i will list the best that i have ever owned and the worst that i have ever owned.
best: ford 300 i-6..will run forever if taken care of and will tow a 31' camper trailer all day long to the mountains.
worst: ford 3.8l v-6 in my wifes windstar.... head gaskets...need i say more?

 

The truck is wired for trailer brakes.

 

The best.... especially for its time...shelbys 427 cobra
Look at the power that that engine put out, now compare it to the V-10 in the viper, Dodge was able to cop off a snake named car, same wheel base, similar design features for the same class car, and it is only a tenth of a second faster in the 1/4 mile, as well as the 0-60.After how many years to improve design???? Hmm the price?? well thats another topic,
The lamest engines in my opinion would bee the 80s and early 90s chevy diesels. No power, mileage wasnt really that great, and we have had a ton of little probs with them here at our navy installation in our fleet of duallys as well as the blazers.
Oh, yeah and the mitsubishi engines, pretty much most of them!

 

Here goes nothing!

Best SMALL BLOCK:
Ford: 5.4L
Chebby: 350 w/ 4 bolt main
Mopar: 340 6-Pack

Best Big Block:
Ford: ANY FE BB
Chebby: 427 Rat motor
Mopar: 426 Hemi

Best OTHER than V-8:
Ford: 300 I-6
Buick: 4.3 TURBO V-6
Mopar: 225 slant 6

WORST small block:
Chevy: 307
Dodge: late model 318
Ford: none that I can think of!!

Worst BIG Block:
Chevy: 454 BB
Dodge: none come to mind! (Mopar had a few beasts in their stable!)
Ford: 460 series... no ***, and gas eaters

As far as TRUCKS go, I'm a Ford man all the way. On cars, it'll be a Ford unless we are talking about late 60's/early 70's muscle... That's where the Mopars will give my Blue Oval roots a run for the money. (Sorry Grand-dad!) I've owned a few older Mopars that just flat out ran... That 340-6 combo just flat out screamed in a Dart. I know the old Maverick could be made to be a butt hauler, but that body was too ugly to be serious about!

Dave

 

I'm gonna have to disagree there, the one you had must have been sick. Even mine, close to stock, does real good in all situations except for 12 mpg.

 

Top of the heap, definately the 300-6. I am not up on some of the newer import stuff but that old 22R was a tough one. I always liked the 283 chevy, never had a bad one. My 66 olds 442/4speed had a 400 olds engine that I spanked the crap out of until well over 100,000 miles.
Fords best V8? Although I have never owned one it would have to be the side oiler. Any pushrod engine that could run 7000 rpm for 24 hours like the 427 Lemans cars gets my respect. Chevy and Mopar fell prey to them on the drag strip, well the 4 speed cars anyway. Mopar did have a superior automatic back then. And on the ovals they dominated.
My Mopar experience is limited but I think the 318 was a great all around engine, decent on fuel and tough. The 340 was a bad little package. Most of the ones I remember would spank the crap out of the chevys.
Some people would undoubtedly say the 350 chevy is best. They make me yawn and I just want to bitch slap people who put them in old Fords.
Ok the worst
(1) Subaru Justy engine, very few made it past 60,000
(2) I would say the Vega, but who remembers them? so it would have to be the chevy(olds) 350 diesel
(3) Early Ford Escort 1.8. Timing belt failure put a lot of them in the junkyard prematurely since they weren't worth fixing.
(4) Caddy 4100
(5) Toyota early pickup V6 (3.0 I think). ALL of these were recalled more than once for head and or head gasket problems.
You can also throw into the pile just about all the domestic engine management systems from the late 70s through the mid 80's, plus the fact that quality control in general on all those vehicles left a lot to be desired.
And, hey let's be nice. We don't need to slam each other over stuff like grammer or personal preferences.

 

See thats why I am naming this 'the dumbest thread ever'. Why because it only attracts trolls, nobody agrees, people get too emotional, and its irrelevant, most of these motors aren't even around anymore.

 

Good points mattsbox99!

 

Th 2.8 wasn't that bad if you don't mind a noisy underpowered engine that cost more than a V8 to rebuild. The 2.9 fuel injcted was a much improved version. Any of detroits last carburated engines are way too complicated for the average guy. This was an era when Detroit was keeping the carburator alive on an iron lung. I hate to give this advice but if you don't live where there are smog controls strip all that useless crap off and put on an aftermarket carb and dual exhaust. And don't forget to adjust the valves once in a while, they are mechanical.

 

On Ford V8s: Having been a mechanic all my life and owning more Ford pickups than I can count, I have the following personal observation. In 1976 I tried out a new LTD with a 400m. A year later I tried out the prettiest yellow F-150 4x4 with the same engine. Both of those vehicles felt like you stuck your foot in a bucket of poop when you mashed the gas. I know a couple guys that liked them and had maybe 2 or 3 customers over the years that had good running ones but the 351m/400 engines have never managed to get off the bottom of my list of Ford V8s.
And redranger, my best friend in high school and college couldn't spell very well at all. I had to spell check all his papers. He graduated the top of his class and never got less than a 3.9 gpa all the way through law school. He is now one of the best trial lawyers in a town with over 150 lawyers and I still have to get dirty everyday to make a living. Go figure

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by racinghoss
Friends don't let friends drive GM products!!!!!


Wait around a bit and he can have a chevy with a 5 cylinder

 

One of the reasons the wankel never really made it was the problem with apex seals. A lot of the early ones sucked oil. I just don't think the U.S. was ready to invest the research into them at the time and then they just got passed by. But for 2 or 3 years you could get rotary engines in snowmobiles and Suzuki even had a bike for a couple of years.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by alfalfa6945
Your authority on the subject knows no bounds...


Yeah I had a lot of problems with champion spark plugs in cold weather a lot of years ago. They could make a spark plug that changed itself and made your car payment and they would still be junk to me. If something else works for you, you just never go back

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by alfalfa6945
Yeah, I often find myself yearning for an inline 6 half-ton with 3.08 gears to haul things like 13000-20000 pound backhoes (not to mention the weight of the trailer).


I have seen the 300 pull some pretty good loads, but with 4:10 gears in a 3/4 ton. My 72 F-250 300 with 3:73 gears has done everything I have ever asked of her. Darn sure out pulled that Chevy 6.5 diesel i had. My buddys 69 American jetboat with 455 olds made the old Ford grunt a little though.

 

That's right, with the right gearing; a 300 will pull almost anything. Why do you think they used to put em in dump trucks, buses, cube vans, need I say more? Plus they will run darn near forever, even when you do beat up on em.