Chevrolet 348 V8 Engine

The Chevy 348 V8 engine was first introduced in 1958 and stayed in production up through 1961 for passenger cars and light Chevy trucks. It was commonly referred to as the “RAT” engine because the size of the block was bigger than the “MOUSE” Chevy 283 as it was also nicknamed.

GM’s soul purpose in creating the Chevy 348 was to produce a powerful engine. Aftermarket manufacturers quickly jumped on board and produced multiple performance parts for the 348 such as cams, popup pistons and headers. GM’s goal was successful and the 348 became one of the most dominating engines to use for drag racing in the late 50s and early 60s.

From 1962 to 1964 GM still manufactured the 348 but it was only used in large trucks built by Chevrolet. At the time, this engine was considered to be the top-performing motor used by Chevrolet with horsepower ratings reaching 350 bhp by 1961. However once the Chevy 409 was introduced in 1961, the 348 was no longer able to compete with the performance of this new GM powerhouse.