Give Me Your Top 5 Favorite Engines

"That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms" (thatbastardkurtis5)
03/18/2016 at 16:35 • Filed to: None

I was thinking about this earlier, basically going through in my head what my favorite engines are. It’s tough to get the list down to only 5, and I’m not even going to try to put those five in order. Remember, this isn’t necessarily the best (though a few are genuinely great), but my favorites.

Small block Chevy.

Frankly, if the SBC isn’t on your list I think it’s because you’re going out of your way to hate on GM. I’m as big a Chevy hater as there is, and I’ll be the first to admit that the SBC (I’m including all its mutations here, from the first to the LS engines) is one of the greatest engines of all time. Versatile, plentiful, cheap and easy to work on...when in doubt, swap in a small block Chevy.

Small block Ford.

Specifically I’m talking about the Windsor block, since I’m a longtime fan of 5 liter Mustangs. Most of the stuff that applies to the SBC also applies here, but I always preferred the distinctive sound of the Ford over the Chevy.

Jaguar XK inline 6.

The sound. The silky smoothness. And if we’re being honest, the car it’s typically attached to is no slouch.

This would actually be my pick for best looking engine as well. It’s simple and elegant, and those long cam covers make it look like a baby Rolls Royce Merlin to me.

Chrysler 2.2/2.5 turbo.

This is more of a sentimental one, since 5 of my first 10 cars had one of these. In their day, the 174hp the Turbo II (vs the non intercooled Turbo I’s 146) produced made it a legitimate threat to the Mustangs and Camaros of the time.

Chrysler did some really neat stuff with the engine in its time. It appeared in the Mosler Consulier (maybe the ugliest car ever built), it powered the hero car in The Wraith. They built a DOHC 16v version called the Turbo III that made 224hp and stuffed it in the humble Spirit; that car was one of the all time great sleepers, looking like your grandma’s car and turning 0-60 runs in under 6 seconds. They also did a Turbo IV with a variable nozzle turbo that acted like a small turbo at low RPM and a bigger one once boost built. This was in 1990, by the way, and is pretty neat tech in as cheap a car as a Daytona.

They’re a simple, durable engine and can make crazy power for not much money. The trouble now is finding a car to put one in, since so many of the great turbo Dodges of the 80s are now small piles of dust.

Ford/International Power Stroke 7.3 turbo diesel.

I know the power wars are on right now in the diesel truck market, and there’s some legitimately stupid numbers being thrown out there, but this is one of the ones that started it all along with the 12v Cummins. It’s a legitimate medium duty truck engine that you could get in an F250.

It’s kinda hilarious to drive a truck with one of these in it. Around town it’s ballsy and gets out of its own way okay, but on the highway it feels like a turbine engine...the faster you go, the harder it seems to accelerate. You can walk a ricer Civic while towing an 18 foot fishing boat, and get 17-20mpg while doing it.

Both of the ones I’ve owned (a ‘96 F250 regular cab 4x4 and my current ‘01 F250 SuperCab 4x4) have been automatics, but I would love to drive one with a stick. If I keep mine long enough, maybe a swap will be in the cards. I just imagine that being about the most fun thing there is.

So ladies and gents, what are your top 5 favorite engines?

DISCUSSION (5)

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms
03/19/2016 at 03:42

AMG M177/178

Jaguar AJV8 family, particularly the supercharged ones

Buick Nailhead V8

BMW S54

Alfa Busso V6

Stuck with one engine/engine family per brand. Seemed unfair and overly biased to make half my list AMG engines. No SBC because boring.

Was really hoping this post would have gotten some more love. You should repost it later.

That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
03/19/2016 at 06:46

I had actually posted it and then never saw it show up on the page, actually thought I had posted it to my own blog by accident. Weird. I'll repost later.