Your Favourite Engines

[Mobasser]

Over the years, I've had the very best luck with GM small block V8s. I started with a 283, and I've owned 350, and currently a 327. I also had very good luck with a Dodge pickup I owned, which had the old 318 V8. I always felt that GM got it right early on. The 350, 327, and 307 were really just slight variations of the old 283 V8. All good workhorse engines. I've done well with GMs V6 also, but I've only owned one, a 2005 GMC 1/2 ton pickup. I've only owned one Ford. A 1980 Bronco I had years ago. It had an inline 300cu 6cyl. I probably got a lemon, because I had horrible luck with this one. But, I think Ford makes some good motors too. I had to lift the distributor cap, and dry it out with a hair dryer many times on a wet morning, even after replacing the cap with a new one. Any engines will last with routine maintenance, but I'm sold on the GM V8s as the all around best. What engines have you had the best luck with? Any size or make?

[MN Fisher]

Best car I ever had was a Dodge station wagon with a 318 in it - between my dad (who bought it new) and me (bought it off him) we put 1/4million miles on that thing and it still ran like a champ.

 

Now I have a 19 year old Silverado with a 5.3L (327) in it...200,000 miles and it still starts and runs like most engines with less than 1/2 that mileage.

[DogBone_384]

I have two favorite motors.  The first is the 2.0 I4 that was in my '91 Nissan Sentra SE-R.  I drove it for 8 years, SCCA auto-crossed it, and traded it in for my 1st Toyota pickup with 165K on it, WITH the original clutch.  That little buggy was a blast to drive and gave me 30 mpg.

 

The second is the 5.7L that's in my '17 Tundra.  This is the 4th Toyota truck in our family.  Combined, we've driven over 500,000 miles and have never repaired any of them.  I have 11 years until retirement and I fully expect this truck to get me there.

 

I've had Chevy, Olds, Buick, and Pontiac's from '70 - '72.  While they were easy to work on, tune ups were annual (and WHY did Buick put the distributor in the front .. try adjusting points with the fan running just a couple inches from your hand), and you were lucky to get 100K out of them.  Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have my '72 Skylark convertible back, but not as a daily driver.  Besides, I doubt there are any machine shops left near me to rebuild them.

[Bird]

I've had several 5.3L over the years, definitely a flagship engine for GM.

 

We use to drag race on the weekends back in the 70's in our little town for entertainment and can tell that with a stock engine " ok maybe headers " , a 350 was hard to beat in the quarter for a small block......and they held up.

 

Another super good engine for durability but lacked performance was the inline 4.0, still have one.

 

My latest truck has the 5.7 Hemi but can't say I like it better than my 5.3's.

 

Oh, my 1970 Nova with a 307 was very under performing. 

I actually got beat in the quarter by a farm use truck, seriously. 

 

This thread brings back a lot of memories. 

[MN Fisher]

I do have to add that I had three cars I consider 'favorites'.

 

1967 Dodge Coronet R/T Convertible - had the 440 in it...gas hog, always had to tinker with it...but it was a convertible!

1973 Plymouth Cuda - had the 360 - acted like it had rockets stuck up the tail-pipe and handled like it was glued to the pavement...another gas hog...but very fun to drive.

1976 Dodge Charger S/E - had the 400 option and was a really comfortable car to ride in

[DogBone_384]

26 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

1976 Dodge Charger S/E - had the 400 option

All the American cars still looked and rode great in the mid '70's, but thanks to our government, neutered the motors.  Out of curiosity and boredom, I went to the garage and looked in my old Motors Manual for '76 Dodge 400 CID HP ratings.  They ranged from 175 to 255 HP...  My '07 1200 cc BMW motorcycle makes 165 HP.

 

Ahh, the good ole days.

[MN Fisher]

5 minutes ago, DogBone_384 said:

All the American cars still looked and rode great in the mid '70's, but thanks to our government, neutered the motors.  Out of curiosity and boredom, I went to the garage and looked in my old Motors Manual for '76 Dodge 400 CID HP ratings.  They ranged from 175 to 255 HP...  My '07 1200 cc BMW motorcycle makes 165 HP.

 

Ahh, the good ole days.

Ya, it wasn't quick...but with power everything (windows, locks, seats), velour interior, reclining split-bench...perfect 'date' car. And it was classy as well.

[DogBone_384]

1 minute ago, MN Fisher said:

velour interior

I had a '77 Olds '98 Regency two door with the 'velour couches' ... yup.  Bad gas mileage, mediocre reliability by today's standards, but rode a lot better than todays cars for sure.

[Throwafrog]

Minnkota 40lb thrust

[DanielG]

2 hours ago, MN Fisher said:

I do have to add that I had three cars I consider 'favorites'.

 

1967 Dodge Coronet R/T Convertible - had the 440 in it...gas hog, always had to tinker with it...but it was a convertible!

1973 Plymouth Cuda - had the 360 - acted like it had rockets stuck up the tail-pipe and handled like it was glued to the pavement...another gas hog...but very fun to drive.

1976 Dodge Charger S/E - had the 400 option and was a really comfortable car to ride in

I've got a young relative who's got a Subaru with a turbo charger in it. It does take your head off when he steps on the gas but the thing is barely 5 ft long I think. He thinks he's got a badass muscle car. I keep telling him that the true muscle cars were the ones like in the movies that they guy takes the tarp off of in the garage after he returns from a stint in the pen after all these years before he goes out to get even with the guys who framed him and put him there.

 

My neighbor had  the barracuda like the one above. It was orange and had a large engine in it. He drove it hard and destroyed the drive train in about two years. Way too much engine for the rest of the vehicle when driven that way. But boy, did it sound nice and was it snappy.

 

We had a big old oldmobile with a 450 in it. It rode like a cloud and did 90 on the pike without even knowing it. Everyone drove that speed then.

[J Francho]

EVs blow the doors off most "muscle" cars from that era, and they run on batteries.  If nostalgia is your thing, then sure, I definitely want a 1970 Chevelle SS. If getting from point A to point B faster (on a track, of course, lol) then that wouldn't be my choice.  

 

My favorite engine to work on was the LT1 in my '94 f-body.  Truth be told, I was basically in the way when we were wrenching.  It was still fun to soup that thing up.  As far as general maintenance and repairs go, the 6.2 in my GMC is pretty easy to work on.  I did have the shop deal with the drum brakes when it came time.  I'm old enough, and make enough now to let someone else do that job.

[Mobasser]

I also might mention I owned a 1989 Chevy Cavalier. It had a 4.0 4cyl. Went through me, then both my daughters. A girl backed into it at my daughter's high school one day, and the insurance totalled it. It had 302, 000 miles by then. Probably won't have a car like that again....

[J Francho]

I had a Jeep Cherokee Chief with a Pontiac 2.8 V6 that went almost 500K.  My Maxima went for over 280K, and stillran, but kept throwing various codes.

[DanielG]

I've had chevy's since '73. Each one of them had some issue or another. The Tahoe was pretty good though.

 

I have a 2015 F-150 and have 82,000 miles on it. Never done anything except maintenance. Same tires and brakes, and our state is a stickler on this stuff during inspections. By far the best vehicle I've ever owned.

 

My last vehicle a 2003 chevy silverado z71 was a problem since it was out of warranty. Brakes, bearings, sensors, electrical, At 84,000 miles it couldn't be inspected or repaired to be inspected; rusted out frame. It was the reason I took a chance on another brand after a lifetime of them.

 

I've got to say.... all my recent vehicles had engines in them that were running like tops until I traded them.

1 hour ago, J Francho said:

EVs blow the doors off most "muscle" cars from that era, and they run on batteries.  If nostalgia is your thing, then sure, I definitely want a 1970 Chevelle SS. If getting from point A to point B faster (on a track, of course, lol) then that wouldn't be my choice.  

 

My favorite engine to work on was the LT1 in my '94 f-body.  Truth be told, I was basically in the way when we were wrenching.  It was still fun to soup that thing up.  As far as general maintenance and repairs go, the 6.2 in my GMC is pretty easy to work on.  I did have the shop deal with the drum brakes when it came time.  I'm old enough, and make enough now to let someone else do that job.

My daughter and her husband have a Nissan Leaf this year. They've got to plan their trips to our house as they can barely make it back home if they aren't careful. They can't use it to visit us in the winter as the mileage drops because of the battery heaters. They also can't run the heat. Mileage cuts 50%

They usually take the gasoline vehicle they've got. It does make a good little commuter vehicle to work though, and they've got a bank of solar panels on the roof of their house so the electricity if free.

 

Chevy had the right idea with the Volt before they discontinued it. It was completely electric but had a gasoline engine in it that ran only to charge the batteries if needed. Unlimited mileage that way. And heat if needed.

 

All electric vehicles do have a lot of torque though.

[CountryboyinDC]

At one time I would have said the 6BT Cummins.  For some reason, the good things that happened with that engine in farm equipment did not translate to my truck.  I think I will probably never get to the point that utter reliability, and as an aspiring car owner, my dream car was a 68-72 Chevelle SS.  So I'll go with a big block GM, and someone else to turn the wrenches.  Still like to hear that big block rumble.

[J Francho]

15 hours ago, DanielG said:

My daughter and her husband have a Nissan Leaf this year.

My boss has a Tesla that drives it's dang self.  Gets to 60 in 2.3 seconds.  Has nearly 400 mile range.  It cost him, though.  My buddy had a Volt, and loved it.  He has a Bolt, now and loves it too.  I'd go EV in a heartbeat if it was economical.

[PourMyOwn]

11 minutes ago, J Francho said:

My boss has a Tesla that drives it's dang self.  Gets to 60 in 2.3 seconds.  Has nearly 400 mile range.  It cost him, though.  My buddy had a Volt, and loved it.  He has a Bolt, now and loves it too.  I'd go EV in a heartbeat if it was economical.

I would love to go EV too, but I'm far better off getting 40 mpg in a gas Jetta. My buddy who lives closer to work than I do has a Bolt- very impressive car. 

[Mobasser]

I don't race anymore, I did some when I was young. We always wanted GM smallblocks, 327 or 350. They wrap up so much quicker. In 1/8 mile runs, small blocks usually dominate. 1/4 mile- big blocks win out. But it depends on how they're built too.

[J Francho]

Been thinking my next truck will be diesel, also.  40 mpg is like dream to me, lol. Currently around 18-20.

[NHBull]

When younger I had a RX 7 and it had the Wankel engine.  There was just something about driving that in the era of the big V8’s that was fun. I would not put it in the category of best, but was a novelty at the time

 

[J Francho]

Just now, Mobasser said:

I don't race anymore

The only racing I did was 1/8 mile brackets, SCCA Auto-X, and many weeks behind the wheel of a Formula Dodge in driving school.  I drive like an old lady now, lol.

[Mobasser]

1 minute ago, J Francho said:

Been thinking my next truck will be diesel, also.  40 mpg is like dream to me, lol. Currently around 18-20.

Agree. I see more and more of them on the roads now. Right now, gas prices are low, but that can change.

1 minute ago, J Francho said:

The only racing I did was 1/8 mile brackets, SCCA Auto-X, and many weeks behind the wheel of a Formula Dodge in driving school.  I drive like an old lady now, lol.

Me too. My wife has to remind me to turn my blinker off!

[Mobasser]

In high school a kid I knew had a Pontiac with a 400cu small block in it. What a screamer! Way too much engine for a 17yr old kid! His dad made him get rid of it. Every stop sign he pulled up to, he wanted to run somebody...

The very worst motor I've ever seen was in a Pinto station wagon that my mom had. I believe a 72. 4cyl with a carb. At 80, 000 miles the engine started to lose compression. You could barely make a hill on a hot day with the AC on. My dad hated that car. He spent too much time working on it. He couldn't understand how they could even build a motor this bad.

I still love a V8, but it sure isn't fun anymore when gas goes up, especially if you have much driving to do.

[PourMyOwn]

22 minutes ago, J Francho said:

Been thinking my next truck will be diesel, also.  40 mpg is like dream to me, lol. Currently around 18-20.

For some reason I get over 40 in a turbo 1.8 gas Jetta. It's a 5 speed, which does help, and my 35 minute commute is mostly country highways. 

The downside is that I drive a small sedan. My 95 F350 only does weekend duty, if I lived closer to my job I would have a newish truck. I traded a year old Ecoboost for the Jetta, that was a sad day. 

[slonezp]

On 4/30/2020 at 11:23 AM, MN Fisher said:

I do have to add that I had three cars I consider 'favorites'.

 

1967 Dodge Coronet R/T Convertible - had the 440 in it...gas hog, always had to tinker with it...but it was a convertible!

1973 Plymouth Cuda - had the 360 - acted like it had rockets stuck up the tail-pipe and handled like it was glued to the pavement...another gas hog...but very fun to drive.

1976 Dodge Charger S/E - had the 400 option and was a really comfortable car to ride in

Ex wife had the 1976 Charger back in high school when we started dating. Had the 318 and it moved. Not a common car at all, most people bought the Chrysler Cordoba.