I was just thinking of V8 engines that you seldom see in hot rods and even souped up cars and trucks that came with them originally. Some of these have good reason to be overlooked but some could be made into fine power plants and are worth a second look. Chevrolet... Now even Chevy has some overlooked V8s but even this make's early small small blocks seem to give car people, even me a Ford guy, the warm and fuzzies when you hear the term Power Pack 265 or Power Pack 283. I do think the 265 is overlooked sometimes by the hot rod crowd more than likely due to the front mounts. In the bottom of the Chevy small block barrel are these thee engines. The 307 the scourge of the 60s early 70s. This is when the term, "You should put a 350 in there." was invented. The 305, I'm almost hesitant to include the 305 since it was GM's Corporate flagship of the 80s to early 90s. "You should put a 350 in there." Is also heard by 305 owners. The 260? 255? this is the tiny small block of the late 70s early 80s like the ford 255. It is so obscure I cant remember the exact CID. They sound good, it might make a good kid's engine in a heavy car. Big Blocks... The 348, It debut in 58 and was known as a oil leaker even when new. I do think they make a cool engine the W or M valve covers. It was offered in trucks until 1965 and shares the same block as the famed 409. The 409, not really overlooked mainly thanks to the Beach Boys. Truck 427... Many Chevrolet owners have been burned by this big block. It is a dump truck engine and is not the same as the muscle car block. If you get this engine for your Vette or Chevelle be sure to get the snow plow and road grater attachment that comes with it. Ford... A person would almost have to have a Master's Degree in Ford not to get confused with all the offerings by this make. Small blocks, medium blocks, tiny bocks "V860s" and two different big block families. All of these have nearly the same CID and most produced at the same time and do not swap parts even if they were offered in the same vehicle the same year. Flatheads... The only overlooked flat head, other than them all by some, is the big Lincoln 331. Y Blocks... The Y motors have seemed to have risen from the ashes in recent years. Some Y engines I think need a second look are the early 239, 272 and 292. The 239 heavy and of small CID I think this 54-55 engine is sadly discarded when it would make a fine era engine in a light hot rod. I know of one low mileage running engine that was scrapped to make way for a 5.0 AOD. The 272s and 292s can make great engines. Lincoln Ys were popular in the early 50s but parts are a problem. Ford early Big Blocks Edsel FE... The 332 to 428s The 58 332 Interceptor was a good engine in its day and it was the first. These engines have a following but some like the 352 and even the 360 deserve a second look. The 352 more so than the 360. A souped up 352 would make anyone proud. FF, Ford Fairlane, small block, Challenger V8s, not Windsors... The early small blocks 221, 260 and 5 bolt 289 do not seem to be held in the same regard as the Chevy 265 and 283. They can make fine little engines. Modified... 351 400 CID A 70s pollution engine and a bastardisation of the Cleveland and Windsor series. Boat anchors. Not only are they dogs but they will drop a valve quicker than you can say government mandate. Mopar... Small blocks like the 318-360 are great engines but do not seem to have the following of the C and F brands. The mating call of a Mopar engine, 2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-Vroom. Chrysler 400... "Cops shocks cop motor everything is cop" A very good but overlooked engine. Pontiac... The 326. Oldsmobile... The 350 Rocket. AMC Everything These are what just popped into my head I'm sure others will chime in with more overlooked V8s.
I'll wiegh in here.... Forgotten engines should include the big Ford MEL engines 410-430-462. The powered the Mercury-Edsel-Lincolns for years before being replaced by the FE and 385 Series engines. There are also the lone Studes, B-O-P-Rover alloy V8s, Plymouth Poly-A, and how about the workhorse International Harvester 304-345-392. NOW for my beef: The 335 Series Fords. People bash the 351M/400 (that's the proper Ford names) but Jon Kaase has dominated the EMC with a 400.....which stupid PHR keeps calling a 400 Cleveland. Tim Meyer Inc caters to the 351M/400 crowd and if you spend time on the 351Cleveland.net board, FTE, FTF, and Project Bronco then you know there are guys building serious power out of the 400. Ford guys, especially Cleveland guys, know that speed parts for the 335 Series are easy to get if you pull yourself away from the GM oriented Jegs or Summit catalogs. I have a great 400, spent the time to drop it into a Falcon. It is neither the dog everyone calls it nor is it as heavy as everyone thinks. Ford rated it a 575lbs....that's roughly the same as a SBC. Great thing about a 351M/400 is due to the lack of knowledge, you can get the cores for free.
Stude, Packard, IH, MELs, FE's, Y's, AMC V8's, Mopar Polys, small blocks, and big blocks, the little HEMIs, big Caddies don't get enough respect, the Smal and Big Block Olds line up needs more attention (there's a bit, just needs more!), Small and Big Buicks are pretty rad too, same for Pontiac V8's... There's probably some more I missed... Oh and I love newer V8's... Lexus, Hyundai, Nissan, Toyota, Audi, BMW, Jag, Mercedes, Volvo, SAAB, and probably others are all cool in my book to new for here but I'd use one if I had one... (a few of these companies made less complicated V8 engines too that are just as cool).. I think a twin turbo'd Lexus V8 would be the bee's knees in an open wheeled roadster.... It's a good thing you limited it to V8's otherwise I'd still be typing... Oh I forgot to the Caddy Northstar mills too... We've seen 'em with issues in our shop but I think they're kind of cool.. I'd take one with a huffer mounted in the bed of an early Ford truck... I'll add more if I think of them!
374 Packard V8 in a 39 Chev coupe - a flat out torque monster....laid rubber till Mom called for dinner dj
First neglected V8 I thought of was the Mopar Poly engines, with some of the coolest valve covers ever.
This is why I posted this. To hear and learn about out of the ordinary V8s that can make fine engines. Its great to learn that the 335 series can be such a fine engine. They're so many others. As far as Studebaker. I really did not think about them as a forgotten or neglected engine. Thinking more about it I see that it is. The 289 in a Golden Hawk is touted by some as the beginning of the muscle car concept. The Packards would make a really interesting hot rod engine. I did not consider Packard for the simple fact that most who fool with a Packard keep the Packard engine. The 303 Olds seems to have gain popularity recently. I know the OHV Rocket and Caddy were ones to beat in 48 and nailed the coffin lid shut on factory flatheads. The J2 394 Olds I know had a big following. A good friend of mine talks about A J2 394 and 4 speed hydro in a 51 Henry J drag racer built in the late 60s. This guy is such a Ford fanatic that he goes through buggies at wal-mart looking for the ones that have the local Ford dealer logo instead of the GM dealer, " I ain't goint to push no Chevy buggie.", but he loved that Henry J with the J2 and 4 spd. Hydro.
The early rockets really aren't overlooked in my eye, sure not many people make parts for them now days (Offy still does, and Ross Racing has some trick stuff) but I don't think they're neglected.. I've got 3 of them sitting in the shop (2 303's and a 394 Sky Rocket), they're by far one of my favorite engines ever, you can keep your HEMIs SBC's, Nail Heads, what ever.. I love me some Rockets... Oh and the J2 Was a 371 not a 394...
The first generation Rambler V8s were touted as sturdy engines. Sadly, not much aftermarket support or speed goodies available. I'd run one just to make everybody scratch their heads. (Then again, I'm kinda weird that way ...!!!)
Oldsmobile... The 350 Rocket. Rocket 88, first rock and roll song, 1951 - hot damn! Oh wait, that was long before the 350 CI engine....
The Mopar 273 is another great little overlooked motor. My dad just picked up a Chevy 327 with what he believes are Power Pack 283 heads on it. He's going to be putting the 327 in a cherry 1930 Chevy coupe he just picked up.
BUICK!!! Everyone knows about the nailheads. The later 430/455's are great motor's. Torque monsters and fairly light for the cubic inches you're getting. An even more overlooked Buick motor is the mid 60's 300/340's. Speed parts still available and they run great. I just picked up a running 300 with trans for $150, it's going in my Studebaker M5 truck.
Been on the HAMB for 2 years and this is all you can come up with? Look at the social groups, There is an orgy for any desire!
Yeah, Thats a generational gap thing, my kid never knew there was a REAL Olds engine until I enlightened him
these ARE neglected,i have one of almost every one of the above and a few[215 Buick 6 of them] [430 Buick 2 of them] [273 Plym 1] and a couple more WAY back in the pile that haven't seen the light of day in 20 to 30 years. that IS neglectful!! throw in a Spitfire,308 2 carb Hudson and some other oddballs i've forgotten and i come to realize i'm one of those fu&#* hoarders that everyone raves about!i can't be a hoarder,i GAVE away ALL the water boiling henrys on the farm last year to someone that MIGHT use them. BTW,307's dont suck! put a good cam and a set of bigger valve heads on and you got a rock and roll sbc for cheep! Who forgot the tall block chevys? i bet i've replaced more y blocks with FE's than most chevy guys have ever seen and i would still put one in a rod if i needed a cool engine.[i'd use any size and call it a 312 so squares would have somwhat of an idea what it was] LMAO did i just waste time on this? get back to the shop and do something!
since the HAMB sortof embraces all the old stuff, here most of it isnt overlooked. except for the 351m/400, unretard that smog cam (7 degrees) and they run alot better, stuff a decent cam and a four barrel on them and they will surprise you. Plus those aluminum cleveland valve covers fit right on and look bitchin. BTW I got a soft spot for 307 chevys too.
Drove a 65 ford semi with 534 cid industrial engine. Real torque monster. Used to out pull and out run the diesels till we got to the fuel stops. Not too practical in a rod as they weigh about 1100lbs. Bill.
I've got one of these in a '74 Seagrave firetruck. Awesome motor, and NAPA had all the tuneup parts I needed IN STOCK.
They really get overlooked at the parts store had a 76 scout in high school Lady at the parts store thought it was a dump truck and said they didn't carry semi parts
HaHaHa. Heard a Scout owner aurgue with a counter-monkey that his IH had an IH motor but the kid kept telling him it was an AMC 304. I've got a soft spot for the IH motors. I still want to build a IH Travelall with a 392....adapt a Ford MAF EFI and either a ZF 5spd or E4OD.
Yep, the 351M/400 aren't the strange bastardized motors people think. It's a tall deck Cleveland. True, they use the 429/460 bellhousing but that doesn't limit you to transmission choice. The other real diff is the M-blocks use the larger 3" main bearings of the 351W, not the 351C smaller 2.75" mains. Valvetrain and heads interchange with the 351C as does the pumps, pan, dizzy, and exhaust manifolds. TMI sells a killer forged crank stroker kit, 434ci for around $2500.
I had a 1957 Nash Ambassidor back in the early 60's. It had a 327 Nash V8 that kicked ass. It had Chevy 327 guts in Nash block and heads with a 4 speed Hydromatic. Same bore and stroke but differant crank configuration. Heads had Chevy sized intake and exhaust valves but only three exhaust ports on each head. Cam specs were close to 327 Chevy four barrel engine. Had a torque tube that ran from the trans to the rear end. Dan
The AMC V8 thanks to the Jeepers are finally getting recognized for thier brute power they can produce. I'm seeing alotta 360 AMC's be put in the CJ's. I have a 500 hp 360 in my 74 Gremlin hot rod
The Jalopy Journal
