Everyone always thinks that the engines of the muscle car era were the most powerful to ever come out of the big three. The truth is that newer engines make the same rated power, or more, with a much more conservative testing method. This means that 350 horsepower in 1970 is not the same as 350 horsepower in 2024. But how much power did Chevrolet’s famed L78 396 Big Block really make? Was it underrated or overrated?
Richard Holdener is going to show us with this fully dyno test of an L78 right here!
Video Description:
HOW MUCH POWER DID THE L78 375-HP 396 REALLY MAKE? WAS THE 1965 L78 425-HP 396 CORVETTE OVERRATED? WAS THE 375-HP L78 396 CAMARO OR CHEVELLE UNDERRATED? HOW MUCH POWER DID CHEVY’S LITTLE BIG BLOCK REALLY MAKE? AFTER FINDING LEAKING HEADS IN PART 1, WE REPLACED THE HEADS FOR A SECOND TEST. I INSTALLED NEW 858 HEADS IN PART 2, ALONG WITH AN ELGIN REPRODUCTION FACTORY L78 CAM AND STOCK ROCKERS. I RAN THE 396 BOTH WITH LONG TUBE HEADERS AND STOCK, CAST-IRON BBC EXHAUST MANIFOLDS. CHECK OUT THE POWER DIFFERENCE THAT HEADERS MADE ON THE BBC. FINALLY WE HAVE DYNO RESULTS ON THE L78 396!
