I thinka BB mopar would rule in a Gasser-type car.... You CANNOT beat a 440 Mopar....it's proven that a 383 BB Mopar is CHEAPER per HP to build than a SBC.......just about everything in a Chevy needs upgraded to hang with a mild 383 Mope.... Just because the PARTS are cheap...doesn't mean it's a cheap motor to build (the Chevy)...... Get Real. Get MoPar.
I am leaning towards a caddy. It has displacement, stock torque, cheaper parts, lighter big block, and is not only unique but is has style and that old gasser, get as much engine as you can get engine before you start tweaking on it, classy taste to it!!!!!!!!
And yes you are invited to drive this one tooo Jeff PBR !!!!!! I missed you at MOKAN but understand the family thing comes first, look at my track record with the shows and my family!!!!! I missed Dixie Fried because my side kick(five year old girl Alexis) couldn't deal with the exaust fumes so rather than going home and dropping her off we went to the local MUSTANG show( make me puke), but it made her weekend!!!!!
Thunderbird 390, 394 Olds, or a Pontiac 389......a big Cadillac motor though sure would be sweet. If you wanted to go the small block route though and be different than a sbc, do a Cobra 289 mill with dual quads or 3 deuces. Check some old mags they were as popular in the mid 60s as Corvette engines were in the late 50s/early 60s. -Dean
why is it that guy's think the gasser styled cars started in the 70's. shit they started back in the fiftys. why is the preference to build a period correct hot rod. but never a preference to build a period correct fifty's early sixty's gasser style car. must be over my head cuz i never got the whole 70's b.s cars
I always like odd engines, mostly random inline 6's with multi carb set ups and open headers, but my favorite is ...A 460 FORD with ford performance aluminum scj heads, dual quad intake and on and on and on...or 425 olds stroked out to 468, with an ass load of goodies from mondello. 500 cad would be different but with the lack of speed parts it would be tough. I wouldn't go with a 455 Buick because they weren't as strong as a 455 olds. but for big olds engines i'd look for the 455 or 425 just because most of them old tuna boats had 'em, and parts for them are easy to come by and they are just kick ass, a buddy of mine has a 425 bored out 468 in a 83 cutlass. If you really wanted to be different though go with a stude v8 or an international .
No contest best bang for the buck 460 Ford! They make gobs of torque stock and have almost unlimited potential. The caddy 500 may make good torque stock but if you decide you need more power there just isn't much available for them.
anything you like its your car my 2 cents would be a caddy or nailhead but a 327 old school would be cool everyone thinks hemi in a old gasser but to me it,s a cooler with a caddy again my 2 cents
Buick 455, Caddy 472 or 500 (probably the 69 472 would be best), Pontiac 455 cause these are what i really like. They are all different, can make 500 HP relatively cheaply and are not an SBC (not that there's anything wrong with SBC other than they're on every streetcorner) and a Henry J really deserves a motor that is not like everything else on the road (or track)
There it is! Not the most exciting, original or glamorous choice...but if it's about going FAST on a reasonable budget...it's hard to argue with this one!!
Thanks for all the input on the subject. I do go with the reasoning that it should be somthing different than every other car on the street.I guess all I have to do now is hit the yards and keep my eyes on the local papers for a doner with a odd under the hood package. To answer somones question the old yellow Henry that was the black primered one in the picture has a 327 in it now, but ran a 283ci punched out to a 301 with Buick flat top's. It was topped off with a Offy four two Rochester carbs, corvett dual point dizzy, and a muncie pushing power back to a 1956 Ford stationwagon dana44 with factory 4:27 ratio, not to forget the straight out the fender headers that he and his best friend fabbed up. It set the world record in 64, twice, and numerous other times throughout the next four years. I have a few magazines with the dates but not all of them. This history is why I want to build a different one rather than screw with this one.
You said in your first post you are a SBC guy --go with another one !! I personally love the BBF , but your car and you need to do what you like and know . From what I have been reading from everyone else on here I think I would stay away from the Caddy -too much trouble to put in those 3 pedals and also the go fast parts aren't as available. You just have to do what is going to make you happy though . So read all this sit back make up your mind on what you really want , something different , or something you are familiar with and then set your sights and go with it !! --Good luck on the build and hope you have some fun with it
Oh, I misunderstood. I looked up Henry J on Wikipedia because I don't know anything about them, and it's interesting. Do yours have trunk lids? To add choices to your dart board: Jeep straight six, or AMC V8. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_JTo accomplish this, the Henry J was designed to carry the fewest possible components, and built from the fewest number of parts. To save body stamping costs, early Henry Js did not have rear trunk lids; owners had to access the trunk by folding down the rear seat. Another cost saving measure was to offer the car only as a two-door sedan with fixed rear windows. Also lacking in the basic version were glovebox, armrests, passenger side inside sun visor and flow-through ventilation. Power for the Henry J was delivered by a four-cylinder 68 hp engine; later models were available with an L-head six cylinder 80 hp engine. Engines were supplied by Willys-Overland; the four cylinder motor was the same engine used in the CJ-3 series Jeeps with only slight modifications to component parts; the block and internal components were interchangeable with the CJ-3 jeep. Thanks, Kurt
If you decide to go 394 Olds.......Got good looks and tons o torque..... I got a spare one I'd like to get rid of. A buddy of mine has a Hydro to get rid of too!!!
I vote for 440 mopar power. I had a 2900 lb car with a basic 440 12.5 comp, 590 solid cam indy 440-1 aluminium heads and a big stack of 9.90 to 9.80 timeslips. So with a mild 440 and a four speed you would have all the pump gas power you could need. If you go this route I've some left over parts I'd send your way. And I want to drive this one since you didn't let me drive the yellow one at mokan! The important thing is to have fun with build and go mopar its the only choice
Timmy, I know how you feel when you talk about yer pops accomplishments, my dad had a factory Olds ride in 70 and got his record. Crazy to think us idiots will be chasing ghosts 35-40 years after our dads di it!
One each bad ass MEL. 383, 410, 430, 462, take you choice. A MEL in a H-J,,,,way cool and different to the max
Worm, when this one gets to MOKAN you can drive it. The yellow one I couldn't bare to see it torn up by anyone other than me or my cousin(my best friend growing up). T man, call it chasing ghosts, call it trying to get their aproval from the other side or whatever. I do this to have fun in a manner that my dad took me to the track in that old yellow car when I was 14 years old and showed me how to (by letting me drive it). Not just the racing but the building with your hands from parts you scrounge around for. Not having it built by someone else and you write a check. I call it continuing the family fun and if that is chasing ghosts I hope I have instilled that into my kids to chase my ghost when I am gone!! So Tman, keep having fun and I'll see you at MOKAN next year...
Here then eyeballs: http://www.highflowdynamics.com/ Have a look at the "eye opening" comparison page
The Jalopy Journal
