Big Block Engines in Muscle Cars of the Past
May 14, 2008
Since the turn of the last century, Americans have been fascinated with cars. I’m not talking about wimpy fuel-efficient, stripped-down cars either. (Although with today’s economy that is changing!) What I am talking about today is the American love afffair with big block engines that make a lot of noise and generate a tremendous amount of horsepower. Don’t get me wrong, the “wimpy” fuel-efficient cars of today do have their place in today’s world with the price of gasoline going higher and higher.
Even most classic car buffs can’t advocate trying to drive cross-country in an old gas hog of a muscle car. Most people are now looking at the most fuel-efficient hybrid SUVs. For an everyday driver to work, I still use my Toyota Pruis (I told you it was wimpy). Money wins out. It gets over 60 miles per gallon, who can argue with that? I save a ton of money at the pump. But when the weekend comes, baby, I am definitely ready to get into my big block Chevy Camaro and tear out to the local race track to see the races! Just thinking about the feeling and performance of that big block engine drinking gasoline like water and running like a scalded dog down the road really makes my adrenoline pump. Not to mention the joy of seeing the pros doing it on the track!
I can’t help but LOVE big block engines. Especially chevrolet big blocks! Heck..Even big block Fords! But give me a kick butt chevy 427 big block anyday and watch me nearly cry for lack of words to describe the joy of experiencing it. In fact, one my favorite things that I love about these powerful motors from the 60’s and 70’s, of course, is the noise and the sheer horsepower. I’ll confess, I’m a typical man in this respect. Nothing is more beautiful to my ear than the growl of that big block Chevy engine of mine at full throttle! It takes me back to my teenage years squalling tires and breaking hearts! The big block engine roar is like music to my ears.
When the tires burn rubber and squeal (like teenage girls at an Elvis or Beetles concert back in the day), and my muscle car tears up the strip at breakneck speed it gives me a natural high like nothing else. I absolutely love big block engines, but what I like most is the way they take me back in time. Back when cokes were a quarter, and chicks were all over me.
I like the fact that it is so much easier for the shadetree mechanic like myself to work on these big blocks over te new-fangled computerized engines of today. Today’s trend is geared toward the high-tech computer controlled engines. It is nearly to the point that cars are so dependent on their computer boards that it it is nearly impossible to work on them much without professional training. It is heading in that direction anyway.
That, of course, is the exact reason why I love my old big block engine cars. I love to crawl under the hood and be able to do what I want to the motor. If I want to bore out the engine and add custom aftermarket parts, like the classic car grease-monkey I am, then it is very doable. Tweaking your classic muscle car to drive and sound just you want is very doable for the diy mechanic like myself.
My favorite thing about it is that big block engines is they are fairly inexpensive to work on. Heck, once you learn how to work on your own powerful big block engine, you will be amazed at what you can build. It gives you a real sense of accomplishment to be able to take an old Chev block engine that has been dormant for years, and bring it back to life. Think about it, you can purchase an old broken big block crate engine and rebuild it yourself from scratch for very little investment. So basically, as long as you don’t have a cracked engine’s block, you can most likely fix the motor. What I like about it is that you can take the individual parts, the engine block, and get yourself a little dirty and you can bring these old classic cars back to life. It is satistfying to have a hobby around what I love and that is the big blocks!