top 20 V8 engines of all time…

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Frankie said:
Hot Rod Magazine’s April issue has a list rating the top 20 V8 engines of all time…

The parameters for judging are:

  • Performance potential
  • Historic Significance
  • Looks cool
  • Affordability to build today
  • Easy to work on

Each engine was ranked on a scale of 1 to 5 ( 5 being the best and 1 being the worst).

Here’s what they say:


20. 1961-80 BOP GM V8 215, 300, 340, 350 ci.

19. 1968–84 Cadillac third gen. V8 - 368, 425, 472, & 500 ci.

18. 1949-64 Oldsmobile Rocket V8 – 303, 324, 371, & 394 ci

17. 1953-66 Buick Nailhead V8 – 264, 322, 364, 401, & 425 ci

16. 1965-90 2nd Gen.Olds V8 – 260, 307, 330, 350, 400, 403, 425, & 455 ci

15. 1964-2003 Chrysler LA Series V8 273, 318, 340, & 360.

14. 1967-76 Buick Big block V8 – 400, 430, & 455.

13. 1968-97 Ford 385 Series V8 -370, 429, & 460

12. 1997- Present Chevrolet LS Series V8 – 4.8L, 5.3L, 6.0L, 5.2L, & 7.0L

11. 1970-82 Ford 335 Series V8 – 302, 351, & 400 ci.

10. 1932-53 Ford Flathead V8 – 221, 239, 255 ci.

9. 1958-76 Ford FE V8 – 332, 352, 360, 361, 390, 406, 410, 427, 428 ci.

8. 1955-81 Pontiac V8 – 265, 287, 301, 303, 316, 326, 347, 350, 370, 389.400, 421, 428, & 455. ci.

7. 1951-58 Chrysler Early Hemi V8 – 331, 354, 382 ci.

6. 1958-65 Chevy “W” Series V8 -348, 409, 427 ci.

5. 1958-77 Chrysler B & RB V8 – 350, 361, 383, 400, 413, 426, 440 ci.

4. 1962-2001 Ford 90 Degree V8 – 221, 255, 260, 289, 302/5.0L, & 351/5.8L

3. 1964-71 Dodge/Plymouth Hemi V8 – 426 ci.

2. 1965-2009 Chevy Big Block V8 – 366, 396, 402, 427, 430, 454, 496, & 502 ci.

1. 1955-2003 Chevy Small Block V8 – 262, 265, 267, 283, 302, 305, 307, 327, 350, & 400 ci.



So, leaving brand loyalty out of it, what do you think?

Btw, it’s really a good article, lots of forgotten tidbits.

Enjoy,
Frankie
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There must have been a high emphasis on "cheap" on this list. No way that BB Chevy should be in front of 426 Hemi. Hemi has more historical value, performance potential and is hands down the most coolest looking engine ever invented. I can concede to SBC as that motor has had significant historical impact.

How in the heck does Flathead, Ford 335, Chevy W series, Big Block Buick all make it ahead of Small Block Mopar? Ridiculous.
 
Hot Rod Magazine? In the words of the great Jeff Spicoli,"Those guys are ****!"
 
DartSportGreg said:
Hot Rod Magazine? In the words of the great Jeff Spicoli,"Those guys are ****!"
Click to expand...


It's not about the magazine, it's about the article, and how you would answer for each of the criteria.
Try reading the article, and than posting up your selections based on the criteria, instead of simply bashing. :roll:
 
Car Craft magazine had an article years ago on the 10 Worst V-8s of all time . 9 GM engines , 1 Ford engine . Chrysler was never mentioned . That article was right on the money . It was odd coming from Camaro Craft .
 
jamesdaytona said:
Car Craft magazine had an article years ago on the 10 Worst V-8s of all time . 9 GM engines , 1 Ford engine . Chrysler was never mentioned . That article was right on the money . It was odd coming from Camaro Craft .
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Well, as far as the mags go, they have to appeal to a pretty wide base, but they also have to appeal to their main stay of customers. In the case of car Craft, that would be GM cars. It is odd that they would list 9 GM as worse.
40 years ago or so, Car craft was mostly about tech stuff. They alwayas had a few feature cars, but most of it's content was about build ups and how tos.
 
I've read, have read, all of those magazines (Hot Rod, Car Craft, PHR). I like them all. Car Craft seems to be Chevy centric. PHR seems to make an effort to put at least one Mopar in each issue (not sure about lately, but that's how it was back in the day). I think one of the editors for Hot Rod is a Mopar guy.

Sure, this article was highly subjective, but it's impossible to agree with everything. LIke all things in life, you don't have to agree with it 100% to like it.
 
I hear negative stuff about Piontac motors, core shift--big block Chevy's aren't far behind. Good luck on cam break in

But those engines came in lots of cool cars so they had to make the list
 
The old small V8's would had been better if they had 12-13 to 1 compression. Why Stud had 18 head bolts.

Wish we could get some higher octane fuel, they want 55 mpg, bring on the higher octane and bump the compression up--keep hoping it soon happen, been at 93 octane for ages.

You would think with today's technology it could be possible and still keep the fuel "clean" and not too expensive. Why 93 octane isn't standard and all new engines come with higher compression for max efficiently I don't know--maybe in 10 years it happen ?
 
Hate me...Toyota (Lexus) 1UZ-FE 4.0 V8. Quad cam, steel crank, 6 bolt mains. 300 hp/310 Ft/lbs and you can balance a nickle on the idling intake manifold. Course if you dont have a computer to tune it, then your screwed. The starter is in the lifter valley, but that is progress....was considering putting one in my as-was motorless 65 A. Was going to run a V8 Distributor off one of the OHV cam cogs and a carb off the STR- like intake.
 
DartSportGreg said:
Hot Rod Magazine? In the words of the great Jeff Spicoli,"Those guys are ****!"
Click to expand...

mmmkay. we shall not bash.....

typical chevy is right on top. duh. but i do honestly believe the mopar small block should have earned honors closer to the top 5.....
 
mopardude318 said:
mmmkay. we shall not bash.....

typical chevy is right on top. duh. but i do honestly believe the mopar small block should have earned honors closer to the top 5.....
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Me too. Did you look at the criteria for the judging? Like I said, there is one item that chevy small block owns, and that's cost of building one today.
other than that, I'd go with the Mopar Hemis, BB's and SB's hands down.
 
I can't see BB chevy..stock motors being #2 as they were BOAT anchors...the 426 Hemi , in stock form would eat them up...and how about 1955..the chrysler 300 had a 331 hemi with 300 HP..hence the 300 name...who had anything close...and in 56 chrysler had the 354 hemi with 355 hp.....and people vote for the 265 bowtie....give Me a break
 
Geez you guys. Everybody is bashing the magazine when it's a reader's poll. The readers voted. It even says at the top of the article, "Don't Blame Us! The Readers voted."

As for everybody saying that HR magazine blows, when was the last time you picked one up and read it? They actually do a lot of cool articles and David Freiburger, the editor-in-chief is a huge Mopar nut. I've seen him at Spring Fling in Van Nuys several times.

Anyway, In my opinion, they did leave out one really important parameter: sound. Gotta give credit to the Flathead Ford in that category.
 
pishta said:
Hate me...Toyota (Lexus) 1UZ-FE 4.0 V8. Quad cam, steel crank, 6 bolt mains. 300 hp/310 Ft/lbs and you can balance a nickle on the idling intake manifold. Course if you dont have a computer to tune it, then your screwed. The starter is in the lifter valley, but that is progress....was considering putting one in my as-was motorless 65 A. Was going to run a V8 Distributor off one of the OHV cam cogs and a carb off the STR- like intake.
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I'm sorry to disagree, but i think the nissan vh and vk engines are far superior than the toyota uz's. Remember these specs were from 89 too...

- Forged steel crankshaft.
- Forged steel connecting rods.
- 6 Bolt main bearing caps with studs.
- Full-length main bearing girdle.
- Lightweight, floating pistons with molybdenum coating.
- Sodium-filled exhaust valves.
- Cross-flow cooling system.
- Hydraulic lash adjusters.
- Single-row silent timing chain.
- Coil-on-plug ignition system.
- Lifter buckets ride directly on cams to reduce friction.
- Redline of 6900 rpm, Or 7400 RPM's with a modified ECU.
- Compression ratio of 10.2 to 1.
- Bore of 93 mm and stroke of 82.7 mm.
- Dimensions: 890 mm(L) x 740 mm(W) x 725 mm(H).
 
Well if it was a reader based poll,no wonder chev came out on top. Hot rod magazine cover's way more chev stuff than anything else and always has! The poll simply reflect's thier readership,which reflect's hotrod's bias toward's the chev.
 
Well if mopar guys were the top buyers of a magazine----then what would be the no. 1 alltime motor?



If i remember correctly, mopar engines were the first into the 10sec range, and 9s, 8s, 7s, 6s, ect. ect. at the strip. I used to have a book called the history of drag raceing, that gave the facts. GM guys probably shred those books if they run across one, lol. Its all cool though, each auto maker contributed some really great vehicles to enjoy. Remember to do it at the strip and not on the streets!
 
In my opinion , the 340 was the best performance small block engine ever produced , especially in its early years ('68-'71) .
Seriously underrated in its power (refactored in 1971 to something like 320 hp) , and just an outright premium engine .

Now , I like everything , vehicle-wise . Like everyone , I have my favourites .

The B.O.P. 260-455 c.i.d. was one of the greatest engines ever produced . It's not a small block , nor does it qualify as a big block ; only its displacement can justify its status as a "big" or "small" V8.
Just like the AMC 290-401 , and especially the SRB ( Service Replacement Block ) "360" , is not a "big" nor "small" V8 .

Not mentioned for obvious reasons , and not to get off-topic here , but here are some of my favourite obscurities from 'back then' :

- Nash/Rambler 287-327
- Oldsmobile Hemi (never produced)
- Pontiac Hemi ( not sure if it got past experimental / prototype stages)
- Pontiac 230/250 OHC "Sprint" Six

My favourite big blocks (no order-of-favour):
- 383 MoPar . Big Block with small block characteristics .
- 396 / 402
- 440 MoPar
 
I'm gonna stick with simply bashing....first off they left out the amc 401...and really if you put a small block 350 bone stock next to a 340 bone stock in cars that have similar gearing and weight Bwahhhahahahahah...boy's in this town wouldnt run my buddies dodge pickup with a 340 in it even after he offered to tow his boat while doing so...tryin not to be biased here but the king and the queen of drag racing had hemi power...the king of stock car racing had hemi power...seriously that list is based on something other than facts....maybe its based on popularity??? the hot rod crowd would jump on a hemi any chance they git over a chevy big or small block even if they are brand loyal...I'll put brand lyalty aside and say this with sincerity if you bought ten 350 chevy's over here I wouldnt trade my 340 for it...thats all I got to say about this subject for now :)
Frankie said:
It's not about the magazine, it's about the article, and how you would answer for each of the criteria.
Try reading the article, and than posting up your selections based on the criteria, instead of simply bashing. :roll:
Click to expand...
 
There is a flaw in that list. There is no 335 series Ford 302. A Boss 302 may have 335 heads, but it's still a 221 series AKA Windsor.
 
oliver said:
I'm sorry to disagree, but i think the nissan vh and vk engines are far superior than the toyota uz's. Remember these specs were from 89 too...

- Forged steel crankshaft.
- Forged steel connecting rods.
- 6 Bolt main bearing caps with studs.
- Full-length main bearing girdle.
- Lightweight, floating pistons with molybdenum coating.
- Sodium-filled exhaust valves.
- Cross-flow cooling system.
- Hydraulic lash adjusters.
- Single-row silent timing chain.
- Coil-on-plug ignition system.
- Lifter buckets ride directly on cams to reduce friction.
- Redline of 6900 rpm, Or 7400 RPM's with a modified ECU.
- Compression ratio of 10.2 to 1.
- Bore of 93 mm and stroke of 82.7 mm.
- Dimensions: 890 mm(L) x 740 mm(W) x 725 mm(H).
Click to expand...


sounds very similar, but I dont see it on The 10 best engines list: http://wardsauto.com/news-amp-analysis/10-best-engines-2000
 
waggin said:
I'm gonna stick with simply bashing....first off they left out the amc 401...and really if you put a small block 350 bone stock next to a 340 bone stock in cars that have similar gearing and weight Bwahhhahahahahah...boy's in this town wouldnt run my buddies dodge pickup with a 340 in it even after he offered to tow his boat while doing so...tryin not to be biased here but the king and the queen of drag racing had hemi power...the king of stock car racing had hemi power...seriously that list is based on something other than facts....maybe its based on popularity??? the hot rod crowd would jump on a hemi any chance they git over a chevy big or small block even if they are brand loyal...I'll put brand lyalty aside and say this with sincerity if you bought ten 350 chevy's over here I wouldnt trade my 340 for it...thats all I got to say about this subject for now :)
Click to expand...

You got it right!!!!:cheers:
 
Frankie said:
Well, as far as the mags go, they have to appeal to a pretty wide base, but they also have to appeal to their main stay of customers. In the case of car Craft, that would be GM cars. It is odd that they would list 9 GM as worse.
40 years ago or so, Car craft was mostly about tech stuff. They alwayas had a few feature cars, but most of it's content was about build ups and how tos.
Click to expand...

GM has made some super-turds...the 301, 305, 307, the Vega 4 cylinder (oil and coolant, all the time), the "Iron Duke," the 2.8/3.1, the "Quad 4," the weird California 260 something V-8 smogger engines from the '80's. And I am no GM fanatic, although I do love my '99 Regal GS with the modded s/c powertrain, tuned suspension (cop stuff and aftermarket, 18" Lucerne rims), and big brakes (Caddy parts, baby!)
 
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