First Generation small block Chevy engine family 265, 283, 327, 350, 302, 307, 400, 262, 305, 267

[@gman3109]

Simple man - lynyrd skynyrd

[@What.its.like.]

Yeah buddy congratulations you got it nobody got name that tune yesterday or the day before yesterday you should give that one a whirl =)

[@chuckkottke]

There's got to be an App for that. 😊

[@What.its.like.]

There is, there are a couple people who use software that’s why I’ve made it harder I want to take on the software I love a challenge lol No one got the franklin episode one

[@chuckkottke]

@@What.its.like. lol, then it's Jay vs. The Machine. I hope you win!! 😊

[@harryfurman7964]

​@@What.its.like.Pp Pp loop loop I😊0😊😅😅 1:52 😊

[@josephmartinez8803]

The mouse that roared, but the 327 was the mighty mouse👍

[@What.its.like.]

327 was a great engine I rode in a 350 hp 327 in a Corvette and it was great.. 1965 I think It was hard to believe that it was a small block car it was very balanced and it would move

[@CarFacts81]

They were ok for a small cubic inch V8.

[@gerry-p9x]

​@@What.its.like.327 with right pistons and camel. Hump heads fuelie and 650. Cfm carb was a screamer boss bought a 70. Impala with roached 307...we had a good 327. Lying around added a cut crank fuelie heads and a Holley carb Bolted on old sheetmetal new oil and water pump fuel pump too that motor ran like snot for less than a grand

[@robertwatkins364]

In March 1967 my father used his reenlistment money to buy a 1967 Camero. Factory ordered RS/SS with a 350, 4 speed 3.55 gears. It was Marina blue, with the white stripe around the nose. In 1971 he sold it and bought a 1969 Torino GT 390, with the top loader 4 speed. He never could get over selling the Camero.

[@What.its.like.]

Wow that’s crazy the Torino wasn’t a bad car either.. but that Camaro with the 350 set up with something special

[@robertwatkins364]

@@What.its.like. 1967 was the first year for the 350.

[@What.its.like.]

Yes and it made great power that year =)

[@hot88s23]

Camaro

[@robertwatkins364]

@@hot88s23 Chevy Junk! 😂

[@dennismorrissey3914]

Driving from upstate ny to Fort Lauderdale spring break in 1974 with a 283 I put in a 69 chevelle. Fuel pump died on I95 in rural Maryland near an exit. We walked about 3/4 mile to a small gas station that had a new fuel pump on a shelf in an old cardboard box. I bought it and walked back to the car. State trooper was waiting and said we had an hour to get off the highway. In about 15 minutes we were back on our way. Such a dependable engine easy to work on with completely interchangeable parts.

[@geebs76]

My dad bought a new 1955 Chevy with the 265 4bbl. He put 110K miles on it and sold it in 1964 to a neighbor who was in the army. He was deployed to Seoul Korea and took the car with him. He sold it to a Korean farmer who put a new body on it and gave it to his son as a wedding present. When my dad traded in his '64 in 1971, that '55 was still running.

[@What.its.like.]

Great story thank you so much for sharing that as well as all the memories that go with it. I wonder if it’s still alive

[@patrickcork9358]

Awesome Story

[@pd8206]

265 V8 also came in Bel airs and Biscayne s

[@pd8206]

Correction that was 150s and 210

[@pd8206]

283s also 170 HP an until 1967

[@daveedson8607]

I was a GMI student assigned to Chevy small block engine group. I speced out a 400 4 barrel for a 72 Monte Carlo while at the tech center. I don't know if my engine made it to production or not, but i sure enjoyed my time in the small block group!!!

[@What.its.like.]

Oh man that’s awesome what a Time to be alive =) Thank you so much for sharing that story/memories with us how long were you in the group for

[@andyharman3022]

I was also a GMI student, but worked at Allison division. I left GM for many years but came back and worked at Powertrain on the small block from 2014-16. Interesting work. Who would turn down a chance to work on an American icon?

[@doctorcountersteer6580]

Daveedson? How long has it been since you saw a 70 400 warranty replacement 2 bolt 3951511 block? I have an intact low mileage one gathering dust.

[@Wiencourager]

The Studebaker version of the 283 was built in Canada, and had a different block and other differences from the Chevrolet version.

[@doctorcountersteer6580]

@@Wiencourager A different block? Feel free to elaborate, please.

[@britjohnson1990]

Mopar guy here. These were our enemies when we were younger but small block chevys are proven well designed engines. The sheer volume of cars with them made it cheap to get good hp and the oiling and overall strength of the design is great. Excellent oiling and the universal bell housings and engine mount setups made swaps easy. Back in the 80s and early 90s quite a few 350s gave the 383 Chrysler big block a good run for the money with gears

[@What.its.like.]

Totally agree

[@craigcampbell8560]

The 340 MOPAR was an absolute screamer too! It's a shame Chrysler didn't build more of them. That said, the Chevy 327 is probably the best small block of the era (the 340 is a close second though).

[@amoruzz]

My dad's first race car in 1962, if i remember the year correctly? It was a 1956 Chevy 2dr post, 265 engine 3 speed manual. My dad ran it for years, then his brother took over and did even better. I believe my uncle upgraded to the 283 later on. They did some homemade suspension upgrades which were legal, kept quiet and the mods allowed him to run around the track like he was driving on the interstate. He won so often that they were accused of cheating by the competition and were forced to tear down the engine in the pit's after the races more than once. It's weird how people can actually hate you when your on top. I have some of their trophies on my mantel and my uncle's 1967 point's championship trophy. I was youngest and had to do all the grunt work, but i wouldn't trade those day's for anything. Watching the evolution of race cars from stocks, modifieds, super modifieds and eventually the majestic winged Sprinters was incredible life experience. ❤ My favorite engines were always 283, 327 and 350 for sb's. 283's are bulletproof! I had four cars legally stolen from me and the one I miss the most to this day was 1967 Malibu 2dr hardtop 283, three on the tree and 4:56 posi. 😪

[@What.its.like.]

Awesome thank you so much fir sharing all of that =)

[@montymatilda]

I had a 1963 Impala convertible with a 283 - 3 speed w/overdrive. It got 23 miles per gallon all the time and lasted 384,000 miles in 2 different cars. What an engine. It outlived my Impala and went to my moms car until it quit running.

[@mrpontiac83]

Impressed you mentioned the Pontiac origin of the stamped rocker arms. Nice job!

[@What.its.like.]

Try to be as thorough as possible =)

[@jdgimpa]

I have owned a 66 Chevy. Biscayne with a 283 stick shift, a 68 Chevelle with a 307 Powerglide and a71 Impala with a 400 with a turbo hrydarmatic 350. My favorite has to be the 66 283 but the 71 400 is a close second. Your are right about the torque of the 400, that car would light the tires up from a dead stop by just getting on it!

[@What.its.like.]

Thank you so much for sharing your cars with us =) I got the drive a C10 last year with a 400 in it and I was really impressed it ran great

[@CarFacts81]

The 400s were amazing.

[@PeterTrellea]

Sure it wasnt a 402, impalas had a “400” but it really was the 396/402

[@jdgimpa]

@@PeterTrellea Starting in 1970 Chevy put a small block 400 in the full size cars. I spent 45 years in the automotive repair business and know the difference between a small block and a big block. They also used the small block 400 in pickup trucks. The last year for the 400 small block was 1976.

[@johnnyappleseed6415]

My only experience with an SBC is my '70 Impala with the 250 HP 350 ci (2 barrel) that my grandmother gave me in '80. Had about 300K miles and there wasn't a straight, rust-free square inch on any panel. She gave it to me because when she went to trade it in the dealer said, "Fifty dollars". She said OK, then the dealer informed her that he meant that she would have to pay him those fifty dollars to have it towed to the junk yard. I drove that car for years, ALWAYS started and ran, no issues whatsoever. My brother stole it one night while I was working and totaled it... :))

[@What.its.like.]

Great story Thank you so much for sharing those memories with us

[@novanut1964]

my brother drove my 1964 chevy nova while i was in austin texas. hit a telephone pole 8' in the air on a sharp corner, totaled it.

[@roberteshaw9520]

I had a 283 and a Power glide in my '66 Impala 2 door........ Good Engine!

[@stephenmucha]

Everyone loved that 327 back in the day but I never had one. Had a bunch of 350s and a small block 400. The 400 is a "baby big block" when you build it right. Looks like any other small block except for the extra freeze plugs. It had 3 instead of 2. The later versions ended up with 2 as well but there was still a boss there for the 3rd one. So if someone is trying to sell you a 350 and telling you it's a 400, check the side of the block. 6 total vs 4. I've bought Chevy's and changed the plugs as soon as I bought them and have seen nothing but a nub left where the electrode has worn away to nothing and you couldn't tell. Didn't miss, fired right up and had power. Engineering masterpiece is what the Gen 1 small (and big) block Chevy's were.

[@CarFacts81]

You can also tell by the balancer.

[@pathvalleyrailroad9277]

This is the finest V8 engine ever produced, by anyone, anywhere.

[@What.its.like.]

Totally agree =)

[@whalesong999]

I lived in a farming community and a good friend of my dad's bought a cab-over Chevy stake bed in '56 or '57. I remember when he opened the hood for us to take a peek at the power plant and, way down in the compartment was this tiny appearing orange colored v-8, a small block in a truck. It was so diminutive but had the ponies necessary.

[@What.its.like.]

Awesome story thank you so much for sharing those memories I love Cabover’s I’m hoping to cover at least one before the year is over but they’re getting hard to find..

[@johnboydTx]

55 ,56 Chevy 265 would smoke brand new 😮 the old timers would put Bon Ami down the intake and run the engine 10 minutes scuff the cylinders and stop the smoking 😂 400 was a 1/4 mile and 4x4 monster ... 302 was my favorite ❤❤ Chevy weakness was air flow through the heads !!! Engines are air pumps 🤔 Increase the air and balance the short block a fluid harmonic balancer bring your RPM up with out gernading !!! 5 spd with precision bearings.. A light balanced drive shaft .. And people never spend money on high precision axle bearings and balanced axle shafts 😱!!!!!!! Car's are instruments you tune .......best part about chevy mix and match to build what you desire 👏👏👏👏👏 Happy Motoring and enjoy your adventures ✌️🤠

[@What.its.like.]

I would love to drive a Z 28 with the 302 I’ve heard stories that car was way better than what it was on paper. Those are so rare though I’ve never seen one. I’ve seen a pace car but I don’t know if it had a 302 in it, thank you so much for sharing those stories/memories what I would give to be alive back then lol

[@mikee1967]

I enjoyed the vid. and scanned the comments for my fav. engine. I found some mention of the DZ-302 and thought I might add some color to the legend. I was 17 when my dad left me buy a 2 year old '69 z/28. I had a small foreign 4 popper and a 273 '64 Barracuda before so I was floored when the test drive consisted of the owner gluing me to the back of the passenger seat on the test drive. I bought it and beat the hell out of it. This engine and drive train were absolutely indestructible, however the clutch wasn't :-) I won a lot of light to light races and lost some too. The competition then was fierce and many would set their cars up especially for the 1/4 mile. I had the standard 373 rear which gave me a nice top end and respectable mileage but wasn't quick out of the hole. Regardless, this car was made to race and as stated in other responses, it came alive above 4000 rpm and would rev to over 8000 easily. The tuned exhaust was music to my ears and was a subdued chaos that whined when floored. The car had close ratio steering and tuned suspension that hugged the road well and saved my butt a few times. I simply added air shocks to stiffen the rear end for cornering. The absolutely, hands down best engine I ever owned. btw, I had a '64 chevy impala with the 250 hp 327 2 speed powerglide that was fun and a nice chick magnet but it was no Z....

[@What.its.like.]

Awesome, glad you dig this video Awesome information and insight thank you so much for taking the time to share that with us

[@61rampy65]

Late to the party, but here is my story. In 1972 I built a mid-engine V8 Corvair, using a +.060" 350 that I bought from Sears. Everyone laughed at me for buying a Sears engine! When a hole mysteriously appeared in a cylinder wall, Sears replaced it with no questions asked! This was +.040" overbore. I added an Isky 320 cam and a Z28 hi-rise intake with a Holley 800 double pumper. I was 18 at the time, so $$ was tight, and I only sort of knew what I was doing. When completed, it would do 12.6 @110 in the quarter. I autocrossed that car for 18 years! Finally, while on the banking at Rockford Speedway, the oil moved sideways from the bottom of the oil pan to the valve cover! My oil light (and buzzer) came on for a split second, but seemed OK after that, except for a rod knoce on start-up. In 1984, I replaced the rod and main bearings. Seemed ok again, but as I was pulling out of a gas station (a place that car loved to be), as I just stepped on the gas, a rod let go, ruining the engine. Bought a used motor and rebuilt it and it was even stronger than before! Only vehicle that ever beat me n the street was a Kawasaki KZ1000. A 428 CJ Torino was able to sort of keep up with me. Stupidest thing I've EVER done was sell that car in 89.

[@What.its.like.]

Cool story =)

[@chuckkottke]

What's interesting to me are the details, how different things were tried (like cast iron cranks) and the squeezing and thinning of engine casting thicknesses, with attendant problems. We had a full sized Chevy Impala wagon, circa 1971, retired it to the junkyard in Marinette after 101,000 miles, only to discover someone in town bought it from the scrapyard and drove it practically forever, so Chevrolet made some good engines among the few mistakes. The guys in the auto shop tried to blow one up by running it to the max on the redline, but didn't succeed (thankfully 😅). Apparently the engine showed no noticable wear and was impeccably well balanced, so hat's off to Chevrolet and to the engineers at Pontiac that lent them some of their successful component designs! Great video Jay, keep on keeping on!! 🎉

[@What.its.like.]

Awesome =) glad you dig this one thank you so much fir sharing those stories what great memories Reminds my of the 1st town car I had sold it cheap and the guy drove it for another ten years before junking it

[@chuckkottke]

@@What.its.like. lol, the family trucksters lived forever! Thanks Jay for the fantastically well researched presentation!!

[@craigcampbell8560]

The Chevy 327 is the best small block engine ever built. At least until the LS small block replaced the first generation small block. While the Chrysler 340 was one hell of a screamer in its own right, the 327 has the perfect blend of ability to rev as well as good torque. I've built a LOT of engines over the years, and when given the choice what to build, I will build a 327 before a 350 every day of the week.

[@CarFacts81]

It was ok but definitely not the best SBC

[@mildbill222]

There’s nothing magical about a 327 that makes it better than a 350. Don’t get me wrong, I love 327’s. But had the smog and oil shit not happened when it did, factory 350’s would have blown the doors off of 327’s. And 400’s probably would have blown the wheels off of the 350’s.

[@daleandrews3979]

I like them all. A 400 in a corvette just isnt as good in my opinion as a 327 in a corvette.

[@ACF6180T]

I've owned a 283, 327, & a couple of 350's, & currently still own a 350. They are all good engines, But I'll have to go with the 350 as being my favorite. I never had a problem with any of the Chevrolet 1st gen. small blocks I've owned.

[@What.its.like.]

Awesome =)

[@lazyjack8081]

First small block I owned was a 327 out of 66 Vette. Rebuilt it with 66 Motors Manual, with an Isky cam and Hedman headers in a 57 Belair. This 69. Second was a 4 bolt main 350 in a 55. Last was a 350 in a square body 1/2 ton. Younger brother followed with a69 Chevelle and a full size Blazer. Thanks fot the memories.

[@What.its.like.]

Awesome happy that this episode was able to bring back some of those memories

[@donk499]

Loved the 400CI small block in my 73 Caprice

[@What.its.like.]

Awesome =)

[@gerry-p9x]

​@@What.its.like.400 ran like snot but had cyl head probs

[@CarFacts81]

They had zero cylinder head issues!

[@MikeRemus]

Great video Jay. The LT- 1 350 had 370 hp in the vette and 360 hp in the Z-28. I really dig the orphan car vids and been lucky to have seen almost all you've shown. I been a member of the Gilmore Car Museum and loved cars and trucks all my life. I have owned the same 56 Chevy 2 dr. sedan for 47 years and was an original 265 v8 car. Keep up the good work 👍

[@What.its.like.]

=) glad you dig the channel I love Gilmore auto museum it’s the best Muesum as far as cars go there is stuff there you won’t see anywhere else what trim model is your 56 Chevy

[@What.its.like.]

Hahaha =D

[@micksterboone4517]

1971 270hp 350 here. Still runs great!

[@What.its.like.]

Awesome =)

[@500kchevrolet9]

My first small block was a 350 in a 73 Camaro i got in 1980. I drove the wheels off that car. It started leaking oil. Found out the timing chain wore to the point it was so loose it cut a slice out of the timing cover. Next was a 64 283 that I built myself and installed in the 57 Chevy Pick up that I was driving in 1984. It was a screamin lil demon...and got 19 mpg with 411 gears. Today, I putt around in a 91 Chevy Scotsdale with 500k on the clock and it gets 22 mpg when I repect it. As far a Chevy engines go....Gimme cast iron all day.

[@What.its.like.]

Awesome thank you so much for sharing your experience with us I love how durable just how these engines work as advertised even years later I don’t know if there’s a better engine out there to be 100% honest there are more powerful engines but as far as tried-and-true goes I don’t think there’s anything that beats it

[@500kchevrolet9]

@@What.its.like. Durability and reliability....LIKE A ROCK!

[@stephenkeever6029]

Another great comprehensive episode! The 283 was really smooth with a tight power curve. The 350 was really fast but could run hot and I blew a rod on I95. The 307 was dependable but slow with poor compression after 80,000 miles. They were all good engines and easy to work on in my 69 Malibu!

[@What.its.like.]

Thank you so much for sharing your experiences I appreciate that glad you dig this episode =)

[@donreinke5863]

There is a story I heard many years ago concerning the first thousand or so 265 smallblocks manufactured, in late 1954-55 but Ive never been able to find real proof of it. Supposedly, the piston rings did not seat properly on the first 265s, they smoked and had high oil consumption. Chevrolet issued what is now called a technical service bulletin to their dealers instructing the service department to throw a handful of Bon-Ami ( a now scarce sink cleanser similar to Comet or Ajax) down the carburetor bores to help the rings seat. Chevrolet almost immediately took care of the issue, and subsequent engines produced no longer had piston ring problems.

[@aldenconsolver3428]

I lucked my way into a great 69 Malibu, 350 V8 Holly 4v with Holly manifold. 9.5 to 1 TRW forged flattop pistons (came with pink rods and camel hump heads) 260 /272 Cam, Knock detector and variable ignition timing, dual exhaust and flow masters. I put a bunch of that stuff in there but a lot came with it (I think there was a divorce in there somewhere), I never changed the rear end from the 2.73 and it ended up cruising happily at 110 across Montana and Wyoming, easy up hills at any speed.... It would run on regular if you set the ignition right (and if you were willing to fork over for premium it got 10% more horses, but it was not really meant for horsepower, it just had bottomless torque). Then I got stupid and let it go but someday I plan to build one again or maybe first and right now I am looking for a 68 Grand Marque Brougham (sp?)

[@Vegaswill714]

Great video Jay, very thorough. In my opinion, the greatest American automobile engine family.

[@What.its.like.]

Most definitely and Cole was definitely onto something with part interchangeability, I wish Ford would’ve copied that aspect.. glad you dig this episode I’ve been putting this one off purposely because I knew the work involved with doing all of the different engine configurations the only good thing was the information is really easy to find I really want to do the Hudson twin H that one might be the next engine episode but finding the information is a bit tricky I think that episode we are going to cover three Hudson engines we are going to cover the 262 the 308 in the Hudson jet engine.. it’s either going to be that or it’s going to be the Packard straight eight

[@andyvonyeast332]

I couldn’t agree more! Greatest automotive engine ever built.

[@Vegaswill714]

@@What.its.like. Ed Cole became President of GM at one time. Do I remember correctly?

[@What.its.like.]

Yes

[@anythinggoesgarage5943]

Great Info! Spot on! Favorite engine is the 283. 327 comes in next. I race with one with dual quads in a 1956 Gasser. Runs 11.90s The 307 and the 305 got a bum rap. I've run a 305 with mild mods in a 78 Olds cutlass that ran 13.30s, the 307 was a great pick-up engine imo. My 68 K20 200hp 4 speed towed great! Not a land speed record but would pull 6k trailers all day!

[@cedarneckjams302]

283 always cranking like a little banshee 😎🇺🇸🦅

[@paulricelli5520]

Good to hear... I don't do fakebook either.

[@RickB1792]

The first engine I ever rebuilt was a 327 out of a 64 corvette. I used the Motor's Manual and followed every step with perfect detail. This was in 1970. It ran perfectly, didn't burn or leak any oil and I felt like I really accomplished something. Good times.

[@richardresendez2325]

Chevy small block is the best thing ever made no one can beat this block enter change parts

[@What.its.like.]

Totally agree one of the cheapest engines to build and put into a vehicle and can get decent gas mileage when equipped with 373 rear end

[@flynnstone3580]

Always loved how they put the head bolts into the water jackets and the distributor between the carb and firewall.

[@MarvinHartmann452]

I had a 1979 malibu classic. It came with the 305 with the rubber camshaft and the infamous th200, so after a year, I swapped a 400 4 bbl with a th350 in it. It lit the tires very easily. I also had a 1990 police caprice with the 350. It was also quite fast and reliable for a 500$ car. That was around 1998.

[@brucewygal133]

I had a 1969 El Camino that had a 250 six in it when I bought it. I installed a 350 out of wrecked 72 Nova. It came with a four barrel carb and I installed headers and turbo mufflers. I put a muncie four speed with hearst shifter behind it and it was a real goer! If I kept my foot out of it I could get over 20 miles a gallon (at 55 mph, lol). I drove it to over 100,000 miles and it never used oil. Probably the best car and engine I ever owned.

[@What.its.like.]

Awesome thank you so much for sharing your experience =)

[@johncaballero8013]

My 1957 Chevy Bel Air does just fine with its 283. Power pack heads with a stock Rochester 4 barrel carb and dual exhaust. Good reliable power.

[@Radiowild]

These were the engines I learned on, then later became a huge fan of. I built some of these in a small garage, and enjoyed for many years. Just a note - 283's could be had as late as the 67 model year in the entire line. As the years went on, The smog motors were just that - no power, short on longevity. I did like the Vortec motors Chevy made. Used some of the hot rod tricks in those motors including roller rockers, and could go for 500,000 miles without a tear down.

[@What.its.like.]

Awesome thank you so much for that correction that’s crazy they predicted the 283 for 10 years =) I almost did the Vortech heads in my Chevy truck but figured it didn’t need that kind of power and didn’t want to chase problems

[@JohnFarrell-c7m]

They were the best Motors ever. That and the small block ford.

[@Radiowild]

@@What.its.like. I bought a 355 (350, .040" overbore) from Blue Print engines and put in in my 65 ElCamino. They sent me 2 dyno sheets with the motor - 350 horse with a L79 spec cam. Engine is on my you tube channel. Was $2,300 dollars for a short block. Worth every penny!

[@What.its.like.]

I’ll have to check it out =)

[@donreinke5863]

The 1987 and later Vortec was the small block Chevy perfected. These apparently had a higher nickel content in the block castings and would often still show the factory hone pattern with well over 100,000 miles, while the earlier engines would develop a significant ridge with as little as 50,000 mines on the engine. To this day, after over 50 years in automotive repair, I have seen only ONE smallblock with blown head gaskets, and thats because someone who replaced them previously did not thoroughly remove the old head gaskets from the head mating surface. I have also never seen a smallblock Chevy with burned valves, unlike many Ford engines, specifically the FE truck engines (360/390) of the early 1970s and the occasional LA (smallblock) Mopar.

[@paulbarnes6124]

Have a 400 sbc in my Australian Holden monaro since 1997 . Love the low down grunt . Kept it mild to make it nice cruiser . Runs beautifully 😊

[@What.its.like.]

@@paulbarnes6124 sweet =)

[@motorcoachtech7615]

Loved my ‘67 Pontiac with a 283, and my ‘69 Camero with the 327

[@What.its.like.]

Awesome thank you so much for sharing your experience I had a 327 awesome engine

[@genehart261]

The 302 is not really very well known, you can win bets. It was a screaming little animal, barely civilized on the street.

[@What.its.like.]

I want to find one and review it

[@ST-xx9rt]

In 1976, in my auto shop class we helped a senior from our highschool do a partial rebuild on his 302 out of his Camaro. When running again it was extremely difficult to tune. Didn't even run well with pomp premium gas. Only 102 octane and a perfect setting of timing. Crazy fast car for the era

[@dickbiggerstaff5729]

My friend had a 69 Z-28. When I drove it the first time I took it to 6,500 rpms before I shifted it and it screamed. I showed him how to drive his car that day, lol. The HP rating listed was before all of the racing parts in the trunk(from the factory)were installed.

[@CarFacts81]

They’re extremely well known!

[@danielduvall4154]

Some more less known is the big block V6 and big block 5.7 348

[@kennydemartini2169]

We has a '74 Laguna with a 350 two barrel as a loaner car at our shop in the '80s. That car would melt the rear tires taking off from a stop sign, many good memories. I've enjoyed all my small blocks throughout the years.

[@What.its.like.]

Awesome thank you so much fir sharing your experience =) and memories

[@jaredmattson6396]

ZZ4 Crate Engine in a1973 4 wheel drive Chevy truck. It was a lot of fun.

[@whattheflux2733]

Nothing like a sweet 283, my favorite Chevy V-8.

[@livewire2759]

Ah... the small block Chevy... You're absolutely right, if you were to list all of the different options over all the years, we would definitely be here all day! Since GM is still building them as "crate" engines, I'm pretty sure they hold the #1 spot for longest production run of any American V8... possibly any engine of any kind... Not only was Ed Cole a racer at heart, but Zora Arkus-Duntov was a racer professionally... and he put more than just his "2 cents" worth into the SBC. In fact, it was his idea to "steal" the ball stud rocker design from Pontiac and the only reason GM brass agreed to it is so that Duntov could use the new engine in the Corvette to blow the doors off of Ford's new V8 Thunderbird... otherwise, the SBC would have either had shaft mounted rockers, or it would have been delayed until '56 or '57. Oddly enough, the T-bird was faster than the Corvette in '55 anyway, so GM granted him the freedom to do pretty much anything he wanted to make sure Corvettes beat T-birds on the track in '56. T-birds still outsold Corvettes, but the 'vettes left the birds in the dust at Daytona that year. When Duntov put the fuel injected 283s backed with 4 speeds into Corvettes in '57, Ford gave up and decided to turn the T-bird into a 4 seater! On the subject of gross/net horsepower ratings, Chevrolet (and the rest of GM) published only gross ratings up through the 1970 model year. They published both gross and net ratings in the 1971 model year, and from '72 up they only published net ratings. Other companies may differ, but that's how GM did it. My favorite SBC that I've owned is the 350 in my '78 1/2 ton that I've been daily driving for over 20 years now. I've never seen the inside of it other than under the valve covers (replaced the gaskets). It's 100% stock, as original as I can make it, and it's never let me down. The only sign of it's aging is that it doesn't hold as high of oil pressure as it used to. I own more 350s than I can count (without literally going outside and counting them), a few 400s and a 327... most are disassembled and/or don't currently run. However, my favorite SBC Chevy ever made would be the L84 327 fuelie offered in the '64 and '65 Corvette... the highest rated SBC Chevy ever offered. Most people don't know that it was offered in '65 because it was discontinued halfway through the production year in favor of fancy new "Mark IV" big block 396. Corvette collectors all want the '65 big block cars, but the '65 fuelies are actually more rare than the '65 big blocks. If I remember right, more fuelies were built but fewer have survived. I'll also give an honorable mention to the all aluminum 283 experimental engine from the late '50s which was devised as a way to turn the Corvette into a rear engine car with the engine mounted transversely behind the rear wheels. (I think they also tried an all aluminum 327 around 1963... maybe.) A prototype rear engine 'vette was made but they wisely chose to keep the Corvette conventional and introduce the rear engined Corvair instead. Anyway, I've rambled on long enough... The song, though well disguised, is Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Simple Man"... but I see someone else already got it.

[@What.its.like.]

Awesome thank you so much for taking the time to share all of that =)

[@donreinke5863]

Only the 1987 and newer style "Vortec" is sold as a crate engine by Chevrolet. I attempted to find the 86 and older 350, (once called the Target Master or Goodwrench replacement engines) and was told by the local Chevy dealer (Elway Chevrolet) that the 350/305 with the early style heads was no longer produced by the factory. Even so, early heads can be installed on the 1987 and newer block. The 4.125 inch bore "400" block also seems to be out of factory production.

[@livewire2759]

@@donreinke5863 Yes, the older generation small blocks, including the large bore "400s", are no longer produced by GM... (though they do still make a "Vortec" 383 with the 4.030 inch bore and 3.75 inch stroke crank) and yes, you can install the older head designs on the newer blocks, but I don't know why you'd want to (unless they're aftermarket heads) since the "Vortec" heads are some of the best factory heads you can get. BTW, "Vortec" only refers to the '96 to '02 port fuel injection engines (and the 4.3 V6 engines going back to around '94, as well as some of the early LS engines). The older TBI/MPFI engines were not labeled "Vortec" and do NOT use the same heads. A lot of people mistakenly buy TBI heads that were advertised as "Vortec heads" because they use the same center bolt valve covers, but they're nowhere near as good as the actual "Vortec" heads. Buyer beware... the best way to tell is to count the number of intake bolt holes... 4 holes per head means authentic Vortec, 6 holes per head means TBI (or MPFI)... so make sure you get your money's worth. TBI heads are ok, but they're more prone to cracking and they don't flow as well, nor do they have the "swirl" feature in the combustion chambers that make the authentic "Vortec" heads so good. The MPFI heads (used in Corvettes, Camaros and Impalas) are good heads, but still not as good as the "Vortec" heads.

[@donreinke5863]

@@livewire2759 Why you would want to is restoration of any 60s/70s/early 80s Chevrolet to "original" appearing condition. 87 and newer heads do have the advantage of a machined valve cover mating surface which eliminates the (very) frequent task of replacing the valve cover gaskets on 1955-86 engines. Oldsmobile division did a much better job on their V8s, using as many as 10 fasteners per valve cover up until the late 1970s along with machined mating surfaces. Chevrolet tried many strategies to improve that problem including short, then long thick "spreader" washers, and for a time in the 1970s, elimination of cork and rubber gaskets instead replacing them with GMS orange silicone RTV..still not much of an improvement. While it doesnt do anything to increase swirl of the air/fuel charge, a few hours with a die grinder can make any engine (with the exception of the "log"(integral) manifold 144-250 ci Ford and later production Chevy inline 6 cylinders flow to its maximum abilities. Chevrolet engines dont need extreme porting work on the exhaust side unlike almost every Ford engine (even the 351 Cleveland) made from 1968 on but flow can still be increased to rival newer heads.

[@livewire2759]

@@donreinke5863 "Why you would want to is restoration of any 60s/70s/early 80s Chevrolet to "original" appearing condition." I suppose you could do that... but one problem with that would be that the Vortec and TBI blocks aren't machined for mechanical fuel pumps, so if you're going for original appearance, you'd still have to find an older block. They're getting hard to find, and most need rebuilding when you do find them, but they're still out there... though it would be nice if GM still manufactured them. I certainly won't argue that the TBI and Vortec valve covers seal WAY better than the older generations, especially with the old porous cork gaskets, but the ones I own I've sealed up well enough with the aftermarket black rubber gaskets. Silicone works too, but it's a pain to clean up if you ever have to take the covers off to adjust valves or anything, so I agree it wasn't much of an improvement. Yes, you can do some porting on the TBI (or any other heads) to improve them, but the point I was making about the Vortec heads is that they're great "right out of the box" with no porting required... and most people aren't going to even want to attempt porting heads themselves, so they just buy Vortec heads, and unfortunately many get duped into paying Vortec prices for heads that are barely worth more than their weight in scrap iron. Clearly you seem knowledgeable enough to not fall for that, but other viewers might not be aware, so that part of my response was really for others that might happen to read it... I just took the opportunity to explain the difference since you had mentioned Vortec engines.

[@mikew6765]

When I met my wife she had a '79 Camero with the 305. I don't have the specs or any of my old Chilton books to reference but I'm pretty sure the compression was well below 9.5:1. That engine was a dog. I hadn't met here when she bought it. I would have recommended the 350. She would have been happier.

[@What.its.like.]

Up to 9.5:1 thank you so much for sharing those memories =)

[@richardmcgrath61]

The 350 in my '96 C1500 runs well, still young at 120,000 miles but has never needed major work. I think it will outlive me.

[@What.its.like.]

350 is a bulletproof engine usually the only way they die is if the water pump goes out which is a common problem they just rust my brother had one in Monte Carlo that did that

[@kenvickery2673]

I'm running a rebuilt 1959 283 with 9:1 compression medium rise intake, off road mid to high range cam and reworked 305 heads good for an easy 6 grand rev in my 1959 GMC 9320 Canadian GMC truck . The carb is a 600 cfm QUICKFUEL. it pulls real good over 2000 rpm. with the S10 T5 transmission and 3:73 gears, it runs 70n mph at 2100 rpm. good little engine. The engine builder says it should be close to 300 HP

[@What.its.like.]

That’s awesome that engine sounds amazing I wonder what it sounds like it person =)

[@williambrandt9254]

My first car was a 67 Camaro that I bought with 19,000 miles in 1969 It had the 327 with the "Corvette heads" identified by a special stamping A mystery to me that I've had for over 50 years is it when I sold the car the buyer complained that one of the cam lobes was worn at around 80,000 miles All this was unknown to me until he informed me And I have wondered for 50 years how could that have happened? All that I can think of was that I went to school in Virginia from California and during those winters I would warm the thing up for 20 minutes. I wish I've subsequently learned as bad for any internal combustion engine. But my supposition has been that I learned that the small block Chevy only had splash lubrication on the camshaft. There is no oil feeding it directly and all I can think of while it was idling one of the lobes wasn't getting enough oil? And I never understood why they made both the 327 and 350 concurrently in 1967 and 1968? And I'll tell you even in 1969 I knew someone who had a 67 Z 28 - talk about a rare car - but even then the claimed 290 hp was laughable to me as my 327 had 275 hp But it was a great engine - what can I say - anything that's lasted 50 years speaks on its own

[@JamesFranklin-hd4tm]

Two experiences with small block Chevys. In 1977 I bought a 1970 Canadian-built Chevelle with a 307. It was a dog, period. It may be that the engine wasn't properly maintained before I gained possession of it, but was still a dog. What I couldn't understand was how an engine with 327 pistons and a 283 crank (I may have that backwards) just did not work well. The second experience was a 1968 electric blue Impala fastback coupe with a 327. The owner fancied himself as a genuine mechanic. He replaced the gasket between the head and exhaust manifold with a homemade cardboard gasket. Naturally, it leaked, though it would seal once the exhaust manifold warmed up. I got rid of it after about six months. I admittedly had two Chevrolet engines toward the end of their useful lives, not a screaming 1 hp per cubic inch mouse motor.

[@What.its.like.]

Chevy made some great engine but the powerhouse performance engines in the grand scheme of things are few and few far then… and even fewer now yes they made some powerhouse 327s that made incredible horsepower figures but are few and far between. 150 hp 327 is a pretty good engine I had one in a 52 Chevy truck replaced it with a 350 that makes 150 hp which is perfect for it

[@dyoutubechannel8218]

My parents had a full-size van 1986 GMC Vandura 1500, regular wheelbase, without any widows, with a 305 and 700R4. The rear differential was open (practical in Canada's winters, got stock so many times) and the 305 was gutless, sometimes downshifting to 2nd going uphill. And it was so hot inside during the summer and so loud at all times on the road...

[@What.its.like.]

Totally know the feeling my grandpa bought a ford econoline van with 302 v8 1989 it is the only vehicle I’ve ever driven that could lose speed going down a hill.. thank you so much for bringing that memory back =)

[@dyoutubechannel8218]

@What.its.like. No problem.

[@UNCFIPP]

My strip dad's 64 impala had a transplanted 400 sbc. His 81 custom deluxe c20truck had a 4 bolt 350.. I learned to drive in those vehicles. My first car, 78 MALIBU Wagon had a 305. My 86 caprice brougham also had a 305..Those are the only SBC that ive experienced. ZERO problems out of any of em

[@What.its.like.]

Awesome thank you so much for sharing your experience I’ve owned one small block Chevy technically two i’m going to 327 and of 350 I love both of them the 350 is pretty amazing motor all things considered.. bullet proof easy to get parts for cheap to rebuild I used to have Ford products but I’m not tied to any particular brand but it’s definitely made me a believer.. I just have no idea why Companies didn’t follow suit with Chevy and their parts interchangeability

[@2strokeFORever]

302 will always be my fav. Love the revs

[@oceanmariner]

The 265 had a bypass oil filter in a canister mounted on top of the engine. The engine mounted. full flow, oil filter came with the 283 and later, eventually becoming a spin on oil filter. The 283 immediately became the racing engine of choice for circle tracks. It was common to bore the engine to 301. The Chevy small block was the most common hot rod engine. Smog devices started about 1965 with a PCV valve. Horsepower started going down about 1970. Each new year Chevy "improved" the small block and had less hp. From then on engine power went down every year until fuel injection became common about 1987. I had several cars & trucks with the small block including a CJ5 that I put in a 283. The smog devices screwed up the engines until about 1990. I had a 1986, 350, 3/4 ton 4x4 that one day decided to pump all the oil into the air cleaner. Smoke started pouring out the exhaust. On stopping there was about 3 quarts of engine oil in the air cleaner. Best engine was the 375hp 327. You could buy a new long block from the dealer for about $150.

[@GunsmithSid]

My family only had one small-block Chevy - but it was a good one. Mom had a ‘65 Impala Sport Coupe with the L-79 350 horse 327 cubic inch engine. I don’t know if she bought it new, but is was the first car I remember (about ‘68) until she traded it for an RX-3 in 1973. No drama - no special requirements except leaded high test - I remember standing on the transmission hump in the back seat looking over the front seat and eyeing some random car and always soon enough we would pass it.

[@What.its.like.]

Awesome thank you so much for sharing those cars with us =)

[@stephenholland5930]

Safety first! 😅

[@JeremyStaszak]

That song was simple man...my mom passed away last year. And before she died she told me if her boys get anything out of life, she hopes its the lyrics to that song. And i try my hardest every day to be a simple and good man. That song weighs heavy on me, i could recognize it anywhere

[@What.its.like.]

@@JeremyStaszak thank you so much for sharing that, it's a great song

[@larryalexander4833]

Ive been around many of chevy small blocks in many different forms and or configurations. Seen some big power house and some weak mouses . But overall greatest engine ever in my opinion. My favorite i guess is the 327 sb300 hp and 325 hp.. They Reeved hard and just didn't give up . Never got to drive a factory 375 hp model. A friend built a copy of a 365 hp /375 but it was also bored and had some head work. Always wanted to build a 327 aluminum head , all roller engine would be a sreamer with a good stick trans. 🛠️💪. And By the way everyone Jesus Christ is the answer through the Good and the bad times. ✝️🙏

[@What.its.like.]

327 was a great engine totally agree they sound great when getting close to red line going through gears..

[@DSP1968]

This is another great engine family description, Jay. I really enjoy these, thank you.

[@What.its.like.]

Thank you Glad you dig =)

[@K-Effect]

The best was a C/10 with a 307. It was worn out when I got it and was daily driven for over 12 years, it would never die and it would run without oil. I only ran Valvoline max life when it had oil. It was still running fine when I replaced it.

[@What.its.like.]

Awesome thank you so much for sharing your experience with small block Chevy

[@genehart261]

My personal favorite was the 307 in my '70 Malibu. Backed by a Turbo 350 trans and with a small 4 barrel and HEI ignition it had great mileage and power. I will always regret selling that car.

[@What.its.like.]

That car sounds sweet I never drove anything with a 307 in it

[@donreinke5863]

In over 50 years of working on vehicles, I have never seen a factory stock 307 with anything other than a tiny Rochester two-barrel, only later 305s.

[@genehart261]

@@donreinke5863 I didn't say that the 4 barrel was stock

[@donreinke5863]

@@genehart261lol..somehow I didnt think so. It would be interesting to install some 1.94 350 heads on that engine just to see what kind of power could be made.

[@genehart261]

@@donreinke5863 that car was a perfect balance of many things, I commuted 130 miles a day in it for a number of years. Lots of torque and 18 mpg without overdrive. Over 300,000 miles on the trans with just regular service.

[@andreamills5852]

Awesome history . Thanks for your hard work .

[@What.its.like.]

Glad you dig this one =) thank you so much

[@VintageCarHistory]

Bro, you put a lot of work into this one. Bravo!!!!!

[@What.its.like.]

Thank you so much for noticing that =$ glad you dig this episode

[@Camopar87]

I love 350s. I've had good luck with them. I have one in a 74 C20 that sat in the woods for 20 years and all I done was a tune up, new carb and adjusted the timing and it runs great. Had an 86 Camino that originally had a 305 but it died out at 75k ended up dropping a nice 350 in it

[@What.its.like.]

Awesome thank you so much for sharing your experience and memories =)

[@NickTwisp80]

First car, bought used in 1971, was a 1968 Impala with the 307 & Powerglide. This was pretty much a bulletproof combination. Nothing ever went wrong with that drivetrain other than burned some oil after about 80.000 miles. If I hadn't t-boned another car in 1979 I don't know how long that car would have gone on.

[@What.its.like.]

Thank you so much for sharing that sorry your car got t-boned, was everyone ok cars are replaceable people aren’t

[@NickTwisp80]

I was the only occupant of the car. With no seat belt on, my chest hit the steering wheel and my head cracked into the windshield. I was hospitalized for 4 days with a concussion and 2 broken ribs.@@What.its.like.

[@randyfitz8310]

Jay- superb video, all of your engine videos are vastly educational and quite entertaining. I would share your videos but for your sign-off.

[@What.its.like.]

Very persuasive but it’s not going anywhere it’s our thing.. Glad you dig this video tho

[@richardleonard6628]

Back in the late 1950s I helped with the build of a 265 that had been bored .030 and completely balanced. It was built for a inboard hydroplane race boat. The class we ran in restricted what we could use. We were limited to a two barrel carb, standard distributor. certain model number corvette cam. I have driven this boat at over 100 mph, and it would run 8000 + rpms all day if needed. To this day I consider the 268/283 engine the best V8 produced by any mfg.

[@What.its.like.]

Wow thank you so much for sharing that story do you still have the boat? Sounds like you built something magical.. if the boat still exists would love to feature it on the channel Email [e-mail] Thank you so much for sharing that memory =)

[@richardleonard6628]

@@What.its.like. I went into the military in 1961 and while I was gone the man who owned the boat had an accident with it and it caught fire and was partially destroyed. I never learned what he did with it and/or what ever happened to it. There were many race boat owners in that time that used the 265 engine for a 266 cubic inch class that were allowed to do many more things with that engine and some ran at speeds in excess of 130 mph. Check with American Power Boat Asssociation on the 266 class from the 1960s and get a lot of information.

[@What.its.like.]

Thank you so much for the follow up =) what a time that must have be to be alive I was born to late love the 50s

[@JacobHofeldt-fq6ii]

I had an 83 K10 with a 305, it was a dog on steep hills, but was efficient and durable, Ive got an 88 K5 now with a TBI 350 and it does better on hills and is decently quick for an 80s truck. People are usually surprised when I tell them how much horse power the K5 makes.

[@NeedtoSpeak]

There is just no way around it…..this family of engines are iconic and left a mark on the automotive world that has not been surpassed in general use. Yes, yes, they had a few odd missteps, but my gosh, just seeing the photos says this was when the US dominated engineering.

[@What.its.like.]

Totally agree this was In my opinion the best engine in the sense of it was everything as advertised and worked and when it breaks can be fixed with other parts just laying around.. no idea why they don’t do it like this now it’s sad really the time we live

[@NeedtoSpeak]

@@What.its.like. Well said…..I couldn’t agree more.

[@charlesdalton985]

I've never had a bad experience with a SB Chevy. Love the 350 because it's so dependable stock and so easily modified for HP and torque. The 283 was a honey of an engine in family transportation, I believe with minimal care one would run forever. I've had a couple 305 equipped Chevies, while not fast they sure were sturdy. My favorite? Either the L82 I currently have or the LT1 I had in my Impala SS. Thank you as always, great work! ~ Chuck

[@What.its.like.]

Awesome =) I’ve only had 327 350 and they are great engines parts are cheap and possibilities are vast vortec heads is a great upgrade or so I’ve heard great way to make easy power.. thank you so much for sharing =)

[@catsaregovernmentspies]

I've had a couple 305s and several 350s. Most of them had cams that went flat in them, killing power. GM had a time period where the quality of their camshafts was sub-par, causing them to go flat prematurely.

[@prevost8686]

@@What.its.like.The Vortecs we’re famous for their ability to breathe but unfortunately the castings were so thin that they suffered from cracking and casting shift. I think several aftermarket companies have produced better quality Vortec copies.

[@donreinke5863]

Development of the Chevrolet small block is not commonly attributed to Ed Cole, but rather Zora Arkus-Duntov, an engineer/designer who had already developed an overhead valve conversion for the Ford flathead (valves-in-block) V-8

[@546cowboy6]

I had a 1957 Chevy with a 283 for decades wrecked it but that engine went in a 1955 Chevy for more years. I abused the heck out of it I admit it. I swapped that for a motorcycle knowing the mains were on their last leg. It took 50w oil so it would idle without dying. I had a 1968 Chevelle SS someone had changed that to a 283 and like that '57 didn't exactly get the love it deserved either. It became my hinting car with a posi rear end it would go anywhere.

[@What.its.like.]

Thank you so much for sharing those memories a Chevelle with a 283 in it that’s interesting

[@tonychavez2083]

I’m a Ford guy but that’s one of the best engines of all time. Has there ever been a video on the Ford 300 six? Thanks.

[@What.its.like.]

Not yet going to cover that engine family one day =)

[@bparksiii6171]

Owning a Pontiac, and a Cadillac, I only briefly owned a 64 Impala with the 327 4 barrel, and loved the power of the 327r, but hated the powerglide behind it, just 2 speeds hindered the performance potential, and my dad's 1 ton C-30 flatbed, after the 6 blew a rod, we put in a 65 327 4 barrel, and just like your flatbed it was a great preforming truck, thirsty on gas, but it was a work truck. The only small block Chevy I experienced driving was some of the service trucks the power company had in the fleet ran 350's, loved those trucks.The Chevy engine I was least impressed with was a 305 in a 77 Buick (YUK), still leaves a bad taste in my mouth when they put chevy engines in the 77 Oldsmobiles, Pontiacs, and Buicks without telling anyone my Mom had buyer's remorse over that Buick, the 305-307's just didn't have much power just like the 4100 engines in the 80's Cadillacs.

[@What.its.like.]

Thank you so much for sharing those stories/memories. Yeah I never got that either why they put a 305/307 and an absolute mammoth of a car, but then again, I’ve owned two cars with 302s and they got on pretty good as long as you knew how to drive it, but I think the transmission had a lot to do with that they didn’t have four-speed transmissions,autoMatic transmissions in the 70s, which is weird because the original hydrant was technically four speed transmission but they went to a three speed… the town car had an AOD. If you put put it up to 20 miles an hour and slammed on the gas, it took off like a rocket.

[@daverice8115]

My cousin had a ‘71 Nova with a 400 in it with a radical cam and compression was high but I never knew what it was. It was the best 1 tire fryer ever

[@What.its.like.]

=)

[@jimb8904]

Hello.... just. To. Let. Ya.. know... my. Favorite. Small. Block. Chevorlet.. is. The. 327... it. Was. Common. From. Any. Where. Starting. At. 210..h.p.....in. the. Standard. Camaro.. upto. 375 h...p.. in. The. Corvette.. and. I. Consider. Myself. Lucky.. to. Have. Tuned. Up. Repaired.. or. Rebuilt. Most. Of. Those. Variants. Of. Original. H...p...327.s. to. Proper. Spec.s... and. Using. Original... equipment.... good. Video...thankyou. have. A. Nice. Day...

[@What.its.like.]

=) thank you so much for sharing that information

[@WrenchHead]

I always thought it'd be cool to have LS style heads on a 350 roller cam block.

[@billyjoejimbob56]

The bore spacing of the original Gen I and II is the same as the LS. But the head bolt pattern is different. I've read that it can be done, but you need to start with an undrilled block and know a REALLY talented machinist!

[@campaug]

The best sbc I had was an engine I had built for my racecar. It was a Mexican block with billet main caps, main studs, a ported melling oil pump, canton 8qt circle track pan. 40lb 3.500 stroke eagle crank, 6.2500 eagle rods. 4.0300 j&e pistons. Heads were dart iron eagle platinum that were ported at muscle motors in the early 2000s. Intake was a hand ported Victor intake topped by an ex Childress HP 750 carb. I spun it to 8000rpm every other Saturday for 35 laps at a time.

[@JRB22144]

Had a 1963 Corvette Sting Ray with a 4 BBL Carter AFB, solid lifter 4:11 rear close ratio 4 spd 327 c.i., 340 HP. Motor cratered and put in a 327 c.i. 365 HP replacement. Car was stolen while living in Wash DC area and DC police found it a chop shop in pieces. Went to court, since they arrested the teenager who stole it. They let the kid off because the police used an illegal search & seizure warrant. Told the judge I now had the kid's address and was considering paying him a visit with 2 friends. One was a 275 lb scholarship offensive tackle at Penn State. The other was a 240 lb power lifter with a 50 inch chest 20 inch biceps who had benched pressed 500 lbs in a formal sanctioned powerlifting meet. The judge hoped I'd reconsider. After some thought I decided not to.

[@jessesoby7130]

The 327 was a bad ass engine with "camel back" heads. Strong and high revving.

[@dickeymoore3662]

Can't beat a SBC 400!!!!right on

[@ericdemo5910]

The 1993 Caprice had the same L03 (305) and L05 (350) motor options as the earlier Caprice years. It wasn't until 1994 the LT1 & L99 motors arrived in these sedans. Thus the original SBC was in production all the way to 1993, not 1992.

[@joemilbrandt9320]

327 chevelleS and Impalas!! 1970 utility short bed step side pickup was contracted to Mew York State Parks. It came with the 307, matched with 4 speed column shifters. These trucks were work horses with little motor issues.

[@joemilbrandt9320]

3 speed transmission 🤪

[@What.its.like.]

Awesome I wonder why Chevy did not make a four-speed column shift Saab had one..

[@geoffmatthews6283]

My favourite SBC is the 307 that I own. It was made for OMC as a boat engine. 245 HP at about 4500 RPM with a 4 barrel carb.

[@jonbender9110]

The biggest mistake GM ever made is not continuing production of the SBC engine. This engine was the best thing GM ever made. Not for new cars but for classic and antique car enthusiasts. This engine is the best choice for repowering older vehicles. Now I know someone will say the LS is the way to go but if you want simple and reliable and cheap the old school SBC is a great choice.

[@What.its.like.]

Totally agree I’ve also heard that you can use a small block Chevy with the Vortech heads to get more power out of them relatively easy I’ve never done it before but I was thinking about it nothing cheaper than building a small block Chevy parts are cheap ed Cole was truly a genius

[@8176morgan]

A great video Jay on a very famous engine that I know that you did a lot of research on as there was a lot of enlarging in size to that original small block engine. I was however disappointed that you did not list the top speed of any of those engines or how fast it would take to go from 0 to 60 mph, but maybe you only do that for the cars themselves and not just the engines. Also, I would have like to have seen some colored photographs from any of the famous tri-five Chevrolets as those were the first cars to employ the new 265 cubic inch small block engine. Out of those ten different versions presented of the small block, the one that I am most familiar with is the 327, which by the way was nicked named "the mighty mouse" by its owners. I believe that it was used on all the Stingray Corvettes for much of the 1960's.

[@What.its.like.]

That would have been super hard because would have to find the car with the most hopped up verison of that engine for top speed.. top speed also depends on transmission and rear engine end ratio.. top speed fuel economy are part of the car reviews because it’s only one car, if that makes sense like a camaro with a Chevy 350 v8 will have a different top speed 0-60 time than a blazer plus with so many versions like 350 hp 350 cid will obviously have a better time than 150 hp 350 cid...

[@automatedelectronics6062]

I like the 327 c.i. the best. I had a 1965 Impala SS, which came with a 327, but some idiot swapped it out for a 307, which had come out of a truck. As you mentioned, the 1st gen 327 had smaller main bearing bores. All 307's had the larger main bearing bores, as the 2nd generation 327 had. Whomever put the 307 in my car had used the "double-hump" heads from the 327. I never got around to it, but I had a spare 350 and had planned to rebuild it using the 307 crank. This would have made it a 327 and with those "double-hump" heads, would have made it a rocket ship. In California, for most of the 307's production run, it didn't conform to our emissions standards. Chevrolet's could only get the 327 or 350 for the smallest V8 available. Sure, I've seen plenty of 307's in California, but those were purchased out of State and brought here. A California emissions rule was that non-conforming vehicles, licensed in another State, could register them in California after a certain number of miles. People would buy a new vehicle or "gray-market" used European vehicle in, say, Texas and someone there would drive it, putting the appropriate miles on them, so they could be registered in California. On these non-conforming vehicles, California would charge a "use" fee(tax). Also, even if you had a mailing address outside of California, if your vehicle was registered to that address, if your vehicle was used in the State of California, you had to register is in California. I had a friend who bought his vehicles in Oklahoma to avoid California's large sales taxes and license fees and even got a better purchase price, had his vehicles registered to his Oklahoma address to also beat California's big license fees. Well, he ended up having to register his vehicles in California. Speaking of lower purchase prices, he had a son in law who was a Ford dealer in California. We had a new customer in the WalMart family, who moved here from Arkansas. His Jeep had too few of miles to register it in California. He had no problems getting his Rolls-Royce Corniche convertible, Ferrari, BMW 750i or his Jaguar XJS convertible registered. He had alot of money, but cringed under California's license fees. The R-R alone was $2k. After a few years and several WalMart stores opened, he moved to Texas. His R-R license fee was around $100. OK. The Chevy 262 and 267, nor the 200 ci V6 weren't welcomed in California either. Instead of the small V8's the small cars got 305's or 350's. If you wanted a V6, all you could get was the Buick 3.8L or 4.1L.

[@What.its.like.]

Great information thank you so much for sharing those memories =) I still can’t get over that they put a 307 in An impala but then again they were putting six cylinders in those big cars back down as well.. 327 is a great engine the rev higher than a 350 or so I was told..

[@automatedelectronics6062]

@@What.its.like. You can probably make an engine do what you want it to do. Bothe the 327 and the first 350 have the same bore, 4", but the 327 has a shorter stroke, so it is capable of revving higher. There was one rare Chevy V8 that you left out. There was another 350 V8 in the 1968 SS-350 Camaros. It was rated as having 295 SAE gross hp. It had a different bore and stroke than the 1969-on 350. Most notably it had the same main bearing journals as the original 327, so they threw alot of rods.

[@gerryvandepol7630]

I remember we stuffed a 283 3 speed in our baffed out 73 square body, after about 2 years of getting beat on it broke a piston… pulled the pan and snipped the rod of with the torch, tossed the push rods and rockers and drove it for a couple more years…

[@davidpowell3347]

So the "small journal" crankshaft was generally better than the later "large journal" crankshaft except that a few forged large journal ones were made for some of the premium hi po applications? Were some of the oddball later smog motors made with small journal but cast (not the desirable forged) crankshafts? Also I believe some of these (better) engines had 4 bolt main bearing caps and some of these had peculiarly angled bolts. Apparently during the engineering of these engines someone figured out that a considerable part of the problems with main bearing failure involved the parting surfaces of the main bearing caps "walking" inboard a minuscule amount due to downward pressure distorting the cap,using dowels or precision locating tongue and grove to absolutely stop this creeping of the cap ends could increase the reliability of the engine under high compression and rpm load,decreasing "bottom end" failures (the inboard walking of the main cap ends caused a pinching effect that stole the oil clearance from the main bearing causing its failure) some of the most outrageously powerful of these engines were certain 327 and 302 versions? Did some of them have exotic cylinder heads with the valves in a non linear arrangement (exhaust splayed out of line from the intakes)maybe non parallel pushrods? Also these engines had extra cylinder head bolts or studs as compared to other V8 engines (I think big block Chevy and Packard V8 engines also)

[@What.its.like.]

Thank you so much for taking the time to share all that =)

[@daveridgeway2639]

@daveridgeway2639 0 seconds ago By the way with all due respect, I am mostly a Ford person but when it comes to "Hot Roding" in 1955 the small block Chevrolet V8 took over where the Ford flathead V8 left off. The small block Chevrolet was small, lightweight and cheap to work on and modify. Fords first small block OHV (overhead valve) V8 "221 CID" did not come along until 1962, exactly seven years after the the 265 CID small block Chevrolet came out, after many of the Chevrolet's patent's expired. Some parts do interchange with small block Chevys and small block Fords, such as in the overhead valvetrain. and I do not think that is just a coincidence. You see, when the small block Chevy came out, it was the first inexpensive engine the would rev to 6000 RPM+! Please reply. Dave...

[@trep53]

Not sure if I had a favorite small block Chevy engine but, if I did it would have been what ever was in the 1970 Z28 Camaro. However, my memory of cars back then as a high school teenager was by the time I’d get one it had about 70k miles on it and near its end of life.

[@What.its.like.]

Sweet =)

[@johnkashka803]

327...would run forever!

[@What.its.like.]

Great engine

[@CarFacts81]

They all would

[@Gregengelmann]

1966 NOVA L79

[@carlmontney7916]

I can't even comment this time on the would you rather because to be honest I've never been a big Chevy guy. I will say though that the Chevy small block V8 engine has earned its place in history as one of the most successful engine designs ever created by any company.

[@What.its.like.]

I totally agree it would’ve been impossible to come up with a would you rather segment for this engine because I spend over decades My grandpa was a Ford guy so kind of pass that on to me I haven’t really been a brand loyal person I’ve had a lot of different vehicles lotta different brands I’ve owned two small block Chevy‘s and they were awesome I have a 350 in my 52 Chevy and I absolutely love how cheap parts are for it and it’s bulletproof it does everything I wanted to do.. I have no idea why they don’t do things like that now I’m not sure how part interchangeability is now but it just seems like everything is just built so cheap

[@davidpowell3347]

A guy who worked the summer at where I was a janitor at the time had an older boxy Malibu Powerglide with a 283 in it,he had tried to "tune it up" and complained that it wouldn't do over 80 mph or something near,I noticed that he had the points set obviously opening too wide so I got a dwell meter (alternative to measuring the maximum point gap) and set the dwell to specification-(or equivalent to a little narrower than specified gap)-and the next day or two later he said it had no trouble hitting 100 or even something considerably more those "window" distributors made things easy

[@thebigsuperbeatle]

sounds like G. McFly at the microphone

[@What.its.like.]

Haha

[@95Sn95]

SBC is 100% the goat! the architecture is 69 years old!!! It isn't perfect but it's about as close as you can get and in 2024 it's still a viable platform... Even with the pleathra of LS engines There's plenty of SBC engines that are still competitive with anything, so many LS fanboys that turn there nose up at SBC claiming there obsolete dinosaurs which is so not true people build them easy to 2000hp+, yeah LS is a spectacular engine but how is that kind of performance obsolete.

[@What.its.like.]

Totally agree =) and the small block Chevy is the cheapest V-8 to build there’s tons of them everywhere (350) The engine architecture it’s just pure common sense in my opinion. One of my favorite things is if it’s a Chevy engine Chevy transmission bolt up to that Ford doesn’t have that luxury specially in the 50s it could be really hard to find a transmission for Ford because they made air cooled and water cooled torque converters, and they don’t interchange Also Ford had three different transmission case sizes with three different tail shaft. It gets super confusing.

[@dwightdyess455]

Fun fact during the small crank journal time if you put a 327 crank in a 283 block you get a 306/307. If you put the 283 crank in the 327 block you get a 302. During the early 1960’s teen age want a be hot rodders did the 327 crank in 283 swap quit often.

[@What.its.like.]

Great information =)

[@lazyjack8081]

I had forgot about that. One the guys in our crowd did it in a 56. Ran like a scalded dog.

[@Shayler-j3g]

I love your channel. I watch all your vids . Keep up the good work.

[@What.its.like.]

Thank you it means a lot that you dig this channel =)

[@JefferyHall-ct2tr]

Hi Jay!: A comprehensive summary of what is probably the best Chevy engine series ever produced. Enjoyed the part where Ed Cole stole the valve train design from Pontiac! Hadn't heard that before! Only small block Chevy ownership of mine was a 1977 GMC pick up I had that had one of those "Target Master" 350 replacement engines in it. Ran fine. It was that crummy THM transmission that caused that one to go away. If I was to have a choice it would probably be a 1965 Corvette with the last of the Fuelie engines in it! Ya, the big block was cool, but the Small Block would be better handling! Chevy HAD to do something to try and stop being embarrassed by the 427 Shelby Cobras.

[@What.its.like.]

I would love to compare Chevy 427 to ford 427 one day Glad you dig this video =) Thank you so much for sharing your experience with all of us ed Cole was a genius for making the small block Chevy part interchangeable just a brilliant play i’m not that first and new technology but I don’t know if anything changes now but then again you’re getting into planned obsolescence it’s total opposite they wanted to break and it cost a fortune when it does and then you’ll have to get a new car it’s all by design. Where is the old stuff when it broke you just fixed it

[@donreinke5863]

@@What.its.like.Good luck with that comparison. Ford made many cylinder heads for the 427, all with different performance capabilities.There were medium riser heads, high riser heads, tunnel port heads which had a pushrod tube through the center of intake ports, and the ultimate development of the Ford 427, the SOHC "cammer" heads operated by two timing chains. To my knowledge, only two big block Mark IV type (not "W" series 427s, they were a further development of the 409) Chevy heads were factory made....small port and large port.

[@DennisMurphey]

I was lucky that my Dad allowed me to use my College Bonds to buy a car when I turned 17. We were an Olds Family so I wanted the 442. Dad went to the Olds dealer for service and i asked him to look around for a 442. He would meet me at his brothers/my uncles bowling alley after school to drive me home as we lived on a farm. I was there with my cousin and best friend Ben when he came it collect me. I asked did you see an OLds 442, He calmly shook his head and said no they did not have any 442s in your price range. I was dejected then he offered they did have a nice little Chevy. I was thinking Chevelle then he said Corvette, then I was thinking 58, 62 ?? I asked if it was a 4 speed he said yes. I asked what year he said 1964 White hardtop. OK OK That is good the 64 came with 327 from 250 HP to 375 HP. I knew he had exhausted his knowledge about the car. Did you drive it, Oh well I took down the street and back. Well? Yes is drives real nice and seems to be in good shape. Well do you want to go look at it again, with me. Well I thought you might be interested Let me call your mother and she if she wants to go too. Can Ben come along, sure yes he can come along. I was about to explode. The dealer in this rural Farm area was quite some ride away 45 minutes. The bottom line is the 64 Corvette was a Convertible 4 speed with the removable hard top and convertible top, 4 speed close ratio 2.2 low gear and 3.73 rear gear, Hub caps were chrome and the interior had red dash and carpet with White seats and doors. The Tach red lined at 6,500!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The engine was the 365 HP 327 a Fuelly long block with a high rise Aluminum Intake and a 4 barrel Holley Carb. I had no idea at the time but sure knew the little sticker on the valve covers with 365 Horsepower meant i was in heaven. I drove the car 4 years down at SIU Carbondale, Lost my license once, raced a lot of guys on the street, and once at a 1/8 Drag strip near Springfield. Nearly killed myself about 3 times. Lost one race with a 440 Dodge, I had too low a gear and about 140 he walked around me. That little Chevy 327 seems to never stop pulling harder as the RPMs climbed. But the Aero on this 64 was so bad the front end would aim to the stars over 100 or so and at 140 at night you could hardly see the road. It was not hard to start but it would die if you did not keep blipping the gas until it warmed up a bit. The idle with a solid lifter Fuelly cam was so awesome. the gas pedal would vibrate through my foot up my leg and right to my chest. It was Beastly! it had little torque below 3,500 RPM. But once you cleared 4,000 RPM my God the little motor just turned loose. It felt like wild horse and it just wanted to run. It was addicting for me and I loved it. The first night home i was is such disbelief I took Dads Military Blanket out and sleep in the car in the middle of December. I gave the car to my Dad my senior year at SIU he had several bad years and needed a New Pick up truck. I was getting drafted at the end of my senior year so it was fine. I did buy a 1964 GTO from a Friend for 160 Dollars that burned 3 quarts of oil per tank of gas. But it got me home one last time before i had to leave. That is my 1st Small Block Chevy Story abbreviated. Yes I loved that 365 HP 327. Later I got to drive a Z28 302 and it felt some much like my old 327 Really never had another engine that was so fun to beat on. No idea it had forged crank and rods now wonder it lasted so well. Dennis

[@What.its.like.]

Great story thank you so much for taking the time to write all of that. I really appreciate it. It was a really good read very much enjoyed it. Thanks again for sharing the memories. =)