You don’t see a lot of Saturn SC1s with a road-race theme. This is the first we’ve seen with an LS engine swap. (Photo by Jim Campisano)
They say the LS engine swap has been performed on every type of car ever made. Classic Chevys, late-model Fords, vintage Mercurys and Porsches from 911s and 944s to 928s and 914s have all gotten the LS treatment.
Yeah, we thought we’d seen them all — until we came across Bob House’s Saturn SC1. The LS engine swap was probably the easy part of this build. He converted it to rear-wheel-drive with a custom frame he fabricated himself. The body hung from the ceiling of his garage, which was reinforced with beams in the attic, until it was lowered onto the chassis.
The sidepipes are muffled, but loud. The rear diffuser was not just designed for looks. (Photo by Jim Campisano)
The Saturn brand is not the first you think of when it comes to Street Muscle. Gone since the Great Recession and the government bailout of General Motors, Saturns were economical front-wheel-drive sedans and coupes (with the late arriving Sky roadster the sportier exception to all of the above). Thanks to a unique marketing campaign, Saturns inspired loyalty and passion from their owners.
The no-haggle pricing helped, as did the friendly dealer network (who wouldn’t like a birthday card and balloons from their sales person?). The Saturn Homecomings in Spring Hill, Tennessee, were genuine feel-good events.
The Saturn's body was literally hanging from the ceiling in the owner's garage, then lowered onto the chassis. At right, the chassis being assembled on the frame jig. (Photos courtesy of Bob House)
Saturn fell victim to GM’s “Not Invented Here” syndrome. It was never given enough funding after its launch to update the product line and later come out with new cutting-edge small cars, which was its entire reason for being.
“My wife and I got our first Saturn in ‘92 when they were first introduced to the market,” Bob said. “I was so impressed with the quality that I fell in love. The SC didn’t come out until ’94. I told my wife I will have one someday, but I’m building it the way the SC should have — with a V8.”
Bob has been constructing cars since he got his first snap-together model kit at eight years old. He later progressed to real automobiles and had a ’69 Corvette he used to autocross.
The intake was purchased off Amazon and owner Bob House cannot recall the brand. (Photos by Jim Campisano)
“I finally got the car you see today in 2009. It sat in my garage for about six months while I envisioned my creation,” Bob said. “During that time I was socking away per diem money from my job so I could start with a pocket full of money. You don’t build something of this caliber with pennies. You need big cash.”
Thousands of hours were needed to bring the car to what you see here. It was finally wired and started in February 2024.
When we discovered it a year later, it had only been driven twice. But it fired right up and rumbled to our photo location. He got on it a few times en route, and let me tell you, it was a beast.
The black ducts in the grille feed cold air to the front brakes. The silver scoop feeds much-needed air to the radiator. Is the rear diffuser a little over the top? Perhaps, but we like it. (Photos by Jim Campisano)
Which LS Is It?
The engine and transmission are both out of a fourth-gen Trans Am. The LS1, naturally, had an unusual story. Upon teardown at Eisele’s Automotive Machine Shop (Tampa, FL), it was discovered three of the eight cylinders were oversized by .005-inch. The decision was made to give all eight a total of .010-inch.
The short-block received a Brian Tooley Racing cam. A set of 243 LS heads were given a five-angle valve job and combined with a fabricated intake fed by a 92mm throttle body. House found the intake on Amazon and though he thinks it looks cool, the engine doesn’t really come alive until 2,500 rpm.
Fuel comes from the cell in the trunk via an Aeromotive Stealth system and a Holley Terminator PCM runs things. House built the headers himself and they exhale into S&S side pipes. S&S made the pipes to Bob’s specs, which dictated mufflers for street use.
The LS is paired to the same T56 six-speed gearbox from which it left the factory. A 9-inch rear is fitted with a Strange Engineering True Trac diff and 3.90 gears. Moser Engineering 31-spline axles were also used.
The interior is all business. Don't go looking for a radio, HVAC controls or other niceties. The owner hopes to get it on track as soon as possible. The factory fourth-gen Firebird shifter still rows the gears in the Tremec T56 six-speed.
We love the fact that the owner engineered and built the frame himself. The front control arms are from Helix and are a Mustang II design. There are QA1 coilovers at each corner. House also designed and fabricated the panhard bar rear suspensions. There are no sway bars at either end yet, but he says there will be in the near future.
Future Plans
Speaking of the future, Wilwood six-piston calipers and 12-inch drilled and slotted rotors are slated to replace the Mustang II binders up front, and Wilwood four-piston calipers with drilled and slotted rotors are in the rear.
Rolling stock consists of C5 Corvette 18-inch (rear) and 17-inch (front) wheels that were powdercoated bronze and they are wrapped in 305/35R18 and 245/45R17-inch tires.
The body was in pretty good shape when he purchased the SC1. It is in factory Saturn red with a white hood. The big question is does he paint the entire car, keep the red and paint the hood some form of black, or simply leave it alone?
Enhancements were also homemade, including the rear diffuser and front air dam, which was engineered to supply cooling to the front brakes (black ducts) and the radiator.
The interior completes the road race them with Corbeau seats, Auto Meter gauges and an ididit steering column. The steering wheel is obviously removable for easier ingress and egress.
Bob says he did have some help from his son and daughter on the project, but most of the work fell to him. Getting the homemade headers to keep from interfering with the Corvette batwing oil pan took a bunch of effort, but mission was accomplished.
After the car was wired, the owner decided to take a ride. It was in the first corner when he realized the front tires were rubbing the top of the wheelwells. Three months later, that was fixed.
Mickey Thompson tires keep the Corvette C5 rims from scraping the pavement. The NACA duct on the roof feeds cold air to the rear brakes. (Photos by Jim Campisano)
We really admire Bob’s skill and determination in constructing such an unusual vehicle. While the LS1 engine swap may be commonplace, he certainly put his heart, hands, and soul into this project.
