Art & Inspiration The Ultimate Hot Rod Motor

All I have to offer is my Nailehead anecdote: I had a 56 Buick Super for a couple years, and when I drove it, it had OK power, ran good, but I couldn't figure out what all the Nailhead fuss was about. Yeah, it was good, but it wasn't that great. I just figured maybe it was worn out.

One day I was messing around with the linkage for the starter (accelerator pedal starter) and realized that the throttle had been adjusted to only give about 1/4 to 1/2 throttle, (maybe previous owner had a lead foot) and the secondaries in that WCFB were never opening. Well, I fixed that and immediately went for a drive. WOW, that thing ran like a scalded dog! I couldn't believe it! Felt like I added a blower or something. That bone-stock 322 would flat out move that 2 ton tank no problem.

Now I get it, Nailheads are pretty dang cool and are torqmonsters!

 

I guess it all depends on funds and personal taste. I'm more in the performance per dollar while looking good camp. Ultimate can be taken in more than one direction. Although it just fits into the traditional mold, mine is a big block Chevy, good bang for the buck and tons of torque. They dress up nicely and aren't the norm.

 

I don't think that there is any one engine that you could say is the "ultimate". Most have their own characteristics and some work better in different applications. To quote Sly Stone " different strokes for different folks".

 

You can't beat a dressed Nailhead for looks, but the cheapest stock HP is the 472/500 Cads. 375HP and 500 Ft Lbs of torque bone stock on the 472, even more on the 500's.

 

The flathead is a gorgeous engine when done up I believe the most beautiful engine ever! The small block is absolutely the best bang for the $s they’re a dime a dozen , easy to build and can make crazy power. Next to the flathead the Hemi is my favorite. Nailheads are cool but #4 in my book. Just about any carbureted engine is cool in my opinion. The new EFI stuff is butt ugly period.
Dan

 

I tend to look at ‘versatility’ by era:
Post War — Flathead
Mid Century — Cadillac
1960’s — 327

Asymmetry is more pleasing to my eye, so my sneaky pick for the 1960’s is Pontiac Trophy V8 389 (425A).

 

I love flatheads, I hate flatheads! I have a bunch of them and in some cars nothing else will do. I also have Hemi's and small block Mopars. None of which are always perfect. Small block Chevys? Nope, not my cup of tea but yes I have owned a few. And Buicks, Pontiacs, Olds, BBC, BB Mopar, etc. Owned a Studebaker once but it had a 239 Y block Ford in it! Basically an early Ford and a Mopar guy.

Dave

 

Small Block Chevy is like blonde hair, blue eyes, long legs.... It may be overdone but by God it still works for me.

 

Right you are there.
The Need is to understand the end game.
What experience do I want with this.
Speed competition,? weekend shows,?
Cross country tours,? Just trips to the donut shop ?
Pick the life the fill the bill with the proper romance.
Myself when I was seventeen it was a very good year.
I had a 2 door cpe. made by Dodge,, yep Dodge.
( second owner ) the 1st was an eldrly man.
The dealer received it ( 1956 ) because it was a demo for the D500 hemi.
Thats all. Any year and body style,,,, that engine does it here.

 

Poor folks with poor ways... SBC. You can almost hotrod for free with one if you are a good enough horse trader.

If I were made of money... Moriarity's Cadillac engine!

All within the confines of this forum's rules of course.

 

Zora Arkus-Duntov stuff gets my vote!
Jan. 1955…the fork in the road, appears.

 

There's nuthin' like the pull of a big block no matter whose make it is. But you can't beat the 2 stroke scream of a well built 327.my older sister dated a guy who drove a 67 farlane with a 427 ,4 SPD stick, ice blue and it was stupid fast.

 

End of story, not so fast there Bub, I'm thinking the Chevy small block crowd may differ with you Jeff.
My story.........
Now, I was born with Chevy orange paint under my fingernails and I'll agree that the SBC is far from unique and yes, the Hemi engine design is about the coolest chunk of cast iron to ever come out of Detroit, hell, I was nearly converted when I just happened to be driving by a house in the early 70's.
I was about 18 years old, this guy was testing out his 426 Hemi Belvedere drag car in his driveway, I heard it long before I saw it, I swear I saw daylight under the front tires just as I drove by, that's just not something you see every day.
Back to reality and speaking purely about the visual aspect, I agree, there's not much that hasn't been done to the small block Chevy.


I think it's all in the presentation, I hope I don't get my HAMB card revoked!

 

I’m not the one that put the first SBC in a Ford. But I totally get it.

 

If money were no issue, I would go with the Ford 427 SOHC.

 

SBC’s and Pontiacs are what I have known well forever. But, I am now venturing off into y-blocks and early Caddy V8’s. My problem is that I like several early V8’s and it all sort of depends on the build I am considering to pick the right motor. So, I suppose I don’t really have just one favorite in this deal. Oh, and I also really like nailheads but have never technically owned one that I can think of... And, then there are flatheads, and early Olds, and, and,...

 

Hands down ---- nothing sexier than a high winding 283 / 292/ 301 dressed up with white headers and orange paint with solid lifters clicking around. I think they look right at home in a '32 ford, '40 ford, sling shot dragster, '37 chevy, etc...That and you can buy parts if you drive your car long distances and suddenly need something... I know my opinion isn't the most popular, especially here, but I like them a lot.....and I own 5 cars without them...

 

Details make the engine for me. And I do not mean cheap Amazon chrome add ons, or billet aluminum BS.
But, paint, period correct finned valve covers, even factory detailed OEM stuff does it for me.

Engine wise, I am a sucker for a Y-Block or an well dressed FE.
(never mind the painted oil filter, that will be replaced)

 

No one has mentioned the W-engine, She's real fine my 409!
On looks, it's one of the best. Cost? Another story.

Now, if you really want to talk exotic looks, performance and unique sound, the Columbo designed Ferrari v-12s of the 50s. Late 80s Mid-Ohio vintage race, 1957 Testa Rosa, and the owner said that he could afford to fix it if he damaged it. And he drove it like he stole it! Think government mule for the way he beat on it. By the end of the day Sunday it was smoking, but still sounded great.

And it fits in here, as there's been at least one hot rod with a Ferrari engine.

 

Face it, most older engines look best with a lump of GM Detroit aluminum sitting on top. Doesn't matter if it's a flatty, hemi, SBC, Olds, Caddy, Nailhead....

 

This is a great topic. I’ve always been a contrarian so the more I see the trailer brigade ruling our hobby, the more I’ve just wanted to build drivers. I get that many will say that they are comfortable driving their flatties (or insert whichever ‘cooler lookin engine’) across country, but coming from building nothing but big block muscle and feeling the pain at every pump when 8 mpg is the norm, I’ve been on a SBC diet for quite some time. Especially since the LS thing started and I could pick up 400 hp sbc’s (carbs to pan) for pennies on the build costs. That and all the speed parts at swaps were again, pennies from what they previously were. Just made sense to me to use SBCs. Don’t get me wrong, I love the retro-rodding trend and I can spend hours looking at beautiful set-ups whenever I go to a car show, but then I get in my SBC hot rod and drive home (and not always directly).
So end of day, you gotta ask yourself; ‘What kind of hot rodder am I?’
This:

or this:

?

 

A good old Hemi

 

Heck, even the engine that blower came off of looks good. Ran one on the dyno to get some baseline emissions data from before any controls were required. Ahh, those were the days...

 

How's this Caddy?