The Chevrolet Flint Engine plant on Van Slyke Rd in Flint, MI was purpose built for the 1955 model year V8 introduction. The plant was built on an old farm field, the first financial income was from the sale of corn from the land. Over 25 million small blocks were produced there as the two million square foot plant was repeatedly expanded to accommodate more production. I was responsible for building five million of those V8 engines.
George Thomas ,I too worked for GM at the Saginaw Parts Plant CPC division.My first car was a 1966 Malibu with a 283 engine.It was a very good engine and I was told it was a short stroke engine. Many good memories of being part of GM in those days!
Thanks mate, we have a lot of them in Australia to. They came in our high performance Holdens and rh drive impalas and Bellairs. Now they all drive Chinese shitboxes that last a couple of years .
@@Diesel257 we used to build Gms ,Ford's Chryslers and Toyotas in Australia. Now we build nothing thanks to our traitor governments selling Australia out as usual. Now they all drive Chinese throwaway junk.
Imagine being one of the many who designed this engine back in the 50s, what a great feeling it must have been knowing your hard work really paid off and made so many people happy.
Yeah, I remember talking with "Bobby" at Western Auto, next door to the mower place I worked at. "Wasco", as we call him, was a very knowledgeable man indeed. He didn't talk a great deal, but when he did, I sure listened. I remember one of our conversations about the early small blocks burning oil. I remember him saying some guys dribbled "bon ami" through the carb to help seal up the rings! Thanks for representing my old Caprice here, I remember that under hood view fondly.
@@donk499 I think the bon ami treatment actually came out of a Chevrolet service bulletin. Seems like "repair theater" to me. Just a cheap trick to bamboozle the customer until the warranty expires. Far, far cheaper and faster than a proper ring job.
@@donk499 He didn't make it up. I'm sure it got alot of coverage in the DIY magazines of the time such as Popular Science and Mechanix Illustrated. 30 years later, they just denied the problem first, like the rear brake lockup on the Citation, before resorting to "repair theater".
Facts. Another great sbc is the 5.3L (basically an LS, but for basic transportation and work specifically in 1999-2006 GM trucks) those engines can take a lot assuming basic maintenance is involved. To me, that particular chevy small block is like an old 327 and a 350 combined cylinder stroke wise, with modern touches and technology. They are best of both worlds for basic use and performance like the 350. But it is more well known as the LS engine that you could swap into anything and maxed out for performance. Vortec 5.3L or not, they are both great to me!
Don't forget Marine. Chevrolet small and big block powered 80 to 90 percent of all gasoline powered inboard and I/O boats during the time they were being produced.
I feel fortunate to have grown up when the SBC was still a significant engine. Its been said that the sense of smell is one of the strongest memory triggers. I know that is true because the smell of Lava hand soap takes me back to the summer of 1982 before my senior year of high school. I bought a 1970 Chevy Nova with a blown 307 engine. I realize the 307 is one of the least favorite engines, but its still a Chevy. I spent the days pumping gas tat a Shell gas station garage (this was before they were convenience stores) and my nights were spent rebuilding the 307. I used the book “How to Rebuild Your Small Block Chevy” by David Vizard; often referred to is the SBC Bible. Although the 307 only came with a 2bbl carb, I bought a used 4bbl intake and Quadrajet carb to go with it. My friends were buying Camaros with 350s and using Holley carbs. But, their parents had money, I had a tight budget to work with. I also wanted to be different. I also bought a performance camshaft from Summit racing, nothing radical; just something to give my mouse a little umph. And, of course a pair of Hooker headers to make it sound nice. I got the engine finished and installed just before my senior year of high school. I was very proud of myself. Yeah, it certainly wasn’t a car that would win at the race track, but it put a smile on my face. My girlfriend at the time, who is now my wife of 39 years spent each night in the garage with me. She was into cars and enjoyed the project as much as I did.
That is a great story. - a fellow '83 high school grad who drove his parents' 305 and never went further working on the car than washing & waxing and changing the oil.
@@CJColvin port & polish,, they need to be binned & buy decent modern design heads. push in studs, from 1950. floating cam. adjustable rockers.. 50,s tech..flogged to death..they were cheap cos there cheap, never changed. just flogged.. when they built the LS, i thought , chev finally built a real engine.. but,,i was wrong.. cam, lifter probs.. ill keep my 351c..never had any probs. look up gt ho 351 xy, 1971. 260 mph, std.. nearly banned for sale..ausie.. holdens,gm, here at bathurst, cheat like spoilt kids.. banned the sierras for being 4 laps ahead.. holden couldnt compete.. bartlett had the comaro, with 4 wheel drums,, wouldnt let him fit disc, std in u.s. rolled it. holden torana, chev nova, 350 with 600hp.. weighs 1 ton.. yup. we beat the falcons with the 351, in a 1.5 ton vehicle,,wander why..?..they even fitted v8 brakes to the toranas, never had std. & a drop tank,so you cant see the 9"" diff..i just wander if they used the top loader too.. fkn cheats..
There was an article in the Flint (Michigan) Journal newspaper in 1998 about a guy in Wisconsin who had put 1,000,000 miles on his '91 C1500 with the 5.7L (350) TBI engine. The engine had never been opened up. He did have to rethread the oil drain plug because the threads were worn out! I forget how many transmissions and water pumps he went through.
Owning a 1970 Corvette LT-1 with the impressive 370 HP hi-compression engine was a thrill, especially running it hard through it's high RPM range. Who needs a big block?
I thought they only used that motor in pick up trucks. I gotta '93 LT-1 with reverse coolant flow. It has the tendency to get hot up top and burn out the ignition control module after a couple of years.
I do I guess, I like the louder noise, otherwise you are right! In my Fords all the way from 200 six to 390 S code. Best one was in middle, the 351 Cleveland in my 70 'Stang! It "went like a raped ape", as we kids used to say back in the day! In "polite" company we'd say: "molested simian"! :D
Had 265 i 56 Chevy and agree but Ford guy now, but my first-est car was a Ford Ranch wagon with a 272 Y-Block, nice engine, always started never left me on the side of the road, did have, flats and dead batt. once but that's not technically the engine.
My Dad was a Pontiac dealer ... I was born the year after the Chevy small block was introduced ... 17 years later I got to drive many of the 60's era engines ... and owned a 66 GTO 389 ... then a daily driver 69 350 Lemans Sport ... loved those engines and they were pretty reliable
Yup! 1st car was 63 Chevy Biscayne with 283 and three on the tree. Ran that car into the ground. The engine was the only thing that still worked well at the end.
I remember my parents 65 Impala station wagon, with a 283. What a bomb proof car. She still ran after my mom crunched her into the back of a truck. Ouch! Mom, was ok. And we had to let her go.The car that is. Haha. I loved that car. A lot of memories and it was beautiful. Mom always said that that motor "purred".
Legendary, indeed. We read somewhere (might have been in the Ford Museum) that even the development engineers were surprised with the performance and reliability of end product, and how well it compared with others on the market at the time.
Very informative video. I'm satisfied of the 305 SBC on my 1982 Trans Am. I had to change its water pump 8 years ago but other than that I have no complaints. Soon reaching 80k miles it's a sturdy and reliable engine.
Lazy , Incomplete , History ,one of innovations ,of Chevy small block was ,stamped steel rockers ,and No rocker shaft .which ,Pontiac Engineers had developed .Ed Cole was Allowed to steal idea for Chevrolet . And ,Yes was a good ,Cheap ,Light ,engine .
Up to 1967, the 283 was also available with a 3 speed manual coupled to a 0.70 ratio overdrive. That drivetrain was the ultimate cross country cruiser because when in 4th gear overdrive, an Impala or Malibu could cruise at 75 MPH with the 283 spinning at only 2600 RPM. 2600 RPM wasn't stressful because the 283 had a piston stroke of only 3.0 inches.
People often ask: how did Chevrolet steal the crown from Ford in performance small block engines, and keep it for so long? In our reading over the years, we have attributed it to the following: Generally, the SBC delivered more power from a compact engine with a smaller cash outlay. This is one reason why they were the go-to engine for most hot rodders back in the day. They responded very well to minor modifications. Parts (both Chevrolet and aftermarket) were far more readily available, and cheaper than other makes. They fit easily in almost any popular American vehicle, home-built hot rod frame, or otherwise. They were also lighter weight than some Ford V8 engines. We are sure there are other reasons, your other readers will surely mention. Cheers and thanks again for your review!
It came down to heads. Neither the Y-block nor Windsor could ever match the flow of the small block Chevy, despite more than 40+ years of competition. Ford had to move to the expensive (and really, overdone) Boss and Cleveland (4bb only) small blocks to compete with , and sometimes outdo, the small block Chevy. But their production numbers were so limited I'm not sure it counts. And really, generally, Ford struggled always struggled with focus - Y-block, FE, Windsor, 385, Boss, Cleveland, Modified - in that time Chevy only had the small block, big block, and for a short time, the W-block.
@@salninethousand2496 - Louie Chevrolet was a race car driver... that gave Chevy a certain pedigree right from the start... no flatheads! Ford was basically trying to outdo Chevy's 'truck engines'... needed specialized Boss, Cleveland, SOHC, and DOHC engines to do it...
@@salninethousand2496 ever seen an fe head.. chev guys used to dream of cleveland heads..plus, chev are a cheap excuse for an engine..they still have problems with the LS... oh,,& who beat ferrari.. 220 mph. 427 fe.. here in aus, we had the xy gt ho.. 351c.. 260 mph std, 4sp.. 3 people, factory road car.. $5,300. 1971.. the film clip,,was clipped, to 140 mph.. so young suicide 16 yr olds wouldnt line up for one.. ausie bathurst.. holden/gm, fk, did they cheat at every oportunity to win the race. plus, they used ford 9" diffs. at least you could by a ford that went to bathurst, holdens were built to [ cheat], win.. ford sierra, won by 4 laps, holden banned them so holden could win.. if you want a reliable chev, just buy & drive,, if you want to race it,, go spend $$$$$$$$$$$ at the local speed shop..ill take a 460 over any bs chev..mate bought a jag, had to fit a chev, as there were no other kits,, he fkn hates chev.. he told me, you need a 44 gallon drum, & an 010 block.. the drum is for the rest of the engine, scrap.. then, beg for mercy at the speed shop.. he wanted a dodge 360. fitted. i have a dodge challenger, 340, r/t. plus 4 ford trucks.. no chev gm bs here.. we bought the 385 cleveland off you, as it was no good racing,, we brought it back to the u.s drags, & flogged your asses.. we have the 302c. only thing you need to make a clevo go, is a mild cam, & 302 heads on a 351.. my bronco is scary..& on lpg..
@@harrywalker5836 Oh horse hockey. I'm no brand loyal snob, I like all the great engines by all the makes. Besides, you go try telling all that nonsense to the engine builders, crew chiefs, and race teams in NASCAR. The SBC has won more NASCAR races than all the other small blocks combined. For street racing, the ball stud rocker design also allows SBC's to respond much better to simple bolt-on power upgrades. Absolutely nothing is as easy or as cheap to make great power as the SBC and LS engine family. Those are the facts, and it's painfully obvious that you're just a brand loyal snob. I love several Ford V8's, but everyone knows it costs FAR MORE money to create big power with a Ford. Why the hell do ya think so many LS engines are stuffed into fox body Mustangs.
I had a 307 in a 1970 Malibu. I installed an Edelbrock 4 bbl. carburetor and manifold; car ran fantastic with good mpg. Water pump never failed but was super easy to change if it did.
Back in the 1960’s and 70’s the Ford and Chevy small block motors were the engines of choice for engine swapping and hot rods. The relative light weight, compact dimensions, and low cost along with big power potential at high rpms were the reasons why. We fitted a Hypo 289 Ford into a Jaguar XKE. We chose the Ford V8 because it was narrower and fit between the space frame extensions better. An added benefit was the stronger clutch and 4 speed gearbox that could be speed shifted without blowing it up. I chose a 4 bolt 350 Chevy SB for my 1953 Jaguar XK 120. The engine bay was bigger, and that built motor ran hard to 6500 rpm reliably. Aluminum motors were very rare in American cars at the time. The high volume production of the small block V8’s drove the price way down for both speed parts and junkyard engines. One could build a respectable hot rod or sleeper on blue collar wages. Those were the days!
@DFV Louderilk ausie,, i have a 73 340 r/t. chall. id say the running gear came from a 69 something, as not the correct diff,box. motor date. but, no rust, cali car, drives no probs. paid 17k for it. sublime. there was a mag put out yrs ago, had a centre page with with ford/chev/ dodge.. builds.. it went thru the builds,parts, ect. it basically said, chev, bin, go to speed shop.. ford, cam 4 barrell,.. dodge, visit junk yard for performance parts off these models, with list of #,s.. . chev heads are rubbish.. here in aus, we fit the 302c heads, to a 351c, instant 12.1. comp. big cam, 4 bbl.. go racing.. no speed shop for ford, unless you want 8 sec quarters.. i have an fe 352 in a 62 f100 4x4.. those inlets are fkn huge.. like our 4v clevo heads, dont start going till over 60 mph.. 351 4v ho gt xy.. 1971. 260 mph. std..
With regard to the water pump, I remember when the one on the family's 1965 283 V8 started leaking 60 miles from home. But I still made it home by partially unscrewing the radiator cap so that pressure would not build up in the cooling system and that way the leak was minimized and the engine didn't overheat.
I had quite a few of them over the years. My last experience was back in '98-ish, transplanting a 4-bolt 350 from a '74 ¾ ton into an '82 Z-28. Of course I went through it first; I don't want anyone to get the impression that I just slapped it in there and called it a day. I really didn't want to in the beginning, but I eventually ended up building it as a Stroker, and damn did I have a shitload of fun with that car! I can't remember ever having any major problems with any SBC I ever had. They were just solidly built, easy to work on, and even easier to maintain.
Best engine ever made, IMO. Two comments from a shadetree mechanic. First, the GM distributor with the little window that allowed the points to be adjusted while the engine was running was a great innovation. Second, the adjustable stamped rocker arms on hydraulic lifter engines made them easy to work on. As always, an enjoyable and insightful video,
Even though I'm a Ford fan, I have to admit that the Chevy small block was an amazing achievement. Even for me when I picture a default engine, it's a SBC.
Same here. I love cars in general but have a soft spot for classic Fords but my 1931 Ford Model A hotrod (my avatar pic) is getting a cheap, reliable healthy 283 Chevrolet because its compact, powerful and cheap to build. When something is good it's just good. When I was younger small block Chevys were being put into everything and I used to hate it but now I get it I guess one could argue it is the same thing today with an LS.
@@hangonsnoop The LS is better, but doesn't have a distributor or a provision for a mechanical fuel pump. Of course there's kits to deal with that, but adding an electric fuel pump on a really old vehicle has its own problems and complexity, especially if it needs a fuel return line. Then you need brackets and stuff for the alternator and P/S, etc, engine mounts.... there's no carbureted LS, so you need an intake manifold, throttle cable stuff, on and on. The 283 is just so simple and clean looking when done right, and runs just fine.
@@hangonsnoop a couple of reasons, most importantly its ulgy lol The (my) Model A, I am trying to make it look like something out of 1960 Hotrod magazine so an early overhead valve was a must, it won't be a spot on period correct car but the stuff people will notice I am trying to keep a theme to.I want it to feel like my grandfather would have built it when he was a 20 something. Also besides the look there is a few other reasons I am on a budget so as a few examples I am running a t5 out of an astro van, they are only good to about 325HP in a 3000LB vehicle so a healthy LS will kill it, I got out of a local junkyard, the 283 I did a freshening up on and it has to be the cheapest engine for parts including performance bits like a cam and headers I am well less then a 1000 bucks into the engine and trans and I think I am ready to here it fire up... in theory I should be right at 300 horse, which by modern standards doesn't sound like a lot but a Model A pickup with me in it probably weighs less than 2,200 lb so I would imagine it'll rip... The small block was made so long everyone at the car swapmeets have SBC parts used so you can save a ton of money also. I really wanted to run something a little more odd like an old rambler 327 or maybe a 322 Buick nailhead but those engines are really expensive to build and there isn't a whole lot of stuff made for them so everything would have to come from a swap meet. I've been saying I'm going to build a hot rod since I was 12 years old I'm 43 now I don't want to wait any longer and have to spend seven or eight years getting parts so the small block Chevy was a no-brainer at least to get it going. The engine was a $200- CL find, it came out of a 59 El Camino that ironically the man was putting an LS 4.8 into. Now outside of that, the other guy that commented is correct, I wanted a carb and a mechanical fuel pump, I managed to find a brand new 1960 Ford falcon fuel tank and sending unit from RockAuto and it measures perfectly to fit behind the rear axle down in the bed floor, (somebody told me it's the same gas tank they use in the 64 to 9 mustangs I don't know although they are the same chassis so its probably true), it was designed to be the trunk floor so can put some weight on it it's almost like it was made for a Model A pickup, they even sell a new Stewart Warner fuel gauge that matches the Ohms for the sending unit and the sending unit is designed for an early engine meaning it doesn't have a fuel pump in the tank or anything. The last thing is the length of the small block Chevy a Ford Model A whether you're talking 28-29 or 30-31 is a tiny engine compartment and I can notch the firewall but inside the cab of a Model A pickup truck you literally sit shoulder to shoulder with another man and there is already very limited leg room they make a 1960s Japanese mini truck seem like a full size that's no exaggeration. The small block Chevy is probably one of the shortest v8s in length that I am aware of that isn't a Ford flathead, I think the only other engine in that same length category is the Buick (and Land Rover/Range Rover) 3.5 V8 vut at 215CI it is just to small for my car guy ego although it moved my 87 Range Rover okay I'm sure it would be great in a 2200 lb car but they are also really expensive to work on. So yeah in short looks, cost, length and parts availability. As for the LS I have actually been thinking my next car is going to be a 1955 Buick Roadmaster but instead of dealing with the nailhead and the terrible Dana flow automatic transmission I was thinking an LS with a four or six speed automatic out of a Chevy Tahoe or something along those lines, the Buick would probably become my primary driver so drivability aand practicality would be a bit more of a deciding factor, well that and you can hide that ulgy plastic covered engine easily under the hood a 1950s or 60s car. Anyways that the reason so it was a long answer.
Have 1978 Pontiac Lemans with 305 Chevy from factory. Replaced cam because a couple lobes were worn. Also replaced oil pump to make sure new cam got good oilflow. Car has almost 200,000 miles and still runs perfectly. Great solid engineering.
I have a 1978 305ci in my 1957 GMC 100 truck. I was told from the start that the 305ci wasn't much of a motor - starting 15 years ago when I got this truck and about 50,000 miles later. It is so good and dependable and she just starts and runs well day after day. I have fitted an alternator on it, Vintage Air A/C, headers and an Edelbrock. She is also an auto tranny. She is just as good as the day is long. I call her Daphne and she is such a great working truck. I don't think I'd get another 305, or rebuild this one, but overall she is an A+ in my book. Thanks again!
My folks had a '89 Chevy Caprice Classic with a 305 TBI under the hood. It wasn't a powerhouse - especially not with almost two tons of sedan to haul around - but it ran well for over a quarter million miles.
Not impressive ... Toyota does a million miles and does not make the news (only the Tundra) if a tacoma hits one million everyone says big deal. welcome to the club!
This was enjoyable to watch. My first rebuild project was a 327 SBC with a hot cam and all the goodies in High School. It makes me feel blessed to have had an Auto Shop with a Teacher who cared enough to come by the house and check on the build progress. Great video Sir, Cheers.
I had one of those, now have a 96 C1500. The Vortec engine is a step up from the TBI, though both are very reliable engines. Have had to replace the starter motor and alternator in the current vehicle, but generally speaking the maintenance required is pretty minimal if you don't thrash them.
Type LT Camaro. Turbo 400 tranny 4 bolt mains. 4 barrel. 350 engine. Anti sway bar. Factory sleeper. Was beautiful Comaro. Power windows, nice factory stereo too. Air conditioning. Good heat. One of my favorites. Also Olds Tornado 455. Was super fast. Poor fuel mileage as you'd expect. Dodge polaras with 440s Lincoln's with 460s. 472 Fleetwood brohm. Monti Carlo with 350. Wasn't fastest but great Ride. Could mention other car's but well ok Fiat 131 was very fast. You'd be surprised. I think multi valve Model. Spark retard dual points. Twin cam of course. Couple classic car's too like Chevy Nova 2. And Ford falcon. Lincoln's had suicide rear doors. Chevy station wagon with mean 350. You'd swear it had big block torque. Spin wheels All day. Bonneville with 400 big block. Was pretty fast. Yeah those were the days. Not to mention my Kawasaki Ltd, was fast bike. I had kawi 1300 was fast big bike. Not to mention Mr turbo. Anyhow. Chevy man here myself love Chevy Small blocks and the newer LS 5.3. And 6.
@@70sleftover It was a '75 Nova Custom coupe. I don't know if it was considered as top-of-the-line, as I thought that would be the Nova SS. It was a sweet car that I bought new, and kept it for seven happy years.
@@70sleftover Lots of 73 - 74 Novas had a 350, but most 75 and later had, like you said, a 6 or a 305, except for the top-of-the-line version. It usually had a 350.
In the description the first motor listed was a 262. I don’t remember that motor. I had a 55 back early 70’s that had 265. Sold that for a 57 with a 283. 327 was my favorite. Had several Chevy ll and 1 had a 327 fuel injection & 4 speed from a totaled Vette. So wish I’d kept that one.
They were great engines. I have had three of them, a 350 in a 70 El Camino, a 305 in a 78 Olds Cutlass and a 350 in a 76 GMC half ton. The GMC had over 200K when I sold it and was still going strong. I did have to do a cam in the 305 in the Cutlass, that particular engine was extremely smooth and quiet, even better with a fresh cam and timing components. It would put out a puff of blue smoke when starting, I never bothered fixing that.
We would take a 307 install a cam ground to 350 HP 327 specs, 305 heads with the big valves to raise the compression and 4bbl carb, it really brought them to life. cores were free (we were throwing into the scrap pile) and they were a near bullet proof cheap engine.
The one I had built wasn't. But the 283 I yanked out of my dad's 67 Biscayne wagon was. It had 200,000 miles on it when my uncle rerung it and replaced the head gaskets after it overheated going up a grade. Another 400,000 when I stuffed it in my 68 Chevelle. I ran it for another 5 years before it developed a fairly loud lifter tick. I was going to replace the pushrods and lifters but they didn't want to come out through the top and I figured getting another motor from the junkyard would be cheaper than rebuilding it.
A 307 came in my '72 Nova. I was out of the warranty period in a few months so the mods began. A TRW TP151 cam (their 350HP 327 replacement cam), fuelie double hump heads (1.94 intakes) and a Rochester fuel injection system. Added dual exhaust (kept the cast iron manifolds) and this car became a terror. I could easily outrun stock big block muscle cars and a few modified ones. I ran that engine until it was replaced with a 400 small block in the fall of 1975. Sold the short block to a friend who ran it for years after that in a '68 Camaro.
Dont forget, the SBC was the "go to" engine for all types of high performance racing, from drag racing, sprint car, nascar, dirt track, ect. Not to mention all the 32' and 34' Ferds out there with SBC transplants!!! And today, it is the LS style engine, in almost every type of vehicle imaginable. Heck, I even installed a SBC in a 49" F-1 pickup truck. High quality high performance parts could be had for almost any size SBC cheaper, and more readily available than any other make and model!
My two favorite engines to work on are Chevrolet and Honda engines. People can call me lazy if they wish, but I enjoy working on platforms that just work. And while no engine is perfect from any manufacturer, I have had the least issues and the most fun out of GM and Honda engines mile after mile. From old school Chevy small blocks to pre-displacement on demand LS engines, carburetor equipped 1980's Honda D-series engines to Honda F-B-H-K-series and J-series V6 engines pre-displacement on demand I have absolutely loved working on all of the above. And all of the above have been super easy to get extra power out of with just small changes.
The Chevy 305, for its intended purpose did the job wonderfully. It was a bread and butter transportation engine, never created to be a performance engine. Considering what it was the power was not bad. The LG3 2bbl & LG4 4bbl ran when taken care of well over 200k miles. I never had a bad cam on a 305 but had a Chevy 267, mfd 79-82 that had a soft lobe. All though not a Chevy the Olds 307 was another smog era workhorse along with the Mopar 318. Yet another great video Adam 👍
I read that the reason the cams went bad was because the grind produced a rapid opening and closing valve timing with short valve dwell to lower overlap. This made for steep pointy lobes that wore quickly. The reason for this design was emission related.
IME, the Chevy 305 was an abysmal engine. Chevy cheaped out by keeping the same stroke as the 350 (both the engines use the same crank blank for cost savings) yet radically decreased its bore. This resulted in an inherent restriction in valve size and hence radical limitation in performance. The 307 was created of the same sin (a debored 327). I have a hunch that marketing played into the equation - the 4" bore (same as 350) x 3" stroke was a 302 - a moniker (too) well associated with Ford, but in the least it would have been a vastly superior budget engine than the 305 (or 307).
@DFV Louderilk good work... I think chevy small blocks were an enduring design.....ford had good motors too...I liked the 289...loved my slant 6....and yes...a few people raced them...
My first car was a '63 Impala SS convertible, 327 4 speed, hot stuff for a 17 year old in 1967. I had that car until 1975 and drove the wheels off of it. I've had a succession of small blocks since then and currently have two. I also have a 454/390 big block. Sadly and ironically, I never had what I really wanted, a 327/350, IMHO the best of the best.
The small block chevy and the lt engines are really some of the best, most simplistic designed engines ever made, they will run and run and run as long as you keep dexkool out of them. i would also suggest videos on the buick 3800 v6 and its long history, as well as the ford lima engines, both awesome reliable engines with some long history
@@randybeard6040 from gm when gm went fuel efficient hell yes because unfortunately when 350 went fuel injection they had Injector issues as the miles went up on the motor.
I own 2 G-Bodies, an ‘86 Monte Carlo CL that has been my daily driver, and an ‘87 Pontiac Grand Prix that was my late grandfather’s daily driver. Both have wonderful 305s with a good bit of miles. My Monte Carlo has 127k, while my grandfather put a whopping 747k miles on his before he parked it - and no, that’s not a typo. It’s still the original engine in his Grand Prix - and while it had a transmission and rear axle replacement over the years that 305 is still chugging. I’m currently replacing the cooling system but the engine itself still runs very well and I plan to keep it that way.
My father went to work at the old Chevrolet Lakewood (Atlanta) plant in 1948. He'd trade cars every 2 to 3 years. They were always a "surprise" to my mom when he would show up one day with a new car. Of course he traded the 1953 for a new 1955 with the 265 V8. I feel like I knew Ed Cole because I heard his name almost every day at home.
I have nothing but praise for the old 350 that was in my truck. Never skipped a beat even when it was smoking and using oil. It has been replaced by an LS but it will be rebuilt and used for a future project.
The small block Chevy is my favorite engine. I have built dozens of them, from daily driver engines to full blown drag race engines. You can build anything out of a small block Chevy. It is an engineering masterpiece. One of my favorite configurations is a 383, a 350 block bored .030 over, with a 400 crank.
I put a 1962 283 engine in my 1956 chevy. It was full of sludge. Cleaned it up, installed it. I had a Hurst competition plus shifter. Best motor I have ever had.
I always found it interesting and ironic that Ed Cole who played such a huge role in the design and introduction of the small block Chevy V8 also played a huge role in the design and production of the Corvair and Vega engines... When I was a young kid my mom had a 72' Maverick 2 door with a 302 and my best friend's mom had a 73' Nova 2 door with a 307 and we raced those things multiple times and they were absolutely exactly the same acceleration wise..
in my opinion " 350 v8 chevy is the greatest american engine ever maid ", i had 1991 chevy suburban v1500 and this engine was incredible due reliability and easy maintenance
Thank you for educating me on these very common V-8s. It's a shame the one car I actually drove with one was a '78 Impala with the basically-standard (although optional) 305 with that annoying tap I have complained about in other comments. And my sister's friend's 307-equipped '71 Chevelle that I rode in occasionally to high school - that basic Chevy never felt all that powerful to me as a passenger, despite its being driven by an 18-year-old! (My father's first new car was a '51 Chevy with a straight six and a transmission that failed on my parents' honeymoon two years later! I'll have to watch your story on bad GM transmissions to remind myself which one his old green Deluxe had!
Thx for this overview, but recall Oldsmobile 88? Alluded to the engine when mentioning Ed Cole & Cadillac, but expected Oldsmobile performance would get mentioned especially V8 power for the Rocket 88. That legendary success likely as much motivation & influence upon Chevrolet aspirations.
Quite informative. I learned something new. I did not think the 305 V8 was a bad engine either. I know that the Chevrolet Caprice used a 4300 V8 in the mid 1990's on top of the 350 V8 and 5.0 Liter V8. I would like to hear about Oldsmobile V8's and the 3800 V6. Thank you for sharing.
all,,v6 engines ever produced are crap..same as 4 cyl..unbalanced.. 6 cyl or v8.. only engine to have..&,,not a 350. there gearbage..you know nothing about engineering..
This is an interesting video on the most highly produced and well know V-8 engine, the General Motors Chevrolet small block V-8. This engine was also produced for a very long time. Even today there are still a lot of vehicles on the road with this Chevrolet small block V-8 engine.
We had a HiPo 283 with powerglide in a 64 Chevelle. Good chevy mechanic rebuilt the powerglide to shift firm. There is nothing like a full throttle slam bang shift with that powerglide behind the SBC. That big jump in ratio coupled with the wide power band of a non-emission small block made the whole car jump what seemed a foot in the air when it banged into high gear.
Very informative video. I'm satisfied with the 305 SBC engine on my 1982 Trans Am. The water pump had to be replaced 8 years ago. Intake manifold and valve cover gaskets were also replaced due to a mild leak. Other than that it's a sturdy and reliable engine with almost 80k miles.
Enjoyed the video!! I too have had a few small block chevy motors. The most powerful one was my 56 chevy 2 dr sedan. Had a 327 which I built myself, muncie 4 speed and 4.11 posi rear. The slowest was my 78 camero (my favorite Camero body design) which had a 305 2 barrel. It was a great daily driver but not worth drag racing. All were reliable including my self built 327 which saw 6500 RPM a lot the way I drove it. OK, I was only in my early 20's lol.
I just went through and rebuilt my 1976 350 last year to keep it daily driving. Bearings were all date coded as original, so its a pretty good bet it had never been apart before.
A pretty simple and reliable engine. Owned several cars with them. I have to agree about the water pumps. Fortunately they're usually relatively easy to change.
8:14 Fun fact : Yes Flat tappet camshafts after 1975 and 1976 would have a flat lobe after 60k miles. Not because the camshafts were "soft" BUT BECAUSE zinc and phosphate and molybdenum (ZDP) was Not added to oil. Because ZDP contaminated catalyst converter. To solve this problem, they used ROLLER tappets. You Welcome.
ZDDP was not common in motor oils in 1955 when the smallblock debuted. ZDDP levels in oils climbed from the 1960s into the late 1990s. In the early 2000s is when they started reducing zinc content due to catalyst issues. ZDDP has never been fully removed. Every oil on the shelf today has more ZDDP than a 1955 oil.
@@Texassince1836 Fun Fact My Father bought a New 1955 Bel-air. With the new small block Chevy. The one with No oil filter. Father ( I call him Sir) added a oil filter (by-pass) (No full flow). At 40k that engine was using oil. Father (WWII veteran) was a mechanic at the chevy Dealer in town. Father pulled the engine and Renewed the engine on his vacation week. I held the light at night. Yes engines worn-out after only 40k. Yes oils have improved.
With the appropriate nod to the excellent SB 350, I have to say my 69 Camaro with a 307 was one of the best all around motors I ever owned. It was teamed with a 4 speed and was surprisingly powerful . My 305 cu motor in my 92 K2500 is by far the most reliable , fuel efficient and strong running SB Chevy motor I have ever owned. 236K miles and running strong. HP junkies show little respect for these motors, but I have sent several 350's to the bone pile. I do love my Vortec in my 96 Yukon, Also with 233K miles.
Regarding the "soft cam" debacle....It has been my understanding that the EPA was pushing for ZDDP (zinc) to be removed from oils in that time period, but they didn't really tell anybody. They demanded ever diminishing amounts. That killed many flat tappets in daily drivers. The roller cam was put into the performance cars in '87, but not in to trucks until '96, as they didn't rate to the same RPMs at the f-bodies, impala SS, and corvette.
Remember building my 69 Camaro love that 327 camel hump heads 10 to 1 compression midrange manifold 1650 Holly headers and a cam 327 the great motor the stories I could tell with my 4-speed
Great review and history lesson as always. I would like to see a presentation, comparison, overview, positives, negatives and your choice, if you have one, of the best GM 350ci engine. I would really enjoy hearing your knowledgeable presentation of the Buick 350, Chevrolet 350, Oldsmobile 350 and Pontiac 350 (355ci) engines. Thank you for all your hard work that makes your presentation the most professional and unbiased I have seen online.
The one thing I really have liked about the GM small block is their consistency of basic design and interchangability of many parts, especially external. Bell housing bolt patterns never really changed. And as far as the 305 and 307 were concerned, you're right. If you can get them to aspirate better, that definitely helps. The right cam also makes a huge difference. Granted, you may not get the flexibility of horsepower range like you could with a 350, but one You Tuber did a budget build on a 1970 307. The main thing he did was put in a good street running cam and then put it on the Dyno. I can't remember the results but it was rather impressive for an engine everyone said was a dog.
These were some of the greatest engines of all time for sure. The biggest shortcomes were the cylinder head breathing. This allowed companies like Brodix and Edlebrock to fill that niche. The wild part about the newer LS V8s is how much old Ford technology was incorporated to replace the old SBC. 400 block with a 350 crank is my favorite SBC recipe. Good luck finding those ingredients today.
I swapped out of my 1950 GMC 1/2 ton the 235 straight six for a 283 with Muncie 3 speed on the floor, the engine came out of a caprice, it’s still runs awesome, like you said the water pumps were weak I had to replace it last year.
Ed Cole was The Man. I read once that he was doing road testing on the first 265 V8, installed in a 1954 Chevy. He was exceeding the speed limit, and a cop started after him. Ed decided to have a little fun, and put the pedal down. He stopped and waited for the law to arrive. The first thing the officer said was "That's not a Chevy engine under the hood." And Ed replied, "It sure as hell is!" He showed the officer the new V8...and didn't get a ticket.
Most of the cost cutting measures of the factory smallblock Chevy can be overcome with aftermarket parts, which helped make them economical to manufacture. The smallblock Ford is more compact than the Chevy as it was designed for the Falcon. The 5.7 Vortec heads produced from 1996 onward were pretty decent, other than the cracking problems, but I've never heard of one that had a coolant leak because of the cracks. Too bad Chevy didn't have those heads 20 years earlier.
I know that the original Mustang/Falcon V8 was teensy, but when they blew this block up to make 350-cu-in engines was it still smaller than the Chevy? I'm not messin', I really want to know.
@@hunkydorian the 351 Windsor had a taller deck height and externally was similar in size to the small Chevy but a good bit lighter and a stronger block.
You could pull a water pump off a 1957 dump truck & put it on your 69 Impala with minor hose fitting changes. From the 262 all the way to the big 400 these were the most adaptable engines ever made. I've owned a lot of these and they trump all other brands, IMO. Most all the V8 offerings from GM have been pretty good stuff. There are currently 6 vehicles at my place, and all are GM, mostly Chevy.
I had a 283 in a Camaro and everyone that rode in it thought it was a 350. With intake and cam that little motor with a 4 speed was damn impressive and 7k shifts were no sweat. I’d say it made a solid 350 hp
Best engine i ever had is the 305,,400.000 and still going fine.also the 350 small block,overhauled at 200.000, still driving fine.Keep real oil in them,they will allways get you home..
Ed Cole, and his team did an excellent Engineering Job on the Chevy SB, especially the Oiling System. I like that each Cylinder has 5 bolts around it, instead of 4. I have 4 of the Second Gen LT1s. What are your thoughts on those?
Had 1970 LT1 370 horsepower with 292 slant plug heads solid lifters M1 Rock Crusher transmission 4-speed in my 66 Chevelle not bad for a nineteen-year-old kid
My small block Chevy daily drivers would require a water pump every 70K give or take a couple of thousand like clockwork. I loved the later years when they did away with cork gaskets and almost never had an oil leaking issue at all. Roller cams were nice too, since the cam lobes did like to round out about the time a water pump was needed.
Nice little engine in nice cars of the 50-60's. Had a 56 Chevy Belair with 265 v8, automatic. I was in the U.S. Army in 1967-69, and stationed for a time in Wash. D.C. my home was L.A. CA. Came home on leave and got married in 1968 and we drove to duty station in it in about a week, taking time to go some National Parks along the way, Yellow Stone, etc. No problems all the way. Took same car home in 69, after I ETS'd, to L.A. My wife and our new baby flew home. I drove, a week, to get back mostly on route 66. Did have overheating probs halfway home so drove at night and motel-ed in daytime. Got back ok. Same car got t-boned a year or so later, at home, on my way home from work. I pulled the rear quarter fender away from the rear tire and drove home. Fixed it and repainted it a nice stock color (was dark green, I had stupidly painted it from stock purple and white), gold and white. Try that in you Prius or Tesla!! Sold car in 80's for a "song", $1800, now the car would be worth big bucks ($50K+) at auction. LOL :D
Definitely love at first sight. I have fond memories of my 327 - two barrel, pre-federal emissions. My current V8 is a Toyota 4.7L / 285 cubic inch with four camshafts, 32 valves and variable valve timing. The owner's manual says it is good for 283 hp / 325 ft. lbs. of torque and it met emissions standards back in 2005/06. Compared to the older small block Chevy, the Toyota V8 is stupidly expensive to repair.
@@michaelbenardo5695 Ahmem brother, how true and they are gutless slugs . I've always had an old 318 with a mild set up as a daily driver around 300 Hp. Nothing special but great on fuel and they run forever, 750,000 k's easy. Bought a new Holden with the alloytec engine, supposed to be 200 k's. Bullshit , worst engine I've ever had . Car broke down at least every 2 weeks then the timing chains went so I traded it on an SS Ute ls1 . Much better car but I'm rebuilding my old Chrysler wagon and I'll stick to the 318. At least I can get that running any time any where .
@@michaelbenardo5695 I forgot to mention that the Toyota 4.7 liter also has 8 coil packs and timing belt that needs to be changed every 90,000 miles. . Don't get me wrong, the 4.7 is fine engine - but it's way more complex than the small block V8 engines of the distant past.
Great video. You mentioned the LS but you didn't say anything about the 2nd gen small block LT1/LT4. They were only produced for a few years in the mid 90's and most people forget about how great they are. I've got a 1996 Buick Roadmaster sedan with the LT1 engine and it is about to turn over 170k miles on the original Optispark distributor. The Optispark gets a bad rap, but it's not that bad at all. It's placement under the camshaft driven water pump isn't ideal. But it's a great improvement over the HEI distributor. Please do a video on the LT1/LT4 engine before doing one on the LS. More people need to know about it
I hear you. I currently own 3 LT1 Roadmasters and a Fleetwood. I have owned two other Roadmasters and 4 other Fleetwoods. I love the LT1 engine! The bad rap they got was mostly from Camaro, Firebird and Corvette owners because they did not have the venting system working of engine vacuum the Roadmasters and Fleetwoods (and I think Caprices) had.
@@MostlyBuicksYou mean on the Optis? Those were factory vented starting in 1995 on the F bodies. Made them a lot more reliable. You can retrofit a vent on the '93 and 94, easy peasy. The only problem with the OptiSpark is the placement, not the design. It's undeserved reputation comes from kids who go to Auto Zone or buy a new Opti off of ebay and expect them to last.
We had a brand new 283. Consumed copious amounts of oil. It was somewhat normal. Blowby past the rings in an era when machining and tolerances weren't so great.
My Dad bought a '55 with the then new 265 that had an oil burning problem. Under warrenty the dealer honed the cylinders and installed new rings, it still used excessive oil. The Power-glide constantly needed fluid. Right before he traded it, when it was up on a lift a mechanic found a missing bolt in the transmission, probably was that way since new. Didn't leak any fluid after that. At first, the dealer mechanics thought the new V8 was complicated, years later when he knew all of its problems were shade tree fixes, he wished he had kept the '55.
@@timothykeith1367 My dad also bought on in December of '54. In addition to the oil burning, it liked to eat the fuel pump arm spring, creating a lifter style noise. Fearing he had a lemon, he traded it on a new '56 Olds 14 months later. The last time I saw the '55 was in the summer of 1967. I guess someone got some use out of it but it was pretty rough by then.
The Chevrolet Flint Engine plant on Van Slyke Rd in Flint, MI was purpose built for the 1955 model year V8 introduction. The plant was built on an old farm field, the first financial income was from the sale of corn from the land. Over 25 million small blocks were produced there as the two million square foot plant was repeatedly expanded to accommodate more production. I was responsible for building five million of those V8 engines.
Cool to know and that was an interesting fun fact about the location of the plant.
George Thomas ,I too worked for GM at the Saginaw Parts Plant CPC division.My first car was a 1966 Malibu with a 283 engine.It was a very good engine and I was told it was a short stroke engine. Many good memories of being part of GM in those days!
Thanks mate, we have a lot of them in Australia to. They came in our high performance Holdens and rh drive impalas and Bellairs. Now they all drive Chinese shitboxes that last a couple of years .
Thanks. Could you elaborate on that last sentence?
@@Diesel257 we used to build Gms ,Ford's Chryslers and Toyotas in Australia. Now we build nothing thanks to our traitor governments selling Australia out as usual. Now they all drive Chinese throwaway junk.
Imagine being one of the many who designed this engine back in the 50s, what a great feeling it must have been knowing your hard work really paid off and made so many people happy.
Yeah, I remember talking with "Bobby" at Western Auto, next door to the mower place I worked at. "Wasco", as we call him, was a very knowledgeable man indeed. He didn't talk a great deal, but when he did, I sure listened. I remember one of our conversations about the early small blocks burning oil. I remember him saying some guys dribbled "bon ami" through the carb to help seal up the rings!
Thanks for representing my old Caprice here, I remember that under hood view fondly.
@@donk499 I think the bon ami treatment actually came out of a Chevrolet service bulletin. Seems like "repair theater" to me. Just a cheap trick to bamboozle the customer until the warranty expires. Far, far cheaper and faster than a proper ring job.
True, but Chevrolet had solid baseline engineering from the Cadillac OHV V8 of 1949.
@@21stcenturyfossil7 I was shocked when "wasco" told me that. But, I knew that he never would have "made up" a story like that...
@@donk499 He didn't make it up. I'm sure it got alot of coverage in the DIY magazines of the time such as Popular Science and Mechanix Illustrated. 30 years later, they just denied the problem first, like the rear brake lockup on the Citation, before resorting to "repair theater".
Arguably one of the most versatile engines ever made. From basic transportation to super performance, the SBC did it all.
Facts. Another great sbc is the 5.3L (basically an LS, but for basic transportation and work specifically in 1999-2006 GM trucks) those engines can take a lot assuming basic maintenance is involved. To me, that particular chevy small block is like an old 327 and a 350 combined cylinder stroke wise, with modern touches and technology. They are best of both worlds for basic use and performance like the 350. But it is more well known as the LS engine that you could swap into anything and maxed out for performance. Vortec 5.3L or not, they are both great to me!
@@trickyricky12147 The 5.3L LS is basically by far the cheapest engine to buy and swap in pretty much anything.
And just think if they were able to use synthetic oils back then how more reliable the would be
@@jeremybroderick9465 Right on my brother.
Don't forget Marine. Chevrolet small and big block powered 80 to 90 percent of all gasoline powered inboard and I/O boats during the time they were being produced.
As a young man/mechanic i always drove old Chevys , the parts availability and interchange was the reason.
The Chevy 350 was the go to engine for anyone back in the 70s who wanted to go fast without spending a lot of money.
I feel fortunate to have grown up when the SBC was still a significant engine. Its been said that the sense of smell is one of the strongest memory triggers. I know that is true because the smell of Lava hand soap takes me back to the summer of 1982 before my senior year of high school.
I bought a 1970 Chevy Nova with a blown 307 engine. I realize the 307 is one of the least favorite engines, but its still a Chevy. I spent the days pumping gas tat a Shell gas station garage (this was before they were convenience stores) and my nights were spent rebuilding the 307. I used the book “How to Rebuild Your Small Block Chevy” by David Vizard; often referred to is the SBC Bible.
Although the 307 only came with a 2bbl carb, I bought a used 4bbl intake and Quadrajet carb to go with it.
My friends were buying Camaros with 350s and using Holley carbs. But, their parents had money, I had a tight budget to work with. I also wanted to be different.
I also bought a performance camshaft from Summit racing, nothing radical; just something to give my mouse a little umph. And, of course a pair of Hooker headers to make it sound nice.
I got the engine finished and installed just before my senior year of high school. I was very proud of myself. Yeah, it certainly wasn’t a car that would win at the race track, but it put a smile on my face.
My girlfriend at the time, who is now my wife of 39 years spent each night in the garage with me. She was into cars and enjoyed the project as much as I did.
That is a great story. - a fellow '83 high school grad who drove his parents' 305 and never went further working on the car than washing & waxing and changing the oil.
Plus you can take a 307 and make it a 339 Stroker out of it.
Was the heads ported and polished or we're they stock cast.
@@CJColvin port & polish,, they need to be binned & buy decent modern design heads. push in studs, from 1950. floating cam. adjustable rockers.. 50,s tech..flogged to death..they were cheap cos there cheap, never changed. just flogged.. when they built the LS, i thought , chev finally built a real engine.. but,,i was wrong.. cam, lifter probs.. ill keep my 351c..never had any probs. look up gt ho 351 xy, 1971. 260 mph, std.. nearly banned for sale..ausie.. holdens,gm, here at bathurst, cheat like spoilt kids.. banned the sierras for being 4 laps ahead.. holden couldnt compete.. bartlett had the comaro, with 4 wheel drums,, wouldnt let him fit disc, std in u.s. rolled it. holden torana, chev nova, 350 with 600hp.. weighs 1 ton.. yup. we beat the falcons with the 351, in a 1.5 ton vehicle,,wander why..?..they even fitted v8 brakes to the toranas, never had std. & a drop tank,so you cant see the 9"" diff..i just wander if they used the top loader too.. fkn cheats..
@@harrywalker5836 Also not to mention that Ford made the legendary 427 SOHC 2V Cammer V8 back in the 1960s.
There was an article in the Flint (Michigan) Journal newspaper in 1998 about a guy in Wisconsin who had put 1,000,000 miles on his '91 C1500 with the 5.7L (350) TBI engine. The engine had never been opened up. He did have to rethread the oil drain plug because the threads were worn out! I forget how many transmissions and water pumps he went through.
Owning a 1970 Corvette LT-1 with the impressive 370 HP hi-compression engine was a thrill, especially running it hard through it's high RPM range. Who needs a big block?
I thought they only used that motor in pick up trucks. I gotta '93 LT-1 with reverse coolant flow. It has the tendency to get hot up top and burn out the ignition control module after a couple of years.
Imagine That Engine In A 1979-1980 CHEVY MONZA SPYDER!!!
I do I guess, I like the louder noise, otherwise you are right! In my Fords all the way from 200 six to 390 S code. Best one was in middle, the 351 Cleveland in my 70 'Stang! It "went like a raped ape", as we kids used to say back in the day! In "polite" company we'd say: "molested simian"! :D
I have a1970 lt1 in my 1957 chevy
Cameo pickup
No matter what brand you like most nobody can argue the small block Chevy is one of the best engines ever produced.
Mopar guy here... I agree with you.
Had 265 i 56 Chevy and agree but Ford guy now, but my first-est car was a Ford Ranch wagon with a 272 Y-Block, nice engine, always started never left me on the side of the road, did have, flats and dead batt. once but that's not technically the engine.
My Dad was a Pontiac dealer ... I was born the year after the Chevy small block was introduced ... 17 years later I got to drive many of the 60's era engines ... and owned a 66 GTO 389 ... then a daily driver 69 350 Lemans Sport ... loved those engines and they were pretty reliable
Great video! When I was a kid, we had a 1960 Biscayne with a 283 "baby V8," as it was called then. Never a single missed beat. Fantastic engine.
Yup! 1st car was 63 Chevy Biscayne with 283 and three on the tree. Ran that car into the ground. The engine was the only thing that still worked well at the end.
I agree Tom!
I remember my parents 65 Impala station wagon, with a 283. What a bomb proof car. She still ran after my mom crunched her into the back of a truck. Ouch! Mom, was ok. And we had to let her go.The car that is. Haha. I loved that car. A lot of memories and it was beautiful. Mom always said that that motor "purred".
@@danbaumann8273 👍
All point driven cars missed a beat.
Legendary, indeed. We read somewhere (might have been in the Ford Museum) that even the development engineers were surprised with the performance and reliability of end product, and how well it compared with others on the market at the time.
Even today we're constantly surprised by how these engines compare to other manufacturer's engines. In the day, they were the space shuttle.
Chevy did have the OHV Buick, Olds, and Cadillac 8 cylinder V8 engines to pattern after... Pontiac invented the stamped steel rocker arms used...
Very informative video. I'm satisfied of the 305 SBC on my 1982 Trans Am. I had to change its water pump 8 years ago but other than that I have no complaints. Soon reaching 80k miles it's a sturdy and reliable engine.
Lazy , Incomplete , History ,one of innovations ,of Chevy small block was ,stamped steel rockers ,and No rocker shaft .which ,Pontiac Engineers had developed .Ed Cole was Allowed to steal idea for Chevrolet . And ,Yes was a good ,Cheap ,Light ,engine .
Up to 1967, the 283 was also available with a 3 speed manual coupled to a 0.70 ratio overdrive. That drivetrain was the ultimate cross country cruiser because when in 4th gear overdrive, an Impala or Malibu could cruise at 75 MPH with the 283 spinning at only 2600 RPM. 2600 RPM wasn't stressful because the 283 had a piston stroke of only 3.0 inches.
I'm rebuilding a 1967 3 speed with the BorgWarner overdrive to put in my 1979 C10. Paired with a 250 inline 6.
Strange how GM never pushed Overdrive the way Ford, Nash/AMC, and Studebaker did.
People often ask: how did Chevrolet steal the crown from Ford in performance small block engines, and keep it for so long?
In our reading over the years, we have attributed it to the following:
Generally, the SBC delivered more power from a compact engine with a smaller cash outlay. This is one reason why they were the go-to engine for most hot rodders back in the day. They responded very well to minor modifications.
Parts (both Chevrolet and aftermarket) were far more readily available, and cheaper than other makes.
They fit easily in almost any popular American vehicle, home-built hot rod frame, or otherwise.
They were also lighter weight than some Ford V8 engines.
We are sure there are other reasons, your other readers will surely mention.
Cheers and thanks again for your review!
It came down to heads. Neither the Y-block nor Windsor could ever match the flow of the small block Chevy, despite more than 40+ years of competition. Ford had to move to the expensive (and really, overdone) Boss and Cleveland (4bb only) small blocks to compete with , and sometimes outdo, the small block Chevy. But their production numbers were so limited I'm not sure it counts. And really, generally, Ford struggled always struggled with focus - Y-block, FE, Windsor, 385, Boss, Cleveland, Modified - in that time Chevy only had the small block, big block, and for a short time, the W-block.
The invention of the small block Chevy led the way to the GM LS platform.
@@salninethousand2496 - Louie Chevrolet was a race car driver... that gave Chevy a certain pedigree right from the start... no flatheads!
Ford was basically trying to outdo Chevy's 'truck engines'... needed specialized Boss, Cleveland, SOHC, and DOHC engines to do it...
@@salninethousand2496 ever seen an fe head.. chev guys used to dream of cleveland heads..plus, chev are a cheap excuse for an engine..they still have problems with the LS... oh,,& who beat ferrari.. 220 mph. 427 fe.. here in aus, we had the xy gt ho.. 351c.. 260 mph std, 4sp.. 3 people, factory road car.. $5,300. 1971.. the film clip,,was clipped, to 140 mph.. so young suicide 16 yr olds wouldnt line up for one.. ausie bathurst.. holden/gm, fk, did they cheat at every oportunity to win the race. plus, they used ford 9" diffs. at least you could by a ford that went to bathurst, holdens were built to [ cheat], win.. ford sierra, won by 4 laps, holden banned them so holden could win.. if you want a reliable chev, just buy & drive,, if you want to race it,, go spend $$$$$$$$$$$ at the local speed shop..ill take a 460 over any bs chev..mate bought a jag, had to fit a chev, as there were no other kits,, he fkn hates chev.. he told me, you need a 44 gallon drum, & an 010 block.. the drum is for the rest of the engine, scrap.. then, beg for mercy at the speed shop.. he wanted a dodge 360. fitted. i have a dodge challenger, 340, r/t. plus 4 ford trucks.. no chev gm bs here.. we bought the 385 cleveland off you, as it was no good racing,, we brought it back to the u.s drags, & flogged your asses.. we have the 302c. only thing you need to make a clevo go, is a mild cam, & 302 heads on a 351.. my bronco is scary..& on lpg..
@@harrywalker5836 Oh horse hockey. I'm no brand loyal snob, I like all the great engines by all the makes. Besides, you go try telling all that nonsense to the engine builders, crew chiefs, and race teams in NASCAR. The SBC has won more NASCAR races than all the other small blocks combined. For street racing, the ball stud rocker design also allows SBC's to respond much better to simple bolt-on power upgrades. Absolutely nothing is as easy or as cheap to make great power as the SBC and LS engine family. Those are the facts, and it's painfully obvious that you're just a brand loyal snob. I love several Ford V8's, but everyone knows it costs FAR MORE money to create big power with a Ford. Why the hell do ya think so many LS engines are stuffed into fox body Mustangs.
I had a 307 in a 1970 Malibu. I installed an Edelbrock 4 bbl. carburetor and manifold; car ran fantastic with good mpg. Water pump never failed but was super easy to change if it did.
I never had a 307. I've only owned 350's but I agree they were good engines.
Back in the 1960’s and 70’s the Ford and Chevy small block motors were the engines of choice for engine swapping and hot rods. The relative light weight, compact dimensions, and low cost along with big power potential at high rpms were the reasons why. We fitted a Hypo 289 Ford into a Jaguar XKE. We chose the Ford V8 because it was narrower and fit between the space frame extensions better. An added benefit was the stronger clutch and 4 speed gearbox that could be speed shifted without blowing it up. I chose a 4 bolt 350 Chevy SB for my 1953 Jaguar XK 120. The engine bay was bigger, and that built motor ran hard to 6500 rpm reliably. Aluminum motors were very rare in American cars at the time. The high volume production of the small block V8’s drove the price way down for both speed parts and junkyard engines. One could build a respectable hot rod or sleeper on blue collar wages. Those were the days!
@DFV Louderilk ausie,, i have a 73 340 r/t. chall. id say the running gear came from a 69 something, as not the correct diff,box. motor date. but, no rust, cali car, drives no probs. paid 17k for it. sublime. there was a mag put out yrs ago, had a centre page with with ford/chev/ dodge.. builds.. it went thru the builds,parts, ect. it basically said, chev, bin, go to speed shop.. ford, cam 4 barrell,.. dodge, visit junk yard for performance parts off these models, with list of #,s.. . chev heads are rubbish.. here in aus, we fit the 302c heads, to a 351c, instant 12.1. comp. big cam, 4 bbl.. go racing.. no speed shop for ford, unless you want 8 sec quarters.. i have an fe 352 in a 62 f100 4x4.. those inlets are fkn huge.. like our 4v clevo heads, dont start going till over 60 mph.. 351 4v ho gt xy.. 1971. 260 mph. std..
With regard to the water pump, I remember when the one on the family's 1965 283 V8 started leaking 60 miles from home. But I still made it home by partially unscrewing the radiator cap so that pressure would not build up in the cooling system and that way the leak was minimized and the engine didn't overheat.
hole in upper rad, ford,, drove for 4 months, cap loose.. cant beat a 351c.. never touch them..
@@aldo6192 not mechanically minded,,i see..
I had quite a few of them over the years. My last experience was back in '98-ish, transplanting a 4-bolt 350 from a '74 ¾ ton into an '82 Z-28. Of course I went through it first; I don't want anyone to get the impression that I just slapped it in there and called it a day. I really didn't want to in the beginning, but I eventually ended up building it as a Stroker, and damn did I have a shitload of fun with that car! I can't remember ever having any major problems with any SBC I ever had. They were just solidly built, easy to work on, and even easier to maintain.
Best engine ever made, IMO. Two comments from a shadetree mechanic. First, the GM distributor with the little window that allowed the points to be adjusted while the engine was running was a great innovation. Second, the adjustable stamped rocker arms on hydraulic lifter engines made them easy to work on. As always, an enjoyable and insightful video,
How many times did you drop the points screw down the back of the engine to somewhere on top of the powerglide?
@@barneymiller6204 Never did drop the screws, but the first chance I got, I dropped in an HEI distributor in place.
@@barneymiller6204 yup, only complaint, distributer in back, not front like SB Fords.
Meanwhile European cars are going fuel injection while GM put a window for the points... lol, sad really
@@toyyoda3710 Yes, but never see them at Barrett Jackson do we?! LOL, sad really!
Even though I'm a Ford fan, I have to admit that the Chevy small block was an amazing achievement. Even for me when I picture a default engine, it's a SBC.
Same here.
I love cars in general but have a soft spot for classic Fords but my 1931 Ford Model A hotrod (my avatar pic) is getting a cheap, reliable healthy 283 Chevrolet because its compact, powerful and cheap to build.
When something is good it's just good.
When I was younger small block Chevys were being put into everything and I used to hate it but now I get it I guess one could argue it is the same thing today with an LS.
@@AtomicReverend May I ask why you didn't go with the LS? The LS seems to be the modernized SBC.
@@hangonsnoop The LS is better, but doesn't have a distributor or a provision for a mechanical fuel pump. Of course there's kits to deal with that, but adding an electric fuel pump on a really old vehicle has its own problems and complexity, especially if it needs a fuel return line. Then you need brackets and stuff for the alternator and P/S, etc, engine mounts.... there's no carbureted LS, so you need an intake manifold, throttle cable stuff, on and on. The 283 is just so simple and clean looking when done right, and runs just fine.
@@hangonsnoop a couple of reasons, most importantly its ulgy lol
The (my) Model A, I am trying to make it look like something out of 1960 Hotrod magazine so an early overhead valve was a must, it won't be a spot on period correct car but the stuff people will notice I am trying to keep a theme to.I want it to feel like my grandfather would have built it when he was a 20 something.
Also besides the look there is a few other reasons I am on a budget so as a few examples I am running a t5 out of an astro van, they are only good to about 325HP in a 3000LB vehicle so a healthy LS will kill it, I got out of a local junkyard, the 283 I did a freshening up on and it has to be the cheapest engine for parts including performance bits like a cam and headers I am well less then a 1000 bucks into the engine and trans and I think I am ready to here it fire up... in theory I should be right at 300 horse, which by modern standards doesn't sound like a lot but a Model A pickup with me in it probably weighs less than 2,200 lb so I would imagine it'll rip... The small block was made so long everyone at the car swapmeets have SBC parts used so you can save a ton of money also. I really wanted to run something a little more odd like an old rambler 327 or maybe a 322 Buick nailhead but those engines are really expensive to build and there isn't a whole lot of stuff made for them so everything would have to come from a swap meet. I've been saying I'm going to build a hot rod since I was 12 years old I'm 43 now I don't want to wait any longer and have to spend seven or eight years getting parts so the small block Chevy was a no-brainer at least to get it going.
The engine was a $200- CL find, it came out of a 59 El Camino that ironically the man was putting an LS 4.8 into.
Now outside of that, the other guy that commented is correct, I wanted a carb and a mechanical fuel pump, I managed to find a brand new 1960 Ford falcon fuel tank and sending unit from RockAuto and it measures perfectly to fit behind the rear axle down in the bed floor, (somebody told me it's the same gas tank they use in the 64 to 9 mustangs I don't know although they are the same chassis so its probably true), it was designed to be the trunk floor so can put some weight on it it's almost like it was made for a Model A pickup, they even sell a new Stewart Warner fuel gauge that matches the Ohms for the sending unit and the sending unit is designed for an early engine meaning it doesn't have a fuel pump in the tank or anything.
The last thing is the length of the small block Chevy a Ford Model A whether you're talking 28-29 or 30-31 is a tiny engine compartment and I can notch the firewall but inside the cab of a Model A pickup truck you literally sit shoulder to shoulder with another man and there is already very limited leg room they make a 1960s Japanese mini truck seem like a full size that's no exaggeration. The small block Chevy is probably one of the shortest v8s in length that I am aware of that isn't a Ford flathead, I think the only other engine in that same length category is the Buick (and Land Rover/Range Rover) 3.5 V8 vut at 215CI it is just to small for my car guy ego although it moved my 87 Range Rover okay I'm sure it would be great in a 2200 lb car but they are also really expensive to work on.
So yeah in short looks, cost, length and parts availability.
As for the LS I have actually been thinking my next car is going to be a 1955 Buick Roadmaster but instead of dealing with the nailhead and the terrible Dana flow automatic transmission I was thinking an LS with a four or six speed automatic out of a Chevy Tahoe or something along those lines, the Buick would probably become my primary driver so drivability aand practicality would be a bit more of a deciding factor, well that and you can hide that ulgy plastic covered engine easily under the hood a 1950s or 60s car.
Anyways that the reason so it was a long answer.
Yup, same, same! :D
Have 1978 Pontiac Lemans with 305 Chevy from factory. Replaced cam because a couple lobes were worn. Also replaced oil pump to make sure new cam got good oilflow. Car has almost 200,000 miles and still runs perfectly. Great solid engineering.
I have a 1978 305ci in my 1957 GMC 100 truck. I was told from the start that the 305ci wasn't much of a motor - starting 15 years ago when I got this truck and about 50,000 miles later. It is so good and dependable and she just starts and runs well day after day. I have fitted an alternator on it, Vintage Air A/C, headers and an Edelbrock. She is also an auto tranny. She is just as good as the day is long. I call her Daphne and she is such a great working truck. I don't think I'd get another 305, or rebuild this one, but overall she is an A+ in my book. Thanks again!
305 is a great motor. But the 350 is much more upgradeable / buildable in regards to power as well as cost.
My folks had a '89 Chevy Caprice Classic with a 305 TBI under the hood. It wasn't a powerhouse - especially not with almost two tons of sedan to haul around - but it ran well for over a quarter million miles.
If it had more aggressive gearing, it would have been quite nice.
Not impressive ... Toyota does a million miles and does not make the news (only the Tundra) if a tacoma hits one million everyone says big deal. welcome to the club!
@@toyyoda3710 But you have to put up with a bumpy ride, cramped accommodations, and limited luggage space.
This was enjoyable to watch. My first rebuild project was a 327 SBC with a hot cam and all the goodies in High School. It makes me feel blessed to have had an Auto Shop with a Teacher who cared enough to come by the house and check on the build progress.
Great video Sir, Cheers.
I love my 5.7 TBI in my 94 Silverado. Almost 207k miles and not one hiccup
I had one of those, now have a 96 C1500. The Vortec engine is a step up from the TBI, though both are very reliable engines. Have had to replace the starter motor and alternator in the current vehicle, but generally speaking the maintenance required is pretty minimal if you don't thrash them.
Chevy had some good small block engines but the were rust buckets
I'm a big fan of the 1970 or 1971 LT-1 engine. Lots of GM goodies from the factory.
Type LT Camaro. Turbo 400 tranny 4 bolt mains. 4 barrel. 350 engine. Anti sway bar. Factory sleeper. Was beautiful Comaro. Power windows, nice factory stereo too. Air conditioning. Good heat. One of my favorites. Also Olds Tornado 455. Was super fast. Poor fuel mileage as you'd expect. Dodge polaras with 440s Lincoln's with 460s. 472 Fleetwood brohm. Monti Carlo with 350. Wasn't fastest but great Ride. Could mention other car's but well ok Fiat 131 was very fast. You'd be surprised. I think multi valve Model. Spark retard dual points. Twin cam of course. Couple classic car's too like Chevy Nova 2. And Ford falcon. Lincoln's had suicide rear doors. Chevy station wagon with mean 350. You'd swear it had big block torque. Spin wheels All day. Bonneville with 400 big block. Was pretty fast. Yeah those were the days. Not to mention my Kawasaki Ltd, was fast bike. I had kawi 1300 was fast big bike. Not to mention Mr turbo. Anyhow. Chevy man here myself love Chevy Small blocks and the newer LS 5.3. And 6.
My '75 Nova had a 350 2 bbl, and it was an excellent motor. Smooth and reliable, my car moved quite quickly with it. I was not disappointed.
It sounds like top-of-the-line to have a '75 Nova with a 350. I can picture mostly 250 sixes and 305 V8s in most Novas of that era.
@@70sleftover It was a '75 Nova Custom coupe. I don't know if it was considered as top-of-the-line, as I thought that would be the Nova SS. It was a sweet car that I bought new, and kept it for seven happy years.
@@70sleftover Lots of 73 - 74 Novas had a 350, but most 75 and later had, like you said, a 6 or a 305, except for the top-of-the-line version. It usually had a 350.
In the description the first motor listed was a 262. I don’t remember that motor. I had a 55 back early 70’s that had 265. Sold that for a 57 with a 283. 327 was my favorite. Had several Chevy ll and 1 had a 327 fuel injection & 4 speed from a totaled Vette. So wish I’d kept that one.
They were great engines. I have had three of them, a 350 in a 70 El Camino, a 305 in a 78 Olds Cutlass and a 350 in a 76 GMC half ton. The GMC had over 200K when I sold it and was still going strong. I did have to do a cam in the 305 in the Cutlass, that particular engine was extremely smooth and quiet, even better with a fresh cam and timing components. It would put out a puff of blue smoke when starting, I never bothered fixing that.
Valve seals.
We would take a 307 install a cam ground to 350 HP 327 specs, 305 heads with the big valves to raise the compression and 4bbl carb, it really brought them to life. cores were free (we were throwing into the scrap pile) and they were a near bullet proof cheap engine.
The one I had built wasn't. But the 283 I yanked out of my dad's 67 Biscayne wagon was. It had 200,000 miles on it when my uncle rerung it and replaced the head gaskets after it overheated going up a grade. Another 400,000 when I stuffed it in my 68 Chevelle. I ran it for another 5 years before it developed a fairly loud lifter tick. I was going to replace the pushrods and lifters but they didn't want to come out through the top and I figured getting another motor from the junkyard would be cheaper than rebuilding it.
A 307 came in my '72 Nova. I was out of the warranty period in a few months so the mods began.
A TRW TP151 cam (their 350HP 327 replacement cam), fuelie double hump heads (1.94 intakes) and a Rochester fuel injection system. Added dual exhaust (kept the cast iron manifolds) and this car became a terror. I could easily outrun stock big block muscle cars and a few modified ones.
I ran that engine until it was replaced with a 400 small block in the fall of 1975. Sold the short block to a friend who ran it for years after that in a '68 Camaro.
@turbo8454 I think I’ll try that with the stock 307 that’s in my ‘71. It runs strong but I’d just like to wake it up a bit.
Dont forget, the SBC was the "go to" engine for all types of high performance racing, from drag racing, sprint car, nascar, dirt track, ect. Not to mention all the 32' and 34' Ferds out there with SBC transplants!!! And today, it is the LS style engine, in almost every type of vehicle imaginable. Heck, I even installed a SBC in a 49" F-1 pickup truck. High quality high performance parts could be had for almost any size SBC cheaper, and more readily available than any other make and model!
Because there were so many made a lot of companies made aftermarket parts.
@@johnchildress6717 Yes, very important, essential, vital, and necessary!! ;D
I’ve had so, so many small blocks.
Great reliable engines.
I’ve had from very stock, super mellow, to radical, solid cam race motors.
I love em all.
My two favorite engines to work on are Chevrolet and Honda engines. People can call me lazy if they wish, but I enjoy working on platforms that just work. And while no engine is perfect from any manufacturer, I have had the least issues and the most fun out of GM and Honda engines mile after mile. From old school Chevy small blocks to pre-displacement on demand LS engines, carburetor equipped 1980's Honda D-series engines to Honda F-B-H-K-series and J-series V6 engines pre-displacement on demand I have absolutely loved working on all of the above. And all of the above have been super easy to get extra power out of with just small changes.
The Chevy 305, for its intended purpose did the job wonderfully. It was a bread and butter transportation engine, never created to be a performance engine. Considering what it was the power was not bad. The LG3 2bbl & LG4 4bbl ran when taken care of well over 200k miles. I never had a bad cam on a 305 but had a Chevy 267, mfd 79-82 that had a soft lobe. All though not a Chevy the Olds 307 was another smog era workhorse along with the Mopar 318. Yet another great video Adam 👍
I read that the reason the cams went bad was because the grind produced a rapid opening and closing valve timing with short valve dwell to lower overlap. This made for steep pointy lobes that wore quickly. The reason for this design was emission related.
They were great engines, I had an 84 4bbl in a truck, drove it for 24 yrs daily no issues just regular wear items
IME, the Chevy 305 was an abysmal engine. Chevy cheaped out by keeping the same stroke as the 350 (both the engines use the same crank blank for cost savings) yet radically decreased its bore. This resulted in an inherent restriction in valve size and hence radical limitation in performance. The 307 was created of the same sin (a debored 327). I have a hunch that marketing played into the equation - the 4" bore (same as 350) x 3" stroke was a 302 - a moniker (too) well associated with Ford, but in the least it would have been a vastly superior budget engine than the 305 (or 307).
yes 305 good...dont abuse it...twill last 4 ever...m
@DFV Louderilk good work... I think chevy small blocks were an enduring design.....ford had good motors too...I liked the 289...loved my slant 6....and yes...a few people raced them...
My first car was a '63 Impala SS convertible, 327 4 speed, hot stuff for a 17 year old in 1967. I had that car until 1975 and drove the wheels off of it. I've had a succession of small blocks since then and currently have two. I also have a 454/390 big block. Sadly and ironically, I never had what I really wanted, a 327/350, IMHO the best of the best.
I had a 327/350 in my 1974 Chevy Monte Carlo.
The small block chevy and the lt engines are really some of the best, most simplistic designed engines ever made, they will run and run and run as long as you keep dexkool out of them. i would also suggest videos on the buick 3800 v6 and its long history, as well as the ford lima engines, both awesome reliable engines with some long history
Any Mechanic would tell you that the 3800 series engines were some of the Best.
@@randybeard6040 from gm when gm went fuel efficient hell yes because unfortunately when 350 went fuel injection they had Injector issues as the miles went up on the motor.
Try Saying Buick 231 V6! Sounds A Whole Lot Better Than "3800"!
And always use a good detergent oil
Most reliable CHRYSLER SLANT 6
I own 2 G-Bodies, an ‘86 Monte Carlo CL that has been my daily driver, and an ‘87 Pontiac Grand Prix that was my late grandfather’s daily driver. Both have wonderful 305s with a good bit of miles. My Monte Carlo has 127k, while my grandfather put a whopping 747k miles on his before he parked it - and no, that’s not a typo.
It’s still the original engine in his Grand Prix - and while it had a transmission and rear axle replacement over the years that 305 is still chugging. I’m currently replacing the cooling system but the engine itself still runs very well and I plan to keep it that way.
My father went to work at the old Chevrolet Lakewood (Atlanta) plant in 1948. He'd trade cars every 2 to 3 years. They were always a "surprise" to my mom when he would show up one day with a new car. Of course he traded the 1953 for a new 1955 with the 265 V8. I feel like I knew Ed Cole because I heard his name almost every day at home.
I have nothing but praise for the old 350 that was in my truck. Never skipped a beat even when it was smoking and using oil. It has been replaced by an LS but it will be rebuilt and used for a future project.
I have worked on late 60s early 70s GMC Dump Trucks that had 307ci engines and found them to be a great choice for the job they were designed to do.
I love small blocks myself including the 305! It's a great engine!
The small block Chevy is my favorite engine. I have built dozens of them, from daily driver engines to full blown drag race engines. You can build anything out of a small block Chevy. It is an engineering masterpiece. One of my favorite configurations is a 383, a 350 block bored .030 over, with a 400 crank.
I put a 1962 283 engine in my 1956 chevy. It was full of sludge. Cleaned it up, installed it. I had a Hurst competition plus shifter. Best motor I have ever had.
I always found it interesting and ironic that Ed Cole who played such a huge role in the design and introduction of the small block Chevy V8 also played a huge role in the design and production of the Corvair and Vega engines...
When I was a young kid my mom had a 72' Maverick 2 door with a 302 and my best friend's mom had a 73' Nova 2 door with a 307 and we raced those things multiple times and they were absolutely exactly the same acceleration wise..
Alot of Canadian Pontiacs used the small block Chevy V8 as well for they're Acadians and Beaumonts.
@John Yep you got it brother.
in my opinion " 350 v8 chevy is the greatest american engine ever maid ", i had 1991 chevy suburban v1500 and this engine was incredible due reliability and easy maintenance
I remember being a kid and looking into the engine bay of our 1955 Chevy. The engine bay was huge and the engine took up only a small amount of space.
Another great video! Have you considered doing a video on another great engine: the second-generation Oldsmobile V8 from 1964-1990?
Thank you for educating me on these very common V-8s. It's a shame the one car I actually drove with one was a '78 Impala with the basically-standard (although optional) 305 with that annoying tap I have complained about in other comments. And my sister's friend's 307-equipped '71 Chevelle that I rode in occasionally to high school - that basic Chevy never felt all that powerful to me as a passenger, despite its being driven by an 18-year-old! (My father's first new car was a '51 Chevy with a straight six and a transmission that failed on my parents' honeymoon two years later! I'll have to watch your story on bad GM transmissions to remind myself which one his old green Deluxe had!
Thx for this overview, but recall Oldsmobile 88? Alluded to the engine when mentioning Ed Cole & Cadillac, but expected Oldsmobile performance would get mentioned especially V8 power for the Rocket 88. That legendary success likely as much motivation & influence upon Chevrolet aspirations.
Quite informative. I learned something new. I did not think the 305 V8 was a bad engine either. I know that the Chevrolet Caprice used a 4300 V8 in the mid 1990's on top of the 350 V8 and 5.0 Liter V8. I would like to hear about Oldsmobile V8's and the 3800 V6. Thank you for sharing.
the 305 is slow and doesnt rev high
.
but for a low end torque, drive it for what it is, and get good MPG
its amazing.... especially with a 700R4
Plus you can take a Chevy 305 make it a 334 Stroker and get over 400 HP out of it.
all,,v6 engines ever produced are crap..same as 4 cyl..unbalanced.. 6 cyl or v8.. only engine to have..&,,not a 350. there gearbage..you know nothing about engineering..
@@harrywalker5836 And you know nothing about spelling and grammar. I doubt you know much about engineering either.
The 302 and the 327 were probably the best, in my opinion!
I have a 302 in my 4 speed nova. 4.88 rear gears it’s the most brutal launching street car I’ve ever driven. Will happily sing over 7000rpm
This is an interesting video on the most highly produced and well know V-8 engine, the General Motors Chevrolet small block V-8. This engine was also produced for a very long time. Even today there are still a lot of vehicles on the road with this Chevrolet small block V-8 engine.
We had a HiPo 283 with powerglide in a 64 Chevelle. Good chevy mechanic rebuilt the powerglide to shift firm. There is nothing like a full throttle slam bang shift with that powerglide behind the SBC. That big jump in ratio coupled with the wide power band of a non-emission small block made the whole car jump what seemed a foot in the air when it banged into high gear.
Very informative video. I'm satisfied with the 305 SBC engine on my 1982 Trans Am. The water pump had to be replaced 8 years ago. Intake manifold and valve cover gaskets were also replaced due to a mild leak. Other than that it's a sturdy and reliable engine with almost 80k miles.
Enjoyed the video!! I too have had a few small block chevy motors. The most powerful one was my 56 chevy 2 dr sedan. Had a 327 which I built myself, muncie 4 speed and 4.11 posi rear. The slowest was my 78 camero (my favorite Camero body design) which had a 305 2 barrel. It was a great daily driver but not worth drag racing. All were reliable including my self built 327 which saw 6500 RPM a lot the way I drove it. OK, I was only in my early 20's lol.
I just went through and rebuilt my 1976 350 last year to keep it daily driving. Bearings were all date coded as original, so its a pretty good bet it had never been apart before.
A pretty simple and reliable engine. Owned several cars with them. I have to agree about the water pumps.
Fortunately they're usually relatively easy to change.
8:14 Fun fact : Yes Flat tappet camshafts after 1975 and 1976 would have a flat lobe after 60k miles. Not because the camshafts were "soft" BUT BECAUSE zinc and phosphate and molybdenum (ZDP) was Not added to oil. Because ZDP contaminated catalyst converter.
To solve this problem, they used ROLLER tappets.
You Welcome.
ZDDP was not common in motor oils in 1955 when the smallblock debuted.
ZDDP levels in oils climbed from the 1960s into the late 1990s. In the early 2000s is when they started reducing zinc content due to catalyst issues. ZDDP has never been fully removed.
Every oil on the shelf today has more ZDDP than a 1955 oil.
@@Texassince1836
Fun Fact
My Father bought a New 1955 Bel-air.
With the new small block Chevy. The one with No oil filter. Father ( I call him Sir) added a oil filter (by-pass) (No full flow). At 40k that engine was using oil.
Father (WWII veteran) was a mechanic at the chevy Dealer in town. Father pulled the engine and Renewed the engine on his vacation week. I held the light at night.
Yes engines worn-out after only 40k.
Yes oils have improved.
Adam
Thanks again for another great video!! Coming from near Cincinnati to see You and the cars in Ypsilanti...can't wait!
With the appropriate nod to the excellent SB 350, I have to say my 69 Camaro with a 307 was one of the best all around motors I ever owned.
It was teamed with a 4 speed and was surprisingly powerful . My 305 cu motor in my 92 K2500 is by far the most reliable , fuel efficient and strong running SB Chevy motor I have ever owned. 236K miles and running strong. HP junkies show little respect for these motors, but I have sent several 350's to the bone pile. I do love my Vortec in my 96 Yukon, Also with 233K miles.
I have owned all the displacements except the 302 and 400. ALL gave me great service.
Regarding the "soft cam" debacle....It has been my understanding that the EPA was pushing for ZDDP (zinc) to be removed from oils in that time period, but they didn't really tell anybody. They demanded ever diminishing amounts. That killed many flat tappets in daily drivers. The roller cam was put into the performance cars in '87, but not in to trucks until '96, as they didn't rate to the same RPMs at the f-bodies, impala SS, and corvette.
I had a 267 V8 in a 1980 El camino. Great video.
My 1969 327 👌🏼has the old
Arch angle exhaust , Camel backs, Holley 650 🤤.
It’s a sweet sounding old gal.
Remember building my 69 Camaro love that 327 camel hump heads 10 to 1 compression midrange manifold 1650 Holly headers and a cam 327 the great motor the stories I could tell with my 4-speed
Great vid, really enjoyed!! 👍👍👍
Great review and history lesson as always. I would like to see a presentation, comparison, overview, positives, negatives and your choice, if you have one, of the best GM 350ci engine. I would really enjoy hearing your knowledgeable presentation of the Buick 350, Chevrolet 350, Oldsmobile 350 and Pontiac 350 (355ci) engines. Thank you for all your hard work that makes your presentation the most professional and unbiased I have seen online.
350 SBC is the greatest engine of all time. Hands down. Period.
So smooth, quiet and relatively efficient as well!
Best engine 1962,v8 194😂
Spring steel ♥️🗽 makes the Block solid ‼️🇺🇸♥️‼️
But the LS is better. Ive had both and worked on both. I really hate that everyone LS everything. But there is a reason....
327 out performed all production 350's 😁
This is the one I was waiting for, the SBC. Thank you.
me too, so i can tell you everything wrong with a 350 chev.. like,,the heads....plugs, cam..weak block..
My favourit engine. Cheers from the Pacific West Coast of Canada.
Loved their straight 6 we had in 65 Malibu.
I love and miss my 327 in my 1974 Chevy Monte Carlo. It wasn't the original motor, but it had power and rode smooth..
Thank you very much Adam I enjoyed this information
Very nice, Adam. Well done.
4 bolt 327s were also used on 510massey Ferguson combine, also the 350 was a option on 750massey,and Gleaner Ls and Ms too
The one thing I really have liked about the GM small block is their consistency of basic design and interchangability of many parts, especially external. Bell housing bolt patterns never really changed. And as far as the 305 and 307 were concerned, you're right. If you can get them to aspirate better, that definitely helps. The right cam also makes a huge difference. Granted, you may not get the flexibility of horsepower range like you could with a 350, but one You Tuber did a budget build on a 1970 307. The main thing he did was put in a good street running cam and then put it on the Dyno. I can't remember the results but it was rather impressive for an engine everyone said was a dog.
These were some of the greatest engines of all time for sure. The biggest shortcomes were the cylinder head breathing. This allowed companies like Brodix and Edlebrock to fill that niche. The wild part about the newer LS V8s is how much old Ford technology was incorporated to replace the old SBC. 400 block with a 350 crank is my favorite SBC recipe. Good luck finding those ingredients today.
I swapped out of my 1950 GMC 1/2 ton the 235 straight six for a 283 with Muncie 3 speed on the floor, the engine came out of a caprice, it’s still runs awesome, like you said the water pumps were weak I had to replace it last year.
I loved my 350 in my 70 Impala you could do certain adjustments to it and achieve some amazing power gains and it was very reliable.
Ed Cole was The Man. I read once that he was doing road testing on the first 265 V8, installed in a 1954 Chevy. He was exceeding the speed limit, and a cop started after him. Ed decided to have a little fun, and put the pedal down. He stopped and waited for the law to arrive. The first thing the officer said was "That's not a Chevy engine under the hood." And Ed replied, "It sure as hell is!" He showed the officer the new V8...and didn't get a ticket.
Most of the cost cutting measures of the factory smallblock Chevy can be overcome with aftermarket parts, which helped make them economical to manufacture. The smallblock Ford is more compact than the Chevy as it was designed for the Falcon. The 5.7 Vortec heads produced from 1996 onward were pretty decent, other than the cracking problems, but I've never heard of one that had a coolant leak because of the cracks. Too bad Chevy didn't have those heads 20 years earlier.
I know that the original Mustang/Falcon V8 was teensy, but when they blew this block up to make 350-cu-in engines was it still smaller than the Chevy? I'm not messin', I really want to know.
Ya the latter correct heads were a big improvement over the early.
@@hunkydorian the 351 Windsor had a taller deck height and externally was similar in size to the small Chevy but a good bit lighter and a stronger block.
You could pull a water pump off a 1957 dump truck & put it on your 69 Impala with minor hose fitting changes. From the 262 all the way to the big 400 these were the most adaptable engines ever made. I've owned a lot of these and they trump all other brands, IMO. Most all the V8 offerings from GM have been pretty good stuff. There are currently 6 vehicles at my place, and all are GM, mostly Chevy.
I had a 283 in a Camaro and everyone that rode in it thought it was a 350. With intake and cam that little motor with a 4 speed was damn impressive and 7k shifts were no sweat. I’d say it made a solid 350 hp
Best engine i ever had is the 305,,400.000 and still going fine.also the 350 small block,overhauled at 200.000, still driving fine.Keep real oil in them,they will allways get you home..
I owned a 65 Chevy Belair with a 283. Great car great engine. Yellow with a black cloth interior.
Very informative video, small block chevy's were very reliable for sure..
Ed Cole, and his team did an excellent Engineering Job on the Chevy SB, especially the Oiling System. I like that each Cylinder has 5 bolts around it, instead of 4.
I have 4 of the Second Gen LT1s. What are your thoughts on those?
You are Correct
Had 1970 LT1 370 horsepower with 292 slant plug heads solid lifters M1 Rock Crusher transmission 4-speed in my 66 Chevelle not bad for a nineteen-year-old kid
Loved seeing the 302 here.
Thanks!
My small block Chevy daily drivers would require a water pump every 70K give or take a couple of thousand like clockwork. I loved the later years when they did away with cork gaskets and almost never had an oil leaking issue at all. Roller cams were nice too, since the cam lobes did like to round out about the time a water pump was needed.
I just rebuilt my 1976 350 last year, and did not use a single cork gasket in the rebuild. It holds oil pretty good now.
Had a couple 283 & 350s they were runners, very durable.
283 was probably one of the best Chevy engines ever made. Doesn't the 305 fit into this list? I had a couple of Pontiacs with a 305 in them
Don't forget the 262 that was the smallest size small block put in the Monza in 1975.
I think that was a 2 year only job. Seems like a waste of money producing it.
Nice little engine in nice cars of the 50-60's. Had a 56 Chevy Belair with 265 v8, automatic. I was in the U.S. Army in 1967-69, and stationed for a time in Wash. D.C. my home was L.A. CA. Came home on leave and got married in 1968 and we drove to duty station in it in about a week, taking time to go some National Parks along the way, Yellow Stone, etc. No problems all the way. Took same car home in 69, after I ETS'd, to L.A. My wife and our new baby flew home. I drove, a week, to get back mostly on route 66. Did have overheating probs halfway home so drove at night and motel-ed in daytime. Got back ok. Same car got t-boned a year or so later, at home, on my way home from work. I pulled the rear quarter fender away from the rear tire and drove home. Fixed it and repainted it a nice stock color (was dark green, I had stupidly painted it from stock purple and white), gold and white.
Try that in you Prius or Tesla!! Sold car in 80's for a "song", $1800, now the car would be worth big bucks ($50K+) at auction. LOL :D
Definitely love at first sight. I have fond memories of my 327 - two barrel, pre-federal emissions. My current V8 is a Toyota 4.7L / 285 cubic inch with four camshafts, 32 valves and variable valve timing. The owner's manual says it is good for 283 hp / 325 ft. lbs. of torque and it met emissions standards back in 2005/06. Compared to the older small block Chevy, the Toyota V8 is stupidly expensive to repair.
Yep you got it brother.
Lots of 4wd guys in Australia swap to a 350 and they go well. Cheap on parts ,easy to fix can't go wrong.
And the Toyota, like almost all of today's engines, is overly complicated.
@@michaelbenardo5695 Ahmem brother, how true and they are gutless slugs . I've always had an old 318 with a mild set up as a daily driver around 300 Hp. Nothing special but great on fuel and they run forever, 750,000 k's easy. Bought a new Holden with the alloytec engine, supposed to be 200 k's. Bullshit , worst engine I've ever had . Car broke down at least every 2 weeks then the timing chains went so I traded it on an SS Ute ls1 . Much better car but I'm rebuilding my old Chrysler wagon and I'll stick to the 318. At least I can get that running any time any where .
@@michaelbenardo5695 I forgot to mention that the Toyota 4.7 liter also has 8 coil packs and timing belt that needs to be changed every 90,000 miles. . Don't get me wrong, the 4.7 is fine engine - but it's way more complex than the small block V8 engines of the distant past.
Great video. You mentioned the LS but you didn't say anything about the 2nd gen small block LT1/LT4. They were only produced for a few years in the mid 90's and most people forget about how great they are. I've got a 1996 Buick Roadmaster sedan with the LT1 engine and it is about to turn over 170k miles on the original Optispark distributor. The Optispark gets a bad rap, but it's not that bad at all. It's placement under the camshaft driven water pump isn't ideal. But it's a great improvement over the HEI distributor.
Please do a video on the LT1/LT4 engine before doing one on the LS. More people need to know about it
I hear you. I currently own 3 LT1 Roadmasters and a Fleetwood. I have owned two other Roadmasters and 4 other Fleetwoods. I love the LT1 engine! The bad rap they got was mostly from Camaro, Firebird and Corvette owners because they did not have the venting system working of engine vacuum the Roadmasters and Fleetwoods (and I think Caprices) had.
@@MostlyBuicksYou mean on the Optis? Those were factory vented starting in 1995 on the F bodies. Made them a lot more reliable. You can retrofit a vent on the '93 and 94, easy peasy.
The only problem with the OptiSpark is the placement, not the design. It's undeserved reputation comes from kids who go to Auto Zone or buy a new Opti off of ebay and expect them to last.
One of the most trouble free engines in the mid size marine engines for me was the 305 w/2bbl. A modest 200 hp seemed to last and last.
Yup, nice in Chris crafts! Garwoods, at Tahoe, where once lived. Man, that sound of a SB Chevy engine in a wooden boat!! :D
In my opinion, the greatest engine ever made, period. One of my daily drivers is small block powered. A 305 at 167K miles.
We had a brand new 283. Consumed copious amounts of oil. It was somewhat normal. Blowby past the rings in an era when machining and tolerances weren't so great.
My Dad bought a '55 with the then new 265 that had an oil burning problem. Under warrenty the dealer honed the cylinders and installed new rings, it still used excessive oil. The Power-glide constantly needed fluid. Right before he traded it, when it was up on a lift a mechanic found a missing bolt in the transmission, probably was that way since new. Didn't leak any fluid after that. At first, the dealer mechanics thought the new V8 was complicated, years later when he knew all of its problems were shade tree fixes, he wished he had kept the '55.
Back in the '50s & '60s we figured if a car didn't use a quart of oil in 700-800 miles that oil wasn't getting someplace
@@timothykeith1367 My dad also bought on in December of '54. In addition to the oil burning, it liked to eat the fuel pump arm spring, creating a lifter style noise. Fearing he had a lemon, he traded it on a new '56 Olds 14 months later.
The last time I saw the '55 was in the summer of 1967. I guess someone got some use out of it but it was pretty rough by then.