When you think of an LS-swapped vehicle, what do you picture? For many, a 1980s Ford hiking the wheels straight into the air on a dragstrip comes to mind...and that's pretty common, considering the many Blue Ovals that show up to races with GM powertrains underneath the hood. Maybe you're picturing a sports car, like a Toyota Supra or a Datsun Z-car that is designed for cornering but the owner wanted more torque down low. Maybe a drift-spec Nissan is what comes to mind. When it comes to the LS Fest shows, virtually any example of the above has shown up and competed, and that's barely scratching the surface of the non-GM vehicles that have shown up over the years.

While walking through the show fields at LS Fest West 2021, one car in particular really stood out, because at first sight, it really didn't look like it belonged. A 1936 Ford Model 68, hunkered down on whitewalls, sitting low to the ground, wearing 1936 California plates. It looked like the driver stopped in on the way out to Bonneville or El Mirage. It looked so traditional that as we approached, we half-expected to have to break the news to the owner that the Ford, no matter how cool it is, would have to be moved out of the show area because there was no way it could meet the criteria for an LS Fest. Surely, there had to be a flathead V8 under that hood. Right?

Jose Delgadillo's Ford is a traditionalists' dream machine, which seems a contradiction in terms at first. Yes, it's LS swapped, but everything about this car should cause even the most anti-LS enthusiast to understand the reasons why that engine was chosen. The 425ci engine and it's 2.9L Whipple supercharger that was built by CBM Motorsports in Colton, California and the 4L60 transmission built by Luke's Transmission in Riverside, California exist to keep this Ford daily-driver capable. This is Jose's only car... "an old motorcycle" is his only alternate conveyance. We aren't talking short, local drives either. Since the swap, he's put over 80,000 miles on the combination, including a stint where he was commuting over a hundred miles a day to work and back. In fact, he had hit some dirt roads on the way to Las Vegas Motor Speedway without a thought. You might disagree with the engine choice, but you can't disagree that anyone who wheels old iron all the time deserves a nod.

So how does one live with a historic Ford as a daily driver? The power bump the LS swap provides and the overdrive automatic bring the Ford up to par with today's vehicles, the AccuAir air ride and QA1 help smooth out the roads and the interior, complete with a host of Classic Instruments gauges, looks just about original...if you willingly choose to ignore the well-hidden cagework. Sure, you're foregoing luxuries like air conditioning, but that's fine...just crank the windshield open and let in the fresh air. It didn't kill our grandfathers and great-grandfathers to live without climate control while out on the open roads.

Compared to the predominately 1960s and newer field of vehicles, Jose's Ford stood out among the crowd. There were faster vehicles, there were cleaner vehicles, but few vehicles looked more at home on the fringe edge of Las Vegas than this Ford. No car would look better rolling down a desert highway, pointed towards the sunset and the California coast.