iv read on this forum quite a bit how people love the ford windsore. the reason i ask is i have a 351 Cleveland sitting in a ranchero no idea if it runs came with the land when we moved in. i do know its converted to propane.. so the engine maybe good and it just transmission problems or got to expensive to drive.. i dunno... I think its a 1970/1971 351C a decent engine? plan on using the 9" out of it. iv never had a problem with a 350. or a 305.. have had them both over the years. chris.
What makes them so good is what they get hated for. They had such a long run and made so many of them over the years that you can't sling a dead cat without it landing on sbc parts in a salvage yard. And commonality among them.... How many variations of small block fords and chryslers are there? Chevy found something that would work and stuck with it (and they get hated for it).
I like sbc's but I like everything old and american, and thats how we all should be, i did grow up around more ford, but I love them all equal. people have preferance, i believe people use sbc's because its easy to work on, cheap, and for some reason trendy. its traditional yes, but so is a lot of other things, but the way I look at it, I personally would keep a chevy motor in just a chevy, but id rather see a chevy motor in a ford then a honda or some jap stuff in it. and as far a finding parts, i have better luck finding nailhead, flathead, sbf, or y-block stuff then a sbc, still not knocking a sbc but i guess its all about who your around and what your into.
thank you so much. i hear running propane the engine should be in decent shape inside ( no clue how much truth there is to this.. will look into that engine come winter when i hope to start my project ).. i dunno much, im learning every day on here. you rock my friend. chris.
Wow... I can relate... I wanted a flathead before they were cool... couldn't find any rodded ones at the time and couldn't find anybody who wanted to work on one... this was the 70's and I was suffering enough grief for trying to build a traditional hot rod when Resto Rods were the rage... I ended up putting a SBC in but I was determined it was a temporary measure... I ordered a Walker radiator with four ports with two ports capped... I used a Hurst cradle mount so a flathead would bolt in later... an adaptor to the 39 trans... I've owned the car for 38 years and guess what... it is still SBC powered... most folks accept it as vintage because it is a early 57 Vette... but, I would have bet money that it would have been gone and its still there
Dont forget...they are one of if not the best LOOKING motors there is,smooth,matching valve covers,clean front cover,nice smallish intake..ect.....and you can buy a starter,water pump,fuel pump,dist,gaskets...ect on a Sunday night on a Holiday weekend!...my Ford has one,shouldn't they all?
My 68 Camaro was a small block car---we stuffed a .060 over 454 into it and all we had to fab was the heater hoses off the firewall. There's your commonality---GM got it right. Having said that, I have a 302 sbf in the '40. Just so I show no preference, right now I would take a boatload of flatties---the lake levels are low in Texas. Let the hating begin---
I would have to give some serious thought, as to how many small block chevies I've had (a lot). I've only had four flathead fords. Small blk chevs are a great engine, for all of the reasons stated above. The Flathead ford, has its own set of issues, but worthy of consideration (in the right application). The small block chev, can and does produce a Hell of a lot more power, for a lot less money. It really comes down to your own objective for your build. I would never rag on any american made engine, we all know the pros and cons of them..don't we? "Why can't we all just get along"
I'm all for alternate power sources in rods---walk in my garage and you'll see nailheads, Olds rockets, early Cadillacs, 235s, and a Chrysler hemi---but anyone that calls sbcs "junk" is just putting their ignorance on display. I guess that the millions of racers who have built successful careers using the engine are all retarded.
Remember the "Ford has a better idea" with the light bulb? Well, we used to print tee shirts that had the exact same thing except the filament in the bulb was a bowtie. Maybe I should break out the old screens and run off a few. Click here: Chevy Small Block History - Chevy High Performance Magazine .
If the small block was introduced in 1955 and the "w" block was introduced in 1958, what did they call th small block for those first 3 years? Was it still called a small block?
Don't forget that the SBC is still being produced and installed in production vehicles----the base v-6 gm trucks----silverado and sierra. And the v-6 IS a sbc. This may not last too much longer, but it IS 57, going on 58 years......
If cost is a factor in you hot rod build, you shouldn't be building a hot rod. A few hundred dollar difference shouldn't matter at all, I think it is an excuse used by many.
I've had them all over the years and only found a couple of engines that I just don't care for. Currently have 2 SBC and 3 BBC. They are what I want and I make no excuses to anyone. They can be built to make from 200hp, up to some crazy numbers that I won't voluntarily mention here. Aftermarket performance parts have dramatically increased durability at high hp/high rpm. Hate them if you want to. For sheer performance per cubic inch they're hard to beat. (Not just my opinion. Track records in every type motorsport show the facts.)
I won't scrap any I get, I'll sell 'em to the chevy nuts to help finance my Mopars. Yes, they are as good an engine that has ever been built, that don't mean I have to like them.
since this old thread came back up i thought a update on the old girl was inline. i had to pu new leaf springs under the old girl. bought a set of vette factory ralleys. basic clean up. used left over 8mm plug wire scraps to build new plug wires,and some new plugs. almost a year later the old girl is still running down the road with no issues. for its age it runs drives and stops fairly well. only thing i need to find is the panel between the back window and the trunk lid. this one rusted way bad. its only held on by 3 screws. im fully willing to pay for the part and shipping. its a 79 4door nova. 75-79 should be the same thanks garcoal
It's funny how the small block in production vehicles ends up much the way it first started: 1955 = 265 CID 2012 = 262 CID i believe the 262 will stop being installed in pickups next year; i don't know what the replacement (if any) will be.
True story. Many years ago I sold a camper. Due to non payment, I accepted an old sbc 350 in trade. Just an old hunk of iron, leaning against a backyard fence. This sbc was sitting outside, uncovered and exposed to nor cal weather. No spark plugs, no carb. Oh well, done deal. I installed that sbc, as is into my $200 68 Nova. Swapped on old parts off the gernaded 307, poured in some fresh oil and 4 hours later, to my surprise, it started. Took it out to the street and she lit up the tires from one end to the other. Drove it on many cross country trips, sold it, repoed it, sold it again, afaik, it's still running. Praise the lowly sbc.
I've said a bunch of times that my engines of choice are Fords and Olds, however, I am also very respectful of the sbc motors. In addition to the ease of getting parts and parts being cheap, the motors themselves are very forgiving and dependable. They just keep on running and even when they have a zillion miles on them they are still ticking along, mile after mile. The 350 Vortec I had in my 23 was one of the most troublefree motors I have owned in years. I never thought twice about jumping in it and driving a couple of hundred miles and back. Don
i have an sbc story, i built some deck railings for a couple, it took awhile so i got to know them, when the ladies farther passed they called and said they had some stuff they wanted removed from his yard, an old pickup and a camper, well the camper turned out to be a chevy camper van sitting in a shed sence 93, all i did was pump up the tires, pour a little gas down the carb and replace the battery, fired right up, so i poured 5 gallons in the tank and drove it home, the only thing in the engine that needs replacing are the valve seals.
It's nice to see at SBC thread that is intelligent. I appreciate all American makes of engines. I'm a Chevy guy because that's what I grew up with but I've owned Olds, Buick Nailheads, SBF, and Mopar stuff and you know what? They were all great engines in their own right! Sure, each one had their peculiarities but none of them ever let me down. I appreciate the SBC because it's what I know best, as well as the parts availability and interchange. Some of the haters make me laugh. And there's some real HATERS out there (mostly Ford guys for some reason), but in my opinion the hate is based on emotion and ignorance, not reason. My brother-in-law is one of those guys. It cracks me up.
1992 center bolt, roller cam 350 cu. in. engine. Intake is 1966 Offenhauser tri power unit, all bolted up to a 1970s TH350 transmission and shoved into my 29 Roadster. Always loved em, always used em, always will.
The SBC is THE greatest engine ever designed. Why wouldn't it be? It's been in development since 1955. The good thing about GM is that when they knew they had a good thing they stuck with it. Mopar and Ford were never smart enough to figure that one out.
I can ppreciate all motors in all configurations. But as a street rod guy who loves the lines of 30's and 40's vehicles, the sbc is the way to go. One reason is the fact that motor fits in just about anything with very little room needed due to it's slim design. One of the main reasons I use the SBC is if I am on the road and have just about any problem I can get the parts from any part store to get me back on the road. Now a comment was made about waiting for bearings for a 302. Providing the 302 is a Chevy motor and not a Ford, the Chevy 302 is not your typical run of the mill small block. Perhaps that is why the person was waiting.
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