Six Good Places For a Small-Block Chevy V8

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The Chevy small-block is the universal V8—it’s been put to work in a fabulous variety of automotive applications. (Besides Chevrolets, we mean.) Here are a few. 

 

Hot rodders like to say there’s not much wrong with most any car that a small-block Chevy won’t fix. That may be a stretch, but there’s no arguing it’s a great little engine. When the SBC was introduced in 1955, it was lighter than many straight sixes of the era, far more advanced and reliable, and twice as powerful. Small wonder the engine soon found applications in every far-flung corner of the automotive world. From many, here are just a few interesting examples.

 

The circa-1960 Chenowth-Chevrolet, aka the San Diego Steel Products Special, has the rare distinction of being one of the very few Indy roadsters designed and built around the Chevy V8.  Beautifully crafted, the Chenowth was never successful at Indy, but restorer-owner Dave Schleppi has given it a second life in vintage racing events, where the gorgeous roadster is a welcome and familiar sight.

 

Although Studebaker ceased production in South Bend late in 1963, the company’s Hamilton, Ontario assembly plant continued to operate for a few years more. The final Canadian-built Studebakers, produced in model years 1965 and 1966, were powered by Chevrolet engines—194 and 230 CID straight sixes, and the 283 CID V8 in 195 hp tune.

 

Bill Devin built both fiberglass bodies for the kit car market and complete, turn-key automobiles like this 1961 Devin SS. Chassis came from Malcolm McGregor in Ireland, while the muscle was provided by the perennial kit builder’s favorite, a warmed up small-block Chevy V8. Devin hoped to produce 100 units to legalize the SS for production racing, but only a dozen or two were built, experts say.

 

From 1965 through 1967, the Opel division of General Motors in Germany built a coupe version of its Opel Diplomat powered by a 327 CID Chevrolet V8. An expensive car for its time and market, the Diplomat coupe featured crisp hardtop bodywork manufactured by Karmann and a two-speed Powerglide transmission. Opel used Chevy V8 engines in its DIplomat line through 1977.

 

In the early 1970s, Smokey Yunick’s racing career took a quixotic turn as he attempted to develop—single-handedly and with little funding—a 208 CID twin-turbo Chevy V8 for Indy car racing. Installed in an aging Eagle chassis, the engine produced incredible hp numbers, but never for very long. The Oriente Express qualified for the Indy 500 twice,  in 1973 and 1975, with Jerry Karl aboard.

 

In the ’50s and ’60s there were a number of Euro-American hybrids, boutique automobiles featuring American V8 powerplants coupled to continental chassis and bodywork. Sweet combination, on paper anyway. One of the best-known was the Iso Rivolta (1964 model shown here). The elegant touring coupe sported De Dion rear suspension, styling by Giorgetto Giugiaro, and naturally, a 327 CID Chevrolet V8.

to be continued…

 

11 thoughts on “Six Good Places For a Small-Block Chevy V8”

  1. I have two small block Chevies and they’re both in non-traditional settings. One is as originally installed in our ’65 Studebaker Wagonaire and the other is in our Ghia 450SS. Both are sweet running machines with infinite availability of reasonably priced stock and hop-up parts from Summit Racing. Wish I could say that about all of our cars.

  3. I worked for a marine manufacturer and saw many small block Chevrolet engines wearing names such as OMC, Mercury, Volvo, Crusader, Yamaha, etc.

  4. Any competent engineer can design a water pump for a Rolls Royce; it takes a genius to make one for a Chevrolet.

  5. I recall seeing a small oil well service operator use a small block Chevrolet engine to fill a vacuum tank truck. The cylinder heads and intake were replaced by a homemade manifold. Worked like a charm!

  8. Yunick’s Eagle made it twice – 1973 and 1975. The Chenowth car is probably my favorite roadster ever, not just because it’s beautiful, but because of how it sounds.

  9. Jim Hall found one of the best places for a small block Chevrolet when he built his “winged wonders” Chaparrals. I know the early ones were small blocks, not sure about the later ones.

  10. Several, wait ,(what year is it?),many years ago, I had a 1951 Willys pickup with a 307 Chevy. It was a perfect fit with an adapter plate which utilized the Willys transmission and transfer case. Sure was sweet, but let that one slip away too.

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