[sm=exactly.gif]600 horses from a Small Block with 3 ducks (duces), ain't that hard ta do. Ya want more? Put on twin turbos, or maybe a 671 GM blower! The Small Block Chevy V8, has taken down more wins, in more classes, that any other production engine.
You look real close atthe hot rods and show cars, you'll see most if not all,(even the '20's, '30's, and up F..FO.... uh, ...SDROF.), have Chevy Small Blocks.

 

.....although, IMO the Big Block, done right, has a visual effect that shrinks the competition, upon the mere sight!

(uh,....that'll be $200, ta look under my hood. [sm=shades.gif])

 

which type of engine (small/big block) would you say is the most "modifyable." Which can you pull the most horsepower out of without doing damage? I can't wait to get home and inspect further...

 

Hi NickD, you can get anything and everything for both the smallblock and bigblock chevy motors, I'd say the smallblock parts are more widely available and at a lower cost but with the right connections you can get whatever you need to build a bigblock. As far as horsepower is concerned, the old saying "there is no replacement for displacement" pretty much holds true, which means typically the more cu. in. you have , the more power and torque you can make.

 

One thing a lot of people over look, is that a small block will wind faster that a big block. This is due to the generally shorter stroke of the small block.
How many horses do you want?
That should depend on what ya want ta use 'em for.
Concider the monster trucks, they are pumpin' out 1500 hp or more.
My poor little Vette is only goin' tohave a little above 400 hp. She's just goin' ta be a cruiser, long range bomber, as I like to say.
Drag racin' is a point and shoot sport. I prefer the guided missle approach.

 

Well, I don't ever plan on selling this car as it belonged to my late grandfather and it was one of his favorite rides. Unfortunatly he didn't get to do as much to it as he wanted, I would like to continue on his path though and make it a mean street machine. Something that will sound great and come out on top in mosttraffic light "races." I know thats a steep wish with some of today's cars, so I guess If I could just beat the snot out of all imports then I would be happy. Oh, and something that is still fun to just cruise in....Suggestions?

 

Hey Nick,
You can get pretty good HP numbers from a small block, which is what you have in there.
In 74 they really started to neuter all the motors. I'm not sure what the stock HP numbers were in 74,
but I'm sure they were less than the older cars, and for some of the bigger parts..Ie...heads and intakes thats where I would start to look. Some of the earlier 327 had 350 HP mainly due to head and intake differences. "Most" all small block 327,350 and 400 are totaly interchangable with regaurds to the major parts. Better flowing heads, properly ported intake, a little higher compression piston, mild cam, and a good ignition should get you 400+HP in a perfectly streetable, pumpgas engine.

 

Even a stock L82 put up some base numbers in 74. Yeah, neutered... but remember... previous claims to hp were based at what it made at the crank. All Chevy did in 73 and 74 was slightly lower the compression for unleaded gas, and measure hp at the rear wheels. A good trick to keep the feds off your ***. My 73 LS4 was rated at 275hp but produced 395 pound feet of torque. Enjoy the ride...
later
Wedge
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[sm=exactly.gif]ax! Take a 327, put in a 400 steel crank, 202 fuelie heads, 9.5:1 comp., an ol' Duntov 30-30 cam, top it off with a 750 cfm, and hang on!Still as leathal as it was back in my day. ( '60s-'70s)

 

It was my understanding that in '71 when GM went to unleaded, lower compression engines, they also changed hp ratings from gross which was w/o accessories to net which was w/ accessories. Both were at the crank tho.

One big plus for the big block is the massive torque which is what launches you and what you feel in the seat of your pants. Hp is what gets you a high top speed.