Big Block vs Small Block Chevy Comparison

The most complete Chevrolet Big Block vs. Small Block video. Power capability, weights, dimensions, valvetrain, displacements, model years. Plus, a bunch of other cool details you may not know.

396 Big Block vs 400 Small Block from Hot Rod Magazine (August 1998):

Books on Amazon (affiliate links):
Big Block:

Small Block:

This site also has tons of good info and is run by one of the authors of these books.

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0:00 Introduction
0:51 History
1:19 Displacements
2:37 Bore & Stroke
3:34 Dimensions
4:17 Cylinder Heads
5:21 Valves
6:23 Engine Block Weight
6:58 Engine Block Strength
7:31 Maximum RPM
7:48 Total Engine Weight
8:48 Big Block = Big Needs
9:48 Lightweight Big Block
10:17 Recommended Books
10:43 Horsepower

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Please note that I entered the 454 bore and stroke incorrectly. The 454 has a bore of 4.25 and a stroke of 4.

[phillhuddleston]

I once shed close to seventy pounds off my muscle car by replacing my old girlfriend with a new one :)

[codymoncrief]

Basically,
Chevy Small Block: does anything

Chevy Big Block: does anything *BUT BIGGER*

[RALPHD]

My older brother Paul, by 4 years, always told me just to put a big block in and forget about it...and he was right..after putting a 454 in my 66 chevelle replacing the 350 in it, was dam near night and day...the torque was out of sight! Just coming off a light, sometimes i would put 2 ft of rubber down by mistake...Never went back...

[dlyrag]

I quit a long time ago trying to keep up with all the new high horse power engines being produced today. I own a 1967 Chevelle 396 SS and will keep it the way it is. LS engines are everywhere now days. I like old school and it's simple operation. By the way, I enjoyed your presentation.

[jorgecaraballo]

Listen, when your behind a 454 you ain't gonna give a shit about weight. All that power will let the neighborhood know what you have!!!😎👍

[startech]

I installed an LS6 crate engine in my 1970 RS Camaro. Backed it up with a TH400 Trans with 3500 stall converter with manual valve body and a 3:73 read end. If you breathed on the accelerator the tires would go up in smoke and lay rubber for as long as you stood on the gas pedal. At 60mph on the highway you could punch it and the tires would break loose and car would start to drift sideways ! I overrevved the engine several times to 7500rpm and never broke anything. Sold the car to a friend of mine 25 years ago and he still has it.

[greghanson]

The weight of the 396 in my 1970 SS Nova never bothers me except during parking maneuvers as it has no power steering.

[carguy]

I had a Chevelle with a 454 with iron heads. Didn’t think about weight till after it was in. The car originally had a small block and you could feel the weight difference on freeway clover leaf entrances (turns) — had heavier duty springs.

But the torque! Wow ... I could stand on it from a stop, the car would get sideways easy, once you hooked it was a rocket all in by 5500 rpms. Midrange torque was impressive put you in your seat musclecar power.

[peasysucks]

If I was concerned about weight I wouldn’t have gotten a big block lol

[arnbo]

40 years ago when I was in high school; the other revheads would laugh at me when I would say "There is no substitute for cubes" or "no replacement for displacement". I began to modify my 1967 Oldsmobile Delta 88 which came standard with a big block. I dropped in a 455 with Edelbrock intake and blackjack headers which like in this video had to be bent around the steering box. Because this motor achieved high torque at low rpm I'm still driving it decades later.

[rogerdavenport]

I put a Doug Herbert built 454 in my 57 Chevy I have had several small blocks and no complaints but the torque of a big block no COMPARISON

[danielsanden]

I absolutely love the in depth high quality break downs! Keep up the awesome content

[areaaudio]

I always appreciated the abundance of aftermarket goodies available for the small block back in the day. But you can get pretty much anything now and I gotta say....I'm always impressed when I see those big ass heads.

[rzr-smfk]

I have owned equal chevy 2500hd trucks. One with a 6.0/4l80e and one with an 8.1/allison. The 8.1 absolutely pulls trailers better and does it at half the rpms of the 6.0 small block. I like the feel of the big block better

[thebeardofgaming]

409 was a wicked bb but are so hard to find an original now days. The first one I ever seen was in a 64 and a half impala. The heads are what really caught my attention. They were built in a W shape, which i thought was really cool. Wasn't until I got older that I realized how cool and rare they really are.

[robertkolb]

You are also incorrect about the 427, it has the same stroke as the 396 (3.76), and the same bore as the 454 (4.25).

[faxRfax]

I have a 62 Nova and built a 327 425 hp small block. Tasty fast! Best small block Chevy ever built.

[focusedonfuture]

Meh, I had a 509 casting 400 small block. I bored it .030 over and stuffed astroker crank in her and made a 434 stroker with as much aluminum on top as possible. The only thing that was iron was the block.

That small block spanked 427's and 454 equipped cars all day. It was in a 68 z/28 Camaro with a M21 close ratio muncie and 12 bolt 373 posi. The 302 was put away for safe keeping but the muncie and 12 bolt was used.

Gobs of torque and I will never go 383 not when one has already had 434.

[AC-kkvo]

Good job on the charts, great info for someone like me who can't remember every dimension of every block and head