This Chevy Small-Block Engine Gave The Camaro Its Road Cred

The big-ish 4-inch bore of the 302 eclipsed its brief 3-inch stroke, leading to what’s often known as an oversquare design that was able to revving to very excessive RPMs — roughly 7,000 rpm in an period the place lazy big-blocks have been fortunate to rev previous 5,500 or 6,000 rpm.

However excessive revs weren’t the one weapon within the 302’s arsenal. It was additionally fitted with a camshaft (typically thought of the mechanical “mind” of the engine) developed by famed engineer Zora-Arkus Duntov, cylinder heads lifted from a fuel-injected Corvette, and a high-rise aluminum consumption manifold with an enormous 780 cubic ft per minute (cfm) Holley carburetor.

For sturdiness, the entire inner elements have been solid metal versus the weaker casting methodology of building. Chevy conservatively rated the Z/28 at 290 horsepower, however subsequent impartial dyno testing signifies that determine was greater than 350 horsepower in actuality.