If you have ever won a race or cruised the streets of your town, chances are you've experienced the joy of owning a small-block Chevy-powered automobile. Well, today, October 26, 2010, marks the 56th birthday of that legendary powerplant. On this day in 1954, Chevrolet introduced the small-block to an unsuspecting general public. It revolutionized the world of the automobile and high performance.     

There's no other engine in the world that's won more races than the small-block Chevy, which survives in highly modified form today as the LS engine family. From its humble 265 cubic inch beginnings to its all-conquering 638-horsepower ZR1 form today, it is the engine that brough affordable performance to the masses. Ed Cole's baby continues to be a force in motorsports from drag racing to road racing to stock car racing and hundreds of thousands of street machiners build new combinations of this lightweight, compact powerhouse every year.