How big can a small block be?

[Beagle]

Than what is it? Sounds like a one off custom block I guess if you build it you can call it big or little of you want?

I'd call it the "Trust Fund Block" ... or maybe the "Miami Vice Block" because it's going to take cartel type money to buy one.

[fatguyzinc]

dont understand the confusion here.......at least as far as chevys go anyway.
if its got siamesed center exhaust ports and the valve covers are narrow, its a smallblock....
if exhaust ports are symetrically spaced and the valve cover is wider than your fist and use
7 hold down bolts, its a big block.

[Tubbed Pacecar]

Here's one I remembered seeing.....

461 Windsor

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJRMLfrlPvg&t=117s

[ratpatrol66]

My son who is an import guy asked me the other day. SMALL BLOCK Its 400cuin!!!!

nick

Clear the air as to what your kid wanted to know??? Chevy, Ford, Mopar, Pontiac???

[Thumpin455]

Going by CID... well, I suppose this would be a small block due to the fact it started out at 287 cubes. They are all physically the same size, use the same connecting rods fro 1956 to 1979, and the heads will bolt to any of the blocks, along with most other parts. So is a 540ci Pontiac a small block because it started out tiny in displacement?

[Beagle]

Why didn't anything fit the bastard 301?

[Thumpin455]

Why didn't anything fit the bastard 301?

lots of stuff from the other engines fit the 301, but those two engines are low deck, intended to be lightweight and cost saving in a time when GM was absolutely clueless about building vehicles. That cluelessness continued until 98, when they got a bit of sense, and then they threw it away again in only a few years. Like bringing out the GTO as competition for the BMW M5 and M7, those kinds of buyers wanted nothing to do with the Monaro, and the people who wanted it couldn't justify a fully loaded barge even if it was fun to drive. Then the build more trucks thinking... but that is a tangent.

Pontiac also built 4 cylinders and an OHC six, but there isn't a small or big block. Going by displacement doesn't work. Compare a 400sbc to a 454 and you can see the difference. I just traded a 454 to a friend for a 72 LeMans. I think that engine weighed half as much as the entire car and put out less power than the 2 barrel 350 in the LeMans.

[Beagle]

What would you call this 8 cylinder Pontiac from 1954?

[DanStokes]

What would you call this 8 cylinder Pontiac from 1954?

Nostalgic. Oh, and smooth.

Dan

[silver_bullet]

What would you call this 8 cylinder Pontiac from 1954?

Like an aged Scotch...smooth with a kick.... a nice slow powerful burn!

[Thumpin455]

What would you call this 8 cylinder Pontiac from 1954?

I'd call it straight and flat. If I got one for free that ran well or didn't need rebuilding, I would power something with it. Finding parts for those is a bit more challenging than building a 400 or 455. I have a '32 vintage straight six, but its a rusted lump of iron at this point.

[Beagle]

Okay, so in factory terms of "small block" (which gets really confusing with Fords) There was the Olds 403, as it was considerered a "small block" right? What about the 401 AMC (factory forged rods and crank. Good heads. Yummy stuff.)? There wasn't a "big block" to compare it to.