Big block or small block
Thread Starter
|
Senior User
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 382
Likes: 0
I was just using a 427 as an example.
my 360FE is a big block, but what makes it a "big block" compared to say a 350SBC that is only 10 cubes smaller? is the design of the block different or is "big block" just a term that means nothing?
my 360FE is a big block, but what makes it a "big block" compared to say a 350SBC that is only 10 cubes smaller? is the design of the block different or is "big block" just a term that means nothing?
Elder User
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 742
Likes: 2
From: Eastern Iowa
It refers to the physical size of the engine itself. Not the displacement. The 352FE in my Galaxie is much bigger in size and weight than a SBC. But the displacement is virtually the same. Check it out, here is a big blockhttp://www.killerridez.com/images/big%20block.JPG
And here is a small blockhttp://www.bruneauperformance.ca/enginepics/pic-g.jpg
And here is a small blockhttp://www.bruneauperformance.ca/enginepics/pic-g.jpg
Hotshot
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 18,423
Likes: 9
From: iowa
76supercab2 is right the big block, small block monikers are from GM engines, and have been carried over into other companies products even mopar. This is like the term Posi, that is a registered trade mark for a GM limited slip diff but you here it applied to fords, dodges, imports it doesn't matter.
Ford doesn't have big block or small block it has engine families, FE, Windsor, 335, 385 series and an engine falls into one of those series of engines, and then gets labels based on physical dimensions even though it's wrong
Ford doesn't have big block or small block it has engine families, FE, Windsor, 335, 385 series and an engine falls into one of those series of engines, and then gets labels based on physical dimensions even though it's wrong
Trending Topics
Elder User
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 742
Likes: 2
From: Eastern Iowa
I know, but why over complicate the issue? He was just asking what the difference was. Size. Thats it. Not displacement, but physical size. Any Ford or Chevy or Mopar guy knows that the 426/440/460/454/396/428's are big blocks and the 318/302/350/289/283/351's are small blocks. It's slang thats thrown around like "rat" and "mouse"(now THAT'S chevy). But it's generic, like "kleenex" or "white out".
FTE Stories
Ford Trucks for Ford Truck Enthusiasts
3 Best / 3 Worst Parts of Modern Ford Ownership
Brett Foote
10 Amazing Upgrades That Solve Common Ford Truck Owner Headaches
Pouria Savadkouei
Every 2026 Ford Engine Explained
Brett Foote
10 Ugly Ford Trucks That We Still Kinda Love
Joe Kucinski
10 Things Every Truck Owner NEEDS (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
Rezvani's Latest Post-Apocalyptic Monster Is a Ford F-150 Raptor Underneath
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Most Expensive Ford Trucks Ever Sold on Bring a Trailer
Joe Kucinski
2027 Ford Super Duty Buyer's Guide (Every Model, Engine, & Package)
Brett Foote
Top 10 Ford Truck Tragedies
Joe Kucinski
Post Fiend
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 5,228
Likes: 5
From: Running Springs CA
Other than Cadillac and Pontiac, most american car companies had "small" and "big" V-8 engine families starting in the early to mid 1960's. Ford has tended to have more different engine "families", making such designations harder, but certainly the Windsor family, at least 221/260/289/302 would be considered "small". I think bore spacing is a big factor in saying "big" or "small" block. Bore spacing determines maximum bore size, deck height helps dictate maximum stroke. GM never trademarked the terms, so they can apply to other than Chevy.
The new 7.0 liter Corvette engine, considered by some to be a "small block" by bore spacing is what may have started this thread. Am I right? That engine has an aluminum block and steel? liners, allowing a thinner web between the bores.
Jim
The new 7.0 liter Corvette engine, considered by some to be a "small block" by bore spacing is what may have started this thread. Am I right? That engine has an aluminum block and steel? liners, allowing a thinner web between the bores.
Jim
Post Fiend
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 8,600
Likes: 4
From: Iowa
Originally Posted by ARMORER
It refers to the physical size of the engine itself. Not the displacement. The 352FE in my Galaxie is much bigger in size and weight than a SBC. But the displacement is virtually the same. Check it out, here is a big blockhttp://www.killerridez.com/images/big%20block.JPG
And here is a small blockhttp://www.bruneauperformance.ca/enginepics/pic-g.jpg
And here is a small blockhttp://www.bruneauperformance.ca/enginepics/pic-g.jpg
Hotshot
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 11,697
Likes: 3
From: Marengo, Iowa
The main difference isn't about the displacement, it's about the torque. The larger engines tend to have a longer stroke, because the larger block allows it without being bored large and having the crank running snug in the confines of the oil pan and no issues with being near the block skirting. That would be why a slightly larger displacement motor will outdo one of a "small block" class.
Super Moderator
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 34,512
Likes: 2,824
Asked and Answered several times.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...ight=Big+Block
Deck height determines big vs. little, so sayeth Hot Rod mag.
At the time the introduction of the BBC, Ford had 289s and FEs, and thus a BBF and a SBF existed, as did the Mopar 273/318 vs. 413/426/440. Things were so simple then.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...ight=Big+Block
Deck height determines big vs. little, so sayeth Hot Rod mag.
At the time the introduction of the BBC, Ford had 289s and FEs, and thus a BBF and a SBF existed, as did the Mopar 273/318 vs. 413/426/440. Things were so simple then.
Hotshot
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 18,423
Likes: 9
From: iowa
Roger have to diagree on it bieng about stroke, since the 400 has a longer stroke than a 460 so by that reasoning it would be a big block yet the 351M which is virtually physically the same has a stroke equal to the 351W thus it would be a small block, and another way to look at that the difference in stroke between a 351, and a 429 ford is .09
Like I posted earlier the only COMPANY to ever use the big block, small block designations is GM, it's the general public that has tried to cross that into other companies engines, you know "experts" like hot rod that call it a 400 modified (aint no such engine)
Like I posted earlier the only COMPANY to ever use the big block, small block designations is GM, it's the general public that has tried to cross that into other companies engines, you know "experts" like hot rod that call it a 400 modified (aint no such engine)
