Birthdays are fun, but they also mark the passage of time. For the past 50 years, Corvettes have sported a litany of small-block engines-powerful powerplants that consistently offered the best bang for the performance-enthusiast's buck. Debuting in 1955, small-blocks continued to rewrite the performance history books each year, delivering seemingly never-ending reliable power.
We recently created our list of the top 15 small-blocks of all time, and applauded those best-of-the-best engines. As it is with any magazine list, we leave ourselves open to criticism. Do you disagree with our list? Write us an e-mail. Do you like what we've done? Tell us that too. Want to add one or two you think we missed? Have at it. Finding the ranking of the engines to be subsequent to opinion and massive deliberation, we chronologically listed our picks for the best small-block Corvette engines ever.
No. 21956 3,080 built with 225hp engineEngine Code 469 265ci, 240hp/270 lb-ft of torque, 2x4-barrel carburetion
To improve power and aesthetics, Corvette was available with optional twin four-barrel carburetors in 1956, rated at either 225 or 240 hp. The racing-style option was to improve the performance appeal of the Corvette, as well as overall driveability and racing potential. Two years earlier, Corvette had only 150 hp, so this was a marked improvement.
No. 719752,372 builtL82350ci, 205hp/255 lb-ft of torque
Hidden in the performance-weak decade of the '70s was one small ray of hope: the L82 small-block. Stifled by those horsepower haters who loaded Corvettes with smog systems bent on killing it once and for all, the L82 appeared in 1975 and was rated at 205 hp. The L82 name would stick around for several years with small horsepower increases, reminding us that small-block engines were once king.
No. 8198451,547 built350ci, 205hp/290 lb-ft of torqueCross-Fire fuel-injected engine
An all-new platform meant time for more power, and the Cross-Fire fuel-injected engine used in 1984 was the peak of that induction program. While many challenge its performance heritage, it was the hottest engine in the new '84 and helped Chevrolet sell an impressive 51,000 of these new Corvettes. With unique throttle-body injectors mounted above a carburetor-like intake manifold, they worked well for their time, and today many diehard Cross-Fire enthusiasts love them still.
No. 142005Engine Code LS2350ci, 400hp/400 lb-ft of torque
Along with a new chassis, body, and the designation "sixth-generation Corvette," clearly a new engine was also warranted. While the original LS1 engine took a little while to become fodder for performance enhancement, the LS2 already benefits from a host of aftermarket parts to make it even better. But for Corvette fans not looking to dive under the hood, the arrival of the LS2 gave them horsepower numbers equivalent to the Z06 of the previous years in a car carrying 150 pounds less weight. And you could wrap it in a convertible too. Thank you, LS2.