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<\/a><\/p>\nWhat engine do you want to put into that strip burner you\u2019re planning? This one simple question opens a whole Pandora\u2019s Box. What kind of car will it go into? How much modification are you willing and able to perform if necessary? How much power output do you want and what is allowed for your desired bracket?<\/p>\n
If you\u2019ve narrowed it down to an SBC engine, a Small Block Chevy engine, you need to know hat sizes are available. How hard are they to install? What are the specs of engines I can buy and install almost \u201cplug and play\u201d? What sort of mods can be performed on these engines? The following answers a few of those questions to help you get started.<\/p>\n
What Is a Small Block Chevy Engine?<\/b><\/p>\n
First question: What is a Small Block Chevy engine? Simply put, it\u2019s an engine produced by the General Motors Corporation for its Chevrolet unit. An engine is made up of numerous components, the largest of which is the block. The whole rotating assembly is contained in it, unless it\u2019s an overhead cam design.<\/p>\n
There are two basic types of internal combustion engines: small block and big block. These terms describe the basic block size. One block casting is usually used for a few different engines. Small blocks V8 engines have sizes, displacements, of usually between 250 cubic inches (CID) (about four liters) to around 380 CID.<\/p>\n
The basic parameters of the engine blocks used to make engines of different sizes remain the same. The differences are internal-cylinder diameter (bore), crankshaft stroke length (stroke), piston design, and head design. Some higher performance blocks can only be found being the basis for exclusive high performance engines, but the basic design of the SBC is the same.<\/p>\n
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What Sizes Are Available?<\/b><\/p>\n There are three SBC engines that almost everyone with a little bit of car knowledge has heard of. These are the 305, the 327, and the 350. However, there are more, like the 383. Exactly what sizes are available depends on a couple things:<\/p>\n If you choose either of the second two options, you\u2019re limited to the sizes that are available from Chevy<\/a> or your parts jobber<\/a>. If you build your own engine from scratch, you can adjust the engine displacement by changing the things I listed above:<\/p>\n The differences that piston and head design make on displacement aren\u2019t as great as the differences made by changing bore and stroke.<\/p>\n Perusing the Chevy page to see what\u2019s available in their SBC Crate Engine lineup shows us we\u2019re limited to either a 350 or a 383. However, these are turnkey solutions-buy it and install it. Expanding our options a bit, we see other engine sizes such as a 376 CID SBC, and more.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s Take a Closer Look at Available Crate Engine<\/b><\/p>\n As I mentioned above, the crate engine sizes that Chevy makes available pretty much covers their whole SBC lineup, from right around 300 cubic inches up to about 400 cubic inches. Exactly what you choose to install will depend on the limitations of your bracket and whether you want a street legal engine or not. Let\u2019s take a look at some of these engines and their output specifications.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Long Block versus Crate Engine<\/b><\/p>\n Back in the day a rate engine was a complete turn-key solution-buy it, install it, run it. Back then there was also what was known as a long block. Perusing the GM crate engine page I see them selling a number of engines that I consider to be long blocks as crate engines. This is because these engines don\u2019t have intakes, or if they do, there are no injectors or carb installed.<\/p>\n What I call long blocks give you the ability to install the exact intake system you want. This allows you to pump the engine up beyond the quoted output specs by installing better\/higher performance components in the fuel intake system.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n\n
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