Ranking The 8 Best V8 Engines Of All Time (And The 7 Worst)
- Thread starter Lord Sparky
- Start date
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pishta
I know I'm right....
Yeah, the GM 5.7 diesels....Thought the Caddy 4100 and Northstar would make that list too besides the 8-6-4. I think Caddy could have its own top 5 clunkers.
tiltsix
Well-Known Member
I dont agree with the 6.6 pontiac being worst.I had a 77 trans am with ta 6.6 that ran quite well...............................jeff
valiantwagonguy
Well-Known Member
Ford Flat head V8. I loved that motor .Had one in my 50 Ford F1 pick up back in the 70's and 80's .Couldn't kill that thing no matter how hard I tried
If it was all engines, the Ford 2.3L would be there!
Yunick13
2 Time FABO NASCAR champ 2023 FABO NHRA champ
Performance wise, the 305 is a dud, but still pretty reliable. It's not like the Cadillac engines that need head gaskets every time you look at it.
pishta
I know I'm right....
I think alot of these 'terrible' V8's were just detuned for smog like a motha! 6.6 was a great motor when it got an intake cam and headers...basic hot rodding stuff. Could have put a the 2bbl Mopar 400 in there as it made 175/300, even lower than the 6.6 180/325. Another poser click bait millenial list.
Lord Sparky
Well-Known Member
Yes, but still fun to look at, right?
Absolutely clueless. Best motors would be in no particular order All early Hemi, 426 Hemi, 3rd gen Hemi, 273, 340 SBM, 383, 440 BBM, Flat head Ford, 351 Cleveland 4 Barrel, 289 K motor, 427 side oiler, 460 Ford, 389 Pontiac, 455 Olds, 455 Buick, 327 Chevy, 283 Chevy. Who cares about the worst...
You couldn't give me a 350, rebuilt too many. Junk from the factory. 6.6 was good
Bill Crowell
Well-Known Member
The problem with the Ford flathead V8 was that the exhaust passages ran through the block and heated up the water jacket. This caused poor thermodynamic efficiency and overloaded the cooling system. Other flathead V8s, such as the Cadillac, ran the exhaust passages to the inside of the "V".
A true best of list would be all mopar engines. What is this, best performance.....most reliable. They did not define "best". It doesnt get any more reliable than a slant six or even a 318. As far as performance, 340 should be on there and as much as I hate to say it 350 chevy.
those 350 conversions were hands down the worst pos engines ever made ... well the 455 olds conversions were no better .
reddog
Well-Known Member
This mostly pushrod engine list? Don't see Porsche or AMG on here or any Mercedes engine
valiantwagonguy
Well-Known Member
Mine ran just fine for the 10 years I owned it.Took it on long trips ,used it to haul all sorts of stuff and it just ran like the energizer bunny
jeff alder
Well-Known Member
I worked in a General Motors dealership way back in the day to fund my MOPARITIS disease and good lord that 4-6-8 Cadillac engine was a turd. give me a little mechanical lifter 273 any day.
tiltsix
Well-Known Member
my 77 Trans Am had the Pontiac 6.6 with 4 speed,,,,,i really loved that car......................Jeff
j par
Well-hung Member
I was just informed I had the slowest 410 Stroker on the entire forum... but I've been living fine with that for the last five years and hope to get five more...
The 6.6 Oldsmobile was a big bore, short stroke mill very much like the MoPar 400. The biggest problem with both of these engines are the year they were produced. Smog era engines suffered greatly from lack of compression and emissions equipment on top that further choked out any performance potential. The MoPar 360 suffered from this as well. As well as other smog era engines.
The best fix outside a cam swap, supercharger and headers would be a rebuild with compression. I think the Poncho 400 was the worst of them all in that era. As far as I’m concerned, once the 1st muscle car era passed into the smog era, all engines sucked rotten eggs. It was what it was. Now we are in the second coming of the muscle age! Enjoy it while it lasts! Who knows what’s around the corner to kill it again.
Fact.
Our stock blocks are as strong or stronger than there race blocks. We have there higher nickel content in our blocks equal to or exceeding there race blocks.
Fact. Our lifters are among the largest. They are not the biggest in diameter.
POP QUIZ! Who has the stock 1 inch diameter lifter?
(Hint, it’s a GM.)
Fact. This large diameter allows for more aggressive cam lobe to lift the valves quicker. This IS power! The quicker you can raise the valve the more air and fuel you can get into the cylinder.
Fact. The valve train, rockers on a bar, which are not MoPar exclusive (Buick) are a more stable system than what you know as the Chevy was of doing things.
Misnomer. A larger lifter does NOT make the valve train more stable.
The MoPar engines have there pros and cons like any other engine. I made my choice a long time ago on several factors
(no one wanted the MoPars, equals cheap cars and parts, the Direct Connection books instructions made a list on parts to use to go fast that they had for you and your engine. Follow the recipe! Home run!)
and decided to stay and dance with the devil I got to know. Once you know the tune and the dance, your good to go.
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