For anyone who grew up as a gearhead and started young, there’s no doubt that there are only a few things in life that get your adrenaline flowing like the sound of an old-school motor. All of the aluminum, all of the electronic fuel injection and the most advanced head and cam profiles in the world could never substitute for the sputter of high compression and the lope of a race cam with lobes tall enough to be snow-capped.

Ah yes, those were the days of throaty big-blocks that made raw burnt fuel into an appetizing smell. On the other hand, these were also the days of sluggish startups, violent backfirings and disappointing shutdowns at random stoplights. To those on the outside, it must’ve seemed a fire-breathing nightmare, but to those on the inside it was just another day in the world of backyard high performance.

But let’s face it, we’re now in 2012 and rapidly approaching 2013; the world simply isn’t as “simple” anymore. In a much more high-tech world that demands fuel efficiency and motor displacement on demand, what is the solution for a horsepower-happy maniac who wants the grunt without all of the complications that go with it?

For the last 15 years, that solution has been the computerized “small-block” from the General that we now know affectionately as the LS series. Far more than just a revamped, aluminum V8, GM’s LS motor has offered even the most discriminating enthusiasts a broad potential for building supreme power without sacrificing streetability.

When it comes to old cars like our featured ’56 Bel Air in the target=”_blank”>video above, we will always fall in love with the nostalgic sense of curvaceousness that full-sized cars from the decade offered to drivers like no other decade in American auto could have. What we rarely fall in love with, however, are the suspensions and drivetrains from that era, as they are pretty crude pieces of technology by today’s standards.

Consequently, our featured Tri-Five holds under its hood an ’08 Z06 mill that puts out a respectable 650 horses, and it does so without the burnt fuel smells or the stoplight shutoffs of yesteryear. But just because the LS mill eliminates some of hot rodding’s greatest trivialities doesn’t mean that it sacrifices the throaty sound that brings us such motoring comfort on the highway.

A stunning combination of hot rod tech and ’50s chic, our featured shoebox is the “diamond in the rough” that we’ve been waiting for in terms of tricked-out Tri-Fives! What do you think?