1965-1970 Chevrolet L78 396 V8 - Best Vintage High Performance V8?
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- Опубліковано 4 лип 2018
- Chevy's big-block 396 cubic-inch V8 may have been limited in displacement compared to Chevy's 427 cubic-inch and 454 cubic-inch V8s but it could easily hold its own against the best of these V8s and all the other legendary muscle car V8s of the 1960s. Here's the full story of Chevy's mighty L78 396 V8.
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Fantastic right on video.
Brings me back to my early muscle car days,
I was so fortunate to have owned a 1969 L78 nova ss all black
with cragars.
Bought brand new and had to inform salesmen of L78 option
code as he only thought there was 325 and 350 hp versions.
This was the most horrifying fastest car I ever owned.
Ran a 12.78 @ 112 mph with only headers and G70 cheap tires.
Absolutely no traction. added slicks and 456 zoom gears to get into 11's in 1970.
sold for 1970 454 corvette.
70 yrs old now and building 1965 Malibu SS with 396 turbo 400 old school.
Miss my L78 with open headers
Yeee
Hawwwwww
Thanks for sharing
I drive a 66 SS Chevelle L78 and it's a beast to drive . When I rebuilt in during a frame off restoration I added a comparable roller cam , match ported the intake and exhaust manifolds and balanced the rotating assembly . I have a few videos on my channel of the car , plan to do a new one soon .
Got to be fearsome...
I still have my 67 Camaro SS396/375 (L78) and its all original nos. matching. I still enjoy driving it today as much as in 67!
I'm a diehard Mopar fan, and I love 440s, however, back in the late-80s, my sister's first husband owned a '69 el Camino with a 396 / 4-speed, and man oh man that thing was a BLAST to drive. Lightweight, nimble, and just killer with the 4-speed. Chevy guys are definitely spoiled with excellent choices for chassis and engine options.
really?i think most chevy big blocks were pigs on the street unless geared way down min.4.11.they were overported without big cubic inches. usually a 440 would smoke them easily on the street.the big chevys with the big ports did have an rpm advantage at the drag strips however;enter the 426 hemi,case closed.
@@danielslocum7169 It took a 440 with 3.91 or 4.10 gears to be much of a street fighter. In fact, a 340 Dart with a 3.90 rear would a lot of the time be faster than the 440 with the 3.23 gears.
@@anthonynelson9136 agreed.nevertheless i stand by my comment about the overported chevy big blocks with highway gearing [worse than a 440].
a dart weighs aprox 600 pounds less than say a road runner,thus requiring aprox 60 less horsepower to run the same e.t. . a 6-bbl road runner came with 4.1 gears and was very formidable. also the chrysler 4-spd had a lower 1st gear than the automatics and was thus much better with 3.23 or 3.55 gears behind a 440;if the driver knew how to use it properly,especially on the launch.
@@danielslocum7169 I'm glad you told that Joe Biden loving gun banning clown off. Dad said in late 60's Chevy's we're such a joke they didn't even try to compete in nascar. Mopar baby!
If, and IF, you were rich back then, just get a slightly used 66-67 427 Cobra S/C roadster and be done with it! And I mean it would shut down ALL muscle cars: Ford, GM and Mopar included!😁🛠️
A lot of the L78 engines produced ended up on the drag strips. The racers preferred the 396 over a 454 because of its ability to rev fast and higher RPMs.
427 was the best of both worlds that's what my 69 nova has!
Most under rated BB variant in the family.
The 396 is a 💎.
I always wanted a 396 big block. When I was in High School in the mid '70s I was green with envy of my friends with their 396 Camaros. Well fast forward 50 years and I finally got my 396! I am NOT disappointed! I agree 100% that this engine is terribly underrated. Sounds great, pulls, pulls hard! Buckle up when you're behind this engine. The heads breathe well due to the canted valves and allow bigger valves and better porting compared to most other engines. This Mark IV powerhouse reminds me of my old Ford Gran Torino with its 351 Cleveland. That was another underrated engine but I think the Chevy Mark IV is still my favorite. Don't confuse any of this old American iron with the new engines, these engines have personality, can be a bit rude at times but they really respond to good tuning and will last forever with reasonable maintenance.
Charles Hubert The Cleveland heads also used canted valves. The Boss 302 made those heads famous. Interesting to compare the Boss to the Z28 DZ 302 with its small block magic. Great cars!
This is really a beautifully done piece work. In 1975, I turned 16 and bought this SS396 and learned how to set a solid lift cam never realizing that they weren't all built like that. I have this L-78 to this day now at 61 yrs old and love it. The only mod is Hodkis suspension (>$10K) all around and that makes it an amazing driver too. On the video, why did they use small block headers? And the only other mistake here is on the carb secondaries. That 780 Holly had vacuum secondaries but that may have only been on 3 pedal cars (4 spd). I bought the car for $1450 from a woman living in a trailer court who's husband was just sent to prison. All truth.
You can't use sbc headers on a bbc ? They ahh will not fit at all they just showed them reference
@@rooster68able IKR
Yeah 396 has own headers for big blocks and depending on car model , mine were hooker headers
@@skylarsoper241
The 396 is a beast good job. Long live 1960 s. engines
Yep---I had a 68 Camaro SS/RS L78 with the M22. We had it running in the 12's easy with Hedman Headers, 4.10s and RAM clutch and pressure plate. What a monster of a muscle car. Slicks, too. Bigger carb, too. Double pumper 800.
My 1968 Camaro SS had a L78 ....It said 375 HP on the air-cleaner , I added headers and a comp-cam , with slicks it ran 12:80's all day....I wish I had it back ..!
When I was in High School I dreamt of having a 396 Chevelle. To me, they were and still are the definition of the affordable muscle car. No doubt a 426 Hemi could give it a run for it but not from a cost for performance standpoint.
I had 2 396's. I put one in a 1978 Z28, and another in a 1967 Chevy C-10 Stepside. Both engines were amazing !
FUN ! Had a 1969 SS NOVA with 396/375 L78. Installed 2 inch Hooker Headers, changed 3.55 to 4.10 rear, added Traction bars, Hurst Shifter, Sun Super Tach, and SW Guages. Cheap "upgrades" (good friend installed 4.10 rear). Fast Fun street car for the times.
Those L78 Nova's must've been a blast to drive. They were faster than both a Camaro or Chevelle with the L78. The 427 Yenko SuperNova's must've been insanely fast. Even an SS350 Nova was a decent performer because they were so light. I like the 66 Chevy II's with the L79 327/350 horsepower engine and a 4 speed too. Awesome street sleeper
@@jeremythompson9122 A big fan of Novas, in High School there was a '66 L79. He knows where the 2nd owner lives now and has the first refusal if he ever sells it. A buddy had a '70 Nova L78 that I drove a couple times. I personally owned a hardtop '63 6cyl 3speed and a '64 SS 4sp that had a 327/300HP (replaced the 283). Would love to have any of these cars now, even the '63.
12 second screamer...
Glad I still own a 396 +0.060" (408).
Me too👍
396.
Having been raised on Chevrolet/GM, i knew how capable that particular engine was.
The first car i bought...1969 Chevelle SS 396.
Though it was the 325 horse, it performed well, thru the TH400 and 373 rear gears.
That car also had some factory weight relief, with the front wheel wells being plastic. And, the American Racing magnesium wheels helped a lot, too.
Once, in traffic, struck up a brief conversation with a guy driving the same model year SS Chevelle. Highly modified.
When i asked if he was running the stock 375hp(425+hp actually) 396, (because I noticed the chrome roof trim was a hint of the factory supermotor under the hood) he said "No. I found the 396 block in a bus."
That, and the red primer/ladder bars/high stance, along with that wonderful rumble, i knew he was a serious street racing hustler.
Never remembered his name. Only that the song "Racing in the Street" reminded me of him. If i recall rightly, he was unbeaten on the street.
Should I ever be in the position to do so...
I'd like, just once, to own the 1969 SS Chevelle with that factory 425+ horse 396 and M22 with at least 4:10 rear gears.
And...do what some Chevy racers used to do.
Make all the Mopar and Ford folks cry.
Thank You, Old Car Memories. When i was a teenager in the early '70s, an older kid at the end of the block bought a really nice 4 Speed '66 SS 396 Chevelle in light metallic blue. Me and other kids would shoot hoops in his drive way while the SS was parked in a cul de sac near by. We all loved the car but when he decided to buy a ski boat (small block), the 4 speed went away in favor of an automatic.He just felt it would be easier to manage. He offered to take me and a friend to a record store one afternoon in '75 (LS Nuthin' Fancy and JB Blow By Blow new releases for me) and i teased him about the swap. He nailed it on a freeway on ramp that while riding in the passenger side back seat, threw me end over end to the drivers side before i knew what happened (yes, no seat belt for me). Car was STILL a monster!!! '64 and '65 and '70 Chevelles in the family at one point but the '66 has remained a fave, maybe because of that great SS!
He should have left the 4-speed in it.
Hind sight is 20/20. In todays market, you're right. As a 'driver' then, he went for what worked. Thanx, btw.
g mat , talk about pure fun, I got a 66 Chevelle Supersport, built small block 327 with 12:1 hi Dome compression Pistons, ported heads, Aluminum Intake high-rise, 750 CFM carb, headers, thumping camshaft, 11 inch Heavy Duty clutch, Lakewood blow proof bellhousing, m-21 Muncie 4-speed, 12-bolt posi track rear end with 4-11 gears, traction bars, this thing will rev up to 10,000 RPMs before the valves start to float, it's got 450 HP which is more than any stock big block 396 made that year, the big block 396 came in two versions 325hp and 350hp , this little small block 327 revs higher and faster and weighs 100 pounds less than a Big Block 396,, it pulls the front wheels off the ground in first and second gear and is a blast to drive, pure enjoyment
I know this is an older video. But, now I understand the mystic of the L 78 engine. Thanks for sharing
Ran 12.50s with L78 El Camino. Headers 4.88 gears. 10 in M&H. Back in early70s. It was my daily driver
I had this same engine in a 1968 RS/SS Camaro in 1972. It was a beast from redlight to redlight with a 488 posi traction. Someone stole it and I've never gotten over it.
I grew up in the 60s around 100s of these cars/engines and one thing I learned fast was there ability to blow up.They were fairly fast right off the show room floor but the bottom ends on the 396s were inherently weak.I remember a girl buying a new 68 ss396 automatic chevelle and it puked a rod on her third pass at xenia raceway but she had put 9k miles on it by then.I got to the point I didnt want to ride in anything with a 396 because on one occasion my buddy was running a 390 cougar in his 67 396 chevelle and it came apart and blew fragments into the firewall and only inches from where I was sitting.396s were plentiful back then and my buddy had it replaced within 2 weeks and still has it today.Ive always said a 2 bolt 350 would hold up better than a 396 any day of the week.For the power GM wanted out of it and made with it they should have came with way better rods and crankshafts.
L78s had steel crankshafts and dimple rods. The rods do need upgrading. Crank is fine
When I came out of the US Army Signal Corps in 1970, I bought a used 1965 Impala Super Sport 2 door hard top (all white with the deluxe red interior) from Kenny Chevy town in Johnstown, Ohio. This car had the L78 425 HP engine mated to the X2 speed Power Glide Transmission. The car was super fast and we (she and I and my girl friend who did the whoopee cushion thing) loved to go fast and it would shift out of low gear at 80 mph. I literally passed every car on the road, even in a 85 degree curve routinely. This car was the best drifting car I ever drove. The Japanese drifters would have loved this car, it was perfectly balanced for drifting. I could pass cars and drift thru curves at the same time. The car was so fast, I had to steer left of the car I was passing before I floored the 4 barrel carb to pass, otherwise I might crash into the back end of the car in front of me. There were no lines on the highways yet, so passing was at our own risk. I would love to own another one to fly again. My current 1972 Monte Carlo with the 454 engine 425 HP with the X4 speed Turbo 400 Hydromatic transmission is not quite as fast.
I've owned one car and one short box pickup both having 402's in them. One with oval port heads and the other with rectangular ports. A cam, headers, dual plane intake, Holley carb, mild porting, balancing, good gears, is all that was done. Great running, very respectful, fun, and both had lots of wins during street racing. So yes the last statement in this video is 150% correct and there is something about the bore/stroke/compression combination that just works. Good truthful video.
Gawd I miss the brute force of these simple, yet unforgettable engines. 😕 Thank you sir for commitment to muscle car enthusiasts.
Had a 67...ran my 76 Torino 351 quad 4 for the money!! Even with dual exhaust, Starkey and Hutch ss didn't hit 140...daaam, that was the $#!+
The L78 was a giant killer!
i have an L78 sitting on my engine stand right now, i was lucky enough to find it at a local you pull it wrecking yard in Salt Lake City, Utah. They didnt know what they had, i got it for 150.00 dollars, what happened was i saw it in an old truck, and ran the numbers, and freaked out , pulled it immediately and took it home, what a find, it had never been apart. its a 1966 L78.
You DOG,YOU!!😆
Loved that engine,they were runners!!!
I had a 65 Vette 396 ,425.what a beast .Side Pipes, Close ratio 4 spd, 4:11 posi..Added 70s can am valve train. Brutal excelleration.
Me too
A full tilt 8800 rpm 327 will run with pretty much anything if its light
Bless you for including all those engine shots. I could look at Chevy big blocks all day. Rather hear them though. ;-)
The L78 has always been my favorite Chevy Big Block. My friend had a 68 Nova SS with the L78, plain jane, bench seats no carpet. he could barely keep it on the road when he got in it. Amazing. Oh, those were the days!!!!
Back in 69, My teacher had a new Chevelle SS 396 He told us it had chambered Exhaust that probably was a L78, It was a sound I'll never forget as a kid hearing that Big Block Exhaust.
i remember seeing 130+ in my buddies 396 1970 Chevelle with the lowest 325 horse version. No headers even. I can only Imagine the higher horse versions....
427 was no joke of n engine 'neither the 409 '396 '454 '350 n 327 in FACT alot of people said the 327 was of the Best quarter mile engines'with the right mods AWESOME CARS AWESOME VIDEOS S 👍👍
Critical Thinker U always laugh at ur on jokes
Critical Thinker ur a typical UA-cam TROLL
Like all production BBC's, only the ones with rectangle port heads were good performers from the factory. The oval port head engines ranged from meh to boat anchor. Chevy reached into to the same parts bin more times than not and it's similar with the SBC's as well. The only difference between the L78 and L72 is the bore and the LS6 was basically a stroked L72. That's why the L72 and LS6 performed nearly identically the 78's wasn't far behind but the smaller bore limited HP. The L78 was removed as an advertised option in 70' as it would have hurt the sales of the LS5.
Too bad they weren't stalled as a standard chevy base engine on the Chievy musclecars.
@@GlassTopRX7 I had round port big blocks back in the day that turned high 11's all day long. It's been proven time and time again that the round port heads were far more efficient until you get over 6500 rpm with open headers. Those who call them "Meh to boat anchors" didn't know how to tune them.
My neighbor just bought one of these so i had to watch this vid! So awesome I wish i could own one
Way back when, I purchased a 1965 `Vette 396/425 HP L78 engine from Baldwin/Motion Performance on Long Island (they were NY`s version of Yenko), and installed it in my `55 Chevy Sedan Delivery. First time I got on it full throttle in first & second, it broke the axle housings loose from the spring perches, pivoting the rear end housing around 180 degrees (so the pinion was pointing to the REAR of the car !), and spitting the driveshaft out behind me ! Had to reinforce everything, and install a 12-bolt 3.70 Posi and Lakewood traction bars to hold that bad boy down. I`m pretty sure that engine exceeded it`s factory HP rating by a fair amount.
Black Waterdogs bet you wish you could have that car for a day, sir what did you do back then to afford such a beauty.?
I miss seeing the Baldwin Camaro pasint scheme!
I'm talking, cars from the showrooms
Still haven't got an ansure
Same exact thing happened to me when I installed a '65 FI 327 in my '57 'Vette. Twisted axle and split differential case down the middle. Stock '65 327 FI motor with 2 x 4s instead of the FI unit.
Good choice... I had one back in the day.. my vote is for the 427 L72.. had one new in a 1968 camaro. With some modifications about 600 h.p..
My vote goes to the L88 Corvette 427 🏁 which had a factory rating of 430 hp @ 5,200 , Chevy seriously underated it. Try 570 hp @ 6,400.
WOW. Thanks I actually learned something today!!
I can attest that this engine has served my '71 F250 well since 1979.
I bought a '67 belaire wagon that had that engine, backed up with a rock crusher 4 speed & position. WHAT A SLEEPER!Many Corvettes choked in my dust. God was that a blast. The only car I wished I had back.
Big blocks rule !!
Fantastic videos...thanks
As a street racer form the mid 60's, Our big money maker on the street was my friend with a el-Camino with a 375 HP 396 in it and It could be heard coming as solid lifters piston slap let us know he was around.
Later I worked on a crew of a 69 Camaro 427 that struggled to get into the low 12 sec / @121 MPH (I drove) after the nationals and trounced by grumpy Jenkins. we went back to the 396 block with a similar set up and went 11.5 with no changes to the basic setup. Bill Thomas told us the problem, the 427 ran out of juice above 5800 RPM (we ran it to 6800 in the eyes), the 396 didn't quit to almost 7000.
the L78 is an awesome engine. I have one in a 1971 camaro 4speed. but with header and comp cams XE284 hydraulic cam because I got tired of adjusting valve lash all the time. I have to say it is a beast of an engine. and runs solid 12.3's on BFG radial tires. there is probably another half second left in the car if I put slicks on it. but I don't want to break the orignal rear end. as it is a power shift from fisrt to second makes it feel like the back end is going to drop out of the car.
One of the things the narrator didn't mention was the arrangement of the valves. They were at very different angles to what the MIV big blocks used and that supposedly greatl;y improved swirl characteristics and result top end power. That is why, if I remember correctly, they were called "Porcupines".
Liked the inclusion of the '65 Chevelle L78. A very rare ride. As a kid I remember Tom McCahill did a test on one. Can't remember the magazine. Would love to read that test again.
steve thomas I remember reading “Uncle” Tom’s reviews in Mechanix Illustrated as a kid. His colorful descriptions of the cars and driving them are legendary. There’s great stuff to be had from a google of the one and only Tom McCahill.
My Dad bought a new 1968 Impala SS with the 396 V-8 2 door front bucket seats Gold with a black top. The interior was gold with fake leather..It had the 3 spd automatic transmission and would lay rubber shifting into 3rd..I loved the few times I got to drive it..Never lost a drag race except to a 427 Vette..
]
I do not agree with the quarter mile times but, not every car is equal. My friends and I took our friends 1969 Nova L78 to Cecil County back in 1970. We were in the high 12's. It had headers, better clutch, traction bars. The engine rpm maxed out around 6800 rpm. This thing was a rocket. Frank's (Frank owned the Nova) brother had a 69 Chevelle with the L78 and never hit the 12's. I praise the mechanics that worked on Frank's Nova for the better performance (ability to tune). Nowadays we can revel in Kia and Hyundai, Fiat - NOT! BTW, each car had 3 pedals.
Paul Straney. Hyatt
My first car was an Aztec Bronze 1966 SS-396 Chevelle that I bought used in 1968. I paid $2900 and my monthly payments were $88.06.
396 will always be my favorite and the little 327
Joseph M I agree both are my favorites too
Both would wind tighter than any of their later cousins.
Great video as always. Y'all used a picture of 350 headers instead of 396 ones.
Trooper427SS I thought the same thing. Those are small headers, with the siamese runners. A big block headers are separate, like the LS family of engines
Good description, good facts to know. I have an L78, myself.
Loved it then, still do today. It was a beautiful, beautiful car
Great video, loads of useful information!
Good video as always Old Car Memories.
There were a number of times in my younger years that I turned down buying a nice car because it had the 396. The reason was everybody I knew that had one blew them up, so I was led to believe that there must be something about the 396 that made them prone to blowing up. Back then I knew I couldn't afford to rebuild or replace an engine as just buying a decent car at all was a strain.
I never did learn why 396's blow up but maybe somebody in the comments here has some words on that.
probably being over-reved did it. chevy big blocks are generally very strong engines with an excellent oiling system. many fools will rev an engine way past its power band and red line thinking they are really doing something.
@@danielslocum7169 Daniel, you are totally right. The solid lifter big blocks would easily rev past 7 grand and people would rev them as long as they thought the engine was still pulling never paying attention to what the tach said.
Good stuff ! Just found your channel and had to say good work 👍🏻👍🏻
12's were possible in 1970 with slicks, headers, aluminum flywheel, traction bars and a savvy tuner with the Nova, at least at Cecil County's elevation.
bought one with a ss chevelle body wrapped around it-4 speed -4.11 and it flies-stock-idle it down , pull valve cover and set the lifters -great engine you can work on
That was my engine when I was 18, bought my 66 SS Chevelle new. Had the aluminum Hi rise, solids, 11.00 compression and huge Holley 750cm. Joined the Air Force when Viet Nam came and never saw it again
Yah Viet Nam was a bummer for fast car owners
I have a factory stock 69 chevelle SS with 81k actual miles. It is a 396/350 hp car that still runs extremely well. Those 396 motors are fun fun fun.
I owned a 1966 Impala Super Sport with the 325hp 396 and a 2 speed power glide transmission. In 1973 it threw a rod with about 60k miles on it. The second rod from the front was the one that let go. All the rest were still tight. It gave me a deep knocking noise warning for several days that I ignored. I was in the desert of New Mexico between Clovis and Portales when it let go. I probably would have heard the knocking and could have shut it off before the heavy damage was done if the cassette player wasn't at full blast. I have always wondered why that one rod made it that long and then let go. It might have had something to do with the engine fire it had experienced before my dad bought it. My friends and I did the repairs required to fix that.
I rebuilt the engine myself in the USAF auto hobbie shop. I decided to soup it up with a new higher performance cam. Big mistake when you have a power glide transmission. I couldn't live with that cam so I had the old one reground and put it back in. It ran good for 20k miles, then I sold it because of high gas prices. Wish I could have kept it in a barn somewhere now.
The early 1969 Chevelle 396/375 SS came from the factory with baffled exhaust, no mufflers. Chevrolet quickly offered to change to standard exhaust with mufflers because of noise complaints tickets from various police depts.
I remember that, believe they called it chambered pipe.
Yes I had one police would stop me all the time
Another great one. Thanks!
Hey man, big fan of your videos.
Can you do a vid on the 1971 Imperial's Bendix ABS option?
It was suposedly the first Anti-Lock Brake system in a road car in the world, even ahead of Mercedes which wouldn't offer one until 1978
I like the 1970 LT-1 350 too and the 327 365 HP carb 327 375 HP Fuelie motor and the 302 Z-28 Motor .. 427 425 HP had way more power than it was rated at especially when you added headers..
Good explaination- enjoyed it
I ran an l78 in my 65 chevelle in the late 80s early 90s, other than the exhaust and the double pumper carb it was completely factory. It was my daily driver and i street raced it every weekend, the key to those engines were the squareport heads and 11.1 comp. If your going to build a 396 for racing don't run oval ports...even the 781 or 049 castings!
We were lucky here in Canada as pontiac sold a chevy copy of the Nova here, called a Beaumont.The 427 was available in !968 and '69. Came with a red tag rather than black. Cool.
Acadia= Nova
Beaumont= Chevelle
The 396 benefitted by being offered with the higher level options. That’s the thing GM got right for sure, especially for the street car offerings. Ford had a high compression, solid lifter, aluminum intake powered 390 back in 1961-62 that was rated at 375hp. But most Mustangs and Fairlanes got only the standard mundane 390, which was on par with the entry level 396 but that’s it. I get it that Ford wanted to sell 428s but they dropped the ball as those sorts of options could’ve made for an equally impressive lineup.
That being said though, all classics are nice cars.
Splayed aircraft style valves, huge main caps regardless of 2 or 4 bolt mains, bullet proof oiling system, lifter valley closed in solid... No lifter bore breaking off under high spring loads. The mark IV bbc is a race engine to start with. Then downgraded to smaller power levels accordingly. The Ultimate 396 would have been an oval port head 2.19/1.88 out of the rec port heads, wich we commonly do now. The rec ports offer no down low torque. But chevy wasn't going to create a special cylinder head for the small bore motor. But back in the day it was a "secret" Does the 396/ 375 run good? Yes but trust me it would've ran a lot better with an oval port / big valve head. Put one of these motors together with a L/ 88 cam or the road race .600/.600 ! Used to be able to to buy those cams over the counter ! Pro stock guys used them for years. Love the 396 forever.
Small block headers on a big block! I had no idea you could do that.
Still love my 67 427 .30 over in my 70 Monte does13.9 all day with323 gears
I here by agree. I had a 68 Chevelle with the L78..4 speed, with factory 4:88 gears..
Buckle up and hold on...
great videos
The 396 was as underrated to the Chevy family as the 440 was to Mopar family.
That's right,I had a friend with a 70 440 Charger that I raced with every time we got around each other.Whoever got the better take off would win.I believe I won the last time,but he died in a freak accident and our races were haulted.Good times.
Bobby Davis sorry to hear that, those stories be awesome memories, bet you had pictures of those ties.
Anybody got an ansure
Anyone, anyone.?
No motor was underrated like the 275hp 340. We weren't scared of any 396's.
The l78 396 came from the factory with a Holley 780 Carburetor with vacuum secondaries not mechanical as stated incorrectly in the video.Very good video though!
The depends on if it's a manual or auto car.
GlassTopRX7 Good point about the secondaries. Was the L78 available with an automatic? I’ve never seen one, probably should google that.
@@terry-zi7eh It was, but very temperamental, That was the main reason the LS6 and LT1 came with a revised cam that pulled a bit more vacuum. The success of the TH350 and TH400 auto dictated the need for it.
GlassTopRX7 Excellent info about the vacuum situation. Thanks so much!
Was it the long duration, high lift, or combination there of that resulted in low vacuum levels?
I just saw this. I absolutely love the 396 BBC!!!
That motor has to be right up there with the best of them. I'm a 454 man myself but hey - what do I know? Lol ...
All depends who you ask...according to some the 400 small block is amongst the best ever build engine in terms of torque. I think every chevy small or big block is a testament, of what chevy was able to do back in the day. You can pull relatively easy big hp specs out of them. Some bigger heads and a decent cam lands 100 plus hp for low cost.
@@MichelLinschoten true. I have a 1970 Nova with a 1965 396 with the small chambers. 10.25 compression stock. Big cam, headers, intake, Holley 830 cfm, 3800 stall and 4:10 gears. Basic day 2 hot rod. Don't have an official quarter mile time. But it's like driving on ice in any gear at any speed. Drop the hammer and tires break free. Amazing motor and it's not even the L78.
I got a set of 396 heads at the wrecking yard (close chamber, oval ports) and put them on my 454 (30 over). This bumped the CR up quite a bit; coupled with the Crane "gripper" cam (flat tappet, hydraulic). Hold on to your hat, folks!!
I had a 68 Camaro 396/375 and that car was a kick to drive I put hooker headers a tarantula intake manifold and a competition cam in it. Whenever I go to a car show I regret selling it
Put a set of L89
Aluminum
Heads on an L78 back in high school
We got 491hp and 443 ft / LB
The Chevrolet L89 was also a 396 rated at 375 hp but it came with aluminum heads with larger exhaust valves.
The only difference is they are cast in aluminum all Chevy rectangle port head came with the same valve sizes, the came is variety of combustion chamber volumes and design which is a year specific thing. Aside from what they are made of and about 50lbs the L78 and the L89 head are identical for any given year. The oval port heads got smaller valves.
I had one of those engines back in 1987 we rebuilt and that we stuffed in a 1975 Camaro I had with a worn out wheezy 350. Backed with a Turbo400.
Found the engine in Dawsonville Ga through a friend where it had been taken apart for rebuild but owner never got to it. Lucky for me.
Enjoyed the video
Awesome video !👋
A surprising omission here is that there's no mention of the L78's 4-bolt main bearings. L35 & L34 396's were both only 2-bolt main motors.
Not a big thing since Hot rod made over 500 hp on a two bolt small block
L34 and L35 396's also had hydraulic lifters I believe. The L78 had solid lifters
It is true, the L78 396 had 4 bolt main bearings & solid lifters! The 325 & 350 HP versions, did not!
.030" overbore also raises the compression slightly, it adds more power than you think.
i love my L78 375 hp 396 4 speed 67 elcamino. only problem with it is the 11.25 compression.
I'm a past owner of two L78 cars: a 1965 L78 396/425 4Spd Nassau Blue AC Delete Corvette Convertible AND a 1966 SS Chevelle 396 4 spd AC with red line tires. I thought the HP rating was 360; but could be mistaken. I'm trying to research both of them as to numbers and if any are still alive (ESPECIALLY THE TWO I HAD) I've since lost the Vin #'s on Both - Foolish me, I bought both cars new, the Corvette delivered in I think May of 65 from Star CHevrolet in Bisbee? Az and the Chevelle in fall of 1966 at Courtesy Chev in Phoenix. Ironically BOTH had engine failures, the Vette at about 65 MPH on Freeway going south from Tucson and the Chevelle on the streets of Bozeman, Mt at about 45-50. Don't know what actually happened to the motors. Thanks and sorry for the length.
Sorry to hear that bro, that's unusually catastrophic
can’t wait to throw mine into a 68 mustang
Had one in my 78 Jimmy. Did not impress me much even with 550 horse power. Learned one thing, it is alot easier to tear up a big block than a small block.
Jeez you barely mention the 1965 introduction motor in the vette......solid lifter , 11 1/2 to 1 monster that made an easy 500 hp. Also in the z16 chevelle
The Z16 didn't use a L78 it used a L37, same block, heads, and compression with a hydrophilic cam similar to the L34 cam.
Great video buddy
You are doing God's work.
I am glad I still have my 67 SS Chevelle I bought back in 1970. Still has the 4 speed but unfortunately the 396 is long gone...
i love my 67 427 camaro rs ss and my 68 chevy pu with a stroke 454 with a 02xx trans now i am building a 79 z28 rs t top going wide body on it putting a stroke roller 454 with tunnel ram not sure which trans yet have a t-10 or the 02xx trans think it will be a fun project
I would never turn my nose up on anything with a 396 in it.
Fabulous! I've been running one in '71 Ford F-250 highboy since 1979.
A friend had a 348 with a cam and headers, that engine helped to destroy at least 4 cars, then it found its way into a 53 Chevy business coupe 4spd posi etc loose front end what a scary car!!!
1968 396 L78 Gitter done 🤘
My first car I owned at161/2 yrs old was a L78 69 Chevelle 4 speed, all I can say is hold on. Didn’t a very small amount come with aluminum heads
That's the L89
Yuppers,L79
Planning to drop a 396 in my 67 chevy impala SS
Long live the 396 I love that motor