Chevy 348 Engine Specs

Intro

➤ See the Family Page for specs common to all engines in this family.

The Chevy 348 is where Chevrolet’s production big-engine story begins. Introduced for 1958, it was the original W-Series V8 and the answer to a problem the 265 and 283 small blocks were never supposed to solve by themselves: full-size Chevrolets were getting bigger, heavier, better equipped, and considerably more interested in torque. Chevrolet needed an engine with more shoulder. The 348 showed up carrying plenty.

That makes the 348 more important than its place in the 409’s shadow suggests. It was not Chevrolet practicing until the famous engine arrived. The 348 established the W-Series as a separate engine family, powered full-size passenger cars and heavier-duty applications, and gave Chevrolet a foundation it could develop from a broad-torque workhorse into a legitimate performance engine. The 409 eventually got the song. The 348 built the stage.

Its 348 cubic inches came from a 4.125-inch bore and 3.250-inch stroke, a combination aimed more at useful torque than heroic rpm. That suited the cars Chevrolet was building. A big Impala did not need an engine begging to be spun like a small block. It needed something that could pull from down low, move weight without drama, and still have enough reserve to make passing somebody feel intentional instead of optimistic.

Chevrolet quickly discovered that the same engine could do considerably more. The ordinary four-barrel versions handled normal passenger-car work, while Tri-Power, higher compression, mechanical lifters, larger valves, stronger camshafts, and better induction pushed hotter 348s well beyond the original workhorse assignment. By the end of its passenger-car run, Chevrolet had developed the 348 from a 250-horse torque engine into factory versions rated as high as 350 horsepower.

That range is exactly why a 348 should not be judged by the carburetors sitting on top of it. Chevrolet built mild hydraulic-cam engines, serious high-compression mechanical-lifter combinations, single-four-barrel performance versions, and multiple Tri-Power packages. Three carburetors can belong on a mild 348 or a considerably nastier one. The carburetors are easy to see. The rest of the engine is where the truth lives.

The 348 also deserves to be separated from both engines people constantly compare it with. It is not a 409 with 61 cubic inches missing, and it is not an early version of the later Mark IV 396. The 348 has its own W-Series block, heads, combustion-chamber arrangement, piston requirements, intake layout, and parts rules. Calling all of them “Chevy big blocks” may work across a parking lot. It becomes considerably less useful when somebody starts ordering parts.

Its biggest weakness today is not the original design so much as what sixty-plus years have done to the economics. Good W-Series parts cost more than common small-block or Mark IV pieces, correct performance hardware carries a premium, and machine work needs somebody who understands the unusual chamber and piston relationship. Building a 348 because it is the cheapest route to horsepower is how a perfectly good idea gets mugged by arithmetic.

Build one because it belongs in the car, because early Chevrolet history matters, or because the scalloped-valve-cover W-engine character is part of the reason the car is interesting in the first place, and the argument changes completely. A good 348 gives an early full-size Chevrolet the torque, appearance, sound, and mechanical personality it was built around. It does not need to pretend to be a 409 to justify being there.

That is the 348’s place in the family: the original W-Series engine, the heavy-car torque foundation, and the engine Chevrolet used to learn just how much performance could be wrung out of its strange new big-block idea. The 409 made the family famous. The 348 made the family possible.

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Overview

The 348 arrived with Chevrolet’s completely new full-size cars for 1958, and the timing was no accident. Those cars had grown well beyond the machines the original small block had been asked to move. More steel, more glass, automatic transmissions, power accessories, and buyers expecting something better than a running start before passing all demanded torque. Chevrolet could have kept leaning harder on the small block. Instead it built the W-Series and gave the big cars an engine with shoulders.

The architecture was unusual enough that a 348 still punishes anyone who approaches it with later Chevrolet habits. Instead of putting a conventional wedge-shaped combustion chamber mostly in the cylinder head, Chevrolet used a comparatively flat head surface and angled the block deck relative to the cylinder bore. Much of the combustion space therefore lives in the upper cylinder, with the piston crown helping determine chamber shape and compression ratio. It looks peculiar because it is peculiar. That does not mean Chevrolet arrived there by accident.

That arrangement makes the piston part of the combustion-chamber design rather than merely the piece going up and down underneath it. Piston crown, deck relationship, head design, valve clearance, and compression all have to agree. Machine work that would be routine on a later Mark IV can change important relationships on a W-engine. “The machine shop has been doing Chevys for forty years” is reassuring only after somebody asks which Chevys.

The basic 348 dimensions were 4.125 inches of bore and 3.250 inches of stroke. The relatively short stroke kept piston travel sensible while 348 cubic inches supplied the low- and midrange pull Chevrolet wanted. The original 250-horse four-barrel engine produced 355 lb-ft of torque, which tells the story better than the horsepower number. A 1958 Impala did not need to audition for Daytona every time the light changed. It needed to leave without acting like all that sheetmetal had surprised the engine.

Chevrolet discovered almost immediately that the same foundation could do considerably more than haul a loaded full-size car around town. Single four-barrels and three-two-barrel induction appeared, followed by higher compression, mechanical lifters, stronger camshafts, larger valves, aluminum intake hardware, and other changes as the horsepower war stopped pretending to be polite. In only a few years the 348 went from a 250-horse torque engine to factory combinations rated as high as 350 horsepower.

That wide range is where modern identification starts getting interesting. Chevrolet built ordinary hydraulic-cam street engines, multiple Tri-Power combinations, higher-compression mechanical-lifter versions, and serious single-four-barrel performance engines. The 348 was not one engine with different carburetors balanced on top. The hardware underneath changed with the job.

Tri-Power causes more confusion than it deserves because three carburetors look impressive enough that people stop investigating. A relatively mild hydraulic-lifter 280-horse 348 could wear three two-barrels. Hotter mechanical-lifter versions could wear three too. Finding Tri-Power proves that three carburetors are presently attached to the intake. It does not automatically identify the camshaft, compression ratio, heads, horsepower package, or what Chevrolet installed there in the first place.

Single four-barrels can fool people in the opposite direction. Chevrolet offered serious high-compression mechanical-lifter 348s without three carburetors, so counting air cleaners is not a factory-performance ranking system. Compression, camshaft, heads, valve size, intake, carburetor, stamped application code, year, and original vehicle all have to tell the same story. The carburetor is evidence. It is not allowed to testify for the whole engine.

The 348 also worked for customers who had no interest in performance brochures. Passenger-car versions ranged from mild cruisers to genuinely serious combinations, while truck engines emphasized sustained load and durability. Compression-related hardware, heads, manifolds, accessories, and other application pieces could change accordingly. A genuine 348 block proves that somebody has a genuine 348 block. It does not prove the Impala, Tri-Power, or high-horsepower story that may have arrived with it.

By 1961 Chevrolet had wrung an impressive amount out of those original dimensions. Factory output had climbed from 250 horsepower to 350 in the strongest versions. The problem was not that the 348 had failed. The problem was that Ford, Pontiac, Chrysler, and Chevrolet were turning cubic inches into advertising ammunition faster than engineers could explain port velocity to customers. The next number needed to be larger enough that nobody required a chalkboard.

That answer was the 409. Chevrolet kept the W-Series architecture but enlarged both bore and stroke, moving from the 348’s 4.125 × 3.250-inch dimensions to 4.3125 × 3.500 inches. That distinction matters. The 409 was not a 348 with hotter heads and another pair of carburetors. Chevrolet physically enlarged both ends of the displacement equation. The 409 inherited the architecture. It did not inherit the exact short block.

Passenger-car 348 production ended after 1961 as the 409 took over the W-Series performance spotlight, but the 348 continued in truck service through 1964. That is a fitting second act for an engine originally developed because Chevrolet needed torque for heavier machinery. The glamour moved to the 409. The 348 went back to work and apparently did not feel the need to write a song about it.

Compared with the 409, the 348 gives away displacement, airflow potential, and the wildest factory performance hardware. It also costs less of its identity every time somebody resists the urge to make it impersonate its famous younger brother. Its smaller bore and shorter stroke give it its own character, and a sensible street combination can deliver exactly the broad torque and smooth big-car manners Chevrolet intended. A 348 does not become more respectable merely because somebody bolts enough parts onto it to make strangers think it is a 409.

The same rule applies to a modern build. A stock or mildly improved 348 can make an excellent cruiser with modern pistons, sensible compression, good valvetrain pieces, properly sized induction, reliable ignition, free exhaust, and a cooling system that has not spent sixty years slowly surrendering. More radical strokers and aftermarket-head combinations are certainly possible. At that point, however, the builder should know exactly why he is spending W-engine money instead of pretending the calculator has stopped working.

The 348’s historical importance is easy to underestimate precisely because Chevrolet developed the family so quickly. It appeared in 1958, became a legitimate performance engine almost immediately, and was already handing the passenger-car spotlight to the 409 by 1961. That short run does not make the 348 a preliminary draft. It shows how fast Detroit was moving once horsepower became part engineering contest and part national advertising campaign.

The 348 was Chevrolet’s first production answer to the problem of moving increasingly heavy cars and trucks without simply beating the small block harder. It established the W-Series architecture, proved that the strange chamber arrangement could handle work and performance, and gave Chevrolet the foundation it enlarged into one of the most famous V8s of the early 1960s.

The 409 inherited the applause. The 348 had already built the stage, hauled in the equipment, and proved the floor would hold it.

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General Specs

Displacement	348 cu in / 5.7L	Bore / Stroke	4.125 in × 3.250 in
Production / Use Era	1958–1961 passenger cars; truck use continued through 1964	Bore Spacing	4.840 in
Engine Family	Chevrolet W-Series / Mark I Big Block	Deck Height	9.600 in nominal
Block Material	Cast iron	Rod Length	6.135 in
Cylinder Head Material	Cast iron	Main Journal	2.4977 in / commonly rounded to 2.500 in
Fuel / Induction	Carbureted; 4-barrel or triple 2-barrel by version	Rod Journal	2.200 in
Cam Location	In-block camshaft	Main Bearings	5
Valve Layout	OHV / pushrod, 2 valves per cylinder	Firing Order	1-8-4-3-6-5-7-2
Common Main Caps	2-bolt	Distributor Rotation	Clockwise
Rear Main Seal	2-piece	Weight	~625–665 lbs
Balance	Internal	Dimensions	~27H / ~29W / ~31L

Exact parts and specs can vary by year, vehicle, passenger-car or truck application, service history, and whatever W-Series parts somebody already mixed together before you got there. Use these numbers as the baseline, then verify the actual block, crank, heads, pistons, induction, and application before ordering parts or machining anything expensive.

On a 348, piston shape, deck relationship, and head design aren’t background trivia. They’re part of the combustion-chamber story, which means normal later-big-block assumptions can turn expensive fast.

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Variants

The 348 had more real factory combinations than its four-year passenger-car career suggests. Chevrolet started with two mild 9.5:1 hydraulic-lifter engines, then added high-compression solid-lifter versions with different cams and induction, and kept sharpening the serious combinations through 1961. Truck 348s were another branch entirely, using low compression and heavy-duty hardware for sustained work. The horsepower numbers changed along the way, but the useful divisions are the hardware underneath them.

250-hp Turbo-Thrust — Hydraulic Four-Barrel

What it was: This was the basic passenger-car 348 and the closest thing the W-Series had to an ordinary version. Chevrolet built it for smooth big-car torque rather than high-rpm performance.

What changed: Compression was 9.5:1. The engine used hydraulic lifters, the mild passenger-car camshaft, ordinary passenger-car heads, and a single four-barrel carburetor. Early engines used Carter four-barrels, with Carter and Rochester 4GC combinations appearing as Chevrolet changed carburetion by year, transmission, and air-conditioning application. The hydraulic cam stayed around .400-inch valve lift, with minor specification changes during the run.

What that did: Chevrolet rated the combination at 250 gross horsepower and 355 lb-ft of torque. Peak torque arrived down around 2,800 rpm, which tells the story better than the horsepower figure. It was built to pull a heavy Chevrolet cleanly from low speed without solid-lifter maintenance or an appetite for six-grand shifts.

Where used: The 250-hp Turbo-Thrust was offered in full-size Chevrolet passenger cars from 1958 through 1961.

280-hp Super Turbo-Thrust — Hydraulic Tri-Power

What it was: The 280-hp version was the mild engine with more induction. It is important because it proves that three carburetors on a 348 do not automatically mean the engine underneath was one of Chevrolet’s high-compression solid-lifter packages.

What changed: Compression stayed at 9.5:1, and Chevrolet retained essentially the same hydraulic camshaft and basic passenger-car head combination used by the 250-hp engine. The major change was the intake system: three Rochester two-barrel carburetors on a dedicated Tri-Power intake instead of one four-barrel.

What that did: Output increased to 280 gross horsepower while advertised torque remained 355 lb-ft, with its peak moving from roughly 2,800 to 3,200 rpm. The extra carburetion improved breathing when the secondary carburetors opened without giving up the smooth idle and street manners of the hydraulic-lifter engine.

Where used: The hydraulic Tri-Power 348 was offered in full-size Chevrolet passenger cars from 1958 through 1961.

305-hp High-Compression Four-Barrel — Automatic-Transmission Performance

What it was: Chevrolet also built a high-compression, solid-lifter 348 around automatic-transmission use. This was considerably more serious than the 250-hp four-barrel even though both could look fairly ordinary with the air cleaner installed.

What changed: Compression rose to 11.0:1 and hydraulic lifters gave way to mechanical lifters. The engine used a hotter cam with roughly .408-inch intake and .414-inch exhaust lift in the early combination, a Carter AFB four-barrel, and performance-oriented valve springs and calibration. Cam timing was revised as Chevrolet developed the package, with the 1960–61 version using considerably more duration than the ordinary hydraulic engine.

What that did: The solid cam and additional compression moved usable power upward. Chevrolet rated the later version at 305 horsepower at 5,600 rpm and about 350 lb-ft at 3,600. It gave automatic-equipped cars a genuine high-performance engine without simply attaching a Powerglide to the mild 250-horse combination and hoping nobody noticed.

Where used: This high-compression four-barrel combination appeared beginning in 1959 and continued through the end of passenger-car 348 production, primarily in cars equipped with the heavy-duty Powerglide.

320/340-hp High-Performance Four-Barrel — Solid-Lifter Manual

What it was: This was the serious single-four-barrel 348. Chevrolet kept developing it rather than leaving one combination frozen in time, so the advertised rating rose from roughly 320 horsepower to 340 by 1961 while the basic mission remained the same.

What changed: These engines used mechanical lifters, high compression, and a considerably more aggressive cam than the 305-hp automatic combination. The 1959 version used 11.0:1 compression; by 1960 Chevrolet had raised it to 11.25:1 and added a special high-rise aluminum intake. The 1960 performance cam carried approximately .406-inch intake and .412-inch exhaust lift with substantially more duration and overlap than the mild engine. Chevrolet revised the cam again for the 340-hp 1961 version. High-performance 1960–61 engines also gained the larger 2.06-inch intake and 1.72-inch exhaust valves rather than the 1.94/1.66-inch valves found in the ordinary heads.

What that did: More compression, more camshaft, larger valves, and the high-rise intake let the 348 keep breathing well past the rpm where the ordinary engine had finished its work. The 1960 combination was rated at 320 horsepower at 5,600 rpm; the final 1961 version reached 340 horsepower at 5,800. This was a high-rpm performance engine by 348 standards, not just the base four-barrel with a different tune.

Where used: The high-performance single-four-barrel version was offered in full-size Chevrolets with manual transmissions from 1959 through 1961, evolving into the 340-hp RPO 590 combination for the final year.

315/335/350-hp High-Performance Tri-Power — Solid-Lifter

What it was: This was the sharp end of the production 348 passenger-car family. It began with the late-1958 315-hp engine and evolved through the 335-hp combinations into the 350-hp 1961 version. Three carburetors were only part of the story; the compression, camshaft, valvetrain, and later cylinder heads separated these engines from the mild 280-hp Tri-Power.

What changed: The original 315-hp version used 11.0:1 compression, mechanical lifters, a hotter cam with roughly .408/.414-inch valve lift, and three Rochester two-barrels. Later engines received increasingly aggressive cam timing. By 1960 compression was 11.25:1, the performance package used dual-point ignition, and the later high-performance heads carried 2.06-inch intake and 1.72-inch exhaust valves. For 1961 Chevrolet revised the cam again and rated the final Tri-Power 348 at 350 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 364 lb-ft at 3,600.

What that did: Compared with the 280-hp Tri-Power, these engines shifted the whole personality upward. Higher compression produced more cylinder pressure, the solid cam held the valves open for the rpm range Chevrolet was chasing, and the later larger-valve heads improved breathing. The result was a 348 that wanted gear, rpm, premium fuel, and periodic valve adjustment instead of merely looking impressive when the hood came up.

Where used: The solid-lifter Tri-Power performance 348 appeared late in 1958 and continued in increasingly developed form through 1961. The final 350-hp version was one of Chevrolet’s strongest passenger-car engines immediately before the 409 took over the W-Series performance job.

Identification caution: Tri-Power earns a warning on the 348 because Chevrolet installed it on both the mild 280-hp hydraulic engine and the serious solid-lifter performance versions, and the intake assemblies have been swapped for more than sixty years. Three Rochester carburetors prove what is bolted to the engine today. They do not prove which 348 Chevrolet built underneath them.

Low-Compression Truck 348 — Two-Barrel

What it was: Chevrolet’s truck 348 was not simply a passenger-car engine with a different carburetor. The heavy-duty W-engine branch was built around low compression, durability, and sustained load, and early truck production included a two-barrel version for applications where pulling power mattered considerably more than an Impala horsepower advertisement.

What changed: Compression dropped to roughly 7.75:1. Truck engines used special blocks with reliefs at the tops of the cylinders, chambered truck cylinder heads, and shorter low-compression pistons rather than the passenger-car combustion arrangement. The two-barrel Workmaster Special used conservative camshaft and induction calibration along with heavy-duty cooling and truck equipment.

What that did: A representative 1959 two-barrel truck 348 was rated at about 185 gross horsepower and 315 lb-ft, with peak torque arriving at only 2,200 rpm. The point was not horsepower per cubic inch. It was pulling a loaded truck all day without caring whether anybody at the drive-in was impressed.

Where used: Two-barrel 348s were used in heavier Chevrolet truck series during the W-engine’s truck career.

Low-Compression Truck 348 — Four-Barrel

What it was: Chevrolet also offered a stronger truck 348 using the same heavy-duty, low-compression foundation with four-barrel induction. This was the high-output work version, not a detuned passenger-car performance engine.

What changed: The truck block, chambered heads, low-compression pistons, and roughly 7.75:1 compression remained. A four-barrel carburetor and appropriate intake and calibration replaced the smaller two-barrel induction. Forged crankshaft and heavy-duty internal and cooling equipment appeared in later commercial combinations as Chevrolet continued developing the engine for truck duty.

What that did: The larger carburetor improved airflow while keeping the engine’s useful range firmly in the working-rpm band. A 1959 four-barrel truck 348 was rated around 230 gross horsepower and 335 lb-ft; later heavy-duty versions continued the same basic idea with changing ratings and calibration.

Where used: Four-barrel truck 348s served Chevrolet medium- and heavy-duty trucks after passenger-car 348 production ended, carrying the original W-Series displacement into commercial service.

Identification caution: A truck 348 block can be a perfectly good W-engine, but it is materially different from the passenger-car block and compression package. The cylinder reliefs, truck heads, and low-compression piston arrangement matter. Painting one orange and adding passenger-car induction does not erase where the iron started.

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Key Notes

The 348 is where Chevrolet big-block talk starts before the Mark IV crowd shows up and starts acting like history began with the 396. This is a W-series engine, not a later big block wearing older valve covers. It has its own architecture, its own look, its own parts logic, and enough weirdness to punish anyone who treats it like a 409 with smaller numbers or a 396 with nostalgia.

The 348’s shape tells you it isn’t ordinary small-block or Mark IV thinking. The W-engine used a chamber-in-block design with heads that aren’t laid out like later Chevrolet big blocks. That gives the engine its famous look, especially with those scalloped valve covers, but it also means the usual “Chevy big block” assumptions can get somebody in trouble fast. Familiar bowtie badge, different bloodline under the covers.

The 348 was built before the muscle-car playbook settled down. It served full-size Chevrolet passenger cars, heavier cars, performance packages, and truck use. That range creates confusion because not every 348 had the same job. Some were ordinary torque engines. Some wore 4-barrel hardware. Some carried the famous Tri-Power / three-two-barrel setup. The displacement alone doesn’t tell you whether you’ve got a workhorse, a performance package, or a dressed-up story.

Tri-Power and high-output claims need proof. A three-carb setup looks good, sells stories, and makes people lean over the fender, but intake and carburetor parts can move around. A real high-performance 348 claim needs the right block, heads, induction, date context, stamped code, vehicle application, and supporting hardware. Three carburetors don’t turn every 348 into a factory performance piece. Sometimes they just turn a seller into a poet.

The 348 isn’t a 409, and it shouldn’t be priced or judged like one without evidence. The 409 built the bigger legend, and that legend spills all over the 348. Some parts and family logic overlap, but that doesn’t erase bore, stroke, block, crank, head, compression, and application differences. It isn’t a discount 409, a baby 409, or a free ticket to “409 money” unless the parts and paperwork earn it.

W-series family overlap doesn’t make every 348 and 409 part a clean swap. Blocks, heads, pistons, crankshafts, compression parts, induction, and application details still have to match. “It came off a W-engine” is a clue, not a permission slip.

Truck, passenger-car, and performance 348s need to be separated before anyone prices parts or starts bragging. Compression, heads, camshaft, induction, stamped codes, dates, application, and rebuild history all have to agree. A W-engine with the wrong story can still run fine, but it doesn’t get paid like documented history.

Gross horsepower belongs in its own era. The 348’s advertised ratings came from the gross-horsepower world, where numbers were measured under different rules than later net ratings. Those figures help compare period versions, but they don’t translate cleanly into modern installed-condition output. The old numbers aren’t fake. They just need to stay in the lane they were measured in.

Parts availability and rebuild cost are part of the decision. A 348 isn’t as easy, cheap, or forgiving to build as a small-block Chevy or a later Mark IV big block. Correct heads, intake parts, pistons, valvetrain pieces, brackets, dress parts, and W-series-specific hardware can cost real money. If the build needs originality, that money may make sense. If the goal is cheap power, the 348 may start teaching accounting before it teaches horsepower.

The chamber-in-block layout affects piston and compression choices. This isn’t the place to casually mix parts because something “looks close.” Piston design, deck relationship, compression, head choice, camshaft, and quench behavior all need to match the W-engine layout. Treat the 348 like a normal wedge-head Chevy and the parts will let you know who was wrong.

The 348 makes the most sense when history, originality, W-engine character, or full-size Chevrolet correctness is part of the job. In a correct Impala, period build, or W-series-focused project, it has real appeal. For easy horsepower, cheap parts, or simple street performance, a later 396, 454, or even a well-built small block may get there with less drama. That doesn’t make the 348 weak. It means the assignment has to fit the engine.

The 348 earned its place because it was Chevrolet’s early big-displacement step into a different world. It doesn’t need fake 409 shine, mystery Tri-Power stories, or later big-block assumptions to be interesting. Verify what it is, respect the W-engine architecture, price the performance claims by evidence, and stop expecting it to behave like a Mark IV engine just because both names start with Chevrolet.

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Bottom Line

The Chevy 348 is not a failed 409. That idea can go straight out the shop door. The 348 was here first, doing the heavy lifting in full-size Chevrolets, trucks, and early performance packages before anybody wrote a song about its bigger brother. Chevrolet needed more torque than the small block could comfortably provide, and the 348 showed up with enough shoulders to handle the assignment.

It also deserves more credit than the plain workhorse label gives it. The basic 250-horse 4-barrel and 280-horse Tri-Power engines handled ordinary big-car duty just fine, while the hotter 305, 315, 320, 335, 340, and 350-horse combinations proved Chevrolet was already learning how much performance could be wrung out of the W-engine before the 409 arrived. Same cubes, very different hardware. Anybody pricing them all the same needs either a parts book or a quieter hobby.

And those scalloped valve covers have caused enough trouble on their own. They make every W-engine look interesting, which somehow convinces people that a Tri-Power intake automatically means rare horsepower and fresh orange paint counts as documentation. It does not. Heads, pistons, compression, carburetion, camshaft, exhaust, dates, application, and condition still decide what is sitting there after everybody finishes admiring the shape.

The 348 also plays by W-Series rules, not later big-block Chevy rules. Its odd chamber arrangement, piston design, heads, intake, and compression relationships are part of what makes the engine interesting and part of what makes careless parts swapping expensive. Walk into one thinking 396, 427, or 454 logic will straighten everything out and the 348 will happily let the machine shop explain the difference.

So keep a correct 348 when the car and hardware give it a reason to stay, build a driver when early Chevrolet torque and W-engine character are the whole point, and demand proof before paying high-performance money. Just do not call it a poor man’s 409 or dress up a base engine and sell the costume. The 348 had a perfectly good job before the 409 stole the microphone, and it does not need anybody else’s legend to justify being there.

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