Who among us hasn't had the idea? Just chop a couple of engines in two and smush the pieces together: instant V-12/V-16/V-24/awesomeness.
Well, the fantasy recipe works, friends. At least it does when you combine it with a suitable dose of extreme welding and cutting skills and a dash of mad genius. V12Baker of the LS1Tech forums has that mixture.
He (or she) also has the photos to prove it, starting with dummy blocks illustrating the mid-cylinder cut and weld line, the cut-and-welded heads, and the reconfigured crank and cam shafts. The result? An 8.9-liter V-12 that's only 8.8 inches longer than a stock LS-block V-8.
Better yet, the properly mad V12Baker also plans to set a supercharger atop the engine.
With the firing order of a V-16 minus four cylinders rather than a traditional V-12 order, the builder thinks it "should be a wicked sounding V-12."
The finished product will be going into a Datsun 280Z, because when you're bulding a ridiculous custom supercharged V-12, it should end up in a 2,600-pound car.
This isn't the first time V12Baker has gone down this path (it's the fifth time, actually), but it may be the best.
Hit the fifth page of the thread for a special bonus: an LS-based V-4.