1970 Camaro Z/28 SBC engine. Photo from www.wikipedia.org

No other engine has impacted the automotive industry the way that the small-block Chevy V8 has. That moment in the fall of 1954 became a highlight for Chevrolet as the production of the original small-block Chevrolet V8 (SBC) rolled off of the assembly line.

Debuting in 1955, the 265ci small-block led the way for the future “Mouse” motors. The displacement for the Gen I SBC engines grew in size to 400ci in 1970. Several of the Gen I displacements became legends in their own right, like the 327ci Corvette and Camaro engines, but it was the 350ci SBC that became the standard.

Over the next fourty years, there were different variants of the 350ci SBC, fitted into every type of vehicle across the Chevrolet product line, with the aftermarket generating an entire industry around the engine.

1993 Camaro Z/28 SBC engine. Photo from www.wikipedia.org

Gearheads were quick to support the SBC because of its advanced technology in the late 50s and early 60s. As it grew to ubiquitous status, the engine could be found in every type vehicle from airplanes to custom hotrods. In the harshest of all realities, the SBC was so common that this Chevy engine could be found under the hood of many classic Fords.

The venerable SBC 350 was finally superseded by the LS V8s in the late 1990s and discontinued from vehicle production in 2003. The engine is still manufactured and sold through Chevrolet Performance as a crate engine for replacement, custom builds, and racing purposes. General Motors claims that over 100,000,000 small-blocks have been built in carbureted and fuel injected forms since 1955.