This is the General Motors “big block” compatible 632 cubic inch (10.4 liter) V8 from the highly-respected team at BluePrint Engines based out of Nebraska.
Each of these engines is dyno tested before it leaves the facility, and this one produces a proven 815 bhp and 775 lb ft of torque on 91 octane pump gas. BluePrint Engines also offers a best-in-class warranty of 30-months or 50,000 miles on all the crate engines they build.
This is the General Motors “big block” compatible 632 cubic inch (10.4 liter) V8 from the highly-respected team at BluePrint Engines based out of Nebraska.
History Speedrun: BluePrint Engines
BluePrint Engines was founded in 1982 in Kearney, Nebraska, by engine builder and racer Norris Marshall. The company originally operated under the name Marshall Engines, beginning as a small, garage-based operation rebuilding and assembling engines for local racers and street-car owners. As demand grew, the business soon expanded beyond remanufacturing and into purpose-built performance engines.
Through the 1990s and early 2000s, Marshall Engines steadily increased its machining, assembly, and testing capabilities, consolidating operations into a large, vertically integrated facility in Kearney.
By the early 2000s, the company began trading under the BluePrint Engines name, this was due to their shift toward brand new crate engines with proprietary castings, and standardized, dyno-tested engine packages. The BluePrint brand would eventually replace the original Marshall Engines name entirely.
The business grew to the point that it was turning out 100 engines a day, all of which were dyno tested before leaving the facility to prove to the new owner that it was capable if it’s claimed power output.
BluePrint Engines now specializes in Chevrolet, Ford, and Mopar-based crate engines, ranging from stock replacement V8s to large-displacement stroker and big block combinations producing well over 800 bhp on pump gas.
Importantly, each of these engines also comes with a 4L80E automatic transmission (with lockup) that can actually handle that torque figure without breaking a sweat.
Every engine is assembled in-house and dyno tested prior to shipment, a practice that has helped establish the company’s national reputation for consistency, reliability, and good value within the American crate engine marketplace.
This reputation has led to the company becoming the largest non-OEM crate engine builder in the United States (and possibly the world), having built and shipped out well over 400,000 engines at the time of writing and supplying engines to retail stores like AutoZone and NAPA.
The 632 CI BluePrint Engines Big Block V8 Shown Here
The crate engine you see here is a 632 cubic inch (10.3 liter) big block V8 crate engine designed to be compatible with General Motors/Chevrolet big block V8s – so it’ll be a drop in replacement for most of them if required.
The foundation of this engine is a cast-iron tall-deck block with a 4.600 inch bore and 4.750 inch stroke, allowing ample crankshaft clearance and long-stroke geometry without compromising on block integrity. it has four-bolt main caps and a one-piece rear main seal, and the rotating assembly is internally balanced.
The rotating assembly consists entirely of forged components – it has a forged steel crankshaft, 6.635 inch forged H-beam connecting rods, and forged pistons, all chosen to withstand sustained high cylinder pressures. Compression is set at 11.0:1, a choice that was made to maximize power while still being able to work using easy-to-find 91 octane pump gas.
Intake is handled by BluePrint aluminum cylinder heads with 358cc intake runners, 125cc exhaust runners, 119-cc combustion chambers, and large 2.30 inch intake and 1.88 inch exhaust valves.
These are matched to a hydraulic roller camshaft with 272/282 degrees duration at .050, .698-inch lift, and a 110 degree lobe separation angle, producing a broad, torque-heavy powerband rather than a narrow peak. As a result of all this, the torque curve (see it below) is so flat you could use it as a dinner table.
The engine produces a dyno-proven output of 815 bhp and 775 lb ft of torque – every engine is assembled and tested in-house, and they all come with that reassuring 30-month or 50,000 mile warranty.
The engine produces a dyno-proven output of 815 bhp and 775 lb ft of torque – every engine is assembled and tested in-house, and they all come with that reassuring 30-month or 50,000 mile warranty. Importantly, it also comes with a 4L80E automatic transmission (with lockup) that can actually handle that torque figure without breaking a sweat.
If you’d like to read more or order your own engine, you can visit the listing here on BluePrint Engines.
Images courtesy of BluePrint Engines
Articles that Ben Branch has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
