Why everyone is putting Chevy's in the off brands!

[patmckinneyracing]

The last thing that bugs me, is that I view All the GM brands to be a family. Why are we arguing? WE should be together working to stomp the Fords and Dodges!

I agree, why are we going over this topic when we are all GM. Now I'm all for stomping the livin hell out of ford but don't start going after the mopars man. I know very well my 71' roadrunner is a helluva lot faster and more fun with its big block and pistol grip 4 speed shifter. 8)

 

[teambop]

That's a good point jrm, on working with each other to stomp the Fords & Dodges. All I am saying, they can be stomped with Bufords, Rockets, and Indians as well! Those engine brands are very under the radar and can kick *ss as well as a Bowtie!

 

[Stoopud]

I did mine for a number of reasons.

1. Car came stock with a Chevy, so putting in a Poncho although cool, would not be correct for a period car. If you are building a performance Pontiac, of course you use a 455 or a smaller derivative. But if you are building an 80's performance car, you use a Chevy or a Turbo 6. Why would you use an engine that was out of production when your car was assembled?
2. They are cheaper, but more importantly the parts are more readily available. I always planned to drive my car everyday (and I do 250-400 miles per week). I cannot wait for a BOP part to show up when I order it, and I want easy access to parts at junk yards. If my car breaks down 200 miles from home, you can get sbc parts anywhere.
3. I had a plan for an sbc for years, even before I had this car. I take pride in my combination. I used to call my car "The box where I keep my engine". I did not have that same plan for a Poncho. I know less about them (blame Hot Rod and Car Craft).

The best combination in the world - Chevy Power, Pontiac Style. There is nothing Cut and Paste about my car. I have a reason for everything I did on my car. if they made a GTO in '83 it would have had a 350 (if you were lucky otherwise 305).

 

[dan2286]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5VzS31zVJ4

Video from the Olds nationals at Norwalk. I don't think I got any of the G bodies in this video, but it still shows the potential of Olds engines. Not all of these are high dollar builds and are still very fast. Most of these are N/A with no nitrous or anything. I saw one G body Cutlass with a supercharged sbo that ran 11s.

Just because they don't have all the parts available as Chevy, does not mean they have to be expensive. As someone else mentioned, most of it is in the machine work which is no more expensive than any other engine. Who ever said parts are hard to find in a junkyard, its no harder than finding g bodies in a junk yard. I see far more factory Olds powered g bodies by me in junk yards than Chevy powered ones. Since most Olds engines are identical, you can pretty much find anything you need off of a 307 besides most of the internals. Also, around me I see Olds core engines going for a lot less than Chevy cores which is also a cost savings.

Most people just have no patience to actually build an engine with out finding all the parts you need out of a magazine, which is fine. I just can't stand when people give BOP engines a bad name just because they don't work for them.

85CutlassBrougham, a SBO has a bore of 4.057 iirc :wink:

 

[kingcolbert83]

Hmm this is interesting because I'm going through the same dilemma right now. Its like everybody has the sbc. Heck I have one in mine but I just got the urge for something different. Plus if I ever sell my car and they ask whats under the hood I can say a cadillac big block or a buick big block. I have the choice of getting 2 cadillac 500 engines(Vern and a junkyard) a buick big block already rebuilt(leaning toward this because i have a buick and its a good deal) or keeping the sbc 305 and dropping a twin turbo(which would be the same but surpisingly different).

 

[GP403]

Don't think it matters too much as GM mixed stuff so much anyway. Mine is Olds powered because swapping out for the 350 diesel, everything was in the right place and it all bolted right up... So its been olds-(under and over)powered since birth 😀

I have to admit (sorry guys! 😳) I'm not a fan of the "rip everything out and shove a treefity cheby in" school, either.... But thats OK. 8)

Part of whats to like about the cars is that about anything will go in! From a 231 V6 to a 502 V8 and probably bigger/stranger has been done....

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

No one is really saying that BOP engines do not have potential. Every engine has potential, just look at what the more serious Honda boys do with a B18C1! The thing is, a Chevy is cheap and the design is pretty good from the factory. They lack major issues with the cooling and oiling systems that some other engines have. All I am saying is that running another 40-50 year old pushrod V8 design in a car that originally came with one is not really all that different or unique. It's not that I care that much, or am defending my choice of engine. I do what I want and if someone else likes it, cool. If not, that's their problem not mine. In fact, I have built something MUCH different in terms of popularity than any G Body in my 1979 AMC Spirit. However, at the end of the day it's still a V8, RWD car with a live axle rear suspension which makes it technically similar in configuration to my Cutlass. My next project WILL be different though as it will be small and powered by a 4 cylinder and may be front or all wheel drive. It also will not be a mainstream body style either (well... for the US) as I am contemplating the glories of VTEC, AWD and a turbo in an East German Trabant imported from Bulgaria. Yes, I want to build a super car out of a Eastern block car with a body made out of Soviet cotton scraps bonded together with phenolic resin. Now THAT is different! 😀

 

[87GrandPrix]

God, I hate to say it but the 3800 Series II buick engine in those Buick LeSabre's and such are just un beatable, They NEVER have a problem.

 

[kingcolbert83]

anybody put one in a gbody yet? would be nice to have on of those supercharged.

 

[2000.malibu.ls]

why Im running chevy motors? because I have acess to them, they are free to me through my grandpas junk yard.. well sorta lol