Pushrod engines remain in Chevy’s lineup thanks to their durability, compact size, and ability to deliver the efficiency needed for trucks and sports cars.
Even with all of its blunders over the years, one thing about General Motors that we can’t really fault is its lineup of small block V8 engines. These engines have been especially central to Chevy’s performance lineup. Stuff like the LS and the more recent LT family have proven themselves in production cars, older models that were discovered to be excellent tuning platforms, and crate engines for completely custom builds.
One common thing among General Motors powertrains of the small block V8 variety — and in some cases other layouts — is that they don’t use single or dual overhead camshafts, like most modern engines do. While the pushrod, or overhead valve layout, sometimes called OHV, has long been shunned by most OEMs, General Motors is still pushing through with pushrod engines, even today.
