Ford Taurus SHO
3.0 Liter 6 cyl.
220 hp
200 lb ft of torque

460 Big block Ford, A true torque monster! I have one in a boat and has no problems keeping pace with Big block Chevy's.

IMHO the Ford 289 though 351 Windsor series are the best street motors out there.

If I had to settle on one though it would be the old reliable 302.  A billion (well not quite) fast ass Mustangs can't be wrong.

Second is the 350 Chevy, I have to tip my hat to the fact that it has been around since the 50's and is still a top performer.

Guess I'll be the oddball and say the one under the hood of a BMW M5.

People describing car/engine performance gets just like fish stories...

Sorry the Buick GSX was a nice car but nothing in comparison to the performance of the 1970 Chevelle LS-6 (not these mamby pamby new corvette LS-6's)

The LS-6 in the 70 Chevelle was rated at 450 horse for insurance purposes with 510 ft. lbs of torque. The actual horsepower rating disclosed by Chevrolet in the mid 70's was over 550.
I'm not just talking smack, I've owned and restored one!

These are my favorite engines:

Chevy 327 w/375HP fuel injected came in the mid 60's corvette.

Kawasaki ZX-11 w/155HP

[pyro][heavy]

351 Cleveland is the best pushrod small block ever made. The head angle, valve size, and compression ratio, it is a fast revving, high revving monster. Built to the same specs as any other 350ci motor it wil have more power and last longer than any other.

The best Big block is the 460, reliability and power it puts the 454 to shame. You can slap in a stroker crank and bore .030 over and have a reliable 514 monster. If you get the right ford motorsports part #, you can order a 460 block with a taller deck height and have up to 700ci.  

The best high tech small block is the 350 from the ZR1 corvette.  It was designed by Lotus and produced by Mercury marine.  Of course it was too expensive to produce and you can match the power with a pushrod engine, but it was an interesting change in small block technology.

The BMW M5, has a 450HP engine in it. It is a luxury car with a sports car engine.

[shotgun][sniper]

And that my friends is the reason I want one!!![beer]

TeamFerret, You talked about Buick GSX's.  Back in 1971-1972 I was living in San Antonio and driving the '69 GTO Judge.  There was this electric yellow Buick Rallye 350 that had it together.  It never beat the Judge, but it was always just on my rear fender.  Never got to talk to the guy who drove it, but he had that Buick running right.  I always wondered if he had a 400 inch Stage I, II or III engine.  Never know but I'd like to have that Rallye too.

My personal favorites are
Small Block - 350 Chevy, Ford 351 Windsor
Big Block - Ford 427 Cobra, and Ford 460


Just a note about the 460. It can be bored and stroked to 600CI. With the right build you can get a reliable, streetable, pump gas, 1000 HP on pump gas. Now don't ask about MPG!

My first car had a 460 Police Interceptor motor in it. It was a 1978 LTD station wagon. The car weighed 3.5 tons and still moved in a hurry off the line. We donated the car to charity when I went to college. It had 265,000 miles on it and was still running strong.

MOPAR 383, I know a guy who pet 325,000 miles on his. 1 head gasket, 2 trannies. Somethings just don't last forever!

 The current Acura 3.2L V-6 is generating
260hp  & 235lb-ft.

The 2002 Maxima will hav 260hp & 245lb-ft.
out of a 3.5L DOHC V-6

 Actually that's not quite correct....

The BMW M5 & Z8 both have a 4.9L DOHC V-8
generating 394hp & 368lb-ft.

 The  3.2 I6  in the M3 ain't to shabby either
333hp @7900rpms! & 262lb-ft

The 5.4L V-8 Mercedes drops in it's AMG tweaked models has 349hp & 391lb-ft. @3000rpm

The Jaguar XKR & XJR have supercharged 4.0L V-8
churning out 370hp  & 387lb-ft

Lots of nice Euro hardware eh?  [:)]

I dunno... [:)]   A lot of those numbers in the 60's-70's where for Gross HP not SAE NET HP so it can be misleading.
  Seriously though , the Z06's  LS6 generates
385hp & 385lb-ft. , thats not to shabby for 350ci , quarter mile in 13secs easy,
& the 2002 model should have 400hp & 400lb-ft

Yamaha R1 engine.
143 pounds, 167 hp, 98 foot lbs of torque!
Now that gets a 385 pound motorcycle moving.

Sorry guys, the Chrysler 340/360 is the best "stock" small block from that era.  I street raced a dead stock Duster 340 4spd for 6 years before modifying it and crushed ANY stock Chevy or Ford small block.  It just came with better equipment out of the box.  The heads flowed better.  It had rocker shafts instead of lame ballstud rockers.  I also didn't have to go out and buy 6" rods for my SB Chevy to replace the lame 5.7" stockers because I already had a 6.125" rod from the factory.  I could go on, but I think the point has been made.  In stock trim the Duster ran 13.7@103mph in deadstock trim.  That was with radials, stock rims, the original exhaust and mufflers, dual point ignition ........etc.  Not pseudo deadstock, (I remember Chevy guys saying their engines were dead stock after they installed an aftermarket carb, manifold, ignition, and cam.)  but actual factory dead stock.  With a set of slicks it ran 13.1.  

MG

What's that big Suzuki genrate??
The 180mph one , Hyabusa or something...

The LS7 wan=s an LS6, essentially, w/ 12:1 or 12.5 pistons (can't remember which...its in Chevrolet by the Numbers).  The LS7 only had an aluminum intake like the LS6.  The all aluminum big block was the 1969 ZL-1 427 that was "rated" at 435HP like all the Special High Performance 427's (L71, L72, L88).  With an open exhaust the ZL-1 actually put out 585HP @ 7000rpm.  Not bad for stock.

WoW!

Oh, lets not forget about the Ford 427 Cammer.  Anyone read about these?  I've never seen one because it wasn't a production motor, but it was developed to be used for NASCAR.  It was a 427 Cobra Jet with single over head cams.  It was 600+ HP and 600+ ft-lbs. of torque.  It never went into full production b/c Ford figured it could never get enough of them onto the street for it to meet NASCAR production regulations.

Thank you SLT.

Anybody remember the old Chevy truck motors? The 350ci V6 or if you had enough engine bay room, the 700ci V12 which was basically two of those 350 put together with one big crankshaft. If I remember correctly it even had two intake manifolds.  Also the V6 would kick the V8s butt cause it had huge pistons and put out lots more torque.
Ice

I agree 100% - I've owned 4 Dodge trucks from 76-79, all with the 318, and no matter how I abused them they never gave me a bit of trouble. I even loved the Carter BBD that sat on top of them!

The Ford FE-series engines are definitely up there, in my book.

I also think the 6.2L diesel is an incredible motor, after having driven and worked on them over the past 15 years. It's not a converted 350, as some people will tell you - although the 7.3L Powerstroke's ultimate ancestor was a converted IHC gasser (the MV404 and MV446.)

And speaking of IH engines, the 304, 345, and 392 V8s were some real powerhouses too, as far as truck engines went.

Then there's the Perkins 4.236 - one of the few British-made engines that's worth a damn. I can make this real short by simply saying that I like [b]any[/b] diesel engine, even the 2-stroke Detroits!

Pretty sure the LS-7 had forged 12.5-1's in it, and a bigger cam...
Same open chamber heads, and alum. intake...

My vote for best engine ever is go'in to the Big Block Chevy...

I've been drag racing for many years, and I've seen just about every kind of motor go down the track...

Buicks, Olds & Pontiacs make torque and no horsepower. Usually spin bearings and chuck rods through the side of the block...Crank & rods are too heavy for racing...
(Except 3.8 Turbo Buick GN)

BB Fords... Crank, rods, and pistons are too heavy to be reliable. Max cu.in. is around 514 with a "factory" block. Anything bigger requires an aftermarket block.  

SB Fords have too small exhaust ports to make "real" power.

BB Chryslers make TONS of torque but little horsepower, due to undersized intake ports...
Usually very reliable, and hard on trannys, driveshafts and rears...
(They gotta move HUGE cars)    

SB Chryslers...Never really amounted to much...When Chrysler wanted to build a fast car, they just dropped in a Big Block.

Big Block Chevys...(MarkIV's) 396,427,454.
These motors have all the right combinations...Bore/Stroke/Rod length/Cyl.head.
Stock cranks can easily handle 700+ horsepower and Nitrous Oxide.
Stock rods w/ 3/8" ARP bolts will handle 700+ horsepower.
Stock 4-Bolt blocks will EASILY handle 1000+ horsepower.
Stock Square port heads "Ported" are adequate to make over 1000 reliable Horsepower with Nitrous
Oxide.
Max safe cu.in. with a "factory" block, is 511 cu.in. (4.375bore X 4.250stroke) Anything bigger requires an aftermarket block.
3 years ago I ran a .125 over 427.
It had a "factory" steel crank, "stock" rods, TRW 12.5-1 "junk" pistons, "ported" LS-6 heads, Comp Cams "solid" cam, and a 325 Horse Nitrous Oxide system....
It ran 9.04 @ 149 MPH in the 1/4 mi
The car weighed 3200 lbs...
I've since put a longer stroke crank, longer rods, and .142 over 14.5-1 JE race pistons, roller cam, and Aluminum heads on it.
It now makes about 1150 horsepower with the Nitrous, and goes 8.40's at 160 Mph...Still using the "factory" block...

Small Blocks are just as reliable as Big Blocks. (good Rod/stroke ratio & bore/stroke combo)
I've built 355 cu.in. Nitrous motors that go 9.50's in 3500lb Chevelles, with "cast" cranks and "stock" rods...

Just my  $.10
(Sorry, I'm stuck on the old musclecar motors)    

                                           To qoute a HOT ROD MAGAZINE article from the late 70`s....".....nothing spins and breathes like a small block chevrolet......"....[:)]

Very true.

I'll stand by that. There have been better engines for certain applications but no one engine does EVERYTHING as well as a small-block Chevrolet.

Have you also noticed through the years Chevrolet has used the same platform to take on all comers. Since the 50's Chevrolet has raised the bar on performance to meet the challenges. It is amazing that the latest LS6 Corvette engine is [i]basically[/i] the same design as debuted in 1955.

I'm really not trying to glorify the SBC, but I do think it is the best. Any need can be filled with a properly built small-block Chevy.

                                            I`m a chevy man from day one....HOWEVER I will never put down the fact that there are MANY good performance engines....for instance..currently have a highly modified 70 400 pontiac/400 trans...waiting for a good home.....like pontiacs too......[:)]

I have a '67 bird that needs an engine. It would be a great home.[;)]

WOW! again!  [beer]

I always wanted a Challenger with a 440 6-pack. We had a guy in High School back in the 60's whose parents bought him one. Almost stole my girlfriend with it. Kinda partial to the little 289 Mustang but that's where I first got laid. The way the seats where arranged you can lay practically straight out. The back seat is only about an inch higher than the hump. You both put one leg on each side of the hump and ah....gotta go! Why can't I get these d**mn icons to work? [:P]

Actually the LS-1 in the C5 Vette & all it's truck derivatives are an all new clean sheet design OHV pushrod V-8 GM introduced in 1997.

 The only thing this motor shares with the old 350ci (LT-1's & back) is the bore spacing.
The block is new , the heads are new etc.

LS1 & LS6         5665cc  3.90 x 3.62
LT-1 & older   5735cc  4.00 x 3.48

The truck motors are  4.8L  5.3L  6.0L  with variations mostly in bore. I think the 6.0L has a slightly longer stroke.

I think Ilmor racing was instrumental in helping Chevy design the new motor.

 

The GM 3.8 V-6 (especially in the GN's)
Ford 302 AKA 5.0 or 5L.
427 Ford Cammer
Ford 2.9 V-6 (forrunner to the 4.0 V-6) mine has 256,000 and counting, still runs strong.
BrenLover

orginally posted by slt223:


Just for the record the 427 was never called a cobra jet.  427s were designated by their heads: low risers, medium risers, high risers, tunnel ports, and the SOHC. People that discount the 427s forget that they dominated in the mid 60s in all facets of racing including LeMans against the Ferraris.  Having rode in a 427cobra and ZR1 vette I would take the cobra anyday.  I agree the SOHC was probaly the nastiest crate motor ever sold to the public.  The one downside was the timing chain was just too long.  Unlike somebody else posted I never had much luck running FE engines with less than 10.7:1 compression ratio and in most of my 427s I ran 12:1.  I think the 429/460s are every bit as capable as a BB chevy and share most of the same characteristics

If it's the ability to produce raw horsepower that's the deciding factor, you need look no farther than the Chrysler Hemi.  The design powers ALL Top Fuel & Funny Cars.  Hell a BB Chevy hasn't been used in Top Fuel since the early '70's.  If its factory production cars that tickle your fancy, I only need point to the '68 Hemi Darts & Barracudas.  Low 10's at over 130mph out of the box.  It was the ONLY SS/A - SS/AA car when it came out and held the SuperStock ET record for 10 years.

MG

I don't know how much the Hyabusa engine weighs, but the bike weighs 520 pound and can't stop or corner like an R1. It's faster (the Hyabusa bike) by at least 20 mph and is about 3 10's of a second quicker (on different race tracks, different riders, different days, info from Roadracing World) in the quarter.
The Suzuki Hyabusa engine is pretty much a plain jane in-line 4 cylinder jap bike engine.
The Yamaha R1 engine has 5 valves per cylinder, a stacked cassette transmission ans a few other non-standard goodies.