Art & Inspiration Coolest Hot Rod and Custom Engines of All Time

This one may have been talked about before but I got to thinking, "What are the coolest hot rod engines of all time?" I am going to exclude the SBC of which I have owned several and am currently building a car with one. Let's be honest, when you see one you don't stop and drool. They would win the most popular vote but I am talking about "cool".

What are the engines that performed and looked cool or unique and drew people's attention? For me, I think about the Flathead, the Hemi and the Nailhead. Those are the 3 that pop into my mind. What pops into yours?

 

Gotta love a W engine!

 

Yeah, its been covered before. I think the winner was a Chrylser Hemi.....

 

The Flathead, Hemi, and Nailhead are obviously very cool. It's hard to argue against them. But they are also quite common. For a cool engine that is less common I might suggest the Lincoln V-12. I've only seen a few hot rods with them and they always make me stop and look. The GM big Six is also a pretty cool motor. But these are not really as cool as the ones you named.

 

The Small Block Chevy must be the coolest.
Everybody has got one.

 

I'm partial to Ford FE's

 

Early olds

 

Anybody got any great nailhead and hemi pictures?

 

Lately I've been prepping some flatheads to go into a couple of my cars and I've come up with a Chrysler 392 Hemi that I plan to go through this spring to have it ready to go in something. I just took the attached pictures in my shop and other than the 427 Chevy big block that I'm also building for one of my cars, everything else is on the list

 

Pete Robinsons' gear drive SOHC.

 

What pops into my mind? I’ve seen any number of engines that were cool, Studebaker’s, FE’s, Pontiac’s Joe Panek’s 6-71 blown V12 Caddy and more but honestly I don’t understand the need to exclude the Chevy small block.
So you’ve never admired McMullen’s 4-71 blown SBC? Or closer to home the Man-A-Fre equipped SBC in the Corvette owned by @Moriarity ?
Sounds a bit elitist.

 

I always wanted a nailhead for a hot rod. Back in the 60's they were put in a lot of home built cars. I ended up finding a 65 Electra that I was able to start and drive home. It ran real well, but I had to pull it apart to see what shape it was really in. Turns out that it was slap worn out. A lot of $'s later it's in my 29 Ford.

 

I always thought an Offy engine would be neat for a hot rod. Back in the 70's they were available at reasonable prices as they were outdated in circle track racing. Wish I had bought one.

 

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/remember-an-offy-powered-a-roadster-pickup.367824/
https://www.google.com/search?q=off...sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#imgrc=xCMJ8nlvcZzEIM

 

I will always choose a small block Chevy, but it has to be dressed right and be an early block.

Next choice would be a 348/409 Chevy.

 

I second a Cragar 4-71 SBC as shown in this original McMullen Roadster photo. -Andy

 

Max Wedge 426 with cross rams.

 

As far as looks, hemi #1, then you have the 401 buick with its vertical valve covers, the caddy, the olds and I like the early Pontiacs!

But gotta agree, a cross ram bb mopar is hard to beat when it comes to a nasty rip your head off performance look !

.

 

Early Hemi and a Ford/Lincoln V12

 

Some pics from Sweden,,,

 

Curtiss OX-5

 

A Wayne dressed 235 is eye candy and music to my ears .


I’ve always thought about a rod with a jag v12 dressed up with cards and swooping long tube headers and remove all the **** off ‘em. A gorgeous engine once you take all the stupid off .

 

.060 over 261 out of a Canadian Pontiac

 

The coolest was to me,what ever OHV V8,, could be found for free or close>that ran well!! In the 1950s.< The flathead was old an going out. The Chevy didn't show up tell the 55 model year=at that time a leaky an smoking not working well. The Hemi was cool,but was real heavy an a bit fat,yet some liked it a lot ,mostly by what it was doing in drag cars.
For many of us teens trying to build a hotrod,with near nothing,that's how the V8 engine pick was made.
That being said,there were, wants an wishes! For early to mid 1950s,the Cady OHV V8 *and the Olds Rocket 88 V8* near top of most wish list,along with a bit lower Ford "Y" and Studebaker V8. I got lucky in the late 1950s,an got a used Ford Thunderbird "Y",added speed parts a little at a time. I had to learn, an make many of my own speed parts.; Distributor recurve,Cam timing, making intake , an EX,cut down fly wheel an many other part mods.

So I don't just look now at the cool old engines,but also the parts I can see on them!
The first thing you may see on my old "Y" is home made intake 4x2 log,I did from cutting up a drive shaft. in pic of my 28A Roadster. My very next car in 1960,was a old Henry J,an I put a Olds Rocket 88 in it.

 

In the early 50's all the cool cars had Olds Rocket engine in them!

 

craigslist sacramento, ca

 

Mox Miller 1958 Chevy Impala

Hello,

In the last part of the Impala days, our 348 needed something else to be compe***ive with the newest 409 motors in the lightweight Biscaynes and Bel Airs, now showing up on the streets. Since we modified the Impala with a C&O Stick Hydro, we were no longer in the stock cl*** for racing. So, our 348 motor needed some help if we were to go into the Gas Coupe/Sedan Cl***es to continue racing.

When we saw the Mox Miller Impala motor, our eyes went "googly-eyed" at what we were seeing. No one thought of a small supercharger on a motor, let alone one that would fit under a closed hood. A supercharger sticking out of a hood with a scoop was the "normal" arrangement. But, this Impala motor had all of the details and ingenuity to be able to shut the hood for the super clean look.

While this time period was still the main emphasis for us, we were getting experience doing stuff to the 348 and obtaining some knowledge as to how to get more horsepower from our stock motor. Without going overboard and breaking the bank, we still wanted to be king of the hill. Well, at least in Bixby Knolls and its rich history in cruising scene. The Cherry Avenue Drags midnight hours would be next on the list and finally, spreading out in So Cal as the area coverage of cruising scene expanded.

But, during this time, we started dabbling in our friend’s SBC motors as more of them had Chevy sedans with 265 +283 motors in all stages of builds from stock to modified. So, we started our dual purpose street legal 1940 Willys Coupe build with a 283 and 6 Stromberg carbs for the gas coupe cl***.
similar to our 292 c.i. motor
Jnaki

So, our 283 SBC motor build from a long block to full bore B/Gas c0mpe***ive m0tor was a fun experience. It started on the first click of the starter and ran well for what it was. Then, within several months of running in B/Gas and doing fine for our first build, it was not as compe***ive versus the rest of the experienced B/Gas racers at Lion’s Dragstrip.

So, we tore down the 283 SBC motor and started the next level build of a larger block bore and more power. Now, ported/polished heads, Joe Hunt Vertex Mag, Howard 5 Cycle Cam and full kit, Isky Gilmer 671 blower ***embly belt drive with a 671 built for racing by Reath Automotive. Then, Jahns Aluminum Blower Pistons and Aluminum Rods, with a crank also machined and balanced by Reath, made the motor have some power.

Now, we were experienced with the SBC motors and were experienced enough to work on other’s SBC motors, from stock to modified. There were only a few racers with SBC motors with 671 blower drives as they had the drives, but not for the SBC motor set ups. Early 1960, we got what we thought was one of the earliest. There was one other on Bones Balogh’s 49 Chevy sedan. We did not know about it although, he lived in the South Bay area of So Cal, a few miles away from Lion’s Dragstrip.


So, why did we not put in the final 292 c.i. 671 supercharged SBC motor in the 58 Impala for a one of a kind hot rod? Well, that was discussed deep into the midnight hours and brought up by my brother during his hospital recovery days. A 671 292 SBC motor in a 58 Impala with a C&O Stick Hydro? A pure street hot rod for Friday cruise and Saturday racing was written in the wind... but, happened in our discussions and future plans.
(and... the real motor was just sitting under a canvas tarp at our friend's garage... too.)

The odd ball scenario facts were that our last opponent was a C/Gas plus B/Gas record holder with his full size Chevy sedan. It was the first Chevy that had a modified 348 bored and stroked to 409 and that put him in the lower weight cl*** with that power capabilities. Our 1940 Willys Coupe was two car lengths ahead in that last race.