Small Block Chevy Dress Up - Dress Up Your Small-Block

Isn't this how all big projects start-with a greasy engine and a pile of parts?

Admit it. As much as car crafting is about making horsepower and smokin' the tires, you can't deny that the visual side is important. A clean, well-executed engine compartment with a little bit of visual sizzle is always in vogue. This got us thinking about how you could dress a small-block Chevy in several configurations and still be in style. We started by perusing the Summit catalog, and the next thing we knew, there were several monster boxes of parts lying on the shop floor, begging to be bolted on. We recruited a small-block found cowering under a workbench and gave it a makeover worthy of any Hollywood plastic surgeon. For you early small-block fanatics, our volunteer is a small-journal '65 327 that has had a tough life with a 4.040 bore and a 0.020-under steel crank that was in desperate need of visual assistance.

We chose three completely different styles for our split personality Mouse. The first is what we're calling Small-Block Basic, where we exercised restraint, approaching this from a budget standpoint while still giving our motor a little chrome style. It's amazing what a shot of paint and a couple of chrome goodies can do for an otherwise boring engine. Next, we upgraded the heads and tossed in a tunnel-ram to give the motor a competition look. Finally, we took a shot at a Pro Touring-like approach with a big single carb, a set of aluminum heads, and then pummeled the checkbook with custom Summit serpentine-accessory-drive bling. It was fun to watch our small-block's transformation from nerdy leaker to gutsy muscle motor, even if it is all just for show.

Compare this shot to our original engine; it's amazing what a shot of Dupli-Color Chevy Orange and a couple of chrome goodies can do.

Compare this shot to our original engine; it's amazing what a shot of Dupli-Color Chevy Or

Small-Block Basic
This is the classic entry-level car crafter approach to an underhood statement. We retained the stock 327's Power Pak iron cylinder heads, opting for a previously owned Performer intake manifold we found at the swap meet for $35. Rather than blasting it, we just doused it with carb cleaner and painted it light silver to give the manifold a different look. The glitter comes via a simple Summit chrome dress-up kit that includes valve covers, a timing chain cover, a 14-inch chrome air cleaner, a chrome pointer, one breather, and some gaskets. We spent a few more bucks on a shiny 100-amp alternator and added some aluminum pulleys and a slick Summit alternator mount. Adding a small Holley 600-cfm carb and a used set of swap meet shorty headers completed our simple small-block makeover.

Velocity stack air cleaners are like Mouse motor elevator shoes. We decided to reuse the stock thermostat housing, painted orange for a little contrast. We retained the accessory drive from the basic kit and added a set of Made For You plus wire looms.

Velocity stack air cleaners are like Mouse motor elevator shoes. We decided to reuse the s

Street/Strip Package
It was now time to step up our game. Jeff Latimer at Jim Grubbs Motorsports likes to build high-winding 331ci, small-journal small-blocks, which gave us the inspiration to bolt on a Summit combo tunnel-ram and some big-tube headers and tall valve covers to give our small-block that racer look. Did you spot our other subtle swap? Yep, we dumped those two-barrel 327 heads for a set of big-valve 492 castings. This approach still has a budget flavor because the tunnel-ram package from Summit delivers a pair of 600-cfm vacuum-secondary carburetors and the Weiand tunnel-ram intake, plus linkage all for less than $850.

If you want to read more about tunnel-rams, look up "Tunnel-Rams for the Street," in the Dec. '08 issue.

This Pro Touring small-block would look outstanding under the hood of our '65 El Camino.

Pro Touring Package
Pro Touring has become the hot topic of late, so we thought we'd slap on a little more flash to see what transpired. The observer corps will have already picked up on our quickie cylinder head swap to a set of TFS 195cc aluminum heads, just for a little more contrast. We also dropped in a cast-aluminum timing chain cover, a Weiand Stealth Air Strike dual-plane intake, an 830-cfm HP Holley, and a set of long-tube tri-Y headers that will all contribute to a broad power band. Those fabricated valve covers give the Mouse an authoritative appearance, as does the cool Summit serpentine accessory drive that was pretty easy to install. We opted for the alternator and power steering combination, but Summit also offers a similar system with an A/C pump located on the passenger side.