If you thought you couldn’t afford a turnkey LS engine, you better take a look at Mast Motorsports.

Let GM’s loss be your gain! Mast Motorsports is offering brand new—and breathed on—factory truck engines for your hot rod. The 6-liter LY6 V-8 is the variable valve timing version of the LS2 engine, but with the better-flowing cylinder heads from the larger 6.2-liter LS3. The relatively obscure LY6 is currently the 6-liter step-up option from the 5.3L in GM trucks, and makes about 360 hp in factory trim. The variable cam timing, or VVT, is a step up from previous GM 6-liter offerings too, and endows the LY6 with a fatter torque curve that kicks in at a much lower rpm than older Gen III 6-liter engines such as the LQ9.

In case you hadn’t noticed, GM isn’t selling a whole lot of big trucks lately, and the warehouse is packed to the rafters with truck engines. That’s where Mast Motorsports has stepped in. Mast gets these brand new LY6s from GM, and upgrades the camshaft and springs. Then they package it with their own proprietary M-90 ECM, which they program specifically for the LY6 cam/spring upgrade. (Read: no programming or laptop needed.) If the truck intake is too tall for your hot rod’s hood, Mast even offers a low-profile LS3 intake manifold ($500 extra).

Mast calls it their LY6 the “HO” for a good reason: it belts out a staggering 480 hp at 6,400 rpm. And the best part is that Mast is moving these out the door for just $6,995 (part No.: 111-001). The price is turnkey too; you get everything you need to put fire in the hole, including the ECM, harnesses, sensors, water pump, throttle body—even a fly-by-wire accelerator pedal. According to Shaun Lide of Mast Motorsports: “Essentially, when you get one of these engines, it requires power, ground, three wires under the dash, and 60 psi of fuel pressure. Then, you are ready to rock!” We checked around the internet, and did find other outlets selling bone-stock LY9 crate engines, but they had the factory truck camshaft for a 420hp rating, and the going price was over $9,000.

As GM’s stock price craters, so are the prices on some of the best V-8s ever to come out of Detroit. If you didn’t think you could afford a band new fuel-injected crate motor, it might be time to rethink that logic. While the LY9 “HO” still lags a bit behind the standard carbureted small-block in raw power for the dollar, you can certainly argue that the improved driveability, reliability, and fuel economy of a spanking new LS engine makes the extra cost worthwhile. And that’s an extra cost that’s getting smaller by the day.  


Specifications:
Mast LY6 HO
Power:                      480hp
Type:                         LY6 6.0L iron block
Displacement:            378 cubic inches
Compression ratio:    9.5:1
Bore x Stroke:          4.000 x 3.662
Rev limit:                  6,800 rpm
Crank:                      GM
Rods:                       GM powdered metal
Pistons:                     GM hypereutectic
Cam:                        custom Mast VVT core camshaft
Heads:                      LS3/L92 heads
Intake:                      L92 truck intake
Valve springs:           Mast nitrided beehive

Engine Includes:
• LY6 iron block engine
• M-90 ECM
• main wiring harness
• fuse/relay box
• dash harness
• MAP/IAT harness
• trans harness
• EGO harness
• EGO sensor
• fuel pump harness
• fan harness
• LY6 truck IAFM
• GM 87mm DBW throttle body
• fuel rail
• fuel injectors
• IAT sensor
• air filter
• GM accelerator pedal
• starter
• truck water pump
• coil packs
• spark plugs
• ignition wires
• engine sensors

Source:
Mast Motorsports
936-560-2218