First Generation small block Chevy engine family 265, 283, 327, 350, 302, 307, 400, 262, 305, 267

Simple man - lynyrd skynyrd

The mouse that roared, but the 327 was the mighty mouse👍

The Chevy 327 is the best small block engine ever built. At least until the LS small block replaced the first generation small block. While the Chrysler 340 was one hell of a screamer in its own right, the 327 has the perfect blend of ability to rev as well as good torque. I've built a LOT of engines over the years, and when given the choice what to build, I will build a 327 before a 350 every day of the week.

My dad bought a new 1955 Chevy with the 265 4bbl. He put 110K miles on it and sold it in 1964 to a neighbor who was in the army. He was deployed to Seoul Korea and took the car with him. He sold it to a Korean farmer who put a new body on it and gave it to his son as a wedding present. When my dad traded in his '64 in 1971, that '55 was still running.

In March 1967 my father used his reenlistment money to buy a 1967 Camero. Factory ordered RS/SS with a 350, 4 speed 3.55 gears. It was Marina blue, with the white stripe around the nose. In 1971 he sold it and bought a 1969 Torino GT 390, with the top loader 4 speed. He never could get over selling the Camero.

Impressed you mentioned the Pontiac origin of the stamped rocker arms. Nice job!

I was a GMI student assigned to Chevy small block engine group. I speced out a 400 4 barrel for a 72 Monte Carlo while at the tech center. I don't know if my engine made it to production or not, but i sure enjoyed my time in the small block group!!!

First small block I owned was a 327 out of 66 Vette. Rebuilt it with 66 Motors Manual, with an Isky cam and Hedman headers in a 57 Belair. This 69. Second was a 4 bolt main 350 in a 55. Last was a 350 in a square body 1/2 ton. Younger brother followed with a69 Chevelle and a full size Blazer. Thanks fot the memories.

I have owned a 66 Chevy. Biscayne with a 283 stick shift, a 68 Chevelle with a 307 Powerglide and a71 Impala with a 400 with a turbo hrydarmatic 350. My favorite has to be the 66 283 but the 71 400 is a close second. Your are right about the torque of the 400, that car would light the tires up from a dead stop by just getting on it!

Another great comprehensive episode! The 283 was really smooth with a tight power curve. The 350 was really fast but could run hot and I blew a rod on I95. The 307 was dependable but slow with poor compression after 80,000 miles. They were all good engines and easy to work on in my 69 Malibu!

Driving from upstate ny to Fort Lauderdale spring break in 1974 with a 283 I put in a 69 chevelle. Fuel pump died on I95 in rural Maryland near an exit. We walked about 3/4 mile to a small gas station that had a new fuel pump on a shelf in an old cardboard box. I bought it and walked back to the car. State trooper was waiting and said we had an hour to get off the highway. In about 15 minutes we were back on our way. Such a dependable engine easy to work on with completely interchangeable parts.

The 302 is not really very well known, you can win bets. It was a screaming little animal, barely civilized on the street.

I lived in a farming community and a good friend of my dad's bought a cab-over Chevy stake bed in '56 or '57. I remember when he opened the hood for us to take a peek at the power plant and, way down in the compartment was this tiny appearing orange colored v-8, a small block in a truck. It was so diminutive but had the ponies necessary.

Loved the 400CI small block in my 73 Caprice

ZZ4 Crate Engine in a1973 4 wheel drive Chevy truck. It was a lot of fun.

My dad's first race car in 1962, if i remember the year correctly? It was a 1956 Chevy 2dr post, 265 engine 3 speed manual. My dad ran it for years, then his brother took over and did even better. I believe my uncle upgraded to the 283 later on. They did some homemade suspension upgrades which were legal, kept quiet and the mods allowed him to run around the track like he was driving on the interstate. He won so often that they were accused of cheating by the competition and were forced to tear down the engine in the pit's after the races more than once. It's weird how people can actually hate you when your on top. I have some of their trophies on my mantel and my uncle's 1967 point's championship trophy. I was youngest and had to do all the grunt work, but i wouldn't trade those day's for anything. Watching the evolution of race cars from stocks, modifieds, super modifieds and eventually the majestic winged Sprinters was incredible life experience. ❤ My favorite engines were always 283, 327 and 350 for sb's. 283's are bulletproof! I had four cars legally stolen from me and the one I miss the most to this day was 1967 Malibu 2dr hardtop 283, three on the tree and 4:56 posi. 😪

1971 270hp 350 here. Still runs great!

Loved my ‘67 Pontiac with a 283, and my ‘69 Camero with the 327

Everyone loved that 327 back in the day but I never had one. Had a bunch of 350s and a small block 400. The 400 is a "baby big block" when you build it right. Looks like any other small block except for the extra freeze plugs. It had 3 instead of 2. The later versions ended up with 2 as well but there was still a boss there for the 3rd one. So if someone is trying to sell you a 350 and telling you it's a 400, check the side of the block. 6 total vs 4. I've bought Chevy's and changed the plugs as soon as I bought them and have seen nothing but a nub left where the electrode has worn away to nothing and you couldn't tell. Didn't miss, fired right up and had power. Engineering masterpiece is what the Gen 1 small (and big) block Chevy's were.

I had a 1979 malibu classic. It came with the 305 with the rubber camshaft and the infamous th200, so after a year, I swapped a 400 4 bbl with a th350 in it. It lit the tires very easily. I also had a 1990 police caprice with the 350. It was also quite fast and reliable for a 500$ car. That was around 1998.