irish ike, SASS #43615 Posted October 12, 2020 Share Posted October 12, 2020 I'm going way back. Model A Ford. They ran forever. Anyone could work on it. Many were pulled and used for stationary power supply for farm or industrial use. Powerful, no. Dependable yes. I built many of them over the years and no cracks in the head or block ever. Nice torque, low RPM. I rebuilt many Chevy 235's. While a great motor 9 out of 10 cylinder heads had cracks in the combustion chamber. The 230 that replaced it had abetter valve train. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackwater 53393 Posted October 20, 2020 Share Posted October 20, 2020 One mustn’t forget the Continental engines used in several makes of cars over the years!! They came in 4 and 6 cylinder models in various displacements. They were used in power plants, fork lifts, as compressors, and other construction equipment, to the best of my knowledge, all the way into the seventies! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Gun Barney, SASS #2428 Posted October 20, 2020 Share Posted October 20, 2020 The Z24 engine in my '89 Nissan pickup truck was a work horse. Over 300,000 miles with nothing more significant than "wearable parts" (alternator, radiator, etc). Only issue was that there was 8 spark plugs in that 4 banger, so it cost extra when i replaced plugs and plug cables. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sedalia Dave Posted October 20, 2020 Share Posted October 20, 2020 On 10/10/2020 at 10:22 AM, Dawg Hair, SASS #29557 said: I had a Plymouth Volare with a 225 slant six for about 7 years. Only real problem was a warped exhaust manifold. I didn't think a cast iron exhaust could warp but it did. Could not find a used one that was not warped and had to bite the bullet and get a new one. Money was short in those days and a new one was pricey. Other than that it just ran ad ran and ran. Manifold warped because of poorly engineered emissions controls. The manifold had a metal covering over part of it to collect warm air that was ducted into the air cleaner to improve emissions when the engine was cold. Because of how the shield was made it allowed the exhaust manifold to cool unevenly which eventually caused it to warp. I had an 84 chevy 1 ton with a 454 that had the same problem with the RH exhaust manifold. Searched junkyards in 3 states for one that wasn't warped to no avail. At first I tried having it trued up by a machine shop but it continued to warp. To get it to pass the PRoK SMOG test I had 2 asbestos fiber exhaust manifold gaskets that I had soaked in water till they were very compressible and then installed them and tightened everything down. Ran the engine till they dried and then re-torqued the bolts. I removed the heat shield and only installed it prior to having to undergo the emissions test. Eventually I happened upon a set of headers that had ports added for the AIR inject system. Replaced the cast iron with steel headers and never had another problem. It easily passed the PRoK emissions test. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyesa Horg Posted October 20, 2020 Share Posted October 20, 2020 And can't forget the old Ford 289 and Chevy 283, they seemed pretty bullet proof. And surely as stated above the easy to fix and work on Model A Ford. My '29 Doodle Bug is still chugging away!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sixgun Sheridan Posted October 20, 2020 Share Posted October 20, 2020 On 10/10/2020 at 10:42 AM, Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770 said: In about '88 they re-engineered the 258 into the 4.0. Throttle body injection, eventually all the way to complete computer controls with coil rails instead of a distributor. I have one in my TJ, and at 150,000 miles it's still running strong. They main reason it's still not produced is that the machinery pretty much wore out, and Chrysler decided to make a more modern engine, (V6). The 4.0 was discontinued because it couldn't keep up with emissions requirements, plus it was a huge gas hog (probably its only real negative). With my Jeep XJ I'm lucky to get 18mpg out of it going downhill in a hurricane. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967 Posted October 20, 2020 Share Posted October 20, 2020 3 hours ago, Blackwater 53393 said: One mustn’t forget the Continental engines used in several makes of cars over the years!! They came in 4 and 6 cylinder models in various displacements. They were used in power plants, fork lifts, as compressors, and other construction equipment, to the best of my knowledge, all the way into the seventies! Indeed! My 1964 Massey-Ferguson 135 has 4-cylinder Continental engine that reminds me a bunch of the 4-cylinder Continental in a '67 Triumph TR-4A I used to work on for a college roommate... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackwater 53393 Posted October 20, 2020 Share Posted October 20, 2020 19 minutes ago, Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967 said: Indeed! My 1964 Massey-Ferguson 135 has 4-cylinder Continental engine that reminds me a bunch of the 4-cylinder Continental in a '67 Triumph TR-4A I used to work on for a college roommate... My FC 170 Jeep truck came with a 226 flathead six. Did you know that Continental made those flathead sixes in displacements as large as 427 cu. in.? Absolute workhorses!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Four-Eyed Buck,SASS #14795 Posted October 20, 2020 Share Posted October 20, 2020 The first gas fork lifts I drove when I started at Hoover's, had Continental's in them. Referred to as "box car lifts", short wheel base, single stage mast, and a two speed manual trans( granny gear and high gear). Things were pretty quick, but you had to be careful cornering with them( don't ask how I know). They were fueled by LPG. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sixgun Sheridan Posted October 20, 2020 Share Posted October 20, 2020 You guys remember the 60-degree V6 GM engines? Like the 2.8 V-6? Reliable little engines, but gutless as all get out. Of course that didn't stop them from putting them in full-sized vehicles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackwater 53393 Posted October 20, 2020 Share Posted October 20, 2020 Just now, Sixgun Sheridan said: You guys remember the 60-degree V6 GM engines? Like the 2.8 V-6? Reliable little engines, but gutless as all get out. Of course that didn't stop them from putting them in full-sized vehicles. SURE!! I remember them! Schoolmarm blew up three of them! I used to keep one of those Malibus around for a work car. When she blew up the nice one, I stuck a big big block in it! Went from 200 cid. to 465 cid!! You can thank the EPA and a few other bureaucracies for those pitiful engines, and EVERY manufacturer made one!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Four-Eyed Buck,SASS #14795 Posted October 20, 2020 Share Posted October 20, 2020 Yeah, Ford even had a 2.8 V-6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duffield, SASS #23454 Posted October 21, 2020 Share Posted October 21, 2020 1 hour ago, Four-Eyed Buck,SASS #14795 said: Yeah, Ford even had a 2.8 V-6 I had one of these. It wouldn't pull a greased string out of a cat... Duffield Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Injun Ryder, SASS #36201L Posted October 21, 2020 Share Posted October 21, 2020 No one's mentioned the Wankel! Owned this one for over 42 years! Sold it to a collector in Australia three years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pulp, SASS#28319 Posted October 21, 2020 Share Posted October 21, 2020 The Chevy 283 was a mighty good little V-8. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Four-Eyed Buck,SASS #14795 Posted October 21, 2020 Share Posted October 21, 2020 I loved the 289's I was associated with as well. Seemed I understood them quite well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sixgun Sheridan Posted October 21, 2020 Share Posted October 21, 2020 My all-time favorite continues to be the small-block Chevy V8, even though I haven't owned a car with one in over 30 years. There wasn't anything you couldn't do to them. The distributor being way in the back was the only annoying thing about them. That and the various gasket leaks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967 Posted October 21, 2020 Share Posted October 21, 2020 16 hours ago, Injun Ryder, SASS #36201L said: No one's mentioned the Wankel! It has been said that if the Wankel had come first no one would have bothered to develop the piston engine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sassnetguy50 Posted October 21, 2020 Share Posted October 21, 2020 Nonsense, the external combustion engine already solidified the piston. The Wankel is a throwaway engine. Lots of fun until you have to replace it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sixgun Sheridan Posted October 21, 2020 Share Posted October 21, 2020 How about the WORST engines ever? My vote would be the 1.6L used in the early Ford Escorts. Disposable cars, disposable engines. The moment you let one overheat the cylinder head was a goner. When the one cracked in my dad's car we called a local place that specialized in remanufactured heads, and I was told flat out they didn't offer one for the Escort 1.6 because they never got any rebuildable cores in. The car ended up going to the junkyard because we couldn't get it back on the road thanks to not being able to fix the head! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967 Posted October 21, 2020 Share Posted October 21, 2020 11 minutes ago, sassnetguy50 said: Nonsense, the external combustion engine already solidified the piston. The Wankel is a throwaway engine. Lots of fun until you have to replace it. I think you missed the point. The though was that IF the rotary had been developed first there would have been little incentive to develop the piston engine - which is larger, heavier, vastly more complex, and has a much lower energy to weight ratio. Although not as efficient as modern engines, the Wankel's are considerably more efficient than the early piston engines were. And much easier to rebuild. (sez the dude who has boxes of used pistons in his garage! ) But, since the piston engine was first, the Wankel will always be a fun novelty at best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sedalia Dave Posted October 21, 2020 Share Posted October 21, 2020 1 hour ago, Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967 said: I think you missed the point. The though was that IF the rotary had been developed first there would have been little incentive to develop the piston engine - which is larger, heavier, vastly more complex, and has a much lower energy to weight ratio. Although not as efficient as modern engines, the Wankel's are considerably more efficient than the early piston engines were. And much easier to rebuild. (sez the dude who has boxes of used pistons in his garage! ) But, since the piston engine was first, the Wankel will always be a fun novelty at best. Where the Wankel design shines is when it is fueled with hydrogen vice gasoline. Many of the disadvantages become advantages when fueled by something other than gasoline. A Wankel design fueled by hydrogen actually has lower emissions than a comparable piston engine. We should start seeing Wankel engines used in hybrid designs where the Wankel engine runs at a fixed but optimal rpm powering a generator that powers the car and recharges the batteries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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