I've got a 1940 Olds Street rod and I'm running a 351 Cleveland Ford motor with a c-4 trans.Had a guy tell me that I screwed up by not dropping a SB in it.Is it bible to run only Small Blocks in street rods?WTF?.....just would like to poll all you gear heads to see what you think?Dave
When he builds a 1940 Olds he can put a SBC in it and prove you did it wrong. They're good engines, if it works right and you're happy with it I'd tell him to take a hike. As far as I'm concerned there should be MORE Ford and Mopar engines in GM bodies just to irritate people like him.
Lots of random strangers out there are offended by engine swaps from the wrong company or corporate en***y. Tell them it's just a temporary engine--you are swapping in a (Select one: 259 Stude, DeSoto Firedome, Subaru six) next week when your new Hurst mounts arrive from Honest Charley.
put in what ever you want , it's your car while i like sbc's in old fords because they fit so good , if i was to do an olds i would put a olds motor in it
Just tell the guy he screwed up telling you what you should do,... this ain't just a spectator sport,.. if you want to run a ford that's all you need to know. I have a 34 3/W with a 351W in it and a 32 Roadster with a 350 in it. and a 32 5/W with a J-2 in it,......... build what you want and how you want it, if someone else dosen't like it screw em,... go look at there car (if they have one) I am sure you'll find something on it that you think they ( or the guy that really built it ) "screwed up" on
Does it run good? Sound good? Have the power you want? Are you happy with it? If so...that's all that really matters!!!
HA HA HA good one Bruce, for me it was a good choice but I'm all FORD.. When the ***le is in his name he could put what ever he would choose.. or tell him you like a challange anybody can do a SBC!
Ford for me. Its what I started out with, probably what I'll finish with. No decision you make will ever satisfy all people. Since I started showing my T, there's been no shortage of suggestions (and insults)...mostly from people who don't know what they're talking about. I can't remember how many times I've caught flack for using a flathead (and not a SBC). Best policy is just to ignore them.
Bingo! 90+% of rods have SBCs in them. A lot of people think the world revolves around the SBC, but it's getting to where I'm really sick of seeing them. The Hemi & the Cleveland are my 2 favorite engines.If it fits & works right, don't worry about what others say.
I run Chebbies for drivers almost all the time. But nuthin wrong with the ford and you definately can't go wrong with clevland mill. Ford motors cost more as a rule to build and that's one of the biggest reasons that GM motors get used so much. Do you like the ford? if you like it run it who gives a big rats *** what someone else likes. You're the one hwo has to be happy with it. "There are a thousand other hot rods to look at within a mile of here go look at one of them if you don't like mine." [Sonny Rogers]
I agree with PORKAND******, I have run sbc because of the cost factor. Bit aint nothin wrong with a Ford motor. Run what you want.
i agree with everything that everyone has said here.... personaly when i see a car with a motor that isn't common im going to spend some extra time looking around to see what you did. i think its cool to see stuff that is out of the ordinary
I once had a 62 Dodge that came from the factory with a 361. The block was cracked, so I put in a 440. It was a direct bolt in. Some guy cornered me at a show and said "that's not the original engine!" I replied that he was correct. He went into a tirade about not keeping the car stock. I told him there were a number of reasons why I did what I did, but the most important one was that it pissed people like him off. We all had a good laugh as we watched him hop in his Toyota Pickup and leave.
Ha Ha...some people, even car guys that you'd think might be a little less narrow minded, often default to thinking that the small block Chevy is the ONLY engien to run in ANY car! (When I was adding trans fluid to my old 64 Olds this past winter my neighbor came over to look under the hood and said something like "This would be a great old car if you fixed it up and put a 350 Chevy in it!". I just laughed, answering "WHY would I pull out a 394 Olds to drop in a 350 Chevy?". He meant no offense, he's just like many guys...thinks the ONLY way to build a car is to follow the same formula the m***es use.) Run whatever you want, whatever will work, or whatever you have on hand. You were probably driving the car and he was probably there in his mini-van, right?! He was likely just jealous!
When I was looking for an intake and carb for my 5.0 to go in my 29 tudor I thought I would check out a auto junk yard called Mikes Mustang's for a 5.0 or a GT engine .Told them what I was doing ,they said put a 350 in it and forget the damn ford . It does cost more but I want a ford in my ford and I'm the one paying for it.
It's all in what ya got laying around. Ask if he has a spare sbc laying around that he wouldn't mind you thrashing the dog out of to see if he's right. Real hotrods have always been a combination of parts if not from different brands they might be different years of the same thats what makes our hobby what it is.
I don't believe this really. There is a frick'en sea of Ford rods with anything but Ford power out there and this guy is complaining about one Olds with a Ford engine. Ask him if he realizes that the Ford Cleveland is the only engine in NASCAR that is still a production based design. Yet it is more than compe***ive with the funny car engines that GM, DCX and Toyota are allowed by Nascar in an effort to "equal" things out. If he gets past that one tell him to explain the 1970's NHRA pro stock ruling that forced the Cleveland Fords to run as much weight per cubic inch as the big block Chevy's. This was back when Bob Glidden, Dyno Don and Gapp & Roush were kicking *** even with the continued efforts to handicapp them. If hot rodding means taking the best engine you can get, and install it in the car you like, then the Cleveland really belongs in there.
I have a 327 Chevy in my roadster. When I got it, it had a 61 vette 283. Sold to a Vette guy. Put in the 327 cuz it was easy at the time. I told my dad the other day it I have any more problems with that damn old Chevy I am going to tear the car apart again and put in a 312 Y block. He said cool. That said, to each his own. There are tons of great motors out there and you do not need to please anyone but yourself! Keep on crusin.
I think the sbc is a good strong engine but most of the really fast cars I see at the drag strip are fords. I also think most of the sbc's in early "street rods" are boring, not cause the engine isnt good but the owners dont really want a scary-fast hot rod, they want a "easy and dependable" engine, but on the other hand thats what makes the Hamb style hot rods so *****in' ,they aint boring!
I guess next week everyone will post about how ****in the skinny big ***ty chicks is old and done and how everyone should screw the ugly fat ones. Who cares, are you happy,does it kick ***? SBC/SBF/Olds/Hemi who cares. Are you going to wear Crocks while working on your car because no one else does?
Hey if it makes you happy, that's what matters, I put a 302 Ford with AOD into a 1997 Cadillac Catera for my wife and you should hear some people scream, but as far as I'm concerned were both happy and that is what matters
If YOU like it, so be it! Some folks avoid Ford transplants in anything other than a Ford. Traditionally ( as history reveals ) usually SBC's were stuffed into virtually every conceivable body you could imagine;...as were early Hemis. I have learned to love the 1st and ONLY rule of hot rodding:...there ARE no rules! Do as you damn well please! If it pleases YOU, you did good!
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