The Chevrolet small-block engine is a series of automobile V8 engine

V8 engine

A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft....

s built by the Chevrolet

Chevrolet

Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...

 Division of General Motors

General Motors

General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...

 using the same basic small (for a V8) engine block

Cylinder block

A cylinder block is an integrated structure comprising the cylinder of a reciprocating engine and often some or all of their associated surrounding structures...

. Retroactively referred to as the "Generation I" small-block, it is distinct from subsequent "Generation II" LT

GM LT engine

The LT6 and LT7 are not part of the LT V8 family. See Oldsmobile Diesel V6 engine.General Motors' Generation II LT is a small block V8 engine...

 and "Generation III" LS

GM LS engine

The GM LS engine family is an engine design intended as the only V-8 engine used in General Motors' line of rear-wheel-drive cars and trucks. The LS series was a "clean sheet" design with little in common with the classic Chevrolet small block V8...

 engines.

Production of the original small-block began in 1955 with a displacement

Engine displacement

Engine displacement is the volume swept by all the pistons inside the cylinders of an internal combustion engine in a single movement from top dead centre to bottom dead centre . It is commonly specified in cubic centimeters , litres , or cubic inches...

 of 265 cu in (4.3 l), growing incrementally over time until reaching 400 cu in (6.6 l) in 1970.