Chrysler A engine
The Chrysler A engine is a small-block V8 gasoline engine built by Chrysler with polyspherical combustion chambers. It was produced from 1956 until 1967, when it was replaced by the wedge-head LA engine. It is not related to the hemispherical-head Hemi engine of the same era.
Chevrolet small-block engine
Designed and built during the era of the gas embargo, CAFE mandates, and tighter emissions, this engine family was designed to become Chevrolet's cost-effective, all-purpose "economy V8" engine line. These were intended to fill the gap where the venerable 283 ('57-'67), & 307 ('68-'73) had been. Bore and stroke were (), using the 350's crankshaft throw. This new engine family would provide better gas economy than the 350, share its basic architecture and many parts with the 350 (thus reducing production costs), and provide customers with more horsepower/torque than Chevrolet's 1970s-era inline 6 and V6 engines. During the early 1980s, when GM was streamlining their engine lineups, the Chevrolet 305 would rise to prominence as General Motors' "corporate" engine, signified by being the standard (and often only) V8 in many GM vehicles. Through much of the 80's, the 305 became General Motors' most common V8, followed closely by Oldsmobile's 307. The 305 also became the standard V8 in GM's C/K truck series, and was even used in the Corvette for California in 1980.