be adding lots of new content about the build and the parts we used in the coming months.