It’s no secret that the venerable small block Chevy (SBC) and LS engines aren’t anything to write home about in the looks department – at least in their factory fresh form. As such, there are several common things people do to clean up their engine bays. Typically, people start at the top since the carburetor/throttle-body is the centerpiece of the system. Once that is taken care of, it’s time to start looking at the intake manifold – especially since LS swaps have become so popular among enthusiasts.

Many will say there isn’t anything wrong with stock LS, or SBC intake manifolds  as far as looks or performance is concerned. Perhaps they’re right, but like our friends at Racing Power Co. (RPC), we beg to differ. Many people are swapping LS-based truck engines (4.8-, 5.3-, and 6.0-liter) into their projects because they are so readily available, and lets face it, their stock intakes are hideous.

In order to remedy that and add some performance, RPC has introduced their new line of fabricated sheet metal intake manifolds for SBC and LS platforms. They are available in many different configurations, and will accommodate several different sizes of throttle body for the LS platform.

We spoke with Isiah Roman from Racing Power Co., and he had this to say about their new products: “The weight on these things, is super light! Not only that, but they dissipate heat much more efficiently than a traditional cast iron, or aluminum manifold for the SBC, and even the polymer intakes for the LS.”

So there you have it – form following function. While these manifolds look great and drastically improve the underhood appearance of any ride, they also provide a performance upgrade as well. We also suspect the longer intake runners provide more adequate airflow than the stock units as well. But, we’ll have to get back to you on that one.

For now, if you’d like to know more about anything and everything Racning Power Co. has to offer, visit their website at usrpc.com.