Chevy 350 Vs. Pontiac 350: How Are They Different?

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Admittedly, this would beryllium a overmuch shorter article if we focused connected nan similarities of nan Chevy 350 and nan Pontiac 350 — because extracurricular of their displacement, these are, for each intents and purposes, 2 wholly different motors. These are artifacts of GM's history — an automaker that fundamentally assembled itself retired of pre-existing automakers that already had their ain powerplants.

Chevrolet, for example, was founded successful 1911 but didn't go portion of General Motors until 1918. Pontiac began arsenic a institution called Oakland, which launched successful 1907 and was purchased by GM successful 1909. GM introduced nan Pontiac marque for customers who wanted a measurement up from Chevrolet but couldn't spend an Oakland. Pontiac proved celebrated enough, though, that GM dropped nan Oakland sanction wholly successful 1932.

GM kept a reasonably hands-off attack pinch its divisions for decades, and successful that context, it was logical for them to independently create abstracted engines pinch wholly different castings, etc. As a result, per nan experts astatine Speedway Motors, nan Pontiac and Chevrolet 350 V8s "share almost nary interchangeable parts. These 2 V8s person different motor artifact castings, different caput designs and different soul dimensions. As a result, awesome components cannot beryllium swapped."

Of course, that benignant of independency wasn't bully for GM's bottommost line. It was overmuch much costly for 2 divisions to create 2 individual powerplants than it would beryllium for them to stock nan costs — and past nan motors. On nan different hand, sharing tin spell excessively acold — these lazy car rebadges beryllium that.

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Pontiac's biggest engines were usually of nan straight-8 assortment up until nan mid-1950s, erstwhile engineers created a 287-cubic-inch V8 pinch a cast-iron block, a two-barrel carburetor, and up to 180 horsepower. The aforesaid artifact pinch an accrued changeable for 389 cubic inches of displacement could present 345 horsepower successful 1959. Pontiac yet de-stroked nan motor down to 326 cubic inches for nan 1961 Tempest.

By 1966, by mostly relying connected bore/stroke adjustments to nan original 287-cubic-inch unit, Pontiac had 11 chopped V8s successful its powertrain portfolio, including the highest-HP motor ever put successful a Pontiac Grand Prix. In 1968, aft again bringing successful nan boring team, nan 326 motor was upped to 350 inches for some that year's Tempest and Firebird.

This portion was nan famed Pontiac 350 that could service up 265 ponies pinch a two-barrel carb. However, pinch a four-barrel carburetor and capacity cams, it was tin of 325 horsepower. Key differences betwixt Pontiac's V8 and Chevy's — for illustration nan longer changeable and heavier crankshaft for nan erstwhile — were awesome for low- to mid-range torque, giving Pontiacs of nan clip a powerful emotion of acceleration that helped polish nan brand's increasing estimation for excitement.

The decease knell for nan Pontiac 350 sounded successful nan early 1970s owed to a operation of factors. First off, Pontiac began opting for bigger V8s pinch complete 400 cubic inches to present moreover much musculus to musculus cars for illustration nan Pontiac GTO and Firebird. The state situation of that decade didn't thief either.

The robust instauration of nan Pontiac 350 allowed nan section to usage beautiful overmuch nan aforesaid artifact for each its V8s, which was good. However, it besides required a heavier block, and that was exacerbated by Pontiac's larger — and heavier — pistons and connecting rods. All that intends a Pontiac 350 typically weighs astir 70 pounds much than a comparable Chevrolet 350, pinch a notably little redline to negociate nan other weight of nan engine's rotating parts.

The Chevrolet 350 was a nonstop descendant of nan very first small-block V8 – a 265-cubic-inch Chevy mill designed for lighter weight and improved efficiency – that didn't sacrifice immoderate power. Chevrolet upped displacement to 283 cubic inches successful 1957, erstwhile it further fine-tuned nan motor pinch substance injection. At that point, it became 1 of nan first American motors capable to present a 1:1 horsepower-to-displacement ratio. The 283 V8 was yet saturated and stroked to 327 cubic inches, and nan fable was calved successful 1967 aft nan aforesaid mini artifact grew to 350 cubic inches.

Since that time, much than 113 cardinal small-block V8s person been sold wearing nan Bowtie, and it's 1 of nan oldest engines still being produced today. You tin chalk up its occurrence to 2 superior reasons. Number 1 is nan mini artifact itself, as its lighter weight and compact size that made it a amended prime for modern vehicles. Beyond that location was Chevrolet's overmuch bigger beingness successful nan marketplace — and nan aftermarket — which gave it a important measurement advantage.