If we’re being honest, not every home-built project car needs a fire-breathing V-8. Maybe you just need a reliably built, roadworthy V-8 to get you down the highway—fire to be added at a later date.

Small-block V8 engines may not be as brawny or powerful as their big-block counterparts, but they completely revolutionized the car industry. However, since the V8 became a staple American power mill, ...