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Ernest Meland
Dr. Raquet
26 April 2017
ENGR 1202-M03
Ed Cole, a lead engineer of GM and later GM President was assigned a new task
in 1954 along with a team of other engineers to design and produce a new engine to replace
the old and weak Stovebolt six-cylinder engine. Chevy was in need for a new more powerful
motor that could keep up with competition. The engine that Ed Cole and his team of
engineers produced was arguably the best engine ever created as far as power per dollar goes.
In 1955 Chevrolet designed and produced the most popular engine of all time. This V-8 was
powerful, simple, inexpensive, and it was known for good gas mileage for the power. The
small block V-8 came in many different models or displacements. The displacement of an
engine is the volume of the combustion chamber for each cylinder in the engine. The first
Chevrolet small block had a displacement of 265 cubic inches, the displacement size
Most Chevrolet
engines where painted orange from the factory. One of the most popular displacement
models of the Small Block Chevrolet is the Small Block 350. The 350 signifies that the
engines displacement is 350 cubic inches. The Chevrolet small block v-8 was used from
1955 to present in cars and trucks of all models in all GM companies. Figure two shows a
1970 Chevy 350 CI small block engine. The shape has not changed other than the more
modern accessories.
This engine Is one of the simplest automotive engines ever designed. It works off internal
combustion through a four-stroke cycle. First, the piston travels down on the intake stroke
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sucking a finely tuned air fuel mixture through the import valve port. Then as the piston travels
back upwards it compresses the gas until the spark plug fires a spark into the combustion
chamber at a certain distance before the piston reaches its highest point, the distance (degrees
before top dead center) that the spark fires as the piston moves depends on the rpms (revolutions
per minute) and displacement model of the engine. Once the air fuel mixture is ignited the piston
gets thrown back down in its power stroke propelling the crankshaft in a rotational motion. Then
the piston travels back up pushing the exhaust gas out of the exhaust ports. The rotational
motion that the pistons create gets transferred to the drive wheels of whatever vehicle the motor
is powering through a transmission and rear differential and axle. One of the great things about
the Chevy motor is the one camshaft design. The engine uses one camshaft that is directly
synchronized to the motion of the crankshaft by use of gear and chain. The camshaft is used to
lift the lifters which transfer the motion back down on to the valves opening and closing the
intake and exhaust valves at specific times during the combustion cycle. The cylinders receive a
spark at the right time by a sparkplug that is wired to a part called the distributor cap. Under the
distributor cap is the distributor and coil. The distributor spins at the same rpm of the engine by
a vertical shaft that is geared and spun by the camshaft. As the distributor spins it contacts
certain plug wire points and sends a spark to the correct cylinder. The engine receives that finely
tuned air fuel mixture by use of a carburetor. The carburetor sits atop of the intake manifold,
when the operator hits the accelerator petal it pulls a wire that activated the accelerator piston in
the carburetor. The engine is cooled by water flowing through machined passages throughout the
One of the greatest things about Chevrolet small blocks is that all the engine/
displacement sizes have interchangeable parts and accessories. This is part of the reason that
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caused GM vehicles to become so popular. A very commonly known and sought after
antique race car from the 1950s is the 1955 Chevy Gasser. The Gasser was made so popular
because it was the first car to let the Chevy small block make its debut as the powerful
performance machine that it is. All of GMs sub companies such as Pontiac, Buick, Cadillac,
and Oldsmobile began using the Chevy 350 Cubic Inch small block as the Corporate standard
in 1967.
The lead engineer of the small block Chevy, Ed Cole, was born on September 17th, 1909
in Marne Michigan. Cole was born into a dairy farming family but sparked an interest in
automobiles while working part time at an auto parts store and attending community college.
After community college Ed attended the General Motors Institute, where he expanded his
GM and was part of a project as co-head of team developing a V-8 engine for Cadillac. In
1952 Ed was promoted to the lead engineer of the Chevrolet branch of GM after being
supported by the previous lead engineer. 1954 is when Ed Cole began leading a team to
design and produce the Chevrolet small block, this was the biggest and most important
project he had been assigned. The design process took approximately a year and the product
ended up being in production for nearly 5 decades. Ed Cole was promoted to General
Manager of GM in 1956 shortly after the debut of the small block. Ed Cole passed away in
1977 due to a plane crash although he was active in the GM work force from 1948-1974. Ed
Cole was recognized for the Small Block V-8 as well as the Chevrolet Corvair and the
Chevrolet Vega.
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The reason I
important innovation to the American society because of its simple yet powerful and efficient
design. The small block Chevrolet engine has provided the necessary power needed for millions
of people around the world. Its production and use in race cars such as Late Model asphalt and
dirt cars in Nascar and Outlaw dirt racing has led to thousands of jobs and has helped the
economy. Most the small block engines where manufactured in the USA except for a select few
years when the engine was manufactured in Mexico, the manufacturing of these engines in the
United States increased the desire to own them among the public.
The most interesting factor about the small block Chevrolet to me is how it was
engineered. Ed Cole and the other engineers didnt have computer renderings or drawing
programs, the Chevrolet engine had to be hand drawn layer by layer. This is so interesting to me
because of all the oil and water passages as well as the rotating assembly. The fact that the GM
engineers of 1954 hand drew every component of the engine is fascinating to me. The Chevrolet
small block is constantly being improved upon for performance and racing purposes. Although
the first-generation small block discontinued production in 2003, after market companies all over
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the world manufacture the small block. GM is also producing a newer version of the small
block, the LS series of motors. LS motors have a slightly different block shape and can
withstand higher rpms and produce more horsepower. The small block Chevrolet engine was
most definitely a milestone in not only GM production efforts but in engineering history.
References
Udy, Jason. Small Block Chevy V-8 Through the Years. Motor Trend on Demand
http://www.motortrend.com/news/small-block-chevy-v8-through-the-years/ 11/03/2011.
4/24/2017.
https://www.hemmings.com/magazine/hcc/2007/05/Edward-N--Cole/1453678.html 5/2007
04/30/2017