Small block rods, not as bad as people think. 2 bolt mains OK also

[Domenic T.]

Small block engines came out when I was a kid. Sow a few engines break a rod, but dad or mom never had much of a problem. It was all the guys that bragged that they could turn 10,000 RPM's. Some missed a shift and were trying to learn how to power shift at those high 10K RPM's.
Saw tons of # 1 & 2 spun bearings caused by oil starvation to the last journal, but Raced the small blocks within their power curve and never lost a rod in my life.
I think if you are doubling the HP then that's a different story. I pushed the old small blocks to their limit with those rods and 2 bolt mains and never had a problem even when we souped them up, (old term).
Had one guy loose at the strip with a 283 in a 55 chevy. he put a roller cam in it and took the 30/30 cam out. he was so pi$$ed he put a weight on his gas pedal and turned the engine on, solid lifters. We all took off running. after about 20 seconds a brave friend ran and took the brick off the gas pedal.
I seriously doubt that us old classic vette drivers treat our engines like that and believe we use good oil to boot.
All my SB engines have what GM put in them.
2 bolt mains never gave me a problem. Some guys would weaken their main caps by drilling them to make 4 bolt mains.
But then I saw cars with ISKY, CRANE, and other decals on them. Could never figure out how they got both cams in the engine?

Dom

[Gary R.]

Re: Small block rods, not as bad as people think. 2 bolt mains OK also

Dom,
I agree these engines can take a beating. Case in point- back in 1980 I bought a USA made Targetmaster 350. Replaced the nylon timing set with a real Coyles double roller, popped on an SP2P with Q-jet and put it in my 69 with 4 spd and 336's. It was a great DD, had enough power under 5k, and got about 18-20mpg. Time goes by, my son grows up blows up his 75 L82 racing it, takes this engine since I had it out of my 69 at the time, swaps the heads, cam, and puts a mini blower with Nox on it. The bottom end is all stock, it is a 4 bolt, but stock cast pistons and rods. He has hammered on it for years now and at the track got the car into the high 10's. I had to build him a `1480 12 bolt IRS, blew up 2 ST-10 trans- now running a Tremic, sheared Spicer u-joints in half, ripped out the frame to diff bracket, twisted the slip yoke and driveshaft, and broke a 1350 3.5" 1/2 shaft - all the while the "weak" short block is still pumping away!

[Domenic T.]

Re: Small block rods, not as bad as people think. 2 bolt mains OK also

Gary,
Kinda boils down to the driver sometimes. Lots of wana be racers back then. I was racing a guy with my 59 Chev and he had a 421 Pontiac. OK, here is the BRAG, but I saw a bunch of smoke in my rear view mirror. It was him blowing up the engine. They blamed the 421, but his passenger said he shifted great into 2nd gear and another great shift back into 1st instead of third. The old Borg Warner actually stayed alive, but the 421 went way over limits.
I put a 409 in that 59, and took the 348 250 HP out. The 250 was stock with dueces. I turned the best ET shifting at the top of the power curve (4800). I took the 4:11 out and borrowed a 4:56 in it and my ET suffered because I was just a lifter float at the end. I was beat while my engine was flattened out RPM wise. Back to the 4:11. I raced my shadow every day. I also put a block under my gas pedal so I couldn't get enough power to break anything and practiced power shifting.
The good old days.

Dom

Dom