It featured reverse-flow cylinder heads, a new ignition system and engine block but the valvetrain and engine mounts were still retained in order to maintain a degree of compatibility with the previous generation. ġ992 saw the second generation of Chevrolet small-block hit the market in that year's Chevrolet Corvette in the form of the LT1 small-block. The Malaise era, as it was known (roughly 1973 to 1983), saw some of the lowest horsepower figures in several muscle/pony car engines, including the Corvette whose power output dropped below 200 hp (149 kW 203 PS) despite a displacement of 350 cu in (5,735 cc). General Motors would produce more powerful and larger displacement iterations of the small-block, until the advent of stringent emission regulations in the late 1960s severely limited performance. This further lowered the Corvette's 0–60 mph (0–97 km/h) to 7.2 seconds. The Super Turbo-Fire was also the first engine offered with mechanical fuel injection, with the top-of-the-line model producing 283 hp (211 kW 287 PS), giving it a 1:1 cubic inch to horsepower ratio. A larger version of the Turbo-Fire arrived in 1957, now bored out to 3.875 in (98.4 mm) gave the new engine a total displacement of 283 cu in (4,638 cc), this engine was dubbed the "Super Turbo-Fire". Nicknamed the "Mighty Mouse", the Turbo-Fire soon became popular within the hot rodding community too, along with scoring wins in stock car racing. This contributed to lowering the Corvette's 0–60 mph (0–97 km/h) from 11 seconds to 8.7. The 265 Turbo-Fire distinguished itself from other engines of the era such as Cadillac's 331 series of the late 1940s and early 1950s by reducing the size and weight of various components within the engine a compact engine block combined with a light valvetrain gave the Turbo-Fire a 40 lb (18 kg) weight reduction compared to the inline-sixes that initially powered the first generation of the Corvette, alongside a significant horsepower increase of 25%. The brainchild of Chevrolet chief engineer Ed Cole, first generation of the Chevrolet small-block engine were first unveiled in the 1955 Chevrolet Corvette and Chevrolet Bel Air, both powered by the 265 cu in (4,343 cc) "Turbo-Fire". These engines also enjoy a high degree of aftermarket support due to their popularity and affordability. The serviceability and parts availability for various Gen III and Gen IV engines have made them a popular choice for engine swaps in the car enthusiast and hot rodding community, and sometimes is known colloquially as an LS swap. Gen V engines do not share as much with the previous two, although the engine block is carried over, along with the connecting rods. However, the Gen III and Gen IV engines were designed with modularity in mind, and several engines of the two generations share a large number of interchangeable parts. Ī clean-sheet design, the only shared components between the Gen III engines and the first two generations of Chevrolet small-block engine are the connecting rod bearings and valve lifters. Various other General Motors automobiles have been powered by LS- and LT-based engines, including trucks such as the Chevrolet Silverado, sports cars such as the Holden Commodore and SUVs such as the Cadillac Escalade. LS and LT engines have powered every single generation of the Corvette since the C5, with the exception of the Z06 variant of the eighth generation Corvette, which is powered by an unrelated small-block engine, the Chevrolet Gemini small-block engine. This can sometimes be misleading, as not all engine RPO codes in the three generations begin with LT or LS. The Regular Production Option (RPO) code of the engine, LS, has since been used to generally refer to all Gen III and Gen IV engines, however, Gen V engines are generally referred to as "LT" small-blocks. The "LS" nomenclature originally came from the first engine of the Gen III engines, the LS1, which was fitted in the Chevrolet Corvette (C5). Various small-block V8s were and still are available as crate engines. Spanning three generations, a new, sixth generation is expected to enter production soon. First introduced in 1997, the family is a continuation of the earlier Chevrolet small-block engine (first- and second-generations), of which over 100 million have been produced altogether, and is also considered to be one of the most popular V8 engines ever. The General Motors LS-based small-block engines are a family of V8 and V6 engines designed and manufactured by American automotive company General Motors. Chevrolet small-block engine (first and second generation)
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