Ok you heathans, question of the day is so you have a 1931 Desoto 3W coupe and you want to put in a engine to stop anyone in there tracks but are on a low low low budget, what do you do ? Chris
low budget= engine out of a ford ranger medium budget= sbc high budget= old hemi you want to be cool= flathead
Low budget means you can't stop people in their tracks with standard sorts of overwhelming fire power like, say, a blown hemi--you need to be subtle: Get a running DeSoto/Chrylsler flathead six from someone doing a swap...put a lot of time and $3 in spray paint into making it look perfectly clean and new. Put more time into simple detailing--new steel lines, polihed...br*** fittings polished...fresh cadmium bolts. Make it look like you did the swap in 1950 with the engine from a nearly new wreck. Later, as wallet recovers, look for the rare and expensive add-ons like manifold and head...
what is a low low low budget? when you say low x3 iam thinking $100. you might be able to score a 331 hemi for a reasonable price ($500-$1000 if you do some searching), rebuilding is a different story especially if you cant do some of the work yourself. or throw a small block of your choice because the car is going to catch peoples interest.
Put anything you can afford in it, then leave the hood closed. Do you mean ultimate go fast engine? I would guess 426 MOPAR either wedge or Hemi. It was (or is) ultimate enough to be banned by just about every sanctioning body that ever existed. or ultimate as in just too cool for school? Same I guess.
bruce is right.... one thing that will always stop me dead in my tracks is a well thought out project, doesnt matter how big the engine is. if you are careful with the small details... like bolts, wiring, chrome in the right places i think you will be onto something really cool.
How good are you at fabrication? Get a decent stock motor and ring and bearing it. Build a set of zoomy looking headers. For cheap you can get the following motors that would stop most people in their tracks and still look "right". These are the cheaper motors. Forget Chrysler hemi's, early cads OHV or olds OHV engines. Parts are just too expensive. Dodge Red Ram Hemi Chrysler flathead 6 Buick nailhead Ford Flathead Pontiac You can still find these motors pretty cheap because they made tons of them. Better yet, you can usually buy the entine car they are in for cheap, and get all the accessories and a running engine. Red Ram hemis are cheap to buy, the rebuild parts are reasonable, and there are tons of them. They are also extremely hard to find cool speed parts for. Parts are also pretty available. Desoto Hemi's are similar to the Red Rams, but hard to find anything for. The Chrysler flathead 6 is super easy to find. Speed parts are not that hard either. Its also pretty cheap to build. The buick nailhead - not too hard to find (just saw a 63 Riv in the wreckers with a 401) but expensive to performance rebuild. Speed parts are not too hard to get. Ford flatty....nuff said Pontiac - I like these motors. They were out in the 50's and were available till 1980. , and still have a strong following. Speed parts are cheap and easily avaiable, and the motors are cheap! Pick up a 389 or 400 and stick on a tripower! This is the motor I would be getting for a low buck rod. It has a good look to it also.
ive got a dodge 225 slant 6 that runs that i need to unload if ya put dual carbs and split headers on her she might get the looks i think they made speed parts for them back in the day
Hands down, SBC... dress it up with a multiple carb set up... paint it red, finned valve covers... yep... Sam.
the slant is a great choice,they are torque monsters if set up right,you can get one in great shape super cheap,they catch your eye and they can look hot with a offy finned valve cover, they are almost indestructable and its not like yu see them in every car at the shows ,clifford has all the speed parts on hand to upgrade after your initial investment,there was a rebuilt slant with ****** on craigslist the other week for 300 ready to drop in
low low low budget? look for the biggest oldest running truck motor you can find I was at a small show a couple years ago and a 40's Diamond T came rumbling in, the motor was a flat six with something like 400 plus cubic inches, the kid had gotten the whole deal on trade for some pos economy toyota corona
It all depends on what you want but for the price and money and reliablility a sbc is the way to go. I would love to have a HEmi, nailhead, olds rocket or a flathead but from a $$ standpoint you just cant go wrong with a CHEBBY. Plenty of old parts and new and you aint got to buy one of them high dollar trannt adaptors. Justy my opinion cause all my motors end up being low buck.
318/360 Mopar, they are everywhere in the boneyards and cheap. Most probably run almost like new but the unibodys rotted away. Automatics used the 904, 999 and 727.
I have a running Desoto Firedome engine/Powerflite trans combo in the Cl***ifieds for $500 that slipped way down to the second page in no time flat. A running 350 with trans would cost you that, and no one is going to ogle all over another small block Chevy. How is the SBC so much cheaper than the hundreds of other engines out there? I personally like the Flathead 6 idea, should be able to find a runner cheap and I know I would certainly spend some time looking that over if I saw it out on the street.
Bruce you nailed it....too many times our rides sit in the wind because it needs a heart. Toss in a small one to start, then come back w/ the one you really want!
Guy's thanks so much for all your thought's , it's always better to get a few opinions on something and realy think it out, I orig. had planned on a 401 nailhead with auto but thought I would weigh a few other options, I mean a Desoto hemi would be awsome but the re-build is mega bucks also the 6cyl sound interesting, I used to have a a rair Alfa 6cly DOHC ,that looked like a offy and was way cool, anyway thanks again for the thoughts. Chris
Bruce Lancaster said it. That would be a sensible way to go for a decent price. Stop em in their tracks with the quality and attention to detail that you put in the project. Thats something you cant BUY.
My first choice would be the slant 6. Its MoPar and is a great engine. Most people would be dropping their jaws. Its an engine that is overlooked, but has hot rod potential. Speed goodies are available for when the budget can handle it. My second choice would be the super detailed flathead six. Again it's not what people would expect and its MoPar. What gets people to look deeper into a car and linger over it, is the attention to detail, the effort, the thought and creativity put into the project. IMHO
got one for sale for 300 with 3 speed!!even got the rear end too! theres pictures of it in the cl***ifieds now
Ya know the orig six in the car looks pretty bad ***, but there's zero speed stuff for it, so maybe a Hemi. Chris
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