Yes, it's funny to me how 5 or 6 litre engines are called small blocks.
Because in America, we typically go by the physical size of the engine block instead of by displacement. Although most modern V8s are considered small blocks. Though some people go on bore spacing, but that's more complex and I won't get into that.
For example, a 5.0L 302ci V8, the old one, not the modern Coyote, is actually quite small despite it's big displacement. For comparisons sake, it's only 18 3/4" wide, 27" long and 20 1/4" high including the oil pan. If you laid out a tape measure, you'd see it's really not that big.
Now in comparison to a 7.5L 460ci V8 (which dimensionally is not the largest but it's up there) is 32" long, 26" tall and 26" wide. If you laid that out, that is a MASSIVE dimensional difference.
But being that those are overhead valve configuration engines, they are more compact than say the modular overhead cam engines that replaced them (however the Coyote 5.0 slightly remedied this). With less displacement, a 4.6L 281ci V8, it was 28" long, 26"-28" tall and up to 30" wide. Much larger than a big block yet with less displacement and every bit as heavy. Pushrod engines are ridiculously more compact.
Just for comparisons sake, here's an old school 302 5.0L next to a DOHC 4.6L. (To be fair neither of these engines in this picture are completely finished being put together). I couldn't find one next to a 460 though. The 302 is the engine on the right.
