In 1955, after spending 26 years offering only six-cylinder engines, Chevrolet needed to step up its game. More and more customers were looking to get more and more performance out of their cars and trucks, and Chevy knew it had to look to a new V8 to compete. Chief engineer Ed Cole decided to address this need by designing a compact eight-cylinder engine with an efficient 90-degree “V” configuration, overhead valves, a pushrod valvetrain and a small 4.4-inch on-center bore spacing. The resulting powerplant not only changed the face of Chevrolet, but also revolutionized the entire industry—and will soon pass an amazing benchmark, since Chevy is expected to produce its 100 millionth small-block V8 a little later this year.
“The introduction of the small block changed everything,” said Jim Campbell, vice president, GM Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. “The small block was an instant success because it offered customers high performance and an affordable price, in a compact design that was very easy to modify. The small block also started a wave of innovation—and escalating performance—that transformed the cars Americans drove on the street and the track.”
Of course, back in 1955, “high performance” meant squeezing 195 hp out of the engine, and that was with an optional four-barrel carburetor. But the potential inherent in Chevy’s new V8 was quickly leveraged into 283 horses just two years later, and backed by that experience, helped to get 450 hp out of Chevy’s big-block V8’s (with a wider bore spacing) by 1970. Today, Chevrolet V8 power has raised the bar even higher, while still remaining true to the division’s small-block history.
“Without question, the current Chevrolet V8s are lineal descendants of the 1955 small block,” said Sam Winegarden, GM executive director for Global Engine Engineering. “They retain the 90-degree V-configured eight-cylinder layout, overhead valve placement and characteristic pushrod valve train. Where they differ are the modern technologies that would have sounded like science fiction 50 years ago, such as all-aluminum blocks, titanium connecting rods, Active Fuel Management, and variable valve timing.”
As a result, the 6.2-liter small-block V8 in the 2012 Chevrolet Corvette provides both earth-shaking power (436 hp) and wallet-saving fuel efficiency (26 mpg highway). And that’s just one arrow in Chevy’s V8 quiver. The division’s current lineup of small-block V8’s is used in other production vehicles like the Camaro and Silverado, Chevy’s championship-winning NASCAR and Le Mans racers, and an incredibly wide range of customs—including those from other automakers. Just ask Tammy Ray, who selected a Chevy small-block V8 for her “Gold Digger,” the Ford Phaeton hot rod that won the 2010 Ridler Award.
“My builder will say you can get more horsepower out of a Chevy than a Ford,” she said. “For me, the decision was based solely on appearance. The Chevy V8 is much cleaner, more compact, and with so many parts available, I could customize every part of engine—right down to the gold nuggets inlaid on valve covers.”
And Chevy engines are “cleaner” in more ways than one. Among the goodies in the GM Performance Parts catalog is Chevrolet’s E-ROD LS3 6.2-liter V8, the first crate engine in the industry to meet California rigorous emissions requirements. The E-ROD package includes an engine wiring harness and engine control module, exhaust manifolds, catalytic converters, oxygen and mass-airflow sensors, and a fuel-tank evaporative emissions canister—along with a smile-inducing 430 hp.
“More people do more things with a small block than any other engine, and probably more than all other engine platforms combined,” said Campbell. “There’s a Small Block to fit almost any hot rodder’s needs, whether they are building a gold-plated hot rod, a 1,000-horsepower dragster, or an emissions-compliant project car.”
Comments on this entry are closed.