Marlin275
07-25-2005, 09:20 PM
I read in Car&Driver that the small block holds up better in performance and weight specs, than the four valve, high tech, Japanese/Euro muscle.
From Iron to Gold: A Stellar V-8
By DAVE KINNEY
Published: July 25, 2005
IF there were lifetime achievement awards for automotive engines, the Chevrolet small-block V-8 would be a sure winner.
While such awards are sometimes no more than acknowledgments of longevity - for an actor at the end of a long career, perhaps - the best years of the Chevy V-8 seem to still lie ahead. Though it has turned 50, it is at the peak of its form: a version developed for the 2006 Corvette Z06, at 427 cubic inches and 505 horsepower, will be the biggest and most powerful of the 90 million small-blocks Chevrolet has built so far.
When it was introduced for the 1955 models, the original 265-cubic-inch, 162-horsepower edition was the first V-8 Chevy had offered since a short-lived effort of 1917. As larger-displacement V-8's with completely different designs came along in later years, the 265 and its successors came to be known by the "small block" nickname.
Development of the engine was led by Edward N. Cole, a former Cadillac engineer who eventually became president of General Motors. His team's all-new V-8 was notable for its compact design and light weight, about 50 pounds less than the six-cylinder that was Chevrolet's mainstay at the time.
Over the years, the engine has proved both versatile and durable. Even as internal pieces were improved and the cylinder displacement grew, main components continued to be interchangeable. In 1978, two cylinders were sliced from its middle to create a V-6 that lives on as the Vortec 4300.
Development of the small-block V-8 in today's Chevrolets continues. Weight has been cut by replacing iron with aluminum and fuel economy has been improved with a system that shuts off four cylinders when conditions permit. Even so, basic dimensions and engineering features - including valves opened by pushrods - carry through from the original design to the fourth-generation engine that powers the 2005 Corvette.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/25/automobiles/25CHEV.html?
From Iron to Gold: A Stellar V-8
By DAVE KINNEY
Published: July 25, 2005
IF there were lifetime achievement awards for automotive engines, the Chevrolet small-block V-8 would be a sure winner.
While such awards are sometimes no more than acknowledgments of longevity - for an actor at the end of a long career, perhaps - the best years of the Chevy V-8 seem to still lie ahead. Though it has turned 50, it is at the peak of its form: a version developed for the 2006 Corvette Z06, at 427 cubic inches and 505 horsepower, will be the biggest and most powerful of the 90 million small-blocks Chevrolet has built so far.
When it was introduced for the 1955 models, the original 265-cubic-inch, 162-horsepower edition was the first V-8 Chevy had offered since a short-lived effort of 1917. As larger-displacement V-8's with completely different designs came along in later years, the 265 and its successors came to be known by the "small block" nickname.
Development of the engine was led by Edward N. Cole, a former Cadillac engineer who eventually became president of General Motors. His team's all-new V-8 was notable for its compact design and light weight, about 50 pounds less than the six-cylinder that was Chevrolet's mainstay at the time.
Over the years, the engine has proved both versatile and durable. Even as internal pieces were improved and the cylinder displacement grew, main components continued to be interchangeable. In 1978, two cylinders were sliced from its middle to create a V-6 that lives on as the Vortec 4300.
Development of the small-block V-8 in today's Chevrolets continues. Weight has been cut by replacing iron with aluminum and fuel economy has been improved with a system that shuts off four cylinders when conditions permit. Even so, basic dimensions and engineering features - including valves opened by pushrods - carry through from the original design to the fourth-generation engine that powers the 2005 Corvette.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/25/automobiles/25CHEV.html?