Practically Classics Forum

Probably a question for Harvey,
Not that I have been nosing around a friends garage for a few hours today or anything but I have found a 350 small block and obviously the first thought that ran through my mind was "I wonder if that will fit in my range". Ignoring everything else I should be doing, more power is always the top of the priority list (behind fixing the damn brakes!). I know that a 350 will physically fit under the bonnet as Overfinch did it for years but if I were to bolt it to my HP22 gearbox, will I lunch it as soon as I put my foot down? Assuming so, can the valve block from a 22 be fitted to a 24 to remove the need for a gearbox ECU and is a 24 up to it or would a completely different setup be needed?

Dunno mate! And I think Overfinch always put the Chevy engine in with its matching box. Mating the Chevy to the ZF would probably be a load of work. Having front end lifted and towed an Overfinch I can also tell you it isn't half front end heavy. I don't think I'd bother, but you do it and come back to prove me wrong....

More a hypothetical question than anything as the engine was bought "about 10 years ago" for a project that never happened. He is going to work out what he wants for it but it is a brand new engine (block, heads, sump, etc, no ancillaries) so it is probably out of my price range.
I was just googling what the engine was and have seen power outputs of standard engines up to 350bhp and 350lb/ft. If it was cheap enough I was thinking it could be a comparatively cheap upgrade.

Would that be American (SAE) horses though, Terry. Don't forget that we mean German (DIN) ones when we in the UK talk about horse power. Like their gallon, I reckon some horses must have evaporated on the Mayflower on the way out.
There's no universal conversion factor either, since SAE takes into account random factors invented by suited marketroids with dodgy hairpieces but roughly, a 100bhp engine in DIN could be expressed between 120 and 130bhp in SAE terms.
Buy an old Chevy (or Northerner's XJ6 ) to put it in and leave the RR alone as what you can't outpace with that can always be rammed out of the way, thereby achieving much the same degree of satisfaction.