I am a Ford guy, but put a 400 SBC in my 49' Chevy PU. I did so because I have never worked on a SBC before and I got it really cheap. The 400 seems to work ok, but it does not sound as nice as my 260 SBF in my Falcon (nothing really does IMHO). I do feel like everyone else though in using an SBC. It will most likely be the last Chevy I build, they are kinda bland in comparison to everyting else.
Nope...Kettering was....ever heard some one with a Rocket or an early Cad say there car was Kettering Powered?
Because to take one, you'd have to catch one... Whats this back spark plug horseshit? What, you puttin' it in a conversion van? My favorite method for taking out the back spark plugs is A. Get a ratchet (that's the secret... Your bare hand WILL NOT work) B. Get a spark plug socket C. Combine the two D. Place your newly combined tool-like item on the spark plug E. Take 30 seconds to remove spark plug F. Drink beer for a half hour
Who gives a flying fuck what motor is in what car?!!! Damn, c'mon people. Thats why I'm getting ready to put a stude 232 in my shoebox. Theres something for you guys to bitch about!
Go for it! I get sick of the same-ol'-"me,too!"-350-SBC-in-everything BS! That's why I've built a 500" Caddy in a '67 Chevy pickup. A 389 Pontiac in a '47 Chevy. And a 360 Mopar in a '48 Ford, just to name a few. Hell, I was real close to putting in a Hudson 308 Twin-H flathead Six in a '47 Chevy half-ton PU, but I traded the truck on another pickup! Nothing wrong with a SBF in a Chevy, if for no other reason than to piss off the SBC-350-in-everything-'cuz-that's-all-I-know guys! The SBC has its place, but NOT in everything with wheels! Oh, BTW, I currently have one Slant Six, plus V-8 LA, B, and RB-block Mopars, a Cummins Diesel. a flathead Six Hudson, a Stovebolt Six Chevy...and, yes, even a SBC.
the best car that ever had is my 58 ford with a 312 y-block the worst car i ever had is a 57 ford with a 312 y-block but if the y-block in my 58 ever goes i,ll put a sbc in it with a 4 speed because that,s the combo i like and the motor i ,ve had the best luck with in street cars and race cars to me the only boreing thing is when people say put a ford in a ford or put a hemi in everything build what you like and enjoy it,s you time and money those that tell you not to put a sbc in anything are the boreing ones put what you want i,ve play with cars for the last 50 years and the only people that with pass a car with a sbc, or ford or mopar in it cause of the body make is driffrent are people that restore cars or are just to narrow minded to enjoy what hot roding is about we all have the brands that we like well thats my 2 cents
While I do like some of the Ford motors like the FE series big blocks, the Boss 429 & the SOHC 427, the thing that was always the biggest turn-off for me with Ford motors was too much complication. Like Y blocks, FE's, Windsors, Clevelands, M motors, Lima big blocks, holy shit, who can keep track of em' all. Ford makes building a Mopar look easy. I think Ford dropped the ball after moving into OHV engines in the 50's when they seemed to always switch engine designs mid-stream. Sure, they may all run good but if your not a devout Ford guy who wants to be bothered with all the "what fits what" bullshit with different weight/balance flex plates, what bellhousing is gonna fit what block, different motor mounts, different input shft lengths and on and on. With a Chevy big or small block the powers good and life's just a whole lot easier.
I don't have pics of it yet, but there's a nice '49 Chevy p/u in a town close to me that is sitting on an S10 chassis, but has a Ford 5.0L in it. Really messes people up when they look under the hood.
Charles Franklin Kettering was born August 29, 1876 - Died November 25, 1958. He invented the first electrical ignition system and the self-starter for automobile engines and the first practical engine-driven generator. Born in an Ohio farmhouse, Kettering graduated from Ohio State University in 1904 as an engineer then joined the National Cash Register Company, where he oversaw development of the electrically operated cash register, among other products. In 1909 he left NCR and, with businessman Edward A. Deeds, set up the Dayton Engineering Laboratories Company or Delco, where he invented his most significant engine devices. Kettering's engine-driven generator, named the 'Delco,' provided electricity on millions of farms. In 1916 Kettering sold his company to General Motors. At G.M. he set up and directed a central research laboratory and stayed for 31 years, until his retirement in 1947. The lab developed the lightweight diesel engine that made the diesel locomotive possible, the refrigerant Freon, four-wheel brakes, safety glass, and many other items. Kettering was the holder of some 140 patents. Along with G.M. President Alfred Sloan, he established the Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research. Cole was the son of a dairy farmer. In his youth, he designed, built, and sold homemade radio sets, and as a teenager became a field representative for a tractor manufacturer. He wanted to be a lawyer, but landed a part-time job in an auto parts store while attending Grand Rapids Community College.<SUP class=reference id=cite_ref-donnelly_0-0>[1]</SUP> He then enrolled in General Motors Institute, where he was a member of the Phi Kappa Epsilon (now Pi Kappa Alpha) Fraternity. Cole was such a good student, that he was offered a job at GM before he graduated. Soon after Cole married his hometown sweetheart, Esther Engman.<SUP class=reference id=cite_ref-1>[2]</SUP> He worked in engineering, rising to co-head a team (with Harry Barr) that developed the 1949 Cadillac V8. He was briefly assigned to run a GM plant in Cleveland, Ohio, when Chevrolet general manager Tom Keating requested his assignment as chief engineer. He became chief engineer of the Chevrolet Division in 1952. His most important task was to develop a new engine for Chevy's lineup to replace the stove-bolt six; that new engine was Chevrolet's small-block V8. He collaborated with Zora Arkus-Duntov to revitalize the weak-performing early Corvettes, and also was introduced engineering and design advancements in the Chevrolet car and truck lines between 1955 and 1962.<SUP class=reference id=cite_ref-2>[3]</SUP> Cole was promoted to general manager of Chevrolet in 1956. During these years, Chevy was a perennial sales leader, but with only larger cars in the lineup. As general manager of Chevrolet, he directed the development of the Corvair intended to pursue the compact car market. The strong early sales of the new car with its radical design with rear-engine, rear-wheel drive layout, put Cole on the cover of Time magazine. Cole was promoted to head the GM car and truck group in 1961, then to executive vice-president in 1965, and to president in 1967. KETTERING WAS A GREAT MAN , BUT , COLE AND HARRY BARR WERE THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF THOSE MOTORS
No offense but these comments deserve some perspective. You are looking at Ford through Chevy glasses. Ford Motor Company did not categorize their engine families like GM did. All of Ford's engine designs were called Ford engine families. To give an accurate comparison you should consider ALL of the GM OHV V8 engine designs like early and late OLDs, early and late Buick, early and late Pontiac, sbc, bbc and W Chevys, early and late Cads, aluminum Buick and Olds. Did I miss any? How about Mopar? Let's see you've got Chrysler, DeSoto and Dodge hemis, late hemis, various Poly V8's, low deck and high deck Wedges, late small blocks etc. How much interchange is there between the various GM and Mopar engine families. I'm a Ford guy and thinking of all the brand X stuff makes my head numb. No thanks I'll take the Ford stuff and keep it simple!
You hit the nail on the head! I think the 351w/c/m is what confuses non Ford folks the most. w for Windsor plant, C for cleveland, m for modified. All the same cubes, but with different letters after them. And even though they appear quite different, heads and cranks/rods from a c/m can be put in w block with minor mods. With GM you have the 305 chevy, 307 olds, 350sbc,350olds,400chevy 400pontiac, 454chevy 455olds 455 buick. Close in cubes, but quite different in reality. The true comparison is the 260-351w ford family with the 265-400 chevy family. Id say they are similar in almost every aspect that has been discussed.
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