The Chevrolet Performance LS3 E-ROD crate engine* represents an ideal choice in modern performance thanks to an emissions-legal package allowing you to cruise in all 50 states.

However, the team at Roadster Shop found a way to dress up the engine in a classic look.

An LS3 E-ROD sits under the hood of Roadster's Shop 1988 Chevrolet Silverado build, a truck featuring a white exterior accented with vibrant neon colors to honor the popular graphics style of the late '80s. The engine itself is also painted white to match the rest of the truck, while hoses and wires are bright pink and blue, and the Roadster Shop logo on the Billet Specialties valve covers is designed in a distinctly 1980s feel.

The build also includes Billet Specialties Small-Block adapters, which were used to install a functional Lokar Products top-mount throttle body. A Holley air cleaner sits atop the engine.

"[The E-ROD] allows you to have an emissions-legal vehicle, you've still got some good power, and it's a solid package," said Roadster Shop co-owner Jeremy Gerber during the Goodguys Summit Racing Nationals in Columbus, Ohio. "But we took it out of its stock trim and dolled it up to, interestingly enough, make it look kind of like an '80s Small-Block Chevy."

Like the original LS3 crate engine^†, the E-ROD version cranks out 444 horsepower and 425 lb.-ft. of torque while utilizing lightweight components. It also includes complete emissions equipment (including catalytic converters and an evaporative emissions canister) and has been the recipient of an official CARB Executive Order making it 50-state street legal for 1995 and older cars and trucks.

Gerber refers to it as "a civilized package."

The truck will be given away by the Goodguys Rod & Custom Association during the Columbus event in 2023. Since it could wind up in any number of locations, Gerber and his team thought it best to have all of their bases covered by utilizing the LS3 E-ROD. But they also made it their own.

Today, we've made a shot of the custom engine into a wallpaper download. High-resolution desktop and mobile images are available below.

Desktop

Mobile

Keep your browser pointed to The BLOCK for many more Chevrolet Performance-powered builds from automotive events across the United States.

*Chevy Performance E-ROD engines have been granted CARB Executive Orders, which allows for their installation on specific emission controlled vehicles to be driven on public streets and highways. An exemption is granted if the product has been determined not to cause an increase in vehicle emissions from the production vehicles for which the part is intended, nor otherwise cause vehicles to be non-compliant with the vehicle emissions certification and anti-tampering laws. For additional information, including which vehicles these E-ROD engines can be installed in, please visit ChevroletPerformance.com

†Because of their effect on a vehicle's emissions performance, these engines are intended exclusively for use in competition vehicles. These engines are designed and intended for use in vehicles operated exclusively for competition: in racing or organized competition on courses separate from public streets or highways. Installation or use of these engines on a vehicle operated on public streets or highways is likely to violate U.S., Canadian, and state and provincial laws and regulations related to motor vehicle emissions.