small block chevy's//love'em or hate'em? good-guys car show observation.

[skull]

reason l ask is l went to the good guys in puyallup this week end. most everything was powered by a small block chevy. yes, there were lots of hemi's, flat-heads and other power plants.

l also seen several "fake" motors, such as mocked up 426 hemi with 8 stacks, but hid underneath was a carb'ed sbc. l asked why and he said the reliability, interchangability and price of the sbc was the main reason. he likes how a hemi looks but can't afford one, so he faked the sbc to look like a hemi.

seen 3 V-12's and a V-16 faked with a sbc under them and some motors l can't even guess what they were supposed to be, but sbc under the them if ya looked hard enough.

never really seen this faking of motors till the last couple of years. is this a common thing or just a trend?

lots of cool car there

Later

 

[Willowbilly3]

I don't get the whole fakey thing either. Can't argue with cheap and reliable but there are plenty of other engines just as cheap and reliable too.

 

[ronnysplymouth]

If I see a SBC in a rod at a show I just keep walking...........WAY too overdone........

 

[shakey56]

SBC

I know...I know......the "overdone" sbc.

Tell ya why there's one in my Effie. I had it!....so I used it! And I sold auto parts for 8 years.....lots more sbc stuff on th' shelf.

AND....my son built a 67 Galaxie a while back. So much stuff on the engine was " one year only". Like to have never found enough to get it on the road! Still had to adapt a radiator from a different year.

Not casting stones....just sayin'.

To me, it's kinda like a country girl in jeans....ain't fancy and hi-falootin' but she sure can cook!

 

[Tim...Ok]

I grew up with small and big block Chevies, flatties and hemis were before my time, I like'em, but just not where my experience is, so I have no problem seeing SBC's in a rod..
the one thing that irks me at shows is seeing a big blower or tunnel ram, whatever on a sheetmetal dummy block..I don't get building a show car that will never move under its own power..but that just my opinion..

Tim

 

[shakey56]

SBF

BTW, the COE I'm building is a 1955 C600 Ford. It will be a 302 with AOD.....all ford front to back! ....cause I got it.

....and I don't wish it was a Hemi.

 

[donsrods]

I'm basically a Ford and Oldsmobile guy at heart, but I totally get why sbc engines are so popular. I hadn't had one in probably 30 years but when I built my 23 I happened to have a 350 Vortec sitting in the shop so I had it machined, rebuilt it, and used it.

The first thing is cost. Parts for them are about half of what you pay for comparable Ford parts, and a fraction of what you pay for others, like Olds, Buick, and (gasp......hold onto your wallet) a Hemi ! No other engine has so many used or new parts available for it, and they go dirt cheap. Even complete engines are everywhere and go for a song. A brand new base crate engine goes for only about $ 1500-$ 1600.

Secondly is reliability. My Vortec never missed a beat. I could jump in it and drive to some event 300 miles from home and never gave it a thought. It just kept running like the Energizer Bunny. It also made good HP and got super good gas milage. One time coming home from Billetproof I pulled 30 mpg on one leg of the trip and regularly got 25 mpg with it.

Third is compactness. They fit where others won't. They are short, narrow, and things like the starter are on the right side. They are also a very pretty engine, no goofy things like protrusions or external oil pumps to take away from their simplicity. Same can be said for the bbc too.

Finally, (and here comes the debate part) they are TRADITIONAL. I was there when the first Chevy small blocks came out and when they started showing up in wrecking yards. We couldn't get them fast enough, and they commanded a good buck, compared to the other engines. If you look back at hot rods from the late 50's and 60's you will see sbc in everything.

Now, that being said, yep, they are what you might call "overdone". I kinda feel the same way when I see so many of them at a show. We might replace the word "overdone" with "popular" because they are certainly that.

And on the subject of dressing them up to look like another brand of engine, I really don't get that at all. No one is being fooled, and it looks cheesy IMO. There is a very nice 32 Ford pickup running around here that has Thunderbird valve covers modified to fit the sbc engine in the car. The guy went to great lengths to tell me how much time it took to make them fit right.........WHY EVEN DO IT????????? I get immediately turned off on a car when I see that done.

Don

 

[AEROCOLOR]

Nobody bitches about how many `32`s are at every show. They seem really "popular"
At Goodguys Columbus you could jump from roof to roof on `32 Fords without touching the ground it seemed....and I still want one.

As far as valve cover changing, I don`t mind as some olds/y-block covers are just cool and makes that cookiecutter sbc more interesting. Like Don said the reliability, cost and availability make it a no brainer to use a chevy motor.
From experience I can tell you that a flathead is not going to be repaired in an Autozone parking lot as easily as a small block Chevy.Better have towing coverage on your insurance with anything else.

 

[TiredIronGRB]

Very good post Don, I also don't understand the fake thing...just plain lame!

 

[ratrodz]

If I see a SBC in a rod at a show I just keep walking...........WAY too overdone........

it doesn't take you long to get thur a car show LOL

 

[goose-em]

IMO the sbc is a great motor, reliable, easy to fix, cheap, every parts store will have parts, etc.

However, if an individual is trying to be different the sbc will not get it done. Why spend $1000's on your hot rod trying to make it different and then put an engine in that makes people say, "another sbc?" didn't the guy have any imagination.

Now, if you are planning to build something that will be driven a lot, I mean to and from work everyday, grocery getting, long trips, etc. the sbc makes sense.

If you build something that you plan to show and plan to stand out at the show, and still drive it to work now and then and to the store now and then and maybe a road trip now and then, why not put in something a little different.

Maybe not a flathead, what about a pontiac big block or a Ford or whatever. Many of these not so common engines are still reliable and still fairly cheap to build with parts fairly available.

Of course you can always go the way out in space route and build something that only a few will have, say a Plymouth flathead, or Pontiac flathead in my case, or a banger.

In the end it is what you want and plan to do with the thing. My 1938 Pontiac flathead is unique on several levels but if I need a head gasket I better bring one with me, new pistons, better have them handy, distributor, water pump, flywheel, starter, just about everything on that motor is hard to come by and not cheap.

And I am one who just walks by the sbc at the carshow.

 

[Flipper_1938]

I walk past just about any stock motor unless it is a rare factory hemi car or a ZL1 camaro.

A small block chevy can be just as interesting as anything else if it is well done/thought out. ...and they run great.

 

[rainman]

I agree SBC's have been way over done, but why do you think that is?

Trend right now seems to be going the inline direction!!! And I like it!!

I would be considered a Ford guy too, but I'v owned many SBC's, The real question for me is, should you do ford in a ford, chevy in a chevy??

I try to do that but look at my avatar and an OLDS motor is probably going in that!!

 

[jfg455]

me being a HP kinda guy, I like what ever I can get the HP #'s out of for the least amount of money. Usually it is a SBC or an LS based motor. I never understood the "fake" craze or the street rod guys that have a $100K car with a crate stock SBC (that cost them $2300).

 

[Sam_Fear]

In general, if it's a sbc or any other not-so-special motor, just keep your hood down. I'd rather look at the lines of the car.

 

[ronnysplymouth]

it doesn't take you long to get thur a car show LOL

very true....unfortunately.......

It doesnt help that I'm a Mopar guy through and through but still not so biased that I wont use anything else ( my 55 dodge pickup is slated to have an s10 chassis and 472 cadillac) but if I have any other choice I wont use a SBC.....

 

[chronisterracing]

I personally like when a guy/gal tries to keep the same manufacture for the engine as the body, but sbc are cheap.

When I had my 28 p/u I had a 56 Y-block in it and I would love to watch people try to figure out what type of engine it was....that made the ride that more special.

 

[klink]

In general, if it's a sbc or any other not-so-special motor, just keep your hood down. I'd rather look at the lines of the car.

I'd always rather look at the lines of the car... just say'n

 

[CR55]

I appreciate whatever motor someone is running. Sure its nice to see an old hemi or 352 ford or whatever. The bottom line is the SBC is cheap to build and very reliable. I have a 305 in my daily driver. It just rolled over on 320,000 miles today! How many of you can TRUTHFULLY say their (insert your type here) can do that and it still doesn't leak or burn any oil!.....cr

 

[shakey56]

The difference?

They are all cast and machined pieces of metal.....goin' round and round. Put sumthin together and drive it! I am proud of my daily driven sbc. It is a mix of old skool and late model....ON PURPOSE!

I get a lot of compliments and then the occaisional "why?". Well.....cause it's mine! They think I should fix the rust and paint it too. Ain't happenin'!

As to fake engines....I appreciate creativity in any form. ('cept when it's stupid.) I personally don't care for chromed everything in the engine compartment....that's just me. That makes me "keep walkin'".