"I hope GM and Chevrolet Performance make the LS3 for a long time, and the reason for that is because I think it is the perfect blend of power, modern convenience and reliability, but it's also still all motor and simple," Palmer says.

A lifelong car guy who owned coupes for many years, Palmer realized he needed a bigger hot rod when his daughter was born in 2015. He settled on a station wagon and became attracted to the GM B-Body platform. Although he now lives in Los Angeles, Palmer is originally from the Boston area and spent much of his youth in Hyannisport on Cape Cod where his grandparents resided. Coincidentally, his grandfather almost exclusively drove Buicks for many years.

His maroon-and-woodgrain Roadmaster had been a single-family car and Palmer bought it in 2019 – 180 horsepower TBI engine and all. Despite having some sun damag from having lived out its days in California, the car had no rust.

"It was a cool cruiser, I put a little exhaust on it to hear the motor a little bit more, but it was kind of just going to be my daily cruiser, fun car," Palmer says.

Palmer is a writer by trade who today pens stories for the Internet Brands Automotive Group after having worked as a screenwriter. When his company was looking for projects, he began putting together a wish list for his Roadmaster. A first-time LS swapper, Palmer worked with Guaranty Chevrolet in Santa Ana, California, to obtain the powertrain. He also documented the entire build on LS1Tech.com and YouTube.

Since he lives in California, Palmer specifically chose the E-ROD package to meet the state's strict emissions requirements, while ensuring his car was street-legal in all 50 states thanks to the engine's receipt of a CARB executive order.^*

"To me, the benefits of the E-ROD are not only the emissions equipment that comes with it, but it is also brand new and it's got the best warranty^†," Palmer says. "It's got an extra year of warranty versus just getting the standard Connect & Cruise system from Chevrolet Performance. That combination of warranty, cleanliness and meeting emission standards here made it seem easier to me as a novice, first-time LS swapper."

Like the standard version, the 6.2L LS3 E-ROD is rated at the aforementioned 430 horsepower and 425 lb.-ft. of torque. It maintains the LS3's cast-aluminum block with six-bolt cross-bolted main caps, aluminum cylinder heads and composite intake manifold, but also comes with complete emissions equipment. Highlights of the package include exhaust manifolds, catalytic converters, multiple sensors and an evaporative emissions canister.

The engine in Palmer's Buick is mated to a Hydra-Matic 4L65-E four-speed automatic transmission. He and the team at Guaranty Chevrolet chose the tranny as part of the Connect & & Cruise package because it would fit seamlessly in the Roadmaster's transmission tunnel. Amazingly enough, it even uses the same gearing as the 4L60 originally in the car.

"It's got this almost old-school vibe to it, one foot in the past, one foot in the present," Palmer says.

Although Palmer is a knowledgeable enthusiast who had performed brake jobs and other more minor upgrades, the E-ROD project was his first swap. In that sense, his experience level fits a lot of DIY mechanics, and the Connect & Cruise concept with all its included factory-matched components helped put him at ease.

"The Connect & Cruise system made it feel achievable because the whole thing shows up and you basically get a giant pallet with the motor, the cats and a few of the accessories," Palmer says. "The connection kit comes in a couple of smallish boxes and then you get the transmission. It all gets delivered on a whole pallet along with four or five different sets of instructions. It just makes it seem very achievable and doable that this system is designed to work together."

Palmer also found that General Motors has been consistent in its engineering for decades in items ranging from wiring colors to the size of a brake booster check valve, making a modern swap in a classic car all that more simple.

"My other piece of advice for first-time swappers in particular is, if you can, stick with GM on GM," Palmer says.

Currently, Palmer is deciding whether he simply wants to touch up the paint but maintain its flaws, have the car repainted, or wrap it in an eye-catching color.

The interior remains stock, but Palmer plans to replace it with a version in better condition from a car out of Canada. He also added Dakota Digital gauges similar to the stock version, along with a Dakota Digital fan-controller module that triggers the fans to run anytime the A/C compressor is on. In addition, the car now features a backup camera, Bluetooth and Apple CarPlay.

Down the road, Palmer may take on more projects – perhaps even a C10 he can build with his young daughter, who has already shown an affinity for trucks.

In all likelihood, an LS engine will be part of the equation.

"The LS3 just does so many different great things," Palmer says. "I'm very happy with the power-to-weight ratio with this and I think the LS3 is just a gem."