Big-block engines have always traded on mythology as much as on dyno sheets, yet some of the most imposing cast-iron V8s deliver surprisingly modest output once you look past the badge. When I line up ...

Big-block engines sit at the heart of some of the most iconic American performance cars and trucks, yet the term is often used loosely, as if it were just a synonym for “big horsepower.” In reality, a ...

Probably the single biggest reason for the Chevy small-block's popularity is its versatility. Even in its infancy, it proved a viable candidate for performance upgrades, and the innovations just keep ...

Unless you lurk around the local IHOP on certain days of the year, there ain’t nothing in this world for free. That’s particularly true when it comes to building horsepower—and as the world of LS ...

Brian is a published author who has been writing professionally for a decade in politics and entertainment, but found his calling covering the automotive industry. His love of cars started at an early ...

Building a performance engine isn't difficult, and it doesn't have to be expensive, but it does take knowledge and planning. We spent a couple of days at JMS Racing Engines, in El Monte, California, ...

Although Chevrolet developed a V8 engine as early as 1917, the company really made its mark with the small block V8 in 1955. Just three years later the automaker introduced the powerful 348 ci engine ...

Hot rodders played with blocks as kids, and still play with them as adults. This vast level of experience notwithstanding, enthusiasts often insist on monkeying around with production blocks. They ...

American automotive performance in the 1950s was a simple recipe. If you wanted to go faster, you didn't optimize what you had; you just added more to it. More displacement, more iron, more horsepower ...