The History of Chevrolet Engines
Chevrolet has always been in the shadow of Chrysler and Ford in engine technology. Ford developed the flathead V-8 in 1932, and Chrysler created the legendary postwar Hemi. Yet Chevrolet produced strong, reliable engines throughout the marque's existence with such early engines as the "Stovebolt Six" and today's 5.2-liter Vortec V-8.
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The Beginning
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Extensive research went into developing a powerful yet economical engine, and engineers came up with a modest the D-Series V-8 in 1917, but dropped it two years later in favor of the smaller--and cheaper--four- and six-cylinder versions.
Endurance
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In 1929, the automaker came up with the 194-cubic-inch "Stovebolt Six" that generated 46 horsepower and served Chevrolet for more than 20 years.
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Hitting Stride
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The "Blue Flame Six" followed in 1934, but it wasn't until the introduction of the 265-ci V-8 in 1954 that Chevrolet hit its stride in offering an efficient but powerful engine to power its famed 1954 through 1957 Chevrolet Bel Airs and the rest of the line.
The 283
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The larger 283-ci V-8 followed in 1957 and powered Chevys through 1967.
Super Sport Package
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Chevrolet began racing its Super Sport (SS) package in the early 1960s, with its SS Impala, powered by a 409-ci V-8, taking first place at the 1961 Winternationals Drag Racing Championship.
Truck Powerplants
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Chevrolet also fitted its cars with the 327 and the massive 454-ci V-8s, but it took well into the 1990s for its V-8s to became truly fuel efficient, most recently the Silvervardo pickup truck's 5.3-liter V-8.
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Resources
- Photo Credit General Motors
