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Okay Car Crafters, stuff just got real. Our 5.0L Fistfight began innocently enough, with a comparison between the stock H.O. 302 Ford and LB9 305 TPI Chevy. Part two brought an array of fuel-injected mods, including TFS aluminum heads, Comp cams, and EFI-specific intakes. We rounded things out in part 3 with the perfect combination of carburetion and nitrous oxide. The use of CNC-ported, 170-cc 11R heads on the Ford allowed it to surge ahead in power production (with no similar heads available for the small-bore 305), but careful tuning in part three allowed the Chevy to make up ground once we added nitrous to the mix. For Chevy fans still complaining about the 11R head swap on the Ford, rest assured the Chevy will exact revenge here in part 4, but you’ll have to wait until the end to find out how. For part four, we decided to introduce boost to the equation by adding a TorqStorm centrifugal supercharger to the mix. In keeping with the spirit of the competition, both the Ford and Chevy received the same supercharger, pulley ratios and blow-through carburetor. How did they do? Let’s find out!

Speedmaster takes on suppling Nick Cannon’s 1967 Chevelle with a Blown 496 cubic inch Big Block, equipped with an 871 supercharger. The engine was built and dyno tested in Rialto by the in-house assembly engineers. For optimum performance, it features forged 4340 internals and produces 750 horsepower reliably as a turnkey motor.

Words and images by Richard Holdener.

Are you guys looking for an ignition amplifier to upgrade your engine? Check out the flawless El Rayo Ignition Combo Kit from Speedmaster for Small Block Chevy.

Check out the fabulous Side draft system for Chevy LS3, 2015 SEMA Award winning EFI system from Speedmaster. It looks good, sounds good and also makes great power, up to 546 HP and 520 FT-LBS Torque.

Any plans for a Top End upgrade? Check out the Big Block Chevy Top End Kit from Speedmaster to increase your power output by over 100 HP.

Achieve maximum power for your Small Block Chevy with blower components from Speedmaster.

Chevrolet all but reinvented small-block performance with the introduction of the LS engine family. A potent and worthy successor to the original small-block, the LS has proven its power potential time and time again. The one possible complaint about the LS was that the factory fuel-injected combinations left out the early carbureted contingent, after all, the LS quickly became the swap candidate for trucks, street rods, and early muscle cars (and everything else). Companies like Edelbrock, Holley, and MSD soon stepped in to provide both carbureted intake manifolds and ignition controllers to allow the carburetor crowd to take advantage of everything the LS had to offer. This test is for those who have an even greater need for old-school speed, as we apply boost to a carbureted combo. Nothing screams performance like a big 6-71 supercharger sticking out of the hood. As we found out, adding a dual-quad 6-71 supercharger to the already efficient LS made not only an impressive visual statement, but plenty of power as well.

Johny’s Garage have completed a build on a 1974 Chevrolet C10, featuring a complete Speedmaster custom differential. The truck dubbed ‘Buttercup’ went on display at The United Pacific Industries booth for The 2016 SEMA Show, and served proudly as one of the main features.

Ever since primitive man learned how to smelt iron roughly 3,000 years ago, it has been synonymous with durability and strength. Okay, maybe there are not many of us that actually care who first made iron. But as auto enthusiasts, we do care about engine blocks. They are made of iron, so that makes it important.

One of the many great things about the small-block Chevy is its versatility. Think about it for a minute: the same basic powerplant has been used to power everything from a heavy-hauling farm truck that rarely sees the high side of 30 mph to a production-bodied, land-speed record holder exceeding 300 miles per hour. The needs of mostSuper Chevy readers fall somewhere between these two extremes, but that still leaves a lot of room for individuality when it comes time to choose motivation for your favorite muscle car, street rod, or even daily driver. At Super Chevy we recognize the fact that not every enthusiast wants or needs an 8-second street machine, but few stick to stone stock.

From a simple math standpoint, making more horsepower requires nothing more than shifting torque production higher in the rev range. It is also possible to simply produce more torque in the same rpm, but with any given displacement, additional torque becomes more and more difficult.

A recent trip to the local Pick Your Part wrecking yard revealed row after row of what we like to call possibilities. Under the hood of each and every vehicle in the yard were the makings of a high-performance race engine just begging for a new lease on life. Of course, some would take considerable work to get there while others may never make it. But choose wisely and the rewards can be impressive. When you go looking for power in the yard, it is always best to go big, as in big-block Chevy. In the sea of stock, junkyard engines, bigger certainly means better. Since we planned on running a trio of power-adders on our junkyard “race” engine, we went right for a engine we knew was capable of withstanding both boost and juice. Though earlier Mark IV and Gen V engines are usually available, we zeroed in on the latest and greatest: a Gen VI 454 (7.4L) offered by GM from 1996-’99 (actually into early 2000).

Ask any group of Chevy enthusiasts about the best small block ever made and chances are someone will say the 327. Sure, some may argue that the 283-horsepower, injected 283 was the first Chevy to reach 1 hp per cubic inch, while others will counter with the Trans Am-winning DZ302 and still others might chime in with LT1 350 as the last great high-compression small block. What we quickly learn from this discussion is that there were a number of great small blocks produced during the muscle car era, but only one can lay claim to having the highest factory power rating. The fuel-injected L84 327 was factory rated at 375 horsepower, while the carbureted L76 version was rated 10-hp down at 365 hp. Whether these motors ever produced that kind of power in stock trim is irrelevant, as no 283, 302 or even 350 was ever rated higher. Thus, the 327 can lay claim to being the most powerful of all the original muscle-car small blocks. A better question might be how does the king of all muscle-car small blocks compare to modern machinery?

Richard Holdener

From a simple math standpoint, making more horsepower requires nothing more than shifting torque production higher in the rev range. It is also possible to simply produce more torque in the same rpm, but with any given displacement, additional torque becomes more and more difficult.

There comes a time during any build that all rodders stop to ask the same question. No, it’s not why did I get myself into this mess? The question at hand is one of motivation, more specifically, what form of motivation will be used to power the project?