did a lil search...found this http://www.streetracersonline.com/articles/rs8/

there is other sites as well but i say it can be done


and no im not trying to start a "but that's a focus and this is an hhr" all that sorta thing

 

So, you want to order an HHR with a V8 from the dealer I can understand ordering a Camaro with a vette engine. It's just a matter of bolting the more powerful engine into the existing mounts. (Yes, I know it's more complex than that.) But dropping a V8 into a vehicle designed for a four banger is a LOT more complex than that. I don't think that would be an option even if GM still did have the COPA program.

My question is this:

If your criteria for a "real" engine is a 300 HP V8, why are you driving an HHR?

 

My last car was a 1996 Impala SS with 735 BHP... and if GM did offer an engine, regardless if it's a V8 or V6, that produced 300+ HP, I would pay a little extra for it.

The V8 reference was what I consider to be a 'real' SS engine.

 

If memory serves me, COPO stood for Central Office Production Order. Where as a normal accessory or order was and is an RPO or Regular Production Order.

GM could still do this, but I don't think they want to and the certification costs would be the biggest problem. However, it would be cool to order a V8 HHR and I would have done it in a heartbeat of America :-)

Remember when you are talking HP, todays standards are NET HP, the 60's & 70's HP ratings we Brake HP. Net is about 30% less as it's a rating with accessories installed. Brake is just the engine.

An example would be in 1971 one of my current cars was rated at 150 hp, in '73 the four letter word car company switched to Net HP ratings and the same engine was only rated at about 120HP.

My 305 V8 in my hotrod was rated at 200 Brake hp, but only 165 Net.

Basically, the 260 HP SS has more HP then my '85 Vette that was rated at 250 HP.

What the V8 Has is more torque at lower RPM.

 

You can have a 305 with only 165 HP?

 

Yep, '79-'82 era Malibu 305 w/2bbl carb. Net HP

 

In the old days (pre-emission and CAFE), an automaker only needed to find a way to physically mount an engine into a car and mate it to the drivetrain to sell it. Now every different engine installed in a car needs emissions certification, crash testing, and fuel economy testing in that particular vehicle.

So years ago Ford could take a Mustang, use a sledgehammer to "modify" the suspension towers(yes that really happened), and drop in a 429 engine and sell it to the public as the Boss 429.

Nowadays, it costs tens of millions of dollars for certification of an engine in a particular car before you can sell it. So without high volumes, it would cost too much.

Aftermarket places don't need to do all the testing that a manufacturer does, only some of it (for example, a CARB exemption in CA), which makes it more cost-effective for them.

There is an aftermarket place that offers a V8 conversion for a Pontiac Solstice to replace the 2.4L stock engine, for example.

Steve