Hot Rods Engine choice for my '57 Chevy Gasser?

If I wasn't going SBC. I would probably use a BB Mopar and pushbutton trans like I have in my '40. Mainly because that's the kind of stuff that's in stock. But the best look I have ever scene in a 5-7 was a Pontiac with inline 2x4's, M-T valve covers and a Vertex. That would be my vote.

 

IMO, Chevy in a Chevy. Your Budget was not mentioned, Speed cost money, How fast do you want to go. To pretend to be in HAMB parameters, BBC is cheap horsepower, huge torque and just say it's a 396. A 454 can go to 500 CI + bored/stroked, aluminum heads, carb/carbs of your choice, low comp/pump gas engine, well under 10K, spend a little more, add hidden nitrous system or a 671 blower kit and that should be plenty fast enough to force you to add full cage and ALL the safety features required at drag strips today, I believe that # is 10.5 1/4 mile. A friend just had a 421 CI SBC built, high compression engine, (race gas) roller cam, aluminum heads, 2X4 on tunnel ram, builders dyno 700+HP and under 10K he tells me. So.................. AS always, Are we racing or Cruising. Good Luck, Have at it, Be safe and ENJOY !

 

A waste of a 427 Ford IMHO.

 

I say 283/301, built to spin, with 4.56 or similar gears. Gassers are way cooler when they're screaming like some hellscape banshee. I know it's more durable to build a bigger engine with more low-end torque but gotta have that 8k scream.

 

What I hate to see is an engine that is built to look "bad" but won't outrun a Prius. It gives street rodders a bad name.
Build something thats streetable so you can drive it and enjoy it......but if it only gets 5 mpg and screams all the time, it'll spend more time parked than enjoying. That being said, a properly thought out combo can run 12s and deliver reasonable gas mileage.

 

That's EXACTLY what a street rod is, if it ran as good as it looked then it would be a HOT ROD !

 

Slowly coming together

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I like this!

 

Thanks!!

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Lets hear it! Lippy

 

My first 55 had a 421 and ahydro stick. My jetfire is getting a 482 with either a crossram or holborn stack.. the 55 210 wagon is getting either the 392 that's living under the bench or the 500 cadillac. With duel quarts. those are gasser motors

 

Think about it like this. The higher the compression ratio, the more gas is going to cost and the more likely the complimentary components to make it function well will be closer to race parts. For that reason I would only build a small block if it's 400 cu in or larger. When you build smaller versions, it takes a lot of cam to get the horsepower.....then you need high gearing because you lost low end torque.
A large big block can wear nostalgic valve covers, and provide driveability along with speed and possibly decent gas mileage. I would think about 454 (or larger) with about 9.5 compression ratio and a mild lope. Back it up with a Tremec five speed with a plain shift knob and a set of 3:50 gears. It should be pretty fast, burn regular gas, and "look" nostalgic.

 

Potvin direct drive blower setup on a 331.....

 

I had an F/Gas car back in the day with a 288 ci Hilborn injection. 100 lb flywheel buss it to 8000 rpm and dump the clutch and hope everything stays together.

 

Then plop a blower on it and hang on!

 

High strung small blocks are cool but a big block with 550+ lbs of torque will be more street friendly and a better driver. I've got a big block mopar that with iron heads and a small mechanical flat tappet cam makes 525 hp and 550 lbs of torque, it's all done by 6000 rpm but keeps making power to 6700. This was easy power with a blue printed stock shortblock with ported stock heads. If I changed the cam and valve springs I could put it in a motorhome. How snotty would a small block need to be to duplicate those numbers?

 

This. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/402-cubic-inches-from-a-283.1004739/

 

Looks expensive to duplicate in today's money. Apply this to a big block and make 700 hp, I've got one of these also.