Quote:
Originally Posted by xb-60
OK, I'll give it a blast 
Yes, it definitely was Chevrolet that started the small block thin wall revolution way back in the '50s, so Ford had to jump on board with its own lightweight (thin wall) small block.
....but which engine was it that finally beat Ferrari at its own game in the World Sportscar Championship for GT cars? It was Ford's small block 289.
And which engine was it that beat Porsche for outright at Le Mans in 1968 and 1968? Fords small block 302.
The only other production block engine I can think of that's got anywhere near that sort of world stage performance record is BMW's M10 based four cylinder turbo engine, winning the F1 championship in 1983. Now that's successful!
Maybe the BWM turbo engine would be a good idea in a Cobra! 
Hmm...no, I'll stick with my SBF
Cheers,
Glen |
Not taking anything away from Ford's GT40 Lemans wins but don't forget that Chevrolet didn't have a factory entry in most of those races back in the 60's. They had a corporate ban on racing. All of the chev motors racing were in the hands of privateers like Jim Hall and his Chaparrals.
Ford wanted to make a point of kicking Ferrari's but due to the failed takeover. Plenty of money was thrown at that program.
On a side note there is a good documentary on YouTube about those early turbo era F1 engines [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7obqh6QDu2Y"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7obqh6QDu2Y[/ame]
Cheers