Tech & Auto
Chevrolet Big Block Engines: Everything You Need To Know
By RON KING
The First Big Block
The first production big-block, the W engine, was used in its larger cars and pickup trucks for the 1958 model year and continued through 1964.
Chevrolet offered several variations of the 348 big block during its brief tenure. The base variant, the Turbo-Thrust, used a four-barrel carburetor giving up to 250 horsepower.
The 409.
After the success of the 348, there was only one reasonable choice: make it bigger. The result was the 409-cubic-inch big block, used from 1961 to 1965.
Equipped with a single Carter AFB four-barrel carburetor, 1961’s 409 produced 360 horsepower and rose to 380 hp in 1962.
The big block 396.
The W engine was replaced with the new Mark IV design in 1965. It was 396-cubic-inches and was mainly used in Chevelles and Corvettes from 1965 to 1970
Other 396 variants include those equipped with four-barrel Holley Q-jet carburetors and 10.25:1 compression ratios rated from 325 to 360 horsepower.