Holley LS Fest Texas 2025 was a hot and humid affair, but I’m not just talking about the weather… We got hot and bothered about several LS-swapped vehicles at Texas Speedway and had to share because – well – that’s our job! Spoiler alert: they were not the highest dollar builds on the property either. But they weren’t junk either – some had turbos, built engines, high-end shocks, etc. Since this was Texas, most of them were – no surprise – trucks.

Toy Vet

This Toyota pickup was built by a mechanic and it shows. When I asked him the thought behind building the truck this way, he said: “I wanted something that was easy to work on.” His day job is working on Euros, so it’s not hard to see where he is coming from. It’s a twin-turbo engine with a Porsche transaxle. The fender flares were a necessity.

The Grandest of Wagoneers

Sitting in the Tribe 16 Off Road display at LS Fest Texas, this LS-swapped Grand Wagoneer is so clean. The swap was well done, and looks right at home in the Jeep chassis. The wheels and stance fit the build perfectly. This is the perfect vehicle to cruise the highways with your buddies or family. 

Rare Air

You’d think the rare Scout pickup in a drag build was a recipe for a sketchy, wheel-stander but the owner says it drives great with a 4-link. Until recently it had leaf springs, until it actually broke the rear housing. A Moser rearend and 4-link solved that. Purists love this truck (not so much). It has an LSX block, Frankenstein heads, and pair of small On3 turbos. It may have been the most expensive of the bunch here in terms of the build, but ride with us for a minute.

Prince of Bel Airs

This Bel Air could frequently be seen cruising around Texas Speedway, blasting its siren. The forward headers with 90-degree bends make us wonder if this might have a future with a pair of hairdryers. We shall see. It’s already a lot of fun and we love it! Just imagine cruising in this thing with your friends. I’d need to make some, but it sounds perfect to me.

Crusher Elco

This Elco looked like it was saved from the crusher but could also be one! It rides on a rear-engine, monster truck chassis with mud tires. On day two of LS Fest Texas it was sitting next to the lowest Elco on the property (ironically). This is yet another example of just a fun ride that creates infinite smiles per gallon – and proof that you don’t need the nicest paint or the highest budget to build an awesome vehicle. That said, a hand-fabricated Monster truck chassis isn’t exactly cheap either.

Bonus Round: Blue Goat

We could not find the owner of this 1974 GTO for the life of us, but it warranted a mention because you just don’t see the third- and fourth-generation Goats anymore. Some (perhaps even me) would say for good reason, while others (including Nick at LSX) drooled with envy.