Chevrolet 396 V8 Engine

The Chevy 396 V8 was a very important step forward for GM in the battle of the 60s era muscle cars. Pontiac, Oldsmobile and Buick had drawn a lot of attention in 1964 with such muscle cars as the GTO and 442. The Chevy Chevelle was gaining popularity buy it was still lagging behind the others as its only high end performance motor was a Chevy 327 that produced 300 horsepower. In 1965, Chevrolet changed all that with the introduction of the 396 V8.

The 396 was offered in a variety of horsepower ratings including the Corvette L78 396 that produced a whopping 425 horsepower and the Chevelle Z-16 396 that put out an impressive 375 horsepower. The last production year for the 396 was 1969. In 1970 some Chevrolet cars were produced with the 396SS badge but they actually had 402 engines instead of true 396s.
Due to the great performance potential of these engines, parts are easily available from most any performance auto parts supplier and usually at reasonable prices.