Most all Gen 1 and Ltx blocks esp the 400.
Know they could build a 400 ci block that would be stout...never did.

HEI???(could be wrong there)

The nitrided 327 350 cranks-

396, 427 blocks

All their old performance cams

Most importantly those fantastic lifters


Last new GM block I bought was in the late 90s from P.A.W. It was made in Mexico but was less than $600 and measured out about perfect even line hone was very good.

KNOW there are some people here involved and know the big dogs from GM.

There are STILL guys that would buy plenty if they were available
Opinions?

Not eveyone wants an LSx under thier hood I dont.
Anyone out there listening?

 

The aftermarket has stepped in with better gen1 blocks than GM ever made. They are a lot more than $600 but they're also a lot better. Priority mains oiling, roller cam provisions, etc.

 

maybe I'm not clear as to what you are looking for but the Performance Parts Catalog seems to have all those items.

https://www.chevrolet.com/content/da...alog-web-1.pdf

 

GM hardly does any manufacturing at all, these days. In their 'wisdom', they decided that the American worker wanted too much money for their labor and sent all manufacturing work out of the country and/or to outside vendors.

And now they wonder why the American public is not buying new cars???

Hell--oo! No money.....no new cars.

Being a big-shot in GM sure doesn't make one a "genius".

 

Well, your opinion is one viewpoint. You might also consider the great deal Bill Clinton offered, all in the best interest of the U.S.??? called NAFTA. Made with Mexico, which is where my ZZ4 short block was built. So, you can blame GM management if you want, but again.....opinion. I am hoping on January 20th, we can start fixing some of those mistakes like NAFTA. I am not alone.

By the way, just in case someone wants to point out a benefit of me buying my ZZ4 from Mexico...first off, I had no choice if I wanted one as to where it was built, and secondly, I would gladly paid $500 plus more for the engine to get it built in U.S. to keep American workers employed....minus their labor union.

 

The US auto market probably set an annual sales record of 17.5 million units of retail sales in the light duty range.
GM's share of that market was 16.8%, or about 2.94 million units.

 

Yes, but what is the foreign content in U.S. branded cars? I think that is the point.

 

Plus, much of that statistic is based on foreign sales of GM product.

The point is that GM sold-out its employees and the United States of America with its decisions. And the choice to buy foreign content was made many years before Bill Clinton ever took office. That choice was made strictly on the basis of MONEY, without any conscience of what that might do to its employees or this country.

Opinion, it is not....

 

Seriously??? EVERY publicly traded corporation MUST make their choices based on making the most money. The stock market demands this of them. The beginnings of how corporations got the freedom to do the things they do can be traced back to the fourteenth amendment.

I'm not sure how any of this applies to the original question? But, the OP who is complaining about GM not making blocks anymore last bought a new block in the 90's. That should speak to supply and demand driving what parts GM continues to make and which parts they discontinue. There are some people who still want to use the old nostalgic cams and blocks and heads, but seriously how many are buying new parts to build 302 and 327 engines using old school heads and flat tappet cams vs the number buying new parts to build 383+ engines with new school heads and roller cams?

 

See previous post in the thread; there are plenty of much better blocks that ARE made in the US for about $600 more. You still could have chosen to buy a US-made SBC block, if you really wanted to; even with your strong opinions, when faced with a more expensive US-made block vs. a cheaper Mexico-made block you also made the choice to buy the cheaper Mexican block. (I think I can see why car companies have to go to where the consumers are going; if consumers refuse to buy the foreign made blocks, car companies won't have them made there.)


People in glass houses and all that...

Adam`

 

I would suggest that I know more about my decisions than you do, so I don't like people trying to tell me I have double standards, cause my point was actually to prove I don't. I bought a ZZ4 short block, and when I did that, I was not aware it was made in Mexico. My point was if I could buy a brand new AMERICAN made ZZ4 short block, I would gladly pay $500 or more so that I supported America and its work force. So , whatever your interpretation is of my post, maybe you now understand better. This is not supposed to be a General thread, so probably getting off topic.

 

Unless you are actually a member of GM Management, and privy to why they make their decisions, it IS only your opinion.....hey, no problem with having opinions. I do. This is going way off topic, so lets leave it at that.

 

I think you are correct, this really comes down to supply and demand.....which probably will only get worse as our muscle car crowd dies off, to be replaced with Millenials.

 

You're correct; I do understand better. Good to see someone putting their money where their mouth is; it's far too rare these days.


I'm not convinced this conversation is off-topic it seems to very much be in alignment with the OPs intent, as far as I can tell. It might be posted in the wrong forum, though....




Adam

 

Just curious. You ever work in a GM plant? Are you familiar with any of the work rules in the contracts?

Just for amusement, what's your analysis for why GM went bankrupt?

 

A couple of years ago I was working with GM Performance on a series of magazine articles we were discussing. There was to be a bunch of dyno testing of all sorts of things. I asked what was most advantageous to them as far as what engine platform would be best to utilize....an old school SBC or an LS?

Surprisingly they told me they had recently invested in all new tooling for the SBC because the old stuff was worn out. They said they were selling all they could make and didn't see it dying any time soon. They mentioned the new stuff has better machining and tolerance than EVER with new production methods.

JIM

 

I can claim 40 years of employment with GM...many of them in middle management positions. As a result of their 'odd' business decisions of the early 1980's I had NO interest in being a member of upper management, as that was mostly a matter of political maneuvering, rather than that of a strategic nature.

It was clear to me in the mid-80's that GM was headed for bankruptcy...or worse. My only error was not appreciating how much "inertia" a large corporation has--that it can survive several years on its reputation, even though its recent actions do not merit it.

For those of you who actually believe that the ONLY purpose of business is to "make money", you should put your application in for some teaching position at a business school. That's the drivel that is preached there, too. 'Business' has a much more important role than just making money for its investors. It was formed by individuals who had differing skills so that, collectively, they could produce a product of higher quality than any one individual, in higher volume, and at lower cost. 'Business' thus allowed these individuals to enhance their own standard of living, as well as enhance the local society around that area. The societal benefits of business were much more profound than simply making money. Those who believe otherwise are what is wrong with modern business: they give no quarter to the value of the employees working for them, nor the community in which they operate. "Money above people" is the mantra of today's businesses.

And, as it did with GM and many other manufacturing and financial institutions in this country, their demise is assured in the long run. You can't TAKE from society forever, without giving back to it.

 

7T1Vette

While my comments seem to oppose your views, I do appreciate what you are saying. I work for a company whose owners are very wealthy and set for life, but they also treat me very well, and I appreciate that. But the balance is a very fine line, and I respect my place in the organization. In the Pittsburgh area, the steel mills and glass companies back in the day, and now gone, were full of unions, and employees who carefully found ways to sleep on the job, punch their buddies out on the clock when they went home early, and milked the companies to the fullest extent. Same with US Air, who is also now gone. Anyone who denies this simply does not know how it was.....I know. People like bragging about it when they do it. I worked for GE in Cincinnati, and guys sweeping the floors were making 80K per year with overtime abuse. I know that too. I suspect GM plants were similar.

This is a huge debate, and both sides have legitimate points. But in the end, the business needs to succeed and make money, because without that, the employees don't have a job. I am also very content that upper management types are millionaires. So, I am going to lean toward the side that has to survive as opposed to the self righteous side that believes they deserve whatever they can manipulate into their pocket, normally only possible when labor unions are in affect. The right place is similar to my employer who is much more wealthy than I, but passes on to me what I can live with. I work as hard as I can to do my job because of it, and I do not abuse anything.

I think that America should be able to compete with Japan and Mexico by making sure that Japan and Mexico don't have the unfair advantages that NAFTA and other liberal Democratic politicians have engineered and permitted. January 20th, we might have a chance of turning that around....some of us are hoping he can do it. ANd if he succeeds, America will have jobs for the masses, and I might be able to buy an American made engine.......and I am willing to pay more for that. That's why I own a Ford truck, Harley Davidson motorcycles, and Chevy Corvette. I really don't care about Toyota, Nissan or any other foreign manufacturers....no matter where they build the cars. As far as I am concerned, they can all go away, no matter how good their cars are. Sorry for being American....but then again, I am proud of it.

 

I'm not one of those who believes that making money is the only reason for a business's existence, but I do believe that making money is the first of many reasons. Without the cash flow, none of the other reasons matter.

I spent a few decades at GM, and the waste there was unbelievable. Due to contract restrictions I saw lots of people sitting on their backsides reading newspapers in unused labs and office spaces because management wasn't allowed to lay off anyone. And don't let me get on about how damn hard it was to get rid of drunk or incompetent employees. On top of that, there seemed to be little relationship between market price for someone's skills/job, and what they were being paid. Tons of waste and excess costs at GM.

I bailed out about four months before everything went south. Lotta my colleagues got hit pretty bad financially in the bankruptcy deal.

 

As a GM dealership employee of 45 years (parts manager for the last 30 years) and seeing what they've done on THAT side of the business, !!!!!!!!!!!!