When the classic muscle car era officially kicked off in the early 1960s, nearly every American automaker became professionally obsessed with building the largest or most powerful V8 possible. While some small-production engines had already exceeded 400 cubic inches by the 1960s, one of the first mainstream production engines to reach over 400 CID officially was Buick‘s 401 Nailhead V8. Following close behind were larger engines such as Buick’s 430 CID V8 in 1967 and Chevrolet’s 454 CID V8 in 1970.
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