I'd pick the Panhead version
Posted on 10/02/2015 12:59:05 AM PDT by Cowman
My first BMW (new) was a 1989 325i two door. I put over 400,000 miles on it with ONLY ROUTINE maintenance. She delivered 14 years of daily driving excellence. It was always fun to drive.
I mothballed it and just last year donated it to the Salvation Army..
My next car was an 2003 Acura TL. I love it to this day.
Doubt I’ll own anything but a Honda from here on.
Numerous Slant-Sixes (Darts) and a fantastic LT1 350 (’94 Caprice).
This is a good list.
Any best engine list that does not have the 289 in it is worthless.
Yes, my dad always said they could take high RPM where the Chevy 6’s would throw a rod.
As a kid I had a friend with a 1950 Ford that had the flat head 8. He just got a 57 Ford with a 312 in it, and wanted to “blow up” the flat head. He started it up, put a cement block on the gas pedal, and we went out to finish off to drink beer. Came back about an hour later, it was still running.
Indeed, this higher-compression version of the 302 preformed far better back in the carburated era. Mustangs wound up with 302/5L because of prevailing emission regulations, but the 289 was what made the the pony (originally envisioned as a casual 6-cylinder cruiser) into THE essential V8.
Thank you for referencing the Toyota 22R.
I am not a gearhead, but I have many many memories of that engine, most of them fond.
I drove my 1987 Toyota from San Fran to Oregon and back with a blown out radiator. I packed snow around the parts that seemed important.
Are many of you aware of how “2” crazy Ford was? That is many engines displacement ended in a “2”:
272, 292 (my favorite), 302, 312, 352, 332 & 402.
If we’re including bikes I’ll put a vote in for the BMW twin. My R100 has nearly 150,000 on it with almost no work. I have a 72 Shovelhead also.
We had a '56 Ford dump truck with a 292 in it. That was a good motor.
I still have a 58 Ford dump truck with a 292 in it.
They left off the Honda 50cc motor from the Super Cub motorbike (You meet the nicest people on a Honda, motor). As of 2014, well over 87,000,000 built and still in production for third-world countries. I had one as my first motorcycle as a kid. I agree that the 4.0 Jeep I-6 was a winner. Still have one in a 1996 Cherokee that’s falling apart around it. Never owned any of the V8’s mentioned.
I was hauling creek gravel up a steep hill in ours one day, and that motor twisted a rear axle in half (Dayton 2-speed rear end, 1-5/16 axles, IIRC). Unfortunately that rendered the emergency brake useless (band brake on the driveshaft). I was too heavy to dare trying to back down the hill. All I could do was sit there and stand on the brakes until the loader operator noticed I hadn’t come back and came looking for me.
The Chrysler 318 isn’t on it? You got to be kidding.
There's no Nailheads on the list either
I had that motor in a Valiant. 20-24mpg on the highway.
The versatility of the Chevrolet 350 was incredible. If a vehicle had four wheels and a bow tie, the 350 was an option. The Ford 390 had similar versatility working well in trucks, family cruisers, or street rods. I have an old Ford truck with a 390 which still purrs like a kitten. I have a 427 side-oiler which I intend to rebuild, even though I don’t know what I’m going to put it in. There were some fine engines off that FE block.
Well, if you grade it for ground pounding sexiest sounding motor of all time I will agree with you. However, maintenance schedules, costs and MPG is when we go different directions.
I didn’t know hogs had bicycle pedals on them!!!!! LOL
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.