farm-kid/88camaro

I'd just like to have something cleared up for me.

There is a big block 350 right?, and is it a olds or ponitiac block?

thanks

Eric

Pontiac made a 350 big block - I had one in a 1977 Firebird. Dog slow, that car - likely cause it had 2.77 gears

SoCo80p

iTrader: (5)

right, the only 350 big block was the pontiac.

farm-kid/88camaro

thanks guys, that settles it

No4NJunk

Pontiac doesn't make a big block or small block they just make a block. They just change the bore and stroke on the engines for different sizes. Big block 350!!! LOL Thanks I needed that! No there is no such thing as a 350 big block.

zippy

pontiac doesn't just change the bore and stroke. the 265 and 301 were smaller then the 326 and up due to a shorter deck height. using the normal small and big classification, it would make the pontiac 350 a big block by them terms even though it really isn't big compared to any of the other big blocks.

No4NJunk

I didn't know that. Thanks. I guess I was misinformed.

zippy

hey, no big deal. most people just call pontiacs by short or tall deck and not big or small blocks, but it's just opinion. i feel if one block is smaller due to a shorter deck and one is larger due to a taller deck, it's a small block compared to the other. pontiac doesn't referr to them like that, but hell they haven't made an engine since around 1981 aside from the wonderfull 2.5 4 cylinder. everything else they use are other gm company engines.

No4NJunk

I was going on the basis of pontiacs theory and the fact that the block itself isn't any bigger per say. But I didn't realize that they changed the decks. Always wondered how they got 455 out of the same block. Thanks for the info.

giovanhalen

I'll simply state that there is no pontiac 350 big block. Ford 352 and chrysler 357 hemi might be considered big block 350's. A 455 pontiac is also not a big block pontiac. no4njunk was right to say there is no pontiac big block.

zippy

a 352 and a 357, since when did them two numbers be equal to a 350? and if a deck is taller, that makes the block larger therefore bigger. should the term big or small block be used, that's up for debate, but to say they are the same size is incorrect. if two guys have a 38 inch waist and one is a couple inches taller than the other, i'd say the taller guy is bigger.

88WS6TA

Zippy, let say that I have a "tall deck" big block Chevy truck engine. Does that mean that I have a "BIG, BIG block" or just a tall deck big block. Or does that mean that my 396 big block is a "small, big block". Are you confused yet? If you saw two girls that both weighed 125 pounds, one was 5'0" tall and the other was 5'9" which would you call bigger?

zippy

lol, bad example on the weight. the poncho blocks do weigh different. i didn't use the big block tall deck as an example since they never came in a passegner car or light duty truck. that is the same reason the 534 ford isn't in the same catagory, it didn't come in passenger cars or light duty trucks. i never said the small/big block terminology for a pontiac is the proper way to referr to them, but i'm simply pointing out that there are two size blocks used and they could be called small or big block. i just call them pontiac when i referr to them.

giovanhalen

Do you think all engines are exactly the size they are called? A 350 pontiac has the same deck height as a 389, 400, 421, 428, or 455. I think you are confusing pontiac for oldsmobile. The 301 is a totally different engine from a different time. The difference between a 350 and a 389 displacement is due to the bore. Crankshaft journal sizes vary on different engines also.

giovanhalen

I forgot the 326 pontiac is also in the same family. They all use the same intake manifold and have the same motor mounts and bell housing pattern. If the deck heights were different they could not use the same intake manifold without spacers or machining.

zippy

your a bit slow, i've already pointed out that the 326 and larger use the taller deck height. the only short one's were the worthless one's, the 265 and 301.

giovanhalen

Yes you did, missed that, but the 326 and larger are the only pontiac V8's considered to be pontiac engines. The 301 was built after the horsepower wars were over for pontiac. And even if a 301 is smaller it still doesn't make a 326 or a 350 or even a 455 a big block. Understand?

giovanhalen

Chevy had two engines called 400 one was bigger than the other a big block 402 the other a small block 400. That is probably were this small block big block designation came from. Also what size block is the 348 chevy?That is why I mentioned the 352 ford as it is alot bigger than the similiar displacement 351. And the 357 is just "big "looking and I never heard it called a big block but I would call it one before a 350 pontiac. I need to go to bed.

zippy

i am aware of the 400 thing as i've discussed it in other posts before, but yes big looking is commonly mistaken for big block. ford has basicly 5 versions of block designs which makes them probably the most difficult to explain. the 348 and 409 chevy were called a w block but referring to the engines back in that era they could be considered a big block since they were larger than a small block and the current big block wasn't being produced. in 1965 when the big block chevy came about they used up the remaining w block (odd name but fitting) engines for the first month or so but were completely replaced early in 65' with the current big block. all of these variables are what makes the hobby fun at times, i'm sure you'd agree.

Guest

Right, there is no big block Pontiac. If you go to a meeting of a Pontiac club, and tell them you have a big block in your car, they are going to look at you funny and wonder why you put a Chevy engine in your Pontiac. The whole deal with the designation of big and small blocks, and that there is no Pontiac big block is because Pontiac never referred to them with that term.

I'm not aware of any 350's that would be considered a big block.

giovanhalen

My last comment, promise. A big reason I do not consider a 301 to be a Pontiac engine even though as far as I know it only came in Pontiacs is because in 1975 GM started putting different brand engines in different GM cars and all the engines were considered corporate engines after that. Still if an engine only came in one brand of car it could be called that brand I guess. Biggest joke of a pontiac so far the Hyundai built Le Mans of the 80's.