Lets talk Small block chevies! Some history from say 1955 to 1963

I've got a couple sets of the right vette v-covers, but i got a steal on some NICE unused chromed vette ones, and certainly dont have the coin to get some dipped. Also, i can make adapers for free too

and as for being busted, it is a '60 block....

 

here is what i got, for my roadster, still a little smoothing to do on the block, but chromed everything!!

I'm even gunna be dipping some stromberg 48's

 

Interesting factoids of the myth of all the same but different! Early 55-57 use a different rear main seal, the '55 block does not have a provision for the oil filter, and powerglide crankshafts thru '62 require a different "adaptor" pilot bearing as it is slightly smaller then a standard shift crankshaft pilot bearing bore size. Any other "factoids" for building a early SBC ??

 

Ok time for this to come back up. I just started inquiring on another thread about some interest in reproducing a 4x2 manifold or making my own version of a vintage unit.

If I get enough interest I will start a dedicated thread and get these things into production.

Lets hear some constructive criticism fella's

Eric

 

Back to that water pump on Bass's engine, If I had my guess, I'd say it was one the ones built by a company called Snow White out of central CA. back in the late seventies. I think it used a Chev six water pump from a 250 and up kinda deal. Neat for deuces and '30 '31 A's.

 

Yeah that pump is way cool!!!!

 

1) What was the first non-Chevrolet production car to have a SBC and when?

2) What was the first Chevy OTHER than corvette, 55-57, truck or impala to have a sbc and which model yr?

 

great thread, answered alot of questions i had.

 

The Black Widow by Piggins...1957 This was done by Southern Engineering and Development Co., or SEDCO, which was run out of Nalley Chevrolet in Atlanta.

 

Bel Aire...

 

My Fav...is still Vic Edelbrock Sr...for obvious reasons.

 

The numbers don't lie with respect to sbC's...some people just have to relive traditional mistakes.

 

These are a couple of small blocks that I have had. I am wanting to dress up the one with the pontiac valve covers. I have a couple of vintage intakes and a set of staggered hole Edelbrock valve covers but I am still not sure on some of the other details. It isn't the fastest car around but I really like the sound it makes through vintage glass packs.

 

Quite a few drag racers ran 352's in the 60's. By then it was just a 327 with a 1/4" stroke.
The .125 over 283 with a 1/2" stroke or the 327 with a 1/4" stroke was 4" bore and 3.5" stroke.
Hum, that's within .020" stroke of being the dreaded 350!
It's amazing how things evolve.
Larry T

 

My first car...well the first car I actually
got road worthy and actually drove, anyway
D)... was a '64 Chevelle Malibu SS 4-speed
car that I bought in 1973 for $350 with
a Muncie 4-spd in it but also, a completely
blown-up - ie - no salvageable internal parts
- 327 - and built my first engine - a 283 for it
- from parts I begged, borrowed and scrounged.
I ended up with a '59 283 truck block from a
3-ton truck, bored .040 over with some used
forged TRW 'stock replacement' pistons for a
'57 283/283hp F.I. motor. I added some 327
1.94/1.50 valve 461 heads, milled .050 and
with pinned studs. Intake and exhaust was
via an Edelbrock 3CB manifold with
blocked-off heat risers and a 735 cfm Holley
carb from a 428 Ford CJ and a set of 1 5/8
Hedman headers hooked to a pair of 2 1/2
inch inlet and outlet 'Hush Thrush' mufflers,
with tailpipes and down-turns ending at the
rear axle. Ignition was a stock 283 distributor
with a set of stiff-spring Accel 'competition'
points, a heavy-duty Delco 'copper contact'
distributor cap, a $10 Mr. Gasket advance
curve kit, a huge finned Delco coil scrounged
from a '58 Reo truck engine and some steel
core Packard 440 plug wires. The only actual
brand new 'store bought' parts in the engine,
aside from the rings, bearings, gaskets and
some of the ignition parts, etc, was a 314
degree, solid-lifter Crane 'Fireball' cam and
lifters and a set of Isky conical valve springs
and aluminum retainers. When it was all said
and done, including machine work, thanks to
some judicious swap meet and junkyard
scrounging and horse trading, I think I had
about $600 total tied up in the engine and
while it didn't have much (any??) bottom
end torque, once the revs were up above
3500 rpm and the cam started working, it'd
pull like a freight train. Best E.T at the track
with the mufflers connected and on G70-14
Polyglas (remember those awful things??)
street tires and 'definitely non-performance'
3.08 gears in the rearend, was 14 seconds flat
- with the mph always up around 98-99 mph,
going through in third gear. A couple of times
when the air and everything else was right, it
went through at 101-102 mph. One time, I
blew a shift going into 3rd gear, so I shoved
it back into 2nd and it still ran a 14.4, going
through the lights at 95 mph - still in 2nd
gear! It definitely wasn't the fastest
car around, but it was fun and fast and not
bad for a first car and particularly, with just
a little 283, built with mostly used parts, on
a shoestring budget!

Mart3406
=======================

 

---------------
A 4 inch bore and a 4 inch stroke gives
400 cubic inches. The production 400
SBC used a 4 1/8 inch bore and 3 3/4 inch
stroke. The homebrew 383's use a 4.030
bore and a 3 3/4 inch crank.

Mart3406
======================

 

I am almost positive that hi rise waterpump is a snow white industries water pump with maybe one of the bracket mounts shaved off it it. i had one on my 327 in my sedan.

 

What was the first GM, non-chevrolet production car to get a SBC?

Model and year.

 

Canada or US ? 1955 Canadian Pontiac?

 

You just answered my question, but what about u.s.?

 

Ok, the new "assignment" is which non-canadian, non california , non-chevy car(not truck)was the first to be equipped with a small block chevy?

Model and yr.

1) i'm going to go with one of the nova clones---omega, ventura or apollo. Will research more if i have time.

2) If we go by which non-canadian, non-california, non-chevy vehicle, then there is a high probability it was a gmc truck, which is why i asked for car first, but we can explore this too.

 

I guess you could go with Cheetah or some of the early hybrids like the Griffin or ?????
But my guess for a US production line car would be something like a mid 70's Buick or Olds. Seems like they were dropping anything they could in the cars back then and calling them "corporate" engines.
Larry T

 

I think in 77 the 305 was put in many non chevy GM cars for sure in 78

 

The 305 (Chevy) was used in the following cars:

1976–1992 Chevrolet Camaro
1980 Chevrolet Corvette (California only)
1977–1993 Chevrolet Caprice (includes Impala)
1977–1986 Pontiac Parisienne
1976–1979 Chevrolet Monza
1976–1979 Chevrolet Nova (also GM X-body clones after 1976)
1976–1988 Chevrolet Malibu, Chevrolet El Camino, and Chevrolet Monte Carlo
1978–1992 Pontiac Firebird
1978–1980 Oldsmobile Cutlass (US Market only, Canadian market 1978–1987)
1991–1992 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser
1981–1987 Pontiac Grand Prix
1975–1979 Buick Skylark
1977–2003 Chevrolet/GMC Trucks, SUVs, Vans
1991–1992 Cadillac Brougham
1978–1987 Buick Regal


Still probably not the first. Might not even be right, I didn't do any checking on it.
Larry T

 

1) Actually, i'd like to apologize as i've started a fire i can't put out: i don't have time to research this very important question. i do that alot.

2) The 305 in the cal vette was an atrocity. Yet GM was doing much better back then.

But i'd like to leave you with this: i'm going with the 71 pontiac ventura for now---307 and 350. My theory is that pontiac was clamoring for their version of the nova and they didn't have time to fit their drivetrain in it so they just went with the nova's. By 72 all the v-8's in the ventura were poncho.

 

Lets take this one back up. Lets see some more early chevy v8's!!!

 

gotta love these...

 

This is more realistic when it comes to the average hotrodder of that era. This is a survivor taken at York in 2002. The plastic tywraps must have been added later. Ya gotta love the electric fuel pump on the firewall.



I copied this one from a post on the HAMB I believe. It has my favorite dual quad air cleaners. No offense to the builders but not exactly show quality that we all shoot for in 2010. This is what they really looked like on the street. The expression "if it don't go... chrome it" came from that era. These cars were revered because they were fast on the street. There would be 5 cars like these for ever 1 of the show quality trailer queens. Not very romantic but factual.

I wouldn't ever promote sloppy wiring and brake lines today but that was not the priority back then. Going fast was the priority. I do try to be faithful to the cars that I grew up with and use stuff that was available back then. Plastic tywraps are an eye sore that just jump out in my face. for me.