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After 56 Years GM Builds 100-Millionth Small-Block Engine
General Motors will build its 100-millionth small-block engine on November 29th, 56 years after the first production small block rolled off the assembly line.
Chevrolet introduced the small-block in 1955 and the production milestone comes in the same month the brand marked its 100th anniversary. The small-block engine has been used in GM vehicles around the world and is currently found in global Chevrolet, GMC and Cadillac vehicles, as well as Vauxhall in the United Kingdom and Holden in Australia.
“The small block is the engine that brought high-performance to the people,” said David Cole, founder and emeritus chairman of Center for Automotive Research – and whose father, the late Ed Cole, was the chief engineer at Chevrolet and oversaw development of the original small block engine. “There is an elegant simplicity in its design that made it instantly great when new and enables it to thrive almost six decades later.”
The milestone engine is a 638-horsepower supercharged LS9 small block – the power behind the 205-mph Corvette ZR1 – which is hand-built at GM’s Performance Build Center, northwest of Detroit. It represents the fourth generation of the small block and is the most powerful engine ever built by GM for a regular-production car. GM will preserve the engine as part of its historical collection.
The small block has been adapted in almost innumerable ways throughout the auto industry and beyond. Updated versions of the original Gen I engine are still in production for marine and industrial applications, while “crate engine” versions offered by Chevrolet Performance are used by thousands of enthusiasts every year to build hot rods. The 4.3L V-6 used in some Chevrolet and GMC full-size trucks and vans is based on the small-block, too, but with two fewer cylinders. All of these versions contribute to the small block’s 100-million production milestone.
“This tremendous achievement celebrates an engineering triumph that has reached around the globe and created an industrial icon,” said Sam Winegarden, executive director and group global functional leader - Engine Engineering. “And while the small-block’s enduring design has proven adaptable to meet performance, emissions and refinement challenges over the years, it has more importantly delivered them with greater efficiency.”
Current small blocks engines feature all-aluminum cylinder block and heads in car and many truck applications to help save weight and contribute to greater fuel economy. Many applications feature fuel-saving technologies such as Active Fuel Management – which shuts down four cylinders in certain light-load driving conditions – and camshaft phasing, which continuously alters valve timing to optimize performance, efficiency and emissions.
GM didn’t invent the V-8 engine, but interpreted it in a way that made performance accessible to millions of new customers. It got its start in the years following World War II, after Chief Engineer Ed Cole transferred to Chevrolet from Cadillac, where he oversaw the development of its premium V-8 engine.
Cole’s team retained the basic overhead valve design that was a staple of Chevrolet’s inline-six engine – affectionately called the Stovebolt. It was seen as one of the Chevrolet car line’s selling points, reinforcing a message of simplicity and reliability. Cole challenged his engineers to tighten the new engine package to make it more compact, less costly and easier to manufacture.
Upon its debut in the 1955 Chevy lineup, the new V-8 engine was physically smaller, 50 pounds lighter and more powerful than the Stovebolt six. It was not only a better engine for Chevrolet cars, it represented a better way of building engines, with a minimalist design that took advantage of streamlined production techniques.
After only two years on the market, the small-block began a steady march upward in displacement, power and technological advancement. In 1957, a version equipped with mechanical fuel injection was introduced, dubbed Ramjet. The only other high-volume manufacturer to offer fuel injection at the time was Mercedes-Benz.
Mechanical fuel injection was discontinued in the mid-Sixties, but the small-block debuted electronically controlled fuel injection in the 1980s and established a benchmark with the 1985 launch of Tuned Port Injection. This electronically controlled port fuel injection system was advanced in its day and its basic design is still used on most passenger cars and light-duty trucks more than 25 years later.
The small-block’s 4.4-inch bore centers – the distance from the center of one cylinder to the next – would come to symbolize the compact, balanced performance of the small-block. It was the dimension around which the Gen III small-block was designed in 1997. In 2011, the small-block is in its fourth generation, powering Chevrolet’s full-size trucks, SUVs and vans, midsize trucks and the Camaro and Corvette performance cars.
The first 4.3L (265 cu. in.) engine in 1955 produced up to 195 hp with an optional four-barrel carburetor. Today, the LS9 6.2L (376 cu. in.) supercharged small-block in the Corvette ZR1 is rated at 638 hp (476 kW), making it the most powerful engine ever installed in a regular-production Chevrolet or GM vehicle.
Small Block Milestones
1955: 265-cid V-8 debuts in all-new ’55 Chevrolet; Chevrolet General Manager Tom Keating drives a small block-powered Indy 500 pace car.
1956: Zora Arkus-Duntov sets production car record at Pikes Peak and “flying mile” record at Daytona; optional dual four-barrel carburetors available; Corvette SR racers debut at Sebring.
1957: 283-cid V-8 introduced; Rochester mechanical fuel injection and helps the small-block produce 283 horsepower – or one horsepower for every cubic inch; Buck Baker wins the NASCAR championship with the “Black Widow” ’57 Chevy.
1959: William Mitchell, vice-president of GM styling, races the original Sting Ray Corvette racing car concept, which features a 315-horsepower version of the fuel-injected 283 small block.
1964: 327-cid small block is rated at 375 horsepower with Rochester fuel injection; the first Holley four-barrel carburetor is used on a production small-block engine.
1967: The 350-cid small block is introduced; and a 302-inch small-block is crafted for the SCCA Trans Am racing series and used on a special Camaro model known by its Z28 order code – only 602 were built.
1968: The small block goes global, with a 307-cid version offered in select Holden HK models in Australia.
1970: 400-cid small block – the largest-displacement Gen I small block – is introduced; 350-cid LT-1 (370 hp) debuts in Corvette and Camaro Z28.
1972: Racer and builder Bill Jenkins dominates NHRA Pro Stock with innovative small-block Vega
1975: 262-cid small block introduced – the smallest-ever small-block V-8.
1980: Dale Earnhardt wins first of seven NASCAR Winston Cup championships driving a small block-powered Chevrolet Monte Carlo.
1982: Cross Fire electronic fuel injection introduced on the Corvette and Camaro Z28; all-new third-generation Camaro paces Indy 500 with specially modified aluminum 350 engine.
1985: Tuned Port Injection introduced on the Corvette, ushering in modern age of port fuel injection and increasing the Corvette’s horsepower rating 230; 4.3L V-6 based on the small-block architecture is introduced.
1986: Aluminum cylinder heads introduced mid-year on the Corvette’s small block.
1987: Hydraulic roller lifters introduced on the “L98” Tuned Port Injection engine, reducing friction for greater efficiency and performance – the Corvette’s output jumps to 240 horsepower.
1989: Chevrolet Raceshop (now Chevrolet Performance) develops high-performance H.O. 350 crate engine, helping ignite a revolution in pre-built hot rod engines.
1991: GMC Syclone is introduced with a turbocharged, 280 horsepower version of the 4.3L V-6.
1992: Second-generation LT1 introduced in the Corvette, featuring reverse-flow cooling system, all-new cylinder heads and computer-controlled ignition timing, pushing horsepower to 300 – a 20-percent jump over the ’91 Corvette’s L98 engine.
1996: High Output LT4 with 330 horsepower in limited-edition Corvette models is the finale for the Gen I/II small block in North American passengers cars; Vortec 5.0L and 5.7L engines with high-swirl combustion systems debut in GM trucks.
1997: New Gen III small block debuts in the all-new C5 Corvette, carrying the LS1 name and featuring all-aluminum construction, deep-skirt block and 350 horsepower.
1999: Gen III small block debuts in GM trucks and full-size SUVS in all-new 4.8L and 5.3L displacements.
2001: Higher-performance LS6 engine with 385 horsepower powers the new, track-oriented Corvette Z06. Horsepower increases to 405 in 2002.
2004: Cadillac CTS-V debuts with LS6 small block, rated at 400 horsepower.
2005: The Corvette’s new, 6.0L LS2 engine with 400 horsepower introduces the Gen IV small block, which has provisions for larger displacements, Active Fuel Management and revised camshaft sensing. The LS2 is also used in the ’05 Chevy SSR, Pontiac GTO and high-performance Holden and Vauxhall models. Also: LS4 small block adapted for front-drive, transverse installation and introduced on the Pontiac Grand Prix GXP.
2006: Racing-inspired 7.0L LS7 engine debuts in the Corvette Z06 with 505 horsepower features including forged titanium connecting rods, high-flow cylinder heads, titanium intake valves, dry-sump oiling system and more. The LS7.R variation used in the Corvette Racing program is named Global Motorsport Engine of the Year at the Professional Motorsport World Expo, in Germany.
2007: The 6.2L L92 engine is introduced in Cadillac Escalade models, as well as GMC Yukon Denali and Sierra Denali models. It is rated at 403 horsepower and features Active Fuel Management and the small-block’s first application of camshaft phasing. Also:
2008: The 6.2L small block debuts on the Corvette with 430 horsepower and is featured in Holden HSV vehicles.
2009: LS9 and LSA supercharged 6.2L engines are introduced. The Corvette ZR1 receives 638-horsepower LS9 – the most powerful production-car engine ever built by GM and enabling a 205 mph top speed. The LSA is rated at 556 horsepower and power the Cadillac CTS-V.
2011: GM builds its 100 millionth small block on Nov. 29. It is a LS9 engine built at the Performance Build Center, in Wixom, Mich.
2012: A 580-horsepower version of the LSA engine powers the all-new Camaro ZL1, supporting 0-60 performance of 3.9 seconds and a 184-mph top speed.
11/29/11
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