The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk What's your favorite engine?

Back in 1974, I rebuilt the 283 in my '67 Chevelle. All new parts, bored .030, TRW pistons, new cam, lifters, reground crank, rebuilt the heads, etc. Drove it a couple years, then wrecked it. Put the motor in '68 half ton short box, step side, drove it a couple more years, then wrecked that. Put it in a '63 Chevy Impala that I entered in two demolition derbies,(didn't win) but had a lot of fun.
Then put it in a '63 half ton fleetside shortbox. Drove that a few years, then finally sold the truck (still running great) for $150, back in '86. The motor had a lot of hard miles on it, yet it seemed indestructable.

Someday, I'm going to try and find out what ever happened to it.

John

PS: Both trucks had 6 cylinders, before I installed the 283. Back then it wasn't cool to have an inline. Maybe in a couple years, I will have to edit this post to brag about my straight six.

The GMC Big Block V6/V12. I'm building a GMC 401 Magnum V6 Engine for my 1965 GMC 2500 1-Ton Dually and I also have a GMC 702cid Twin-Six V12 Irrigation Engine I've mounter to a cut down horse trailer. Now If I could put a GMC big block V6 into my 1994 GMC 3500 Dually and have it still be legal i would, but you all know they won't let us do anything like that to newer trucks, bummer eh.

283 and 327 V8's not necessarily in that order.

"What's my favorite engine?"
Why, one that runs, of course!

I've got lots of experience with the 350; I think I could overhaul one in my sleep. So, that's got to be my choice.

i like my 54/235 buuuuuut i would like to see the new straight 6 from the bravada in it just for fun. ron

Olds 324 "Rocket".

Jon

327 with high rise intake, four barrel and 4 speed muncie. Priceless at 3500 RPM.
Bob T

Any and all Hemi's: Next would be the 350 easy to build and easy to add HP.

popcorn The Truth is Out There (Of course if somebody just gave me a 427 - 425hp I would smile all day) Pops

Any engine that I own.

I Love those old 283s, 327s, and old 350's. I know they're popular, but I think there's a reason for that. Damned good engines.

I also like the old Cadillac 331. The first OHV Caddy that came out in 1949.


I have to give credit to the old Chrysler/Dodge/Plymouth/Desoto flathead six. I had one in my old '46 Plymouth. One day it popped a freeze plug and lost all the coolant, unbeknownst to me. No Coolant, no steam, Right? I was just driving along and that engine seized. I thought "I'm really screwed now", then I remembered a story that my Dad had told about a '41 Plymouth he had owned. Same thing. So, like ol' Dad, I waited until that engine cooled off, put a freeze plug back in it, a little coolant, and drove her away. It never smoked, rattled, or used any oil. In fact it was still purring like a kitten when I sold it many miles later.

GM engines - 350, 327 4-bbl, 427 dual-quad Chevy; 340 Buick, 472 Caddy

Ford - 302, 390, 300 Six

Mopar - 225 Leaning Tower of Power, 340 Six-Barrel, 440, 426 HEMI

Other - AMC 360, Hudson 308 Twin-H.

327

1948 J series, 2.5 HP Whizzer Motor

Short movie clip: http://www.whizzerick.com/file.MOV

Old 350's - bulletproof!

i have 2 my 327 450 horse pictures soon and you cant bet the sound of a zz502 thats in my 91 short bed

50 degree V~TWIN, 998 cc, 84 x 90 bore, twin amal 1-1/8'' carbs, MK 3 cams, 5 speed gearbox
'THE WORLDS FASTEST PRODUCTION MOTORCYCLE'
that IS a fact and NOT a slogan. :p


VINCENT http://lsvoc.vincent-hrd.co.uk/voc_links.html

hmmm

for a straigt 6 its the 292
for a small block its the 283 or 350
and for a big block its the 427 BABY!

I always thought them old straight 8 Buick motors were cool engines. Around the 1953-54 years.

Ive only have had one truck and its got a 350 and i like it.

292 takes the cake for me. its all i've worked with, and theres just something about the low end torque, coupled with open headers. its no friendly rumble, its a "ima come and eat your family" kinda thing.

as far as smallblocks, i detest the cookiecutter 350. much rather prefer a 283, or a 327. c'mon, 24 mpg with a smallblock? 283, camelhump heads, 2 barrel intake, fuel pressure regulator, 3 spd. i'll take that anyday!

big blocks...eh. i'm a big fan of the Olds 455. talk about a beast.


o. and who can forget the Iron Duke?? 153 cubic inches of pure detroit muscle. hells yeah!

.later days.
.sam.

I'll say one thing--Patrick 66 REALLY knows engines. To acwhite, 53 was the last year of the Buick straight eight, 54's were all V8's darn it. These old inliners were used on irrigation pumps, saw mills and on oil rig sites in numerous ways and were granite solid old engines. So many good ones, and who can name the really sorry ones along with their "good" choices. Do I hear 4-6-8 Cadillac?

Thanks for the info coilover

MY 235's for my 51 and 52 1/2 tons and my 454
in my 3/4 ton GMC Suburban.

238, 327, LS6, Olds 425, W30 455, W31 350

The 409 I'm having built for my gasser '57 chevy 150 wagon. Just an "old truck motor," but it'll be a 482ci, 650hp truck motor. 10.5:1CR, full roller cam and rockers, Lamar Walden medium riser intake and Edelbrock valve covers.

-Brad

283 everybody knows why my son has one in his 67 chevelle 300 deluxe best engine ever its tired but will still run another 40 years

I am going to go with the good old 350. i have had three of them and they all have been gems. They run great, have good power, are sort of economical and last a long time. Not to mention the host of parts that are available for peanuts. I have thoroughly enjoyed all of mine. Great motors.

Kyle

327, 300 hp, carter avs, dual 24 inch glass packs, standard trans,full moon on a saturday night, "Gearjammer" by George Thorogood blasting, 2nd gear scratch in front of sonic. Does it get anybetter than that? (looking back 20 years.) Still got the 327, traded the 3-speed for a turbo 350,(because i used up all of the 3-speeds in the country),traded the glasspacks for turbos, wore out the thorogood tape, and they moved sonic. But when i sit down behind the wheel of blu64, i am right back there. Oh, yeah, now that i am back from that flashback, really love those olds 455s also!!

It's really hard to pick just one,so I won't. I like all kindsa engines. I like the Harley Davidson generator Shovelhead a lot.
I really liked my old Pontiac 389 tri-power engine,but not all the tickets it got me.
I currently havea 1968 Pontiac 400 in my '57 GMC that's also a great engine.
Much as I hate to say it in the circle of friends I run with though,my all time favorite is the Dodge 383 Interceptor I had in my old Power Wagon.That thing would pull like a BIG big block and rev like a smallblock,it was an amazing engine.
I'm also impressed by the 355 smallblock in my '62 tonner.Though relatively fresh,it's already passed the bulletproofedness test.
Speed

For all around durability you can't beat a 390 Ford or a 350 Chevy. As long as we're talking 4 wheels.

But...

The best engines I've ever owned have been in Goldwings. These things just don't quit. You can ride it like there's no tomorrow, put it away wet and do it again tomorrow. They'll easily do 200,000 miles. You'll have to replace the seat, shocks, wheel bearings, etc. but you won't wear that engine out. My 1800 EFI 6-cylinder is a dream come true.

BMW 3.5L "big six".

305-E V6, got one in my '66 3/4 ton. All rebuilt.

I like the inline sixes, because they are so simple and dependable. They ain't very fast, but they do last.

Oh, yeah, lest I forget, Cummins 6BT Turbo Diesels!!! And, for the foreign jobs, the Toyota 20R and 22R fours are nearly indestructable!!! The BMW 2.5l Six in the E30 325i is a great engine, too!

You beat me to it!

Adams-Farwell engine. Never owned one, and never will; but think the design is extremely interesting.

Jon.

Well, lets see...

I really like the old "Bulletproof 3800", a GM V6 that comes in cars (like the Bonneville, for instance). Those engines will run to 300k before they start acting like they're tired, and you can usually get 400 out of them before you have to rebuild them.

That is, so long as you take care of them.

I'm fond of the 216 in my truck because even I can work on it!

I am not particularly brand loyal - I have had Fords, MoPar, Chevy, Olds and some imports. I love inline 6 cylinders, especially Chevy 216 and 235. They are so simple, functional, dependable, smooth and balanced.....
next I would say a 318 Dodge
then a Buick Straight 8 (we had one when I was a kid) :p

302 GMC
216 Chev
235 Chev
261 Chev
331 Cadillac
Flathead Cadillac
Rocket 88 Olds
Nailhead Buick

I'll join Josiah auf Deutsche -- My favorite has always been the VW 1600 air cooled opposed four. It's the only engine I've ever successfully rebuilt by myself ...

And without an engine stand or hoist

Tweeter pipes rock!

John