Don't get your dander up Mudbone, nothing personal going on here..we all love cars in general (I think?)

Many of us have been down that road and have built all the torque we could get the dollars for at one time or another. I still luv the brute torque of slowly accelerating the tires to "smoke". That's what makes torque fun, and "no one" is belittling that.

BUT..there are some things are just cool because they really did run a little better than they should have back then... when there weren't all the advantages and choices that we have today.

There were limits back then. Not so today...I don't care what anyone builds there is something faster. 1100 hp. on the street...no problem, just takes a few more $$$.

After 45 years I finally got to the point I like engine combinations for what they meant to me back in the day...

...and a lot of things have changed since those days. Street racing is different now (at least not like then) and most of us aren't near as crazy as we were back then...not to mention they'll practically throw you under the bus for street racing these days. ...and during all that my perspectives changed along with the times (...that may be called getting old..lol!)

There are "cool" fast cars...and there are "cool" nostalgia cars....and like you, I like what is "cool" to me...(..and it makes me feel good if others like it too).

In the end it's all good...just different strokes for different folks.

Best regards...Stan

 

Photos of same car weeks apart . People at shows would walk by saying nice car , now they stop point and say WHOA its a big block with tri power !!!https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...44107426674266

 

Ain't no thang Stan. If you like a 396 because it's got 396 cubic inches then I say roll with it. However, If I'm going to build/by a REPLACEMENT engine I want to get as much juice as I can and that starts with cubic inches. I'm an absolute power addict. To me there's nothing like it. Heck, I'm 51 years old and still ride my old 1998 CR250 suicide machine. Though it's broken my bones more times than once I have no plans of giving it up any time soon. Okay, I would give it up but only for a newer CRF450 but that's another discussion.

I love the look, sound and performance of a stock, numbers matching engine but if I'm simply doing a replacement then bring on the cubes. Nothing tames a wild camshaft and makes a car more drivable/docile like more cubes.

 

The only thing better than a 355" at 7000 rpm is a 555" at 7500!!

Seriously...396's are cool. I had a 396/375 with an L-88 cam and a tunnel ram that ran 10.60's in an all steel Nova...on pump gas. It had two sleeves in it and a bunch of helicoiled headbolts...but it was shifted regularly at 7500+ and lived fine. Now the car weighed around 3400#s with driver, had 14x32's and 5.57's with a 4 speed. But it was my daily driver literally.

I've had other oval port versions that ran deep 12's/high 11's all day long with nothing fancy at all in real street cars.

When I ran my 427 for all those years, I was never scared to jump on a 454 (didn't see 496's and 540's back then!). There's 30 or so HP difference at each cubic inch jump from 396/427/454 if they are built up a little with a good cam, headers etc. Just depends on what you want to do with it whether that matters or not. A good 396/375 could easily go 11's with some gear in it.

But as mentioned, they all look the same on the outside and and it's a lot of fun to have stupid power to play with!

JIM

 

Mudbone;

Let me sum up my view without being cheeky. The hobby is full of all kinds of people with all kinds of cars who do with them whatever they want. The OP asked about putting a big block in a 65 Corvette. Those of us with L78 cars find it intuitive to put a 396 in a 65 car because that was the only big block offered in a 65, and we believe there is a certain mystique about our cars given their status as the first big block and with a little over only 2,000 produced.

I understand many here including you who believe cubic inches and power should be a primary consideration in any engine swap. It's a perfectly reasonable point of view, but not the only one. You will note that the others here who expressed your point of view were not chastised or admonished for doing so any more than you were.

I like a lot of power too, I own a 440 .30 over with Crossram induction that makes 525 HP and rips off low 12's in a heavy 61 full sized Plymouth 2-door sedan, so I get it.

My purpose was not to challenge or belittle your angle of attack on the OP's inquiry. If he did as you suggest he's have a cool car no doubt.

But us L78 owners have a thing about our cars that causes us to promote them. It comes natural to us to answer 396! when someone asks what big block he should stuff in his 65.

That's all...peace brother. Let me know if you make it to new England and we will go for a ride in a black, violent Plymouth.

Dan

 

Well, nothing like a good ole engine thread to spice things up. My idea of cool since street racing and burning up good tires doesn't interest me. A 409. The one going in here on the forum is ultra cool. Cam it up, raise the compression, make it lope and you got something you just don't see every day and a 409 has its own song to play driving down the road! Never been a better looking Chevy engine IMHO. Does the same thing for me that a flat head Ford with Offy heads do!

Steve

 

Ok if we're talking cool and funky...the 409 wins!!

JIM

 

I stopped reading about half way through.
The guy that had my 64 before me bought it from a junk yard in NJ.
He put in a 396. I LOVE it ! The torque is amazing. I can pop the clutch in 4th
and the car would take right off. Or, I can start spinning the tires and not have any missing rubber n the road till
more than halfway through 4th.
Like I said, I love the torque. And, on a Rochester carb, I got about 18 mpg.

That being said, I would love to put it back to all original, but, finding the correct
engine (with the correct dates) would be tough, and then, the FI unit would cost a fortune. Just not worth it.

One more thing. If your considering a 396, go for the bigger cubes. 427, 454, 496.
I'm in the middle of a frame off rebuild and, if the budget holds out, going 496.
Best of luck in whatever you do to her !
Dom

 

You do know there are 396 blocks out there that can be bored to 454 (4.250) standard bore, right ? I'd buy a 396 block, bore it to 4.250, put in a 4.250 internally balanced crank and have at it...some "correct" closed chamber BB oval port heads, correct intake, more modern carb, etc... just my .02 cents. I think that would be super cool...

 

so which way did you decide Rhino?

 

If you go BB please use a '65 or '66 BB hood. Stingers are SO common atop EVERY possible SB and BB size and specification! Then most will assume your '65 is original.

 

I really like this option. The engine can be accessorized with all the period-correct BB Vette chrome bits like valve covers, ignition shielding, and air cleaner, then topped off with the '65 BB hood and you've got the best of both worlds - tire melting capacity of an L-88 and essentially stock appearance. Headers and Flowmaster exhaust. Got the cash? Just do it!! (Then post pictures )

 

A new 350 crate from Jeggs for $1500 and free shipping will get you into enough trouble and will probably corner better!

 

IMHO There is no $1500 small block that is gonna compare with even a mild big block.

Wanna talk about sound? Listen to a 396 with an L88 cam and side pipes. Never heard any small block sound like that.

Since I have a 396, I'm biased.

As some others have said, the 396 is special. It's a conversation piece for sure. FWIW in 30 years of ownership not one single person has asked if the carb is correct, or if the alternator has the right date code.

That being said, you can dress up any old big block and call it a 396. I doubt anyone is gonna check casting numbers. Just get the right hood, the flags for the fenders, and you will be set.