Big Block got smoked by a...

[wireflight]

Originally posted by ManyScalps


I was positive they said it was a BB but you could be right, and I agree; it very well could have been staged.

I can't count how many times I've heard people talk about "big block 302" Fords -- nevermind that the low-deck Windsor is, to anyone in the know, the smallest modern V8 Ford block used in RWD applications (the FWD 3.4 SHO V8 might be smaller).

And, I'v heard people buy into the idea that the 351W is a big block (perhaps aggravated by some Chevy ads calling their 350 a big block, even though they were obviously referring to the venerable 350 SBC).

And then you've got the crowd that doesn't understand packaging or other design considerations, that think displacement determines whether an engine is a big or a small block. They don't understand, for instance, how the 400 SBC and 400 Ford engines can be small blocks, while the 396 BBC and 332-390 FE engines are big blocks.

There are people that think Cleveland SBF engines are big blocks, but Windsor SBF engines are small blocks -- nevermind that they all share the same bore spacing and the tall Windsor has a deck height roughly 0.3 inches greater than the low-deck Cleveland.

And if you've got a 351M/400 SBF under your hood, forget trying to convince anyone other than a diehard Ford guy that it's a small block. The problem is that people generally don't care about having accurate information: all they want is to have their egos stroked while their prejudices are fed, and they don't want to have to actually THINK about anything.

So, "big block" -- from a "general audience" marketing perspective -- is an utterly meaningless term.