I thought the Buick 350 was considered a big block instead of a small block?

[TuBBeD]

I was just curious why people are calling the Buick 350 a small block when I thought it was a big block? Maybe, I'm mistaken?

Rob:Do No:

[Marco]

Although the torque will fool ya :) ...

The Buick 300-340-350 are small blocks.

The 400-430-455 are big blocks.

[72skylark]

I belive it's the pontiac 350 that is a "big block"

[David Gramlow]

72skylark said:I belive it's the pontiac 350 that is a "big block"

yeah, but a big block of what? :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

[72buick350]

MY 72' SKYLARK STATES BB 350 ON THE STICKER ON THE RADIATOR COVER!!!!!!!!!:Do No: IM SURE THAT THIS MEANS BIG BLOCK, UNLESS IT MEANS SOMETHING ELSE?????????

[Darryl Roederer]

72buick350 said:MY 72' SKYLARK STATES BB 350 ON THE STICKER ON THE RADIATOR COVER!!!!!!!!!:Do No: IM SURE THAT THIS MEANS BIG BLOCK, UNLESS IT MEANS SOMETHING ELSE?????????

That means "Bad-ass Buick 350".... Not Big Block:laugh:

[GSXMEN]

My uncle always insisted that he had a big block 350! Of course he also claimed to have a 'steel' 53 Vette before he went to Vietnam!!:Dou: Between the war stories and the truck driving stories...I've heard some real doozies!!

Scott

[TuBBeD]

I guess the 350 can be considered a BB to the 6 cylinder Buick offered in '70?


Rob

[CyberBuick]

But then what would you call a V6? :laugh:

[TuBBeD]

We can call the 6 cylinder a small block. Small blocks or big blocks aren't only considered for V8's, are they? If cubic inches are what makes a small block or a big block then, why is there a 400 chevy small block and a 396 chevy big block? Just wondering:Do No: :

[72skylark]

big block/small block isn't about cubes... its about the physical size of the block. Most manufactures happen to have 2 basic size blocks.
The term big/small block only really counts for V8's and I've never heard it reffered to other motors

[Duane]

A friend of mine classes engine as follows;
Big Block (396-up V8)
Small block (350 & Under V8)
Baby Block (Straight or V6)
Infant Block (4-banger)
Of course he is a Chevy guy.
Duane

[lillee64]

A friend of mine classes engine as follows;
Big Block (396-up V8)
Small block (350 & Under V8)
Baby Block (Straight or V6)
Infant Block (4-banger)
Of course he is a Chevy guy.
Duane

but a chevy 400 is a small block.

[Phil]

IMO 400+ is a big block. Engines in the "gray area" would be:

400 Chevy Small Block
400 Pontiac Small Block
403 Olds Small Block
429 Cadillac "Small Block"
400 Mopar
Ford 400 M (which was really a bastard motor sharing little to nothnig with other Fords)

(I say "gray area" because I think that's where some of the confusion comes in)

Sub-400 Big Blocks would include

396 Big Block (actually a 402 Big Block)
348 Chevy "W" series Big Block
366 Chevy Big Block tall-deck truck motor
368 Cadillac Big Block
385 Ford Big Block
383 Mopar

I didn't include Nailheads in here because I don't know enough about them. Weren't they all based off the same block?

[eganddg]

400 mopar is a big block- it shares parts with the 383.

IMO 400+ is a big block. Engines in the "gray area" would be:

400 Chevy Small Block
400 Pontiac Small Block
403 Olds Small Block
429 Cadillac "Small Block"
400 Mopar
Ford 400 M (which was really a bastard motor sharing little to nothnig with other Fords)

(I say "gray area" because I think that's where some of the confusion comes in)

Sub-400 Big Blocks would include

396 Big Block (actually a 402 Big Block)
348 Chevy "W" series Big Block
366 Chevy Big Block tall-deck truck motor
368 Cadillac Big Block
385 Ford Big Block
383 Mopar

I didn't include Nailheads in here because I don't know enough about them. Weren't they all based off the same block?

[pphil]

big block/small block isn't about cubes... its about the physical size of the block. Most manufactures happen to have 2 basic size blocks.
The term big/small block only really counts for V8's and I've never heard it reffered to other motors

I was under the impression that it was the crank and or main bearing size thet denotated BB or SB

my uncle had a 66 olds with a 425 BB and I had a 425 Buick Nailhead that was considered small block :Do No:

thats how you can have a 400 SB and a 400 BB

now this is just my 2 cents worth

scott

[buick64203]

I guess the 350 can be considered a BB to the 6 cylinder Buick offered in '70?

But that was a Chevy motor

[BUICKRAT]

Many people call the buick 350's big blocks because of their physical size, being a 90 degree block, the engine appears much larger than their 60 degree cousins. Chevys265-400 are 60 degree blocks, thus appear to be much smaller.

[buick64203]

but a chevy 400 is a small block.

Thats because its based on the 350 small block Chevy.

In my opinion, anything that is based on a small block is a small block. They are building 427 cubic inch Fords based on the 351W block. So a 427 in that case is a small block. Ford makes the FE series 427 which is a big block. Clear as mud?

[online170]

but a chevy 400 is a small block.

Why is this important almost a decade later??? where did you even find this thread?

[buick64203]

Why is this important almost a decade later??? where did you even find this thread?


Thats funny, I didnt even notice the date! Its in such small font in white:pp

[BQUICK]

Many people call the buick 350's big blocks because of their physical size, being a 90 degree block, the engine appears much larger than their 60 degree cousins. Chevys265-400 are 60 degree blocks, thus appear to be much smaller.

Talk about information drift. Now small block Chevys are 60 degree motors???

[Brad Conley]

Many people call the buick 350's big blocks because of their physical size, being a 90 degree block, the engine appears much larger than their 60 degree cousins. Chevys265-400 are 60 degree blocks, thus appear to be much smaller.


What??!! Hate to tell you, but all Chevy V8's (and 99.999% of all modern V8's) are a 90* design.

[Snowbound]

All the Pontiac blocks are the same from 326 up to 455, so they are all big blocks....Only the 301 was different.

So is the Pontiac 4 cyl in the early Tempests a Big Block 4, cause it's half of a 389 block?

And the 60's era GMC V6 is based on the 409, so it's a Big Block V6!:Dou:

Confused!

[Brad Conley]

Here's a link to GM 455 engine families: http://reviews.ebay.com/GM-Big-Block-455-engine-families-A-primer_W0QQugidZ10000000002053785 .

There is also a link in that article for small block GM engines as well as Chevy big block engine families. Ford and Mopar are discussed via links too.

As one can tell, a "big" block or "small" block has nothing to do with cubic inch displacement, but rather the block (or case) upon that particular engine was produced from. You can have a Chevy 400 "small" block and a smaller (cid) Chevy 396 "big" block (which turned into 402 cid engines in the 70's, btw). Again, it's all dependent upon which engine block (or case to be technical) from which the particular engine is produced.

Buick 350 cid engines were produced from Buick's small case engine family (along with 300 and 340's) and Buick's 455 was produced from Buick's big case (block) engine family along with 400 and 430's.

The "BB" on the radiator sticker does NOT mean "Big Block", it is only the code for that particular engine so the line worker didn't put the wrong emission decal on the wrong car.

[bammax]

Yup. Size don't matter.

The Pontiacs only had 1 block (except for that freak motor they used a few years the 301) Mine was a 389-4

The Olds motors are basically tall blocks and short blocks. The only difference was the height which would allow for a slightly longer stroke for larger displacements. The actual size difference was very small. I had a 307 while the girlfriend had a 350. Most of the parts were interchangable between them.

Chevy had 2 blocks and each one had a handfull of variations. Some parts won't even transfer from 1 generation to the next on the same displacement. The odd one is the 400 small block which was a small block that had the max bore and stroke available. The big blocks went from 396 to 454 if you don't count the aftermarket.

Mopars had the 350-400 B engines and then the 383-440 RB engines. The RB means raised block. It's similar to what Olds did with their engines. The confusion comes from the fact that there is both a B and a RB 383. Also the 400 is a B engine even though it's a "small block"

Just remember these rules of thumb.

1) If it's a Pontiac then it's a Pontiac, no more story to that one.

2) If it's an Olds or a Mopar than it's either a tall block or not.

3) If it's a Chevy than the 400 is small and the 396 is big. The rest are what you would assume.

4) Buicks are bigblocks if they are 400 or larger. The Nailheads are like Flatheads. It's a whole other animal.

5) Caddies are almost always big, unless it's a northstar in which case it's junk.

6) If it's a Ford than it's underperforming and may catch fire.

It's really not a big deal anyway. The only difference I ever noticed is the bigblocks are usually low rpm torque motors and the small blocks rev higher and are used for horsepower over torque. Olds and Buicks can make big block torque with small blocks though, while big block Chevies can make big horsepower numbers, while the Pontiacs make good power and torque without having a block class, so it really doesn't matter much anymore.

[DaWildcat]

but a chevy 400 is a small block.

Holy Thread Resurrection, Batman!

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_TkR-KeU-T2A/STYa50i-cbI/AAAAAAAABjs/oNh3O0H62eg/s400/Batman-Robin-Photograph-C12150175.jpg

Devon

[Poppaluv]

Why is this important almost a decade later??? where did you even find this thread?






4) Buicks are bigblocks if they are 400 or larger. The Nailheads are like Flatheads. It's a whole other animal.

5) Caddies are almost always big, unless it's a northstar in which case it's junk.

6) If it's a Ford than it's underperforming and may catch fire.



Now that's funny!!!!! I like to think my 425 is a big block-evenif it is narrow..:TU:

[gymracer01]

This is the most foolish diccussion I've seen in awhile. A few facts that make the difference. Bore spacing. Deck height. Head bolt pattern. Ability to swap crankshafts. None of these are the same between the 350 and 455 Buicks. So give it a rest. A 400 (small-block Chevy) is just that, a small block. Parts swap with a 350. Now a Pontiac as stated were mostly the same, except 301. The fact is a 350 Buick is just NOT a Big Block...

Jim N.

[Schurkey]

Here's a link to GM 455 engine families: http://reviews.ebay.com/GM-Big-Block-455-engine-families-A-primer_W0QQugidZ10000000002053785 .

There is also a link in that article for small block GM engines as well as Chevy big block engine families. Ford and Mopar are discussed via links too.


THANK YOU.





The GMC V-6 is NOT based on the 348/409. Not even remotely. It is often called a "big block V-6" and if you've ever seen one in person...you'd know why. Them suckers are HUGE and HEAVY. I bet one GMC V-6 has more iron in it than two Buick 455s. The GMC V-6 was produced in displacements up to 478 cubes, with a V-8 variant of 637, and a V-12 of 702 (essentially two 351 V-6 engines on a common crankshaft and block, but with four V-6 cylinder heads and two v-6 intake manifolds!) http://www.6066gmcguy.org/EngineData.htm

Pontiac "small blocks" are the 301, and the one NOBODY remembers: the 265. Yes, Pontiac had a 265 decades after Chevrolet gave up on that displacement. The 301 in stock form is a piece of junk, and the 265 is worse. At least the 301 could be had with a hair dryer to spiff up the horsepower numbers. Other than the 265/301, Pontiac engines are divided by the main bearing size, as described in the link you provided.

The Buick 425 (and 401) could be considered Buick big block Nailheads, as they had a taller deck height than the earlier/smaller displacement nailheads. Most Buick people don't bother, "any nailhead is a good nailhead".

I can't tell you how many eBay and craigslist boneheads seem to think that the Olds...or Buick...or Pontiac 350 is a big block. I'm guessing that they aren't actually that stupid, but they think the rest of us are, and the words "big block" in the text will magically increase the value and saleability of their junk.

60 degree Chevy V-8??? Woof.