Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[Scotty]

Hemi's have an awesome reputation, and even being a "Heartbeat of America"* man myself, I have to bow to their status in the world of muscle.

(For those folks that aren't up in American jargon * = Chevy V8 350 cu. in. smallblock.)

[Uncle Joe]

Did you know that in 1969, a more-or-less standard 426 Hemi was timed at 243MPH? That is awesome.

But what is more awesome, is that in 61-63, a Max Wedge (budget motor, by Mopar standars) could cover a standing start quarter mile in about 12 seconds... but the 440 six pack was still considered the ultimate street motor...and one of these two is soon going to be found in my 300!

But which one? I still haven't decided! Any suggestions anyone?

[Scotty]

[Uncle Joe]

Polygrip? I'll have to weld 'em in place!

[Charles]

Best engine ever, if I am honest engines get better and better every year. The current Peugeot diesel engines are brilliant; BMW’s various 6 cylinder jobs have been great for the last decade. Subaru’s 2.0L unit is bullet proof. I suspect my answers are not in the spirit in which the question was posed!

Best Classic Engine Ever

I can only really speak of engines in cars that graced UK roads ….so it has to be the BMC A Series;
In mass production cars for 50 years, very reliable, cheap to maintain / rebuild. Capable of delivering fantastic fuel consumption due to excellent torque characteristics and thermal efficiency, the tuning people saw its potential straight away and made some great mods, must have had more tuning books and articles written about it than any other engine, the Japs were so impressed with it that Nissan produced it under licence. BL designed an overhead cam replacement in the early 70’s it just wasn’t any better so never made it into production.
I would agree it doesn’t do any one thing significantly better than other engines; it’s the overall package that gives it my vote.

Charles

[admin]

Can't argue with another vote for the A series!

The problem with modern engines, as I see 'em, is that they are fairly reliable in themselves (although head gasket failures still seem fairly common), but its all the sensors that the engines rely on to work correctly that are the weak points, thus making them fairly DIY-unfriendly.

6 pot BM engines are fine indeed, but again seem prone to head gaskets from what I can tell when they get a few years old (between dad, my brother, and I, we've had a lot of 6 pot BMs -plus V8s and V12s - of varying capacities).

Then there was all the Nikasil hoohaa with relation to sulphur in some fuels (I believe) with various different engines, K series cars (eg the MGF) eating head gaskets, and so on.

Modern engines are good, but I do think they are overly complex electronically, thus rendering them unreliable when they get to say 8-10 years old.........

Rick

[Stuchamp]

[Charles]

[admin]

I see where you're coming from Charles - error code readers and such are fine, but not if its a Sunday afternoon and you want to use the car for work next day, or if stuck on the side of a road with just a toolkit to hand

But I take your point, service intervals are much longer on new stuff (in part due to better oils I suppose), and no-one bothers de-coking engines any more (is that down to better fuels, or better engines?).


Rick

[Uncle Joe]

Charles makes a good point about servicing. As long as it is carried out religiously, then any vehicle will be more reliable. A service for any car is not just oil and filter, but as Charles says, flushing out the cooling system, and also things like brake fluid.

If there is one thing that I do not like about a lot of modern cars, its the fact that a lot of them today have belt driven ohc engines. Somehow, thats the thing that worries me, not the electronics. Especially when the odd manufacturer says that they dont need changing, and others do! That point alone creates a conflict in my little grey cell!

UJ

[gillberry]

Hi all new to the forum and reading this a lot of interesting choices but when it comes to an engine should you look at noise (v , production run and other vehicle usage . by the way I love the rover v8 .

[buzzy bee]

Welcome to the forum gillberry

[admin]

Hi gillberry, welcome along, if you get a minute pop a 'Hello' on the intro's thread!

cheers, Rick

[Charles]