Editing The controversial Chevy small block engine

There was a time when the "mouse motor" was NOT frowned upon for being too common, but was revered as a legitimate contender. It was a time of creative combinations and creative thinkers. It was a time of strip cars, roundy round cars, sand rails and street rods all looking for that one little edge to pull ahead of their rivals.

Now in the hot rod world, the reliable little Chevy appears to be  something of a victim of its own success. They seem to be everywhere and thus are not very unique, or are they??

What many seem to be missing is that the SBC has become the options engine. The true beauty of a SBC for those in the know is their versatility. A good mechanic can start with an ordinary 350 block and build a variety of motors from the high winding 302 up to the ground pounding 383 stroker with many, many particular variables FOR EACH OF THEM. And it doesn't stop there. There are also several options above, beneath, and between those displacements mentioned.

It all started back in 1955 with the 265. At that time the Flathead Ford was "king of the street", and with all major auto manufacturers except Chevrolet and Pontiac producing V8's, Chevy had to jump in the game with an entirely new design. The majority of its state of the art design can still be found on motors everywhere.

That little 265 has now morphed into the greatest selling internal combustion engine of all time. Over 90,000,000 strong with the venerable 350 counting for a considerable portion of that. Is this a bad thing? You be the judge.

The truth is that the "controversial" SBC doesn't have to be boring at all. They have more "unique" options than any other engine on the planet and it is in fact one of the greatest success stories of all time.

There are fuel injected, carburated, throttle body options with a plethora of aftermarket goodies available to make the rod builder feel like a kid in a candy store. Heads, camshafts, pistons, lifters, all with options abounding. And isn't that what hot rodding is all about? Using options to make your ride "your" ride, to make it "unique"!!

So go ahead, pick up that boring 350 block for a song and then let the creative juices flow. And when you see one in someone elses ride, don't make the mistake of assuming it is just another boring Chevy. Their reply might make you feel pretty silly.

What's not to like about a SBC? Good power to weight ratio, rear sump, a ton of aftermarket parts available, and both motor and parts are as economical as it gets. They are the most common engine, cause it makes the most sense. 
Seems like all the people knocking them have the same complaints "They're everywhere" "Tired of looking at em" "No imagination" etc. 

The roots of hot rodding were to build fast, cheap. So back in the beginning, that meant model A's with flat heads. Light, fast, cheap. 

You think people went around snubbing their noses at all the flatheads? I guess now we should snub our noses at 32's, cause they're everywhere. If you're building an 80k trailer queen for the purpose of winning trophys, you should spend more money and jump through more hoops to have something unique under the hood.  Bragging rights, you know. But if you're building a hot rod to have fun, put a SBC in it.

[[Category:Engine]]