Ed Cole: Father of the Small Block
A leader who relied on top engineers to make the small block a reality – and an icon
29.11.2011
Add ThisMORE INFO
WIXOM, Mich. – Ed Cole is the spiritual and virtual father of GM’s small-block engine family. He was Chevrolet’s chief engineer at the time of its creation in the early 1950s and his legacy is seen in fourth-generation engines produced today.
Fifty-six years after his original small block went into production, General Motors built the 100 millionth example on Nov. 29, 2011. It was a supercharged LS9 version for the Corvette ZR1, rated at 638 horsepower (476 kW).
Cole went to Chevrolet in 1952 from Cadillac, where he had supervised the design of an overhead-valve V-8. Work was already underway on a similar V-8 at Chevrolet when he arrived. It was a thoroughly conventional, small-displacement engine design – and Cole hated it at first sight. He instructed his engineers to design an engine that was lightweight, compact and powerful.
By taking advantage of modern manufacturing techniques – and innovating new ones – his group produced a design that was more efficient and less expensive to build than the bulky, complicated V-8s of the day.
Cole’s contemporaries described him as charismatic, brilliant and occasionally autocratic. Although he always had the final word in any decision, he also had the respect of his subordinates. After Cole prescribed a cure for a piston cracking problem that threatened to delay the engine’s introduction, one co-worker remembered, “Everyone was utterly amazed at this man’s tremendous engineering ability and understanding.”
To ensure the new engine would achieve his design and performance goals – and get into production on time – Cole recruited many of GM’s best and brightest engineers to work on it. Although many breakthroughs in its design were the result of communal brainstorming sessions, the originators of several key concepts helped Cole make the small block not only a reality, such as the cross-flow port design of the cylinder, devised by engineer Don MacPherson.
“I sketched until I came up with the current head configuration,” MacPherson recalled in a later interview. “Upon seeing the sketches, Ed said ‘That’s it!’ I was not at all convinced that my sketches would make a workable cylinder head, but fortunately they did.”
Other contributors included:
John Dolza, who developed a “green sand” casting technique that allowed the block to be cast upside-down, dramatically reducing the number of cores required
Loren Papenguth, working with Rochester Products, devised a wafer that metered the flow of oil from the valve lifters through the small block’s hollow pushrods.
Clayton Leach came up with the lightweight stamped-steel rocker arms that allowed the small-block to rev like a racing engine.
Cole was promoted to Chevrolet general manager in 1956, GM executive vice president in 1965 and president of General Motors in 1967. He retired from GM in 1974 and died in a private plane crash in 1977.
About General Motors
General Motors Co. (NYSE:GM, TSX: GMM) and its partners produce vehicles in 30 countries, and the company has leadership positions in the world's largest and fastest-growing automotive markets. GM’s brands include Chevrolet and Cadillac, as well as Baojun, Buick, GMC, Holden, Isuzu, Jiefang, Opel, Vauxhall and Wuling. More information on the company and its subsidiaries, including OnStar, a global leader in vehicle safety, security and information services, can be found at http://www.gm.com.
# # #
Edward Cole