Chevrolet Big Block Trivia or : Where were they hiding them Horses!?

SammyChevelleTypeS3

SammyChevelleTypeS3

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Chevrolet Big Block Trivia! or Where were those other Horses hiding?

Lots of us know the golden age of "muscle cars," as far as just about anyone being able to own any major high horsepower motor car engines ended up almost going totally extinct around the 1970-1977 era. Mopar and Pontiac, Buick managed to squeeze out a few more decently powered (lower compression with higher tourque) models before the end of that era. So the question is this.... Chevolet big block engines came in a few select flavors such as 396 / 409 / 427 / 454 etc.... Buick, Pontiac and Olds all had one labeled 455cui.... But there was another big block Chevy engine hiding out there just before some of "The General's" government regulated sheet metal cars with those crazy looking hideous bumpers showed up that they were forced to make and try to sell after 1972. This Chevrolet engine was hiding in plain sight and could be found almost anyplace just for the looking...... yet several to this day are unaware it was right under our noses from 1970 thru 1972.
What and where was it hiding? That bored 0.30 over sneaky big block that was discontinued after 1972 was hiding in what popular car? After which anyone needing a big block opted for the 454cui giant once there were not many 427cui available any longer since it was dropped by The General in 1969. :unsure:
 
Here is a list of the 402 applications from 1965 to 1972 and from 1970 to 1972. Basically the 396/402 was used in the full size Chevy’s from 1965 to 1970. What is missing from this list in Wiki, is that the engine was in the Chevelle, firstly as the 396, but was a 402 in 1970, but still badged as a 396.

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This article from Wiki refers to the 400 cubic inch engine in the 74-76 Chevelles as being a small block. This changed after the 1972 year when the available 396 (402) was still a big block.

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With the 1972 Chevy Caprice, you could get a 400 small block or a 400 (402 actually) big block. The small block was a 2 bbl Turbo-Fire, and the big block was a 4 bbl Turbo-Jet. The small block had 170 HP and the big block had 210 HP, and 240 HP with dual exhaust. Is this the answer to the riddle?

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billt460 said:
I had a 1970 Chevy Nova SS with a 396 - 375 HP. Was it a 402?
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Yes, and so was the 69 265 hp 9:1 compression 396.
I still have the 2V intake manifold from the 69 Canadian built Pontiac station wagon my parents bought. VIN 7563691138291
The other BBC option for full size Canadian built 1969 Pontiacs and Chevs was the 10.25:1 390 hp 427.

I'd like to see the 6.6L L8T engine offered in the Camaro, 1500s, Tahoe, Suburban & Yukons as is, marketed as a 396, without ruining it with start-stop, AFM or phony engine noises generated and broadcast through the stereo system.
 
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Snagglefoot said:
With the 1972 Chevy Caprice, you could get a 400 small block or a 400 (402 actually) big block. The small block was a 2 bbl Turbo-Fire, and the big block was a 4 bbl Turbo-Jet. The small block had 170 HP and the big block had 210 HP, and 240 HP with dual exhaust. Is this the answer to the riddle?

View attachment 220719
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More SBC trivia that you likely already know - the SB 400 had a bore of 4.125" and a stroke of 3.75".

It was common for engine builders to bore a 350 or 327 block 30 thou over (4.000" to 4.030") and install the crank from a 400, increasing the stroke from 3.25" (327) or 3.48" (350) to 3.75", for a displacement of 383 c.i.

This engine was known as a Striker, and was not to be confused with the Mopar of the same displacement.
 
Snagglefoot said:
The confusing factoid was that there was a 400 small block ( with siamesed cylinders) at the same time there was a 396 big block, and 402 big block.
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02SE said:
Are you referring to the LS3 402.
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YES! (y) I knew several BITOG muscle "heads" like me would get that one..... but I was curious at JUST how fast! LoL. :D
You guys are good. I wonder how many? like me , getting on in years, see muscle cars in their sleep as much as we
once saw "young ladies" :giggle: in our sleep!?
 
Number_35 said:
More SBC trivia that you likely already know - the SB 400 had a bore of 4.125" and a stroke of 3.75".

It was common for engine builders to bore a 350 or 327 block 30 thou over (4.000" to 4.030") and install the crank from a 400, increasing the stroke from 3.25" (327) or 3.48" (350) to 3.75", for a displacement of 383 c.i.

This engine was known as a Striker, and was not to be confused with the Mopar of the same displacement.
Click to expand...
Since a kid , when some of my first part time jobs after school was pumping gas .45 to .49 cents a gallong, in the days of real service stations with the double or triple tune up / repair bays with the signs out front **24 Hr Mech on Duty 24 Hr** I was always amazed at
the amount of different design and displacement of engines. Lucky at the time I was still a bit too young to drive as I likely would have accumulated many more tickets than I did in the later part of the 70s.
 
Snagglefoot said:
Since the post is from SammyChevelleTypeS3 and knowing that the 402 was also marketed as a Turbo-Jet 400 for a time, I am guessing that the 400 4 bbl in the Chevelle Laguna was actually a 402 big block. Can this be right?
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What they said happened was when Chevy bored the largest 396 0.30 they ended up with the 402cui BUT the 396cui was so engrained in the young car buyers brains Chevy movers and shakers spent considerable time trying to come up with a better/catchy nickname like they had with all the ads stating "SS/396!" and they could not..... so they fudged a bit and still called the 402cui the 396cui to avoid confusion and to keep a good thing selling like hot cakes. :giggle: Unfortunately by the time I got into my very first new cars.... the EPA and good old Uncle Sammy had dropped the hammer on the automakers and along with the insurance companies they put the muscle car era to a screeching halt about the end of 1972. Mopar / Pontiac / Buick and Olds tried to hang on like Chevy and offered some "de-tuned" big blocks but really all were muzzled down / choked off , what folks nicknamed the "smog era" engines. My first new Chevelle came with a miserable smothered down 350cui SBC that barely eked out 145hp! Ugh. My last Chevelle that was rebuilt from the ground up had that factory siamesed cyl 400cui engine. Even though I was never into the racing and hi horse stuff, we did manage to have that 400cui small block bore also 0.30 and all the anti polution stuff removed and installed dual exhausts with headers that made it quite a bit more fun to drive around in with a nice mellow sound. Funny but lots of folks who heard that engine swore I had a comp cam installed in it! LoL
 
LenZee said:
It was a small block 400.
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You got it! Yep ...by the late 70s most engines were vastly choked down due to EPA / Insurance regulations and then the even more tough one to deal with for a while was the "no-lead" gasoline which cause many to have to modify their valves / seats for a while. The late 70s thru to the mid 80s sure were a sad time for "muscle heads" who liked to go fast! BUT the great thing that followed all of that mess was the invention (well it had been around since the 50s but virtually ignored) and the move to EFI engines of today that we really have benefitted from since they run so well and are so powerful and efficient. Just like the EV these days, with so much caution and fight against them, when Chevy first put some fuel injected engines as an option to the 50s Tri-Fives and some Corvettes , folks looked at fuel injection like something from outer space plus they had a limited amount of trained folks to maintain them so they went no where fast and were phased out.
 
DriveHard said:
What about the 496? It was easily available through he 2000's
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Oh yeah. Engines are being built so much better since the late 80s. More efficient / less polluting etc... there is no end to how much
horsepower that keeps popping up these days. It certainly is high times for the "go-fast" bunch now a days! :)
 
70-72. if you ordered a 400 with a 2 bbl you got a small block 400. if you ordered a 400 with a 4bbl you got a big block 402.

Trivia: What year was the only year that you could get a BB Chevy with a 2 bbl?
 
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