Chevy 350: Longest mill still in production?

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dnastrau

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With the 50th anniversary of the 1st Gen Camaro coming up this September, that means that Chevy has been making the 350 small block for 50 years this year. I would imagine at this time in 1966 they were performing the final testing on pre-production 350s, ramping up for production of the new small block variant. Little did they know that they were working on what was to become arguably the most popular engine ever made in the USA.

This got me thinking: Since the 350 is still available as a new crate engine as well as for marine applications, does that make it the longest running engine displacement/same basic block and head design currently on the market? I can't think of anything else left from that era except maybe the Ford 302 which was introduced in '67 for the 1968 model year (as I think they still make new crate 302s as well). Can anyone think of an engine (same design and bore/stroke combination) that has lasted this long in continuous production? Perhaps engines used in industrial applications?

Andrew S.
 
The Ford 300 I6 began production in 1965. It is still manufactured for irrigation pumps, snow plows and other industrial applications as you alluded to.
 
Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
The Ford 300 I6 began production in 1965. It is still manufactured for irrigation pumps, snow plows and other industrial applications as you alluded to.


Wow - I wasn't sure if the old 300 inline 6 was still around. That is great to hear. Talk about an incredible "return on investment" in both cases!
 
Yup, here's a source for them:

http://www.pittauto.com/default.aspx?pag...ges/pl_ford.htm

The CSG-649 is the Ford 300 I6
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Yeah, it is really quite neat that the SBC, SBF and these other hold overs from half a century ago are still being made
smile.gif
 
Originally Posted By: expat
But how much is the same other than bore centres, stroke and bore?

Quite a bit. We are talking about crate and industrial engines. A crate 1st gen SBC is very much just that. Usually topped with some better heads. Same goes for the crate SBF's. So they have some performance improvements done to them.

The industrial engines are pretty much the same thing for the last 50 years. They just work.
 
They are also hard to kill. Have a Vortec 350 that had been run for many thousands of miles with a blown headgasket. Lots of coolant in the oil. It is still kicking today without a rebuild and only new headgaskets. Has 240,000 miles
 
Sweetest lil engine of all time - a true workhorse with stupid Hp potential - just add money.

You can literally find parts camping and taking a whizz in the woods - its the most available piece of HP ever.

Everyone can play from a high school kid with tools & a nearby junkyard with 1K to an adult with 50K.

Dollar for dollar it just cannot be beat.



UD
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
The Ford 300 I6 began production in 1965. It is still manufactured for irrigation pumps, snow plows and other industrial applications as you alluded to.


Production of the Ford 300 ceased somewhere around 2005. The company I worked for used a lot of these engines in airport ground equipment and we used to keep spare engines in stock. The last spark ignited engine we purchased before switching to diesel was an Oxx Power Ford 4.9. The Oxx power engine was built with all new parts, none of them from Ford. This engine ran stronger and smoother than the OEM Ford engines.

The 300 inline was replaced by the 4.2 V6.
 
Well, the engine family was introduced in '55, so the basic design is over 60 years old. The 350 itself is 50. Not a bad run!

Question: in the late 90's I recall Vortec heads being the bee's knees. Perhaps outflowing/out-performing any stock head, and thus providing a cheap upgrade. Why port&polish&rebuild old heads when factory new heads could be had cheaply? Not as a good as a race head but a pretty cheap option for a low buck build.
 
A while back I asked if a crate 350 made in 2014 was better than a 350 made in 1989 and didn't really get a clear answer so I asked the mechanic that installed it for me and he said it was better. He said the machining has improved over the years. He said in 89 the 350 they used had 190 HP and my crate was 210.

All I know is at about 2000 rpm she really starts having a mice rumble to her.
 
In '95 or so they went Vortec with a better flowing head. Not sure if you got those better heads on your crate or not.

I don't think machining has gotten better as much as they hold the tolerances better--not as costly as it was to machine to a smaller window.
 
Originally Posted By: ms21043
Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
The Ford 300 I6 began production in 1965. It is still manufactured for irrigation pumps, snow plows and other industrial applications as you alluded to.


Production of the Ford 300 ceased somewhere around 2005. The company I worked for used a lot of these engines in airport ground equipment and we used to keep spare engines in stock. The last spark ignited engine we purchased before switching to diesel was an Oxx Power Ford 4.9. The Oxx power engine was built with all new parts, none of them from Ford. This engine ran stronger and smoother than the OEM Ford engines.

The 300 inline was replaced by the 4.2 V6.


I still see Natural Gas versions for sale, this link came straight from the Ford Power Products distributor page:

http://www.industrialengines.ca/engines.html

21.gif
 
It's not the machining as much as it is the specifications they can machine to as a result of metallurgical advances and material hardness. That's been the real advancement.
 
Originally Posted By: Duffyjr
A while back I asked if a crate 350 made in 2014 was better than a 350 made in 1989 and didn't really get a clear answer so I asked the mechanic that installed it for me and he said it was better. He said the machining has improved over the years. He said in 89 the 350 they used had 190 HP and my crate was 210.

All I know is at about 2000 rpm she really starts having a mice rumble to her.


The Mercruiser small block 5.7L is 260 HP. A different cam and 4 bolt mains like a truck engine. This is before the Vortec heads.
 
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