Hot rod builds a mouse trap and tries to catch a rat. Originally published in the August 1998 issue of Hot Rod magazine. To celebrate HOT ROD's 75th anniversary, we teamed up with CASTROL GTX to bring ...

This 427ci sleeper is a good reason why you don’t judge an engine by the size of its block. The art of deception plays a significant role in the hot rod world. Although most enthusiasts are ...

Since the dawn of the internal combustion engine, the search for power has been paramount in internal combustion engine development and advancements over the years. Ranging in all sorts of different ...

When it comes to classic American muscle cars, you'll hear the terms "small block" and "big block" thrown around quite a bit. As one might assume, it's in reference to the actual physical size of V8 ...

Freeze plugs prevent engine coolant from leaking out. One of the first signs that they'll need to be replaced is often a ...

Hot rodders played with blocks as kids, and still play with them as adults. This vast level of experience notwithstanding, enthusiasts often insist on monkeying around with production blocks. They ...

Big-block engines have always traded on mythology as much as on dyno sheets, yet some of the most imposing cast-iron V8s deliver surprisingly modest output once you look past the badge. When I line up ...

In automotive nomenclature, small-block V8 engines are typically physically smaller than their big-block counterparts, hence the nickname. With some exceptions, the piston bores, stroke, cylinder head ...