its use of a flat plane crank. Overview The first generation of Chevrolet small-blocks began with the 1955 Chevrolet 265 cu in (4.3L) V8 offered in the Corvette and Bel Air. It quickly gained popularity among stock car racers, nicknamed the "Mighty Mouse", for the then-popular cartoon character, later abbreviated to "Mouse". By 1957 it had grown to . Fitted with the optional Rochester mechanical fuel injection (FI), it was one of the first production engines to make per . The 283 was adopted by other Chevrolets, replacing the 265 V8s. A high-performance variant followed, turning out as much as (SAE gross power, not SAE net power or the current SAE certified power values) and raising horsepower per cubic inch to . From 1954 to 1974, the small-block engine was known as the "Turbo-Fire" or "High Torque" V8. But it was the series that became the best known Chevrolet small-block. Installed in everything from station wagons to sports cars, in commercial vehicles, and even in boats and (in highly modified form) airplanes, it is the most widely used small-block of all time. Though not offered in GM vehicles since 2003, the 350 series is still in production at a GM subsidiary in Springfield, MO under the company's "GM Genuine Parts" brand, and is also manufactured as an industrial and marine engine by GM Powertrain under the "Vortec" name. 3.750 in. bore family (1955–1957) All Chevrolet V8s, from the big-blocks to today's LS7 and LS9, evolved from the small-block family. Of the three engines in this family, two of them, the 265 and the 283, made automotive history. The first of this family was the 265, introduced in 1954. The 265 had a bore. The stroke of the 265 was , like the 283. 265 The "Turbo-Fire" V8 was the second Chevrolet small-block; the first Chevrolet V8 was produced in 1917. The 265 cu in Turbo Fire engine was designed by Ed Cole's group at Chevrolet to provide a more powerful engine for the 1955 Corvette than the model's original " Blue Flame" in-line six, the 2-barrel debut version went from drawings to production in just 15 weeks. Cole's design borrowed the valve train design scheduled to be used at the time in the Pontiac V8. Internal GM rules at the time stated that once an automotive division had introduced a technological innovation, no other GM division could use it for