What year was the "Super Power Pack Option" offered for the Chevrolet?
thanks,
Em
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What year was the "Super Power Pack Option" offered for the Chevrolet?
thanks,
Em
i dont know but i remember chevy guys 40 years ago saying " Yep " it`s got power pack heads on it "
Everything you wanted to know about sbc pp looks like 1957
Ok, what's a Power Pack? - ChevyTalk --The Social Network for Chevy Fans
Mike that's what my step-son says but my friend and old school mate from the class of 57 says '56. I can remember seeing a 56 black 2dr bel air in Victoria, Texas when I was a teen and the owner told me it was a Power Pack - - - - - NOW there's a possibility that it could have been 1957 when I saw it so he would have had the opportunity to have updated the '56. Everything that I google doesn't give me a definite year or at least not to my feble mind anyhow.
That's like the 64 1/2 Mustang! Ford never sold a 64.5 Mustang.. they were all titled as a 65.
They were being built in middle 64 and even sold at the end of 64.. but they were all titled as a 65.
Maybe the same thing happened with the power pack?
Got another email from my School Mate and long time Hot Rodder and he said he asked all the folks at the Car Club meeting last night and they all agree it was '56 so that's what I'm going with !
Correct, Em. A look under the hood of a '56 and you see a four barrel, it's a "power pack" 283. In '57 you could get throttle-body fuel injection.
Please be advised that these are words from an old goat who never was a Chevy guy.
The first time my '56 Dodge D500 was beaten on a drag strip it was by an injected '57. In my dreams I can still see those damn pointy '57 Chevy rear fenders going past me.
I take comfort in the fact that he "had inches" on me ....... 327 to my 315 Dodge hemi.
Jim
the FI was direct port squirt nozzles--------but was not 8 stack if that was why you called it a throttle body injector
I don't doubt at all that you're right, Jerry. As I indicated I was never much of a Chevy enthusiast, even though I have owned several and my wife drives one now.
According to a Motor Trend article I just found, the "Super Power Pack" was offered in the Bel Air in late '55, bringing the dual exhaust 195 horsepower Corvette engine package to the Bel Air body.
Jim, I think you'll find that the '55 and '56 Chevies had a 265, not a 283, which came out in '57. I saw a '56 at the drag strip in 1958 that had 2-4bbl carbs and the cam made it say.....potato, potato, potato, potato. (Duntov cam). Also, the Rochester F.I. system was mechanical. Pontiac had a mechanical F.I. system on the 389 in '58. I saw one at Dahio Drag Strip in '58 (a bundle of black tubes).Quote:
Originally Posted by Big Tracks
And by the way, that '56 sittin' there idling like that is what flipped my switch. I was smitten and ruined forever. :whacked:
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back then there were options that came in the trunk for dealer install------------cmas, carbs,continental kits
Dang, Tech, I haven't heard anybody say "potato, potato, potato" in a long time; what a distinctive sound. Like you say, I was smitten; today, I can still hear a "cammy" engine a mile away, if it has a "good" exhaust system on it, no matter what type it is.
Well, Richard, I give up. I sat down here to prove you to be wrong....... and I could not do it.Quote:
Originally Posted by techinspector1
A few years back I tried the same thing. I've forgotten what the subject was then but I do remember that it didn't work that time either!
Jim
What I have gotten so far is that the "Power Pack" was NOT necessarily available "only" on the 283 but a version of it was available in LATE 1955 for the 265 also but the 4bbl option was only offered for the 283???? Am I even close?
However, the best part of this thread was "potato, potato, potato, potato":cool:
Em
According to my book the 55Chevy was the first Chevy to offer the Power-Pak
The 245hp and 270 hp engines were 2x4 engines.
The 250hp and 283hp engines were FI engines.
The higher output versions had the solid lifter camshaft, commonly referred to by all knowledgeable Chevy folks as the "097" cam (last three numbers of the part number).
The lower power versions had the stock hyd cam.
ONLY the FI engines got domed (or commonly called pop-up) pistons. all other engines had flat top pistons.
ALLLLLLL heads had 1.72/1.5 valves.
In the 57 pass cars, there were a total of seven V8 engines:
265 2bl
283 2bl
283 4bl (commonly known as the power pac engine)
283 2x4 (hyd cam)
283 2x4 (solid cam)
283 FI (hyd cam)
283 FI (solid cam).
The 57 Vettes DID NOT get the 265 or the 283 2bl.
The top rated 57 283 was 283hp with FI and the 097 cam. BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUT, during CEC (Chevrolet Engineering Center) tests, the 283/283 FI engine developed a true 293hp!!!! This rating was downplayed SPECIFICALLY for advertising/promotional purposes so that Chevy could tout One Horsepower per Cubic Inch! the 58-59 solid lifter FI engines (which were virtually identical to the 57 engine) were rated at 290hp.
This is a little off from the original question about the “super” power pack, but I’ll throw my 2 cents in too.
The way most people identify a power pack engine is by the heads. The PP engines used the smaller combustion chamber head. There were a couple of different part numbers and depending on the year and who’s chart you look at they are anywhere between 59 and 62 cc combustion chambers (advertised). These heads all had 1.72/1.50 valves and can be identified by the triangle or pyramid marking on the ends of the head.
As far as I know they these were the only heads used on the factory 283 4BBL engines and as mentioned the FI and Dual Quad 283s. As a side note these heads were also used on some lower performance 327 2BBL engines.
http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/q...psf713073b.jpg
Regardless of what they originally came on, the heads with these marking are generally referred to as Power Pack heads (like the double hump heads are referred to as fuelie heads even if they came off a carbureted engine).
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Please keep those cards and letters comin' in Jim.....I'll be wrong sooner or later :whacked:Quote:
Originally Posted by Big Tracks
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Chrysler beat 'em to it though, producing a 354 hp 354 cubic inch hemi in 1956. (more compression, hot cam, two 4-barrels)Quote:
Originally Posted by cffisher
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If you need any help with that, just let me know. :whacked:Quote:
Originally Posted by techinspector1
“....Chrysler beat 'em to it though, producing a 354 hp 354 cubic inch hemi in 1956…”
Although the big advantage Chevy had was that their little 283s went into considerably lighter (and cheaper) cars than the Hemi normally ended up in. The exception being the D501s that Dodge built in 1957 when they stuffed the 56 Chrysler 354 Hemi into fifty or so Dodge bodies. The D501s were Dodges answer Chevys Black Widows ……both being primarily built for NASCAR. It sure would have been something to see those 2 tangle.
Arguably the SBC and the Hemi were the two most iconic Hot Rod engines to come out of the 1950’s.
http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps8130f50c.jpg
Looking at them you can sure tell how they got their respective nicknames....... Mouse and Elephant.
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this option was added late in 1955. It included higher compression and a 15 HP increaseQuote:
Originally Posted by MelloYello