After a rotated lifter wreaked havoc in their 4.8L at last year’s LS Fest, brothers Blane and Austin Darling and their father, Abe, put a junkyard 5.3L into their 1989 Chrysler Conquest. The engine, removed from an early Escalade, had a bent rod and a couple mangled valves. After a single new rod and a head rebuild with Brian Tooley Racing springs, the 5.3L was almost good to go. The 5.3L truck accessory drive was modified with a trimmed down alternator bracket and a billet plate that holds an idler. The accessory drive is reliable, but it does spin the alternator too fast as the 5.3L has a 7500rpm rev limiter. BTR also supplied other valvetrain bits that help it stay happy at higher engine speeds, including pushrods and a road race cam that build power at that kind of engine speed. “It sounds good, it feels good, and it still drives good” Blane explained.

We liked the interesting color combo found in the Chrysler’s engine bay, the guys also have a gold ‘66 Pontiac, which explains both the gold and the metallic blue engine paint. That Moroso air cleaner is a family heirloom at this point, and is just perfect. Underneath the air cleaner is a Holley intake MSD Sniper EFI that handles all of the fueling, while an MSD ignition handles the spark. A progressive throttle linkage helped remove the touchiness that made driving the manual transmission a bit tricky.

Aside from the new alternator pulley, perhaps the next project is to upgrade the steering, as the current system has a bit of bumpsteer at the ends of its travel. A Nissan 240 rack might be the solution. Look for the car to make an appearance in the burnout contest, where it will put its cooling system to the test as it bounces off the rev limiter