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The Big Eight

Eight Big-Block Parts To Horsepower Heaven
By Scott Crouse
Photography by CHP Archives, Jeff Smith, Mike Morgan, Scott Crouse
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Dan Leadbetter’s 496ci... 
   
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Dan Leadbetter’s 496ci Rat uses oval-port Edelbrock aluminum heads and a torque-enhancing camshaft to move his 3640 pound ’66 Chevelle down the quarter-mile in 10.70 seconds at 125 mph.

No matter how fat the Rat, if it doesn’t contain the correct pieces it won’t run as strong as the next guy’s effort. General Motors built three generations of big-block engines with combinations that included everything from mild-mannered hydraulic camshafts and oval-port cylinder heads to monster mechanical flat-tappet camshafts with rectangular-port cylinder heads.

Numerous private engine shops now offer crate engine packages of more than 600 inches and 700 normally aspirated horsepower. GM Performance Parts offers a 454 H.O. capable of making over 500 lb-ft of torque at 3,250 rpm, while the larger ZZ502 punches out 567 lb-ft of torque at 4,200 rpm. No matter what big-block combination you call your own, the power relies on the pieces you choose to develop that curve. We have assembled the following list of our favorite big-block parts to provide guidelines to help you make your large-inch engine be all it can be.

Air Flow Research (Afr)
10490 Ilex Ave.
Pacoima
CA  91331-3137
Hedman Hedders
www.hedman.com
Autotronic Controls Corp. (MSD)
1490 Henry Brennan Dr.
El Paso
TX  79936
Holley Performance Products/ Weiand/Hooker Headers
Bowling Green
KY  42101
Barry Grant Incorporated/Rush Filters
Dahlonega
GA  30533-2424
K&N Engineering
561 Iowa Ave.
Riverside
CA  92507
(909) 684-9762
Borla Performance Industries
5901 Edison Dr.
Oxnard
CA  93033
(877) 462-6752

www.borla.com
Milodon Inc.
20716 Plummer St.
Chatsworth
CA  91311
(818) 407-1211
Brodix
www.brodix.com
Moroso Performance Products
203/453-6571

moroso.com
Crane cams
530 Fentress Blvd
Daytona Beach
FL  32114
(904) 252-1151

www.cranecams.com
Performance Distributors
901/396-5782

performancedistributors.com
Dart Machinery Professional Products
12705 S. Van Ness Ave.
Hawthorne
CA  90250
(323) 779-2020

www.professional-products.com
DynoMax
2701 N. Dettman Rd.
Jackson
MI  49201
(800) 767-DYNO

www.dynomax.com
Ravin Exhaust
Edelbrock S&B Filter
Ontario
CA  91761
Flowmaster
100 Stony Point Rd., Ste. 125
Santa Rosa
CA  95401
(800) 544-4761

www.flowmastermufflers.com
SCAT Enterprises

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