Whether a person is a dyed in the wool small-block Chevy lover, or a hardcore Bow Tie hater, there is no denying that the little "mouse motor" has reigned supreme for almost 60 years. Unlike other Detroit brands with developmental changes that dictated breaking the mold with each new series of V-8 introduced, Chevrolet has been able to maintain a direct lineage to its original external dimensions. On the inside, the six-decade evolutionary process has led to a highly evolved OHV pushrod engine that shares few components with its ancestors.
To reap the benefits of both worlds-state-of-the-art performance with an "old-school" flavor-we started with one of the best high-performance bargains on the market today: a $2,990 PowerCrate 350 from YearOne. The fully balanced and blueprinted PowerCrate 350 is dyno tested to produce over 400 hp, and 400 lb-ft of torque with a 9.5:1 compression ratio on 92-octane pump gasoline. The basis of the PowerCrate 350 is a four-bolt main, seasoned 350 block bored out 0.030-inch, which brings it out to about 355 ci. It uses a nodular iron crankshaft with hypereutectic pistons connected with powdered metal connecting rods, ported Vortec cylinder heads, 1.6:1-ratio rocker arms, and a hydraulic roller camshaft. Not to get too far off the subject, but in the future we intend to tune our PowerCrate 350 to run on 105-octane E85, and then report back on it by publishing before and after dyno results.
Here's our PowerCrate 350...
Here's our PowerCrate 350 as it arrived on a special wood pallet from YearOne. We recycled the wood pallet it was shipped on by turning it into a handy engine cart-take that, Popular Mechanics! Notice the old Corvette engine in the background.
The first step to repainting...
The first step to repainting the PowerCrate 350 Chevrolet Orange was to blow it clean with compressed air, and then mask it off.
Since silicone degreasing...
Since silicone degreasing products like RM Pre-Kleeno are no longer available in a can, the absolute best product still available for this purpose is DuPont 3812S enamel reducer.
A person with an eye for detail...
A person with an eye for detail will notice we used the same adhesive backed masking paper we used to do our flame job. Duct tape worked best for masking off the exhaust ports. Blowing the entire engine clean with compressed air ensured that we got a dust-free paint job.
When it comes to painting...
When it comes to painting a motor, the best results are obtained from engine enamel that covers fast with a minimum of coats and dries quickly. We were really pleased with Plasticoat's ability to deliver professional results.
Super detailing separates...
Super detailing separates the ordinary run of the mill junk from a true custom. We used a Vixen file to shave the top of the fins and Corvette script.