Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.
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Dobbin
Joined: 15 May 2013
Posts: 67
Location: Central Scotland
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 Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2015 9:40 am Post subject: |
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| KA, unfortunately I don't have a spare. Fingers crossed I don't need one..... |
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clan chieftain
Joined: 05 Apr 2008
Posts: 2041
Location: Motherwell
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| Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2015 11:32 am Post subject: |
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I also go for the BMC "A" Series. After all it won the Monte Carlo Rally albeit very modified. There have been many good engines over the years its hard to say which one is the best. When it comes down to it what is as good or better than a Rolls Royce.
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The Clan Chieftain |
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Ashley
Joined: 02 Jan 2008
Posts: 1426
Location: Near Stroud, Glos
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| Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2015 1:09 pm Post subject: |
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| clan chieftain wrote: | | I also go for the BMC "A" Series. After all it won the Monte Carlo Rally albeit very modified. There have been many good engines over the years its hard to say which one is the best. When it comes down to it what is as good or better than a Rolls Royce. |
We, as a family, have fair experience of R-R engines and I own a MKVI Bentley which has one of their better ones the B60 in it. On old Austin Westminster engine was far more reliable and durable than the FB60 in the Vanden Plas 4 Litre R and Pat Moss won the far more gruelling Rome Liege (than the Monte Carlo) Rally in a Healey with a hotted up Westminster engine it it.
My son has just rebuilt a Silver Dawn engine and this included stove enamelling the castings, dull nickel plating most of the fittings, reboring cylinders, not re grinding crank or replacing cam or tappets, but all new guides and exhaust valves and rebuilding the vibration damper. The bill was nearly £20,000. A Westminster would probably cost about £1000, maybe £1500 (I'm doing an Healey 3000 ATM). Therefore I'm not convinced by R-R's approach. In fact we have a saying: A good engineer is the one that designs for a pound what others do for a fiver and R-R for £50. R-R should have stuck to aero engines IMO.
One of the most reliable and durable engines of all time is a Flathead V8 Ford for example and I doubt it could have been made for less. |
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Rootes75
Joined: 30 Apr 2013
Posts: 3813
Location: The Somerset Levels
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| Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2015 3:32 pm Post subject: |
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Car wise I don't think I have a 'best' engine, Commercial wise I would have to say the AEC AV505 engine. We had it in our Guy's and AEC's and it was a lovely engine, very reliable proper British engineering.
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Various Rootes Vehicles. |
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Minxy
Joined: 22 Sep 2010
Posts: 272
Location: West Northants
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| Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2015 4:28 pm Post subject: |
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| Another biased opinion here but for me nothing beats a five cylinder Audi /VW engine |
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minormatt
Joined: 03 Aug 2015
Posts: 48
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| Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2015 4:36 pm Post subject: |
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| The A series is the one I would have in a car... but in terms of light commercials ford 2.5di is a strong unburstable engine which just keeps going and going and going (underpowered, but a turbo bolts straight on an makes a big difference) |
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Ashley
Joined: 02 Jan 2008
Posts: 1426
Location: Near Stroud, Glos
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| Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2015 5:46 pm Post subject: |
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There are Merc car engines being dismantled on YouTube at 600,000 or more with bottom end shells good that are as new. Properly cared for I suspect most modern engines will last indefinitely.
I never liked the A and B Series BMC engines much because the valve gear was always noisy and the cranks rattled on new engines, MGB five bearing model excepted. |
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Ellis
Joined: 07 Mar 2011
Posts: 1382
Location: Betws y Coed, North Wales
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| Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2015 7:00 pm Post subject: |
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I suggest that a very good engine was the 2553cc straight six that was fitted to the mark 3 Ford Zephyr 6 and Ford Zodiac, 1962 to 1966.
It had 20 bhp more than the mark 2 variants. I drove several and I thought it was smooth, responsive and powerful.
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Starting Handle Expert
1964 Jaguar Mark 2 3.4 litre
1962 Land Rover Series 2a 88"
2002 BMW M3 E46 Cabriolet |
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JohnDale
Joined: 19 Mar 2008
Posts: 790
Location: Kelvin Valley,Scotland
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| Posted: Wed Aug 05, 2015 12:41 pm Post subject: |
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| Dobbin wrote: | | One that runs, doesn't smoke and returns a reasonable MPG overall? |
Hey Stuart,it's engines being asked about,not wives,cheers,JD.
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1958 Ford Zephyr Mk2 Convertible
1976 Ford Granada Ghia. |
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JohnDale
Joined: 19 Mar 2008
Posts: 790
Location: Kelvin Valley,Scotland
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| Posted: Wed Aug 05, 2015 12:57 pm Post subject: |
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| Ellis wrote: | I suggest that a very good engine was the 2553cc straight six that was fitted to the mark 3 Ford Zephyr 6 and Ford Zodiac, 1962 to 1966.
It had 20 bhp more than the mark 2 variants. I drove several and I thought it was smooth, responsive and powerful. |
Hi Ellis,as fitted in my Mkll convertible in '66 - travelling from Porthcawl to Treharris every Sat & Sunday(college through the week, haulage on a weekend).
Happy daze,cheers,JD.
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1958 Ford Zephyr Mk2 Convertible
1976 Ford Granada Ghia. |
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Dipster
Joined: 06 Jan 2015
Posts: 408
Location: UK, France and Portugal - unless I am travelling....
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| Posted: Wed Aug 05, 2015 1:56 pm Post subject: |
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I never liked the cheap bent tube exhaust manifolds fitted to this engine and its 4 cylinder version. Not that it gave me any problems on either version I ran (and used a lot, one in a mini cab, the other in a van used commercially). But I often wondered what other cheapo bits were inside.....
It prejudiced my view of that engine. |
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Ashley
Joined: 02 Jan 2008
Posts: 1426
Location: Near Stroud, Glos
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| Posted: Wed Aug 05, 2015 7:32 pm Post subject: |
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| Ellis wrote: | I suggest that a very good engine was the 2553cc straight six that was fitted to the mark 3 Ford Zephyr 6 and Ford Zodiac, 1962 to 1966.
It had 20 bhp more than the mark 2 variants. I drove several and I thought it was smooth, responsive and powerful. |
Agreed and you could have a Raymond Mays triple SU conversion for one which made them faster and better than the 2 Litre Bristol engine in the AC |
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Jonv8
Joined: 28 Jan 2009
Posts: 66
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| Posted: Wed Aug 05, 2015 9:58 pm Post subject: |
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I have a bit of a soft spot for the 200 and 300 TDI engines made by Land Rover. I have a 200 version sitting in a series 2 LR waiting for me to finish the rest of the car.It has 232,000m under its belt and still runs beautifully,only had a head gasket at 72,000.
I once had a 300TDI Discovery in for a blown intercooler hose - it had done 51,000m since I had last changed its oil - then showing 207,000m. Owned by a policeman,worse than farmers,builders and tree surgeons for maintenance in my experience.
OK,they are a bit noisy,leak a bit of oil etc, but as a worker they are reliable and rebuildable for sensible cost.Many other manufacturers could have learnt a few things about decent engine design from them. |
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Ray White
Joined: 02 Dec 2014
Posts: 6310
Location: Derby
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| Posted: Wed Aug 05, 2015 10:37 pm Post subject: Re: Best Engine |
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| ka wrote: | "My first company car was a 1100cc ford escort estate so under powered you had to thrash the thing to death to get any sort of performance from it, consequently you only got about 25mpg.
Not everyone will agree, but I think the 1600 cross flow is the best engine for the Escort."
I have read this line in another thread, and rather than dilute that one, I have started this.
The question is,
"Best Engine"?
and I also agree, the 1100cc Kent engine was grossly underpowered, the 1300cc better, but for me the best Ford of the bunch in the period was the 1600 engine. Full crossflow, plenty of tuning capability, but a distributor in a tricky spot.
Best engine of the period, and I exclude all the short run, expensive exotica, in my view was the Vauxhall 1300 OHC engine. The MkIV Astra would rev until it ran out of road, watching the speedo hit the MPH symbol at the bottom of the dial was gripping. |
It was me! I posted that the 1600 cross flow was the best escort engine. I also had an Astra 1300 and although the GTE was a lot quicker, it was far less reliable and more complicated to fix. The 1300 OHC Astra took my wife and I on many continental camping holidays and was as happy being thrashed through the Dolomites as it was tootling through town. Never much of a looker, it made up for it mechanically. And it was tough - not as tough as the Escort which was very well screwed together - but I had no complaints. |
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Ray White
Joined: 02 Dec 2014
Posts: 6310
Location: Derby
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| Posted: Wed Aug 05, 2015 10:40 pm Post subject: |
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| Incidentally, wasn't the Rolls Royce 40/50 the best engine in the best car? Maybe in it's day... |
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