Featured History Happy 70th Birthday To The Small Block Chevy!

It may have happened a few days ago but the small block Chevy is now 70 years old. Can we get (yet another) thread in honor of the millions of engines built and the most popular engine in hot rodding and racing history?

 

A Masterpiece that changed the automotive word!

 

And the Small block Chevy fits anywhere like the one in the back seat of my Corvair

 

Crazy! I just read an article where someone is making a brand new casting of the SBC, as older cores are getting hard to find. Improved, of course, but still... 70 year old design???

 

Happy Birthday to the greatest engine ever created. My all time favorite.

 

Just aired on the news, test run of Rose Parade floats. And what power plant did they close up on? Oh ya…

 

Sounds fine to me , if it ain't broke , don't fuck with it !

 

Companies like Dart, Brodix, Speedmaster, etc. have been selling aftermarket SBC blocks in cast iron or aluminum for a long time now.

 

GM estimates they've built 113 MILLION of them alone.

 

Funny how such a great little V8 has been given labels like belly button or other derogatory terms simply because it has been such a popular choice for hotrod builds.

 

World Work Horse

 

Just about everyone who had a 327 said it was a 327/375HP. That's when I ask, ''oh a fuel injected engine?'' uh, no is the usual answer.

 

And Rodeck.
My 427.

 

My 57 283 as delivered with 55 265 manifolds. If the manifolds look familiar it's because they're on the 350 in my 53 bel air lol. Actually plan on going through the 283 and building a loose factory 57 dual quad 283 clone.

 

There was a guy in my neighborhood when I was in high school that had a 56 Delray, a bit of a local legend, it had a "real deal" 327/365 hp (Holley), with a four speed, guys with fuelie Corvettes feared it.

 

I’m late to the game.

Grew up a ford guy. Wondered why so many people used em.

them a fit one where a flat head was at. Dang that was EZ.

Used one in my bus at first. It was cheap. Did its job. No issues. Just like any other engine I had.

 

9 Factory SBC’s in one package that never externally changed.

 

Happy birthday Mighty Mouse......

 

The L79 350 horsepower 327 was a powerhouse. Mine was in a RS split bumper with a M21. It screamed with glee to 7000rpm on a regular basis. Loved throwing that car around the twisties. Nova engine shown. Chevy dressed 'em up right!

 

Mine

 

A personal favorite - the 1957 283 ci with one horsepower per cubic inch.

 

And they look so good when you add a bunch of speed parts

 

I started playing with them when they were barely 20 years old. And I'm still at it. How time flies!

 

"The Chevrolet Flint Engine Plant made history in 1955 by producing the first small-block V8 engine, a powerhouse that became the heart of American muscle cars and remained influential for decades."

 

Even with all this praise for the SBC, there will still be those on the Hamb who will criticize it as being a belly button, should have stuffed in a flathead,etc. I think it has earned its stripes by this point and I don't apologize for having them in my non Chevrolet cars.

 

I copied the SBC because of its popularity. They were still making them when I showed it in Detroit and some of the attendees told me I could have watched the last GM built example go through the plant. It has been running for 20 years now.

 

Yep, was able to rebuild my first small block when I was 14 and still have way too many.

 

I was born the same year as the small block Chevy, 1954. Hadn't thought about that until your message. Had the first dirt car in 69, a 57 Chevy with a small block. We were both 15 years old! How time flies. As they say, time is fun when you are having flys!