Cadillac 6.2L 8-cylinder

Cadillac 6.2L 8-cylinder — every model and year that used this engine (8 models, 2007–present), based on NHTSA VIN build data, with links to prices and reliability.

6.2L · 8 cylinders · seen in 8 models, 2007–2026

By the numbers

Gasoline: 88%. Flex-fuel: 11%. Based on 505 decoded NHTSA VIN build sheets.

About this engine family

The Chevrolet small-block engine is a series of gasoline-powered V8 automobile engines, produced by the Chevrolet division of General Motors in two overlapping generations between 1954 and 2003, using the same basic engine block. Referred to as a "small-block" for its size relative to the physically much larger Chevrolet big-block engines, the small-block family spanned from 262 cu in (4.3 L) to 400 cu in (6.6 L) in displacement, until the advent of the 427.8 cu in (7.0 L) LS7 in the 2006 Corvette C6 Z06.

Engineer Ed Cole is credited with leading the design for this engine. The engine block and cylinder heads were cast at Saginaw Metal Casting Operations in Saginaw, Michigan.

In detail

The first generation of Chevrolet small-blocks began with the 1955 Chevrolet 265 cu in (4.3 L) V8 offered in the Corvette and Bel Air. The engine quickly gained popularity among stock car racers, and was nicknamed the "Mighty Mouse," after the then-popular cartoon character, later abbreviated to "Mouse". By 1957 the engine had grown. Fitted with the optional Rochester mechanical fuel injection (FI) and a Duntov high-lift camshaft, it was one of the first production engines to produce per .

The 283 was adopted by other Chevrolet models, 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. From 1954 to 1974, the small-block engine was known as the "Turbo-Fire" or "High Torque" V8. However, it was the series that became the best-known Chevrolet small-block. Installed in everything from station wagons and sports cars to commercial vehicles, boats, industrial equipment, and even (in highly modified form) in aircraft, the 350 is the most widely used small-block engine of all time.

Though not offered in GM vehicles since 2003, the 350 series is still in production at a GM subsidiary in Springfield, Missouri, 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. 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 a stud-mounted independent ball rocker arm valvetrain design patented by Pontiac engineer Clayton Leach scheduled to be used in the 1955 Pontiac V8. Internal GM rules at the time held that an automotive division developing a technological innovation had the right to introduce it and enjoy a two-year hiatus before any other GM division could share it. GM overruled itself and both divisions debuted the new design.

This provided a considerable advantage to Chevrolet, as the Pontiac V8's introduction had been held back: it had been tracking for introduction in the 1953 model year, and all 1953 and 1954 Pontiac cars' chassis and suspensions had been designed for the new engine. But GM's Buick division had successfully lobbied corporate management to postpone Pontiac's engine until late 1954 in favor of Buick's release of its new overhead valve (OHV) V8 engine in 1953.

An OHV engine with hydraulic lifters, the small-block was available with an optional four-barrel Rochester carburetor, increasing engine output, or in the Corvette. The short-stroke bore × stroke engine's bore spacing would continue in use for decades. Also available in the Bel Air sedan, the basic passenger car version produced with a two-barrel carburetor. Upgraded to a four-barrel Rochester, dual exhaust "Power Pack" version, the engine was conservatively rated, and with the "Super Power Pack," it was boosted up to the power level of the Corvette.

A shortcoming of the 1955 265 was its lack of any provision for oil filtration built into the block, instead relying on an add-on filter mounted on the thermostat housing, and that was an "option only." In spite of its novel green sand foundry construction, the lack of adequate oil filtration leaves it typically only desirable to period collectors. The 1956 Corvette introduced three versions of this engine— with a single 4-barrel carburetor, with twin 4-barrels, and with two four-barrel carburetors and a high-lift camshaft.

The engine appeared in 1957, achieved by boring out the, yielding a bore × stroke. The first 283 motors used the stock 265 blocks.

Source: Wikipedia — Chevrolet small-block engine (1954–2003), CC BY-SA.

Models that used this engine

Model Years with this engine Fuel VIN builds seen
ESCALADE 2007–2026 Gasoline 339
ESCALADE ESV 2009–2026 Gasoline 128
CTS 2009–2019 Gasoline 20

Engine usage derived from NHTSA VIN build data (displacement + cylinder configuration). Model links lead to prices, generations and reliability.

For sale with this engine