CHEVY SMALL BLOCK V8 HISTORY

[@joshuagibson2520]

You're such a good dude. Can't say enough good on you sharing this info. Especially getting the knowledge out to young people. Without guys like you a lot of this gets forgotten unless someone has access to some good books. Books can be pricey though. Especially factory service manuals!

[@hart64ghs]

Had a 56 Chevy wagon with the 265, it was the double hump heads and a Carter 4-brl. with dual exhaust, sounded and ran good with a 3-speed trans. If you went down a long hill on compression then when you went back on power it would smoke a bit, sucking oil thru the valve guides, the 265 Hi Po was a high revver. My brother has a built 383 stroker in a FJ40 Land Cruiser, that motor will chug through the rocks at idle and then scream up a sand hill. Thanks for the history lesson, have watched many of your build videos, always good stuff!

[@howabouthetruth2157]

383 stroker Chevy's are proven beasts.

[@Myvintageiron7512]

true but not a production engine

[@tomnekuda3818]

We raced a 301 (283 bored .0060) for a while.....would wind like a chainsaw. ) When we moved to the LT1 350, there was no comparison; the power difference was phenomenal. Both were good and reliable to around 7200 rpm. Thanks, Chevy!

[@ibrahim-chevelleMalibuman]

Awesome keep posting greatest video I love small block Chevy and big block Chevy ❤❤❤❤❤❤very nice ❤❤❤❤

[@63Imp283]

Great series! The 61 Corvette with the 283 fuel injected had 315hp

[@buzzwaldron6195]

1965 FI 327 was 375 HP...

[@richardlewis4288]

Love these videos. The longer the better. Keep ‘em flowing!

[@DanPorter-i6j]

Always enjoy these history lessons. Always worth a watch. Thank you. On a side note, never really thought about harvesting parts from a 307 and 350 to make a backyard 327. A 4 bolt main 327 would be really cool

[@howabouthetruth2157]

Yep. On 4 bolt vs 2 bolt mains, I've always heard that you can take a 2 bolt main block and drill & tap to accept splayed main caps, essentially converting it to a 4 bolt main that is actually stronger than the factory 4 bolt mains. I can't say that this is 100% fact, so maybe another viewer with experience can chime in here. But I've heard about it from many sources over the years.

[@Myvintageiron7512]

yep did it a half dozen times makes a real screamer

[@jonesbretth]

Good rundown. The 265's in '55 where available in the corvette, std cars and in the mid year introduced '55 pickup. The 283 hit 283hp in the '57 year with the fuel injection. By '61 the 283 in the Vette was rated at 315hp with the solid lifter cam and 461 heads. In '62 all performance small blocks where built around the 327 with the 283 used as base model power plants. The 302 used the same block casting as the 327 and 350. No special block was cast. The '65 Vette with the injected 327 made 375hp. '61 was the last year for factory dual carb Corvettes and that would have been a 283 rated at 270hp. A mention of the 90's LT1/LT4 would have been a good addition.

[@nashwaldrop6198]

Always love the distinct deep bass tone of the 283.

[@TheRetarp]

It would have been kind of neat to go chronologically because then the 307 & 327 make more sense. They are the 283 replacements. The 305 and the lower output versions of the 350 are essentially smog era versions to meet EPA requirements. Makes sense to categorize them into tiers too: Economy: 283 -> 307 -> 305 Mid range: 283 -> 327 -> 350 -> 400 Performance: 283 -> 302/327 -> 350 Also would have been nice to have the modern SAE horsepower equivalents compared to those advertised numbers. That "283hp" 283 is more realistically sub 200hp in today's ratings.

[@brianmaynard7320]

Great video Sir!! Appreciate your efforts and your videos!! Not a Chevy guy but engine info is ALWAYS welcomed!!! Thank you!!!

[@candykid5135]

11:54 the greatest american engine ever made 👍

[@triggeredleftyvegan6004]

Been following for years, love your videos from down under!

[@Myvintageiron7512]

I appreciate that!

[@jonqualey2204]

Good job on these history videos. My Dad bought a 1981 Impala wagon with a 267. I was a teenager back then and I used to help my Dad work on the cars. I remember that the 267 had a strange carburator. It looked just like a Quadrajet except it didn't have any secondaries. Where the secondaries would be was closed off - no opening in the casting. I don't know why GM would do this. My Dad took the carb off once but I don't remember if it had a regular Quadrajet intake manifold.

[@markg7030]

It would be interesting to find out G.M. used 4 BBL manifolds.

[@shoominati23]

My friend build an awesome street racing engine when I was much younger with a 400 block with a 327 crank giving 358 cubes if my calculations are correct. It had a 750 double pumper carb and street dominator manifold and 4-2-1 headers. It wasnt a high dollar build either, and won alot of drag races, and boy did it love to REV!! I hope to re-create the build for a vega panel van (4 speed of course) when i get my new garage done

[@stevenlocke4769]

I have a '69 327 waiting to be put back together for something. Saved from a previous employer who was just going to scrap it

[@chevyrc3623]

I really like these history stuff on engines

[@jamest.5001]

You can take a stock 350 and put good aluminum heads on them. And a cam get 100+ HP, with a intake and exhaust , especially with more compression. Getting 450 street friendly HP is simple.

[@jimb8904]

Hello... i.m. the. 327. Lover... and. You. Have.... at. Least. One. Excellent. Video...on. the. Oh. So. Holy. 327... i. Say. This. Because. Everytime. I. Started. And. Idled. My. 327. In. My Camaro.. with. the. Torker. Camshaft... people. Said. Oh. My. God.... now. In. This. Video... you. Make. A. Point. Of. 305. Heads... i. Was. Working. A. Small. Block. 400. Into. A. 4x4. To. Replace. The. 350. Getting. 10..m...p... .g. Hwy...... i. Ended. Up. With. 3. Different. Combos.... at. 406...or. 407.. 379.......and. at. 385..c...i...d.. i. Used. 305. Heads. With. Drilled. Steam. Holes... And. With. What. You. Say. Here.. the. Heads. Are. The. Reason...the. gas. Mileage. Went. Upto. 13..mpg... with. The. Increased. Cubes.... and. Performer. Camshaft... at. About. 10.5.l1. Cr..... it. Still. Pulled. A. Trailer. Well. And. Cruised. Hwy. Spds. With. No Problems... on. A. Sag. 3spd..and. the. Same 4.10. Diff. Gears.. sometimes. It. Takes. Awhile. To. Get. It. All. Figured. Out.... thanks...man. have. A. Nice. Day....

[@jesseduke694]

Hey like these history videos! I grew up with fords & still love the old FEs but I've owned a couple chevys & would like to start collecting & build myself a small block. Some people say I can't, im supposed to be a ford guy but I say I don't fit inside that box u have made for me! We only live once, if u wanna do sumthin u better do it! I'm gear head, not just a ford gear head!

[@Myvintageiron7512]

agree I owned all three liked em all

[@blackbuttecruizr]

I had an 81 Trans Am Turbo had a 301 in it (4.9 Liter).

[@63Imp283]

That was a Pontiac motor

[@buzzwaldron6195]

Same bore and stroke as Ford or Chevy 302s... Also Chevy '301's used to be built from 283s... and still same bore x stroke as 302s...

[@anonmon6236]

looking forward to the big block history

[@Myvintageiron7512]

working on it

[@rolandtamaccio3285]

,,, did work for a 4.030 bore, and offset destroked, cast, 307 crank, to small 2.000 rod journal, for 322 cubes .

[@joshuagibson2520]

Few things I hate more than C.A.F.E. and Cash for Clunkers. Well, ATF, IRS, and EPA maybe.

[@q8mechanic427]

Great videos, keep 'em flowing... Would really love your take on Pontiac, Oldsmobile and Buick engines history.

[@triggeredleftyvegan6004]

That would be great, because early days even under the GM umbrella they all designed their own engines.

[@Myvintageiron7512]

Great suggestion! I am actually doing every domestic v8 Ford and Chevy are just the beginning

[@talon0863]

Thank you

[@Sawdust65]

Great video! You were an excellent guide for my LS build. She runs strong and has been good for over a year now. Glad to partner with you through patreon for all the good advice. Next! 1977 c10. I found an old 283 block I would like to build for the truck can you give me a quick rundown on heads, cam and whatever to make decent horsepower for this old truck?

[@Myvintageiron7512]

you don't need lots of cam or head for a 283 find some filie heads if you can .450 lift cam 218/224 duration

[@johnstrickland956]

My parents had a small Pontiac with the 267. Good car. Great gas mileage. No power. I have a friend who has a Camaro with a 267. He bought the car new. Original engine. Good runner for cruising and gas. No power.

[@gdfitzgibbon]

Highest horsepower rated 283 was 315hp in late C1 corvette . Don’t forget the 267”

[@carlpreston1680]

I have the issue of hot rod when the Chevy small block first came out in 55 they called it the Chevy V8 ironically enough there were questioning the longevity of the valve train and cam in those days a few issues later when Edelbrock had the small block taken apart to build performance parts they put a reground cam in it and it went flat they said because it wasn't hardened properly

[@lordsauto]

Question for ya. I dont remember hearing this i have reman 350 chevy, runs great, but when cold first start up i hear valve train noise just for 2 seconds, Is that normal should i check anything? I have great oil pressure 65-70 cold 25 lbs hot at idle. Thanks id appreciate any input. i have not adjusted valves shop did.

[@buzzwaldron6195]

Wouldn't worry about the noise if only lasts a couple seconds...

[@youtruckrek5121]

thanks

[@mikkokuorttinen3113]

What was the idea behind the 4-bolt main? Why did chevy started to producing it and which of vehicles where they for?

[@Scorpionluva]

More bottom end rigidity.

[@williambikash6645]

CHRIS Craft marine engines advertised 3 versions of the Z28 and LT 1 engines with a Volvo sterndrive The 302 with restrictive marine exhaust manifolds was rated at 310 hp ( 290 hp in the car) The high compression 350 ci was rated at 350hp ( 360- 370hp in cars) and the low compression 350 was 320 hp. ( 330hp? In the cars) Interestingly the 302 was rated 20 hp more than the car. Chevy under rated the 302 Z28. The 302 and 350 high compression versions were rare or non existent. The 320 hp versions were common and ran well.

[@jesseharriott4253]

SGI l31 R is known to be a 4 bolt main

[@pete540Z]

400 SBC had a larger main bearing diameter than the large journal 327 and the 350. I have a 400 in my 240Z - interesting that you showed a Z car with a SBC. My 400 block is from Dart.

[@Myvintageiron7512]

yea the datsun Z and the S10 were two of my favorite swaps for the sbc

[@daryllynhutchins8459]

Is that true .i thought that a 400crank in a 327/350 made a 380 something , ie stroker motor

[@pete540Z]

@@daryllynhutchins8459 it makes a 383. But the mains need to be turned down to the large journal 327 or 350 main's diameter.

[@quadsman11]

Good morning, and Merry Christmas ! About a month ago, you have messaged me back regarding your Small Block Chevy rebuild step by step ! My name is Ray Parsons, and I am able to purchase the program for my two teenage part-time kids. Unfortunately, now I am not able to find the program. Can you please send me the program purchase page ? And Merry Christmas to you !

[@Myvintageiron7512]

enginebuild.net

[@quadsman11]

@@Myvintageiron7512 Thank you ! Will ultimately be doing two of them for both of my part time guys ! Appreciate you getting back to me !

[@rustybrowneye]

The hinge placement on the door behind you confuses me

[@f100unibody9]

Yes it is?? I had to go back and look but as a carpenter I find it very confusing also! Lol

[@joshuaatkins5197]

Alright, your got me too. I had to go back and look. I work with finishing/staining trim/doors and I've never seen that before.🤔

[@Myvintageiron7512]

well, I guess I need to clear this up there are actually 4 hinges on the door evenly spaced this is being filmed in Cambodia the wood here is very heavy so heavy in fact you would think they were made of steel, so all doors have 4 heavy duty hinges otherwise they won't hold the weight of the door.

[@joshuaatkins5197]

@@Myvintageiron7512 👍 you rock man! Informative on many levels.

[@spencerforhireauto]

You missed another not particularly notable SBC. There was a later version of the 262 with different bore and stroke, built similar to the 350 cube LT1 found in the 93-97 Camaro and Impala SS.

[@Myvintageiron7512]

I am trying to figure out why people are saying this the video clearly has the 262 and 267 in it you guys are not watching the entire video

[@richardkaltenbach3961]

The Chevrolet 350's Lowest Horsepower Was In The 1975 MONZA! 125 Horsepower. It's Highest Horsepower Was In LT1 Form In 1970 Corvette.370 Horsepower. The L-82 Did Pretty Good In The DISCO Era. 220, 225, 230 Horsepower. The 305 Lowest Horsepower Was 130 In The 1979 MONZA! You Left Out The 262 And The 267 V8s.

[@Myvintageiron7512]

The Monza never had a 350 in it they were 262's and 305's

[@kalebbrown93]

I would love to take a 400 sbc and get a 3.25 stroke for it for a unique 350ish engine.

[@Saan455]

Can you do one on Oldsmobile ? and thanks as always

[@Myvintageiron7512]

I am doing every American car make stay tuned

[@matthewcritchfield6997]

Do you know Mr. iron? I’m highly disappointed you did not mention anything about the 5.7 Vortech.😂 which personally was my favorite videos that you do partially, because I drive a 97 Silverado daily👍🇺🇸

[@Myvintageiron7512]

the Vortec is simply 350 this video was really a timeline of the v8 engines the only real difference between the vortec and the earlier 350 is the heads and intake, you probably noticed I did not get real detailed with cylinder heads in this one the vortec is a factory roller cam block but again most of the tbi blocks were also machined to accept a factory roller. the point really is even into the tbi and vortec years the 5.7/350 did not really change all that much you could take 1970 350 heads and intake bolt em on your vortec block and down the road you go you could also bolt your vortec heads on to a 1970 SBC and down the road you go I actually have several detailed videos on vortec/TBI/early heads I didn't really see the need to repeat all that here

[@matthewcritchfield6997]

@@Myvintageiron7512 now I understand I was just being sarcastic and joking, but I do like your older videos when you’re machining their heads, you’re a smart man and a good man👍

[@karlsracing8422]

Need chrysler history.

[@Myvintageiron7512]

working on it

[@garrettstokes2860]

How about the 383 stroker 😁

[@Myvintageiron7512]

not a factory production engine, the 383 is an aftermarket custom build there are actually dozens of stroker combinations for the SBC even up to a 454 small block, but this video is based on factory production engines only

[@sydrider6023]

A lot of poeple do not know who Louis Chevrolet was. He had a road race pilot carrer and he was from a Swiss family involved in watch making.

[@buzzwaldron6195]

Worked for Buick to start with...

[@kalebbrown93]

Missing 1 sbc in your history. The 263. Made in the early 90's for the whale type Caprice. 305 bore with the 3" stroke.

[@Myvintageiron7512]

I am not aware of a 263 they did make a 262 and a 267 both are in the video

[@ThomasSmith-hh8fp]

what did gm do, with the surplus 283 blocks, and surplus 327 cranks, after the z/ 28 engines? they put them together ,andcame up with the 307 !!.... just a joke that went around when i was in High School..😊

[@Scorpionluva]

That is infact what they did. 😊

[@angelozararis8096]

Bowtie till I die

[@boknows3841]

307 had a cast iron Crankshaft _ they were junk. 327 all had forged steel Crankshaft / very good. No benefit to using a 307 Crankshaft in anything.. 307 block was a light block, they would Crack if you tried to hot rod it. Basically GM was just trying to use up their equipment left over from the production of the 283 and 327 and when they wore Out it was cheaper to use the 305 design since they could use the rejected 350 Crankshaft.. the v6 was just a 305 with two cylinder lopped off.

[@Scorpionluva]

All small journal 327's had forged cranks but all large journal 327's were cast.

[@ssboot5663]

like

[@heavymetalredneck7973]

Building a 305/307 instead of a 350/400 makes about as much sense as wiping your a$$ before you take a sht......js 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@joshuagibson2520]

"Those 265 and 283 motors would burn a quart between changes, even when new." - Something Ive heard a lot over the decades. Is there any truth to this? Why? Bad tolerancing? Ring clearance? Or?

[@gdfitzgibbon]

Chrome piston rings, took forever to breakin. Mechanics used to put Ajax down the carb while it was running, ruffed up the rings and broke in sooner.

[@SILVERBULLETSS86]

There's a 302 hemi-crossram that Chevy made back in 68 or 69 but never took off.

[@Myvintageiron7512]

yea they were pretty laggy on the low end great for high rpm racing but not a good choice for street driving

[@joshuagibson2520]

GM > FoMoCo and Mopar combined.

[@buzzwaldron6195]

GM had 52% of market in 1950s - 1970s... everyone else in world divided up remaining 47+%... Buyers loved GM products!

[@thelifeofkim8581]

Ford also bought the 7.3 and the 6.9 patter in the late 70s when the international company went bankrupt they bought them out and started building the 7.3 and then in the late 2000s they went back to the patterns and started using there 6.7because before the 6.9 did not have the power the 7.3 did but they had turbo and boost they did not have in the 90 amd early 2000s the 7.3 is still the better engine that's why ford stop building them they ran for too long and ford was losing money on the 7.3 and if you where to boost a 7.3 you would have 3 tines as much power that the 6.7has

[@thelifeofkim8581]

Chevrolet sold ford the 302 pattern to ford alot of people did not know that but ford bought the 302 from Chevy and so Chevy stopped making it and went to the 305 after that

[@Myvintageiron7512]

The Chevy 302 has nothing whatsoever to do with the Ford 302 this is not true