History Tell me again the SBC isn't traditional...1963 Hot Rod Annual

I do not believe it is someone elses place to dog on which engine is used in a hotrod. It is not your rod, so shut up and admire the work that went into it.

Put any other engine in the place of the SBC, and see who would talk trash about it. Lets say the Hemi. If Dodge made millions and millions of Hemis, and everyone wanted to use Hemis for the same reason they use SBCs, and they were built for 40+ years, and they won as many races as SBCs, and there were thousands of combos available....would we would be sitting here talking trash about a Hemi calling it bland, or plain, or cheap, or anything else you want to call a SBC?

Just my opinion...and I am a die hard Ford fan.

 

The SBC is to traditional hot rodding what the Kalashnikov rifle is to traditional warfare........what??

 

Those who sneer at SBC are the same people who rarely drive their cars.
I've been driving my SBC every day for 30 years

 

I personally make '58 the cutoff line. That may go against what others say... but that's just a line I have drawn in my mind. After that, the customs got way outta hand, go-karts took over the pages of Rod & Custom, and flatheads were pretty much dead.

 

who's got that picture of the guy beating a dead horse?

the term "traditional" is about as abused confused and mis-used as the term RAT ROD

 

I don't think that picture is "traditional"...I could be wrong.

 

Ummmmm... bullshit.. the 425 Nailhead in my 57 Buick cost way less than $3,580. Makes comparable power. And I'm betting more torque. The bottom end is forged. And it is as reliable as any SBC. You guys with your SBC worship make me laugh. Yeah a SBC can be traditional, but it is not the end all be all of engines.

 

You can't just drop a full race cam in a 305.... cheap guys build cheap engines cheaply and blow them up quickly. Cheap guys don't line bore their blocks get line honed cylinders, deck the block or mill the heads on a rebuild. They don't get the rods rebuilt with ARP bolts or run forged pistons... they try to make a stock engine run like a race engine without the precautions. they might not enven know how to rejet a carb after adding headers and a cam to keep from damaging the engine. Some cheap guys even just plop in a stocker and stand on it and wonder why it died.
I blew up alot of junk learning and I can make any stock engine hold up to being run hard without "aftermarket" parts cheaply... it's all in the guy not the engine.
Good engine don't know what names on it!

 

Try REBUILDING it... my engine has 15K on it and will last 100K to 150K easy - try beating on a nailhead and getting that out of it. Have you priced nailhead parts lately? STOCK overhaul kit costs nearly $2K alone...no upgrades, no performance parts. NOW try to find a shop to machine it without gouging you or needing to buy special tooling at YOUR expense. Apples to apples would be helpful....not kneejerk attitude.

I guarantee that if you build it RIGHT, the same way mine was built, you're talking DOUBLE at least... And by the way, I have a 425 - I've priced it out with similar parts (no cheap shit and proper machining as well) at $7K minimum... so, no bullshit here.

ALSO - keep in mind I'm talking CALIFORNIA dollars. I'm sure you could have gotten the same build on a 327 in NC for a lot less... Here shop time is at a premium of $88 to $95 per hour. Again...apples to apples...

 

Clueless. I have 2 on the stands right now for customers as well. I have a quality machine shop that does not gouge me and understands engines other than SBC's. No special tooling required. And with quality parts neither will be over $2500-$3500. One is a basic rebuild, the other a little more. And they will be built right and last. I don't know what you've been drinking but you need to stop. A properly maintained V8 from the 50's or 60's would go 100k easy. A properly rebuilt one will go that or more. And only 375 HP? You should of bought a crate motor and saved yourself some money. Stock overhaul kits can be had for $800-1500 if you know where to look, and that's with decent parts. Now for me torque is more important than HP numbers since I drive my stuff. Some of the engines other than SBF or SBC get a bad rap because people don't understand them, or take the time to research them.

 

Hmmmm, I am still scratching my head on this one becaue I have never heard this arguement before :>). My question is this. Who the hell ever said an sbc was not traditional. I mean the freaking thing has been around since 1955. Whoever said that is an idiot. Now, is it a cool engine, not in my opinion, but traditional,,oh hell yeah. It has always made power, is cheap to build and NHRA saw to it that it dominated the drags by writing the rules to fit it. Now an sbc in a 49 thru 51 Ford ain't traditional. That space is reserved for a Caddy or Olds,,in my opinion.

 

Bring it to California and get it built here...heads alone their quoting me upwards of $900... Apples to apples must only be a west coast term I'm guessing.

I'd like to stick a 409 in my '56 Chevy, but you don't even want to know what I've been quoted to get that one done...

And last time I checked 375 TRUE hp out of a 327 is very respectable. 357 ft-lbs torque isn't shabby either. MANY guys can and will claim 400+hp out of their 327, but unless it's running a high, barely streetable compression ratio, they're full of it. Anyone can claim ANY hp they want...the DYNO doesn't lie. The semi warmed over 425 that is in the '35 pickup is barely stronger and faster, and yet has 100 more cubes, so really, that isn't saying much at all. Spend $3,500 on a 425 here in California and my 327 will outrun and outlast it...I have no doubts.

 

and engine is an engine, especially as far as old v8's and machine work is concerned, n ow if your machinist doewn't know how to setup their machines that's a problem. But that as the only real difference machine wise. What they doing to your heads for $900. Better be new valves and springs too.

Better yet. Go to the HAMB Drags in August. You can run your 327 against my 425 if it'll make you feel better. Might not though...

 

Well of course valves and springs. Look, maybe YOU know how I can get this thing built cheaper (aside from the shop rate here which sucks), but with rebuilt heads and new valvetrain and rockers, deluxe engine rebuild kit, new forged slugs, decking, honing, new cam, oil pan and pump, bolts and fasteners, not to mention rebuilding the dual quads, rebuilt distributor and water pump (which seem to be impossible to find) and all the rest I'm looking at a freakin' fortune. This is ALL the same stuff I did to the 327 for nearly half as much. Are you doing all the assembly work yourself? I have to pay to have it done.... I've reassembled SBC before, but don't know the first thing about putting a 425 together.

As far as running against you goes...it would be fun to see regardless of who wins!

Where are the HAMBdrags anyway?...

 

Maybe so, but I was there to see (as was stated before) NHRA mold the rules to favor Chevrolet. Don't believe it? Check and see how many times the HP was re-factored on the Ford 428 Cobra Jet. That's also the reason NMRA got its start...NHRA rules would not allow the 5.0 Mustangs to be competitive, so those guys started their own gig. Argue this stuff all you want, but I've seen some fast cars come from ALL the US Companies...not just Chevrolet.

 

Yes I do all assembly myself. http://www.fdrbp.com/ for the water pump if NAPA or your local guy doesn't have it. There is some decent help for the Nailhead or just about any other engine online for the little stuff that is different. Same stuff as putting a SBC together for the most part. Clearances, etc.

HAMB Drags, Joplin MO. basically the center of the country.

 

It's kind of funny readin' these posts. It's like the smack talkin' that use to go on back when I was in high school:

"my 289 will eat that 283 for dinner"

"That 389 ain't jack ... Johnny's 396 will kick its @ss"

"Why'd you spend all that money on that piece of crap ... I got half that amount in my Pontiac and it'll blow you away"

Of course, most times this stuff culminated into an illegal drag race somewhere ... Yeah, kinda miss 'em days.

 

Right in the middle!!!

 

This has really deteriorated even away from the original post.
The bottom line in my mind is if you want to be unique and do a Nailhead, Caddy, or other more obscure motor and BIG horsepower is not the ultimate goal, then they do all cost about the same but yeah Chevy's do end up cheaper in the long run - it's a numbers game. That's a fact.
If you want to build big power from a naturally aspirated motor, lets face it bang for the buck you aren't going to beat a SBC or an SBF followed by a Big Block. And I don't mean some wheezy 375 hp small block but some decent street horsepower. Like it or not you start trying to push 450 +HP out of a Nail head, EARLY Hemi, Caddy or whatever and it's going to cost serious bucks - no way around it.
The other thing to think about other than cost is power to weight. Why can a 5.0 Ford whip up on a 350 Chevy that is some 15% larger? Because it's 100 lbs (or whatever) lighter.
Regardless, this whole thread will never convince anyone anyway, of anything

 

Here ya go..

 

I was going to comment on this thread again but I think I will just wait for the next ridiculous pro/con SBC thread next week so it will be fresher.

 

These are pictures of my Mom and Dad with my older brother. He was born in '64. I suspect it took them a few years to get the film developed.

Dad's first hotrod. Good lookin kid but check the engine out in the background

I just follow the family tradition.....
Jeff

 

I have a SBC going in my A, not because of the cool factor, not because of the cost, but merely because of the fact its in my garage, I am getting a 3x2 intake for it and some vintage stuff. I dont care if I'm the purist traditionalist out there. I want a car that runs, drives and I can have fun roasting some tires in.

And about hot rodding, as times show some people talked about the LS series motors. I guess I'm a true hot rodder! Cause my white truck (AVATAR) has a LS series motor!!! Hot Rodder and only 26 years old! I love traditional stuff thats why Im here but I love just being a hot rodder also. I dont care if you have a nailhead, flathead, hemi or what else. I'll still park next to you and drink a beer with you. I just like being a car guy!!!!!

 

AMEN! Most SBC's in so called hotrods are overcammed, single 4 barrel 350's. blah blah blah. For a few bucks more, you can get creative and have something different that will run just has hard if done right. When I was building my 62 nova, a 350 was the last choice. I wanted an old school 301. Couldn't go 120 over on the 283 so I did it 80 over. Its got a huge cam, big valves, lots of port work and pulls hard from 3k to 7k. It's a SBC but not 350.

I would say, if you're going "traditional", then a 350 is out. If you're building a hotrod, do whatever floats your boat.

 

Exactly, if that guy had done ANY REAL homework for that $3500.00 he should have ended up with more than just 375 hp. Horsepower doesn't pull the car off the line or outa the corners, only torque does that. I'd rather have 400-500 ft.lbs. or torque than tons of hp.

 

The earliest overhead chev I remember is a 1927 four banger and if anyone is interested, there was a 1928 chev sedan in Cannon Beach, Oregon this past week. I believe they said $6100 and you could drive away. I only saw one picture, but it looked good.

 

The 265, 283 and 327 Chevy engines - yeah, they are traditional.

Any other stock-displacement SBC - No way in hell.

 

This thread reads like a bunch of morons........

Fags arguing with Homos.

hahahaha


Its great to see how we have grown.

 

SBC are great motors, I've used 2 for boat ancors over the years and the boats never wandered !!

 

As demonstrated by your post, I'm guessing.