I know of a few people in my EAA chapter that have built and flown aircraft with auto engines, but none were successful. The best engines were an all aluminum olds but now they all have aircraft Lycomings.
The biggest problem is trying to get the cooling right for the radiator and the oil. The planes are cowled and it's tough to get them to perform at the same levels obtained from an aircraft engine.
Maybe that LS series will work out someday. People will keep trying but for me it's aircraft engines on anything I fly. That's not to say I haven't had an emergency or two with an aircraft engine, including a jet or two.
Here's a story about a Cadillac conversion.;
Cadillac Northstar
The most successful automotive engine installation achieved to date in an Aerocomp product was the modified 4.6 liter 300HP Cadillac Northstar V8 engine installed in a Comp Air 6 by Mr. Ashley Jones. During 1998 and 1999, Mr. Jones flew his auto-powered airplane to many destinations in the eastern US. The airplane was flown to both EAA Oshkosh (Wisconsin) and EAA Sun `n Fun (Florida) fly-ins. The airplane performed well, although it was unable to match the climb and cruise performance of similar airplanes powered by 300 HP certified aircraft engines.
During the summer of 1999, however, while on a trip to Alaska, Mr. Jones experienced his third in-flight engine failure during a takeoff from a small airport in British Columbia, Canada. Although no one was injured in any of the engine failures (a tribute to Mr. Jones' piloting skills), the airplane was substantially damaged and had to be transported home by truck.
As this article went to print, Mr. Jones reported that he is in the process of retrofitting a used Continental to his newly rebuilt airplane. He indicated to us that he has no further plans at this time to experiment with automotive engines in his airplane.
