Hello, newbie hope to contribute!
- Thread starter Don CM
- Start date
The Musclecar & Hi Po Engines book is a collection of early 348/409 magazine articles from back in the day.
If I remember right none of the first ten articles even mention that the 348/409 was also used as a truck engine.
The truck connection was mentioned in the eleventh article... "Engineering the "W" 348-409 Powerplant" That article appeared in 1963
Here are a few quotes from that article that mention the truck connection...
"The 265, as we know, could be increased in displacement and upped in power output by applying the standard hot rod practices of increasing volumetric efficiency... and would have to be if the growth pattern of automobiles was to continue. However, the compact block had limitations, particularly as to stroke which could be accommodated. Torque, as a function of stroke length, was the one deficiency of the small V8. It was plain that no amount of hopping up, in the conventional sense, where the rpm range is extended and the power curve moved up, would increase low end torque to the point required for a much bigger, heavier car with an automatic transmission. Nor, and this was important to Chevrolet, was the 265 really suitable to larger truck applications."
" It has been said that the "W" engine was a truck engine which was stuck into passenger cars to give buyers an option. The initial performance of the powerplant might have given such an impression, coming on as it did in the lower rpm range and running out of breath where the 265-283 was beginning to put out, but a look at the design parameters for the 348 will prove that it was, again like the 265, an attempt to compact a high-output powerplant.
The engineering team of John Rausch, Howard H. Kehrl and Donald H. McPherson worked on these objectives:
1... Adaptability to a broad range of displacement with a minimum number of different parts,
2... Adaptability to a broad compression ratio range,
3... Dimensions compatible with the anticipated space limitations of passenger car design,
4... provision for mounting both passenger car and truck accessories,
5... Flexibility of machine tools to accommodate future engine modifications.
All of these points, with the exception of the fourth which makes little difference to the modifier, are important to the prospects for an engine which can be built into a competition winner. These goals, if they could be realised in exceptional fashion were identical with those of the drag strip enthusiasts who are continually searching for massive power output in limited space and minimum weight."
So, it appears that somewhere between 1958 and 1963 someone decided that the W motor was really a truck engine that got pressed into service as a passenger car engine.
It seems fairly obvious that the engine was designed primarily as a passenger car engine, but was also designed to serve as a truck engine.
By the way, anyone that doubts the race winning abilities of the W motor ought to take a few seconds to glance at this list...
http://www.348-409.com/forum/threads/races-won-by-the-348-and-409.6517/
If I remember right none of the first ten articles even mention that the 348/409 was also used as a truck engine.
The truck connection was mentioned in the eleventh article... "Engineering the "W" 348-409 Powerplant" That article appeared in 1963
Here are a few quotes from that article that mention the truck connection...
"The 265, as we know, could be increased in displacement and upped in power output by applying the standard hot rod practices of increasing volumetric efficiency... and would have to be if the growth pattern of automobiles was to continue. However, the compact block had limitations, particularly as to stroke which could be accommodated. Torque, as a function of stroke length, was the one deficiency of the small V8. It was plain that no amount of hopping up, in the conventional sense, where the rpm range is extended and the power curve moved up, would increase low end torque to the point required for a much bigger, heavier car with an automatic transmission. Nor, and this was important to Chevrolet, was the 265 really suitable to larger truck applications."
" It has been said that the "W" engine was a truck engine which was stuck into passenger cars to give buyers an option. The initial performance of the powerplant might have given such an impression, coming on as it did in the lower rpm range and running out of breath where the 265-283 was beginning to put out, but a look at the design parameters for the 348 will prove that it was, again like the 265, an attempt to compact a high-output powerplant.
The engineering team of John Rausch, Howard H. Kehrl and Donald H. McPherson worked on these objectives:
1... Adaptability to a broad range of displacement with a minimum number of different parts,
2... Adaptability to a broad compression ratio range,
3... Dimensions compatible with the anticipated space limitations of passenger car design,
4... provision for mounting both passenger car and truck accessories,
5... Flexibility of machine tools to accommodate future engine modifications.
All of these points, with the exception of the fourth which makes little difference to the modifier, are important to the prospects for an engine which can be built into a competition winner. These goals, if they could be realised in exceptional fashion were identical with those of the drag strip enthusiasts who are continually searching for massive power output in limited space and minimum weight."
So, it appears that somewhere between 1958 and 1963 someone decided that the W motor was really a truck engine that got pressed into service as a passenger car engine.
It seems fairly obvious that the engine was designed primarily as a passenger car engine, but was also designed to serve as a truck engine.
By the way, anyone that doubts the race winning abilities of the W motor ought to take a few seconds to glance at this list...
http://www.348-409.com/forum/threads/races-won-by-the-348-and-409.6517/