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Posted By: Knightjp Engines that Time Forgot - October 10th 2011 9:00 pm
I was reading an article from "Popular Hot Rodding" with the same title as the thread. Have a look at the following link...
Engines That Time Forgot

I was keenly reading up on the AMC V8 engine which I don't think anyone outside of the US has heard of unless you are a real gear-head. I'm a gear-head and I haven't heard much about it.... lol

Anyways, got me thinking... are there any legendary van engines that are almost forgotten today....
Posted By: Doc 2% of Canada, EH!!!! Re: Engines that Time Forgot - October 11th 2011 12:12 am
Nah...we make engines legendary after we put them in vans.......
Posted By: River_Rat Re: Engines that Time Forgot - October 11th 2011 12:33 am
That lil amc six shooter was one bad mama jama. 700 hp. Bet that was a fun ride!
Posted By: Bullet Re: Engines that Time Forgot - October 11th 2011 1:18 am
Here's my personal favorite, the mighty GMC twin six V12. Essentially two GMC V6 truck motors cast in one block. It even uses four 6cyl heads. 702 cu.in. They were used in heavy trucks, tanks, road building equipment,
[Linked Image]

[Linked Image]

...and one of Jay Leno's kookie rods....

[Linked Image]

Here's a dyno shot, there are more videos and more hot rods out there, just google GMC V12

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbT4rmlQv9I&feature=related

Posted By: piscespokerbrat Re: Engines that Time Forgot - October 11th 2011 2:45 am
V8 Cosworth... 20,000 RPM's.. F1 baby laugh Now to stuff one of those in a van.. hmmmmmm *light bulb goes on* lol
Posted By: vandude360 Re: Engines that Time Forgot - October 11th 2011 3:45 am
Here's my choice for a forgotten engine:

The Chrysler A-925 Double Overhead Cam 426 Hemi:

[Linked Image]

Mmmm, HEMI...
Posted By: River_Rat Re: Engines that Time Forgot - October 11th 2011 3:52 am
My favorite was the packard twin six.
Posted By: maples01 Re: Engines that Time Forgot - October 11th 2011 5:15 am
GMC trucks in the 60's received big V-6 engines, called big blocks, they cast the large ones into the V-12, they were low RPM pulling engines, real muscle, were replaced by V-8's and diesels, they got terrible mileage and didn't like being revved. Chevy was a different division and did not get these either, and a lot of the V-12's weren't in vehicles but stationary equipment, generators and pumps, one was pumping water into the 90's, a guy on youtube bought it for a project.
Ford had the 427 cammer, overhead cam in the 60's was unheard of, was banned from NASCAR too, seems the others don't like engines they can't catch. The 67(?) Thunderbolt had one, Ford built this for drag racers, a production drag car, was wicked fast upon delivery, without tuning or tinkering.
Edsel cars had their own engines, not Ford production engines but his own design.
1948 Tucker, Preston Tucker's team designed built a trans axle for the early fuel injected helicopter engine that had 300+ horsepower and 400 Ft torque, so far ahead of it's time the big three had to crush him, so much for build a better mousetrap.
Rudolf Diesel's engines, designed and built to run off of renewable resources, peanut, soybean, or any cooking oil, later to be doomed to run petroleum industry refined and named after the engine it was refined for! To think biodiesel is thought to be new technology.
The 1500 horsepower super and turbo charged Packard's from PT boats.
Posted By: Knightjp Re: Engines that Time Forgot - October 11th 2011 3:17 pm
Originally Posted by vandude360
Here's my choice for a forgotten engine:

The Chrysler A-925 Double Overhead Cam 426 Hemi:

[Linked Image]

Mmmm, HEMI...

Is that what is in your Dodge van???
Correct me if I'm wrong... but isn't the 426 Hemi one of the most remembered engines?? We remember the Plymouth Cuda and the Roadrunners because of them. How can it be an engine that's been forgotten in time... ?
Posted By: Bullet Re: Engines that Time Forgot - October 12th 2011 12:01 pm
DOHC, double overhead cam, not a standard Hemi.
Posted By: CatFish Re: Engines that Time Forgot - October 12th 2011 1:03 pm
I remember the Pontiac OHC 6 from my days working at the Dealership after school.
[Linked Image]

Always wondered about one of these in an Early. Easy swap and a possible 250HP but I guess finding one would be expensive.
Posted By: Awbartley Re: Engines that Time Forgot - October 12th 2011 2:09 pm
Ahhh, I really have a place in my heart for in line six engines. I love them. Every since my old neighbors father had an old Chevy 2 wagon with a 6 cyl. It had headers and a 4 barrel. Loved it.
Posted By: NateB Re: Engines that Time Forgot - October 12th 2011 3:42 pm
The 2.5L Buick "Iron Duke" engine was a good one. Noisey but reliable.
Posted By: CatFish Re: Engines that Time Forgot - October 12th 2011 4:50 pm
Originally Posted by NatetheskateNCBV
The 2.5L Buick "Iron Duke" engine was a good one. Noisey but reliable.


Yes, after they went to the cross flow heads they were very reliable.
Posted By: Knightjp Re: Engines that Time Forgot - October 15th 2011 10:46 am
I read somewhere that the new heads used on the current Hemis are more closer to the SBC engines rather than the legendary 426 "Elephant" Hemis...
Has GM ever produced a Hemi of their own??? I know Ford did with their Boss 429 engine...
Posted By: CatFish Re: Engines that Time Forgot - October 15th 2011 12:51 pm
Gm never made one, at least that was comparable to Mopars. Aftermarket was different. Arias made hemi heads for Rat motors.
Posted By: Knightjp Re: Engines that Time Forgot - October 15th 2011 1:00 pm
Originally Posted by CatFish
Gm never made one, at least that was comparable to Mopars. Aftermarket was different. Arias made hemi heads for Rat motors.

I wonder if there are aftermarket heads for modern Hemi engines which are more closer to the actual legendary Hemis of he 60s and 70s...
Posted By: Capn Scurvy Re: Engines that Time Forgot - October 15th 2011 4:22 pm
Then there is the Australian Slant Six Hemi used in the mid 70s. Hows that for mind blowing if you've never heard of it?
Posted By: Knightjp Re: Engines that Time Forgot - October 15th 2011 4:32 pm
Originally Posted by Capn Scurvy
Then there is the Australian Slant Six Hemi used in the mid 70s. Hows that for mind blowing if you've never heard of it?
Mind blowing indeed... smile
Posted By: Malle Re: Engines that Time Forgot - October 16th 2011 5:35 am
Originally Posted by Capn Scurvy
Then there is the Australian Slant Six Hemi used in the mid 70s. Hows that for mind blowing if you've never heard of it?



[Linked Image]
Posted By: Bullet Re: Engines that Time Forgot - October 16th 2011 12:00 pm
Here's a build-up of a 1000hp inline Chevy six

http://www.cdpautomachine.com/leo/leo.html

The OHC Pontiac was an awesome piece. They were strong and powerful and got good mileage. A little ahead of their time in the US market though. There's still a pretty good supply of them out there.

A company named Primatech Motorsports was building a 4 valve twin OHC based on two LQ1 3.4 litre Chevy V-6 heads welded together and I believe they were also working on one designed with two Quad-4 heads with 1 cylinder removed from each and then welded together. They had cams, stroker kits, custom intakes and superchargers designed. I don't know what happened with all that, their website is dead but they had some cool stuff going on. Then again, there has always been cool stuff going on by gear heads with cash and sometimes even cooler things by gear heads with no cash!

Posted By: NateB Re: Engines that Time Forgot - October 17th 2011 11:46 am
Yep..the Aussie 235 Hemi-6 was quite the engine. One HP version had 305hp stock!

Hemi heads, but the spark plugs went into the side of the head rather than down through the center.



Here's one for you. Dick Landy's Ball & Stud 426 Hemi...

http://www.moparaction.com/Article/BallStudHemi/ballstudhemi.html

Saw this engine installed in one of Dick's Darts at Carlisle several years ago.

Posted By: CatFish Re: Engines that Time Forgot - October 17th 2011 12:30 pm
Ok...Went to a local car show this weekend. One of the many nice rides on display had the engine pictured. Not a whole lot were made, comparatively speaking, but they have a large and loyal following.
So....a sorta trivia question. What brand is it? Someone I'm sure will know, even with all the aftermarket goodies.
[Linked Image]
Posted By: Knightjp Re: Engines that Time Forgot - October 17th 2011 1:21 pm
Originally Posted by CatFish
Ok...Went to a local car show this weekend. One of the many nice rides on display had the engine pictured. Not a whole lot were made, comparatively speaking, but they have a large and loyal following.
So....a sorta trivia question. What brand is it? Someone I'm sure will know, even with all the aftermarket goodies.
[Linked Image]
Buick??? Or Olds
Posted By: CatFish Re: Engines that Time Forgot - October 17th 2011 3:09 pm
Nope..not Buick or Olds.

It's an American Motors 390. It was hard to tell, but I think the owner was kinda proud.
Too bad AMC never made a van.
Posted By: NateB Re: Engines that Time Forgot - October 17th 2011 3:50 pm
What was interesting is that the AMC 360 (no relation to Mopar's 360) was retained in the Grand Cherokees from 1987-1991 even after Chrysler took over. Strange ay?

There were two versions of the AMC 390, a short-deck and a tall-deck casting.
Posted By: CatFish Re: Engines that Time Forgot - October 17th 2011 4:37 pm
Not to change the subject. Just wanted to share this.
Speaking of inline Chevy sixes.....
I used to watch Cotton Perry run mod-eliminator back in the 70's with a Chevy six. Routinely turned 10,000+ rpms (the sound was amazing) and 10second ETs.
With a steel crank and seven mains they were very tough, valve springs and push rods were the weak point.

http://competitionplus.com/drag-rac...erry-and-the-legend-of-the-pocket-rocket


BTW....The show I was at Saturday had two AMXs and both were 390s. One was original but I couldn't get an engine pic.
Posted By: Knightjp Re: Engines that Time Forgot - October 17th 2011 6:04 pm
Originally Posted by CatFish
Nope..not Buick or Olds.

It's an American Motors 390. It was hard to tell, but I think the owner was kinda proud.
Too bad AMC never made a van.

My gut was saying AMC, but my head was saying Buick or Olds... Should probably listen to my gut the next time...

About them not building a van, perhaps we can correct that.. Put an AMC engine in a G-series or Tradesman, etc...
I'm sure someone must have done it already...
Posted By: Knightjp Re: Engines that Time Forgot - October 17th 2011 6:11 pm
Originally Posted by CatFish
The show I was at Saturday had two AMXs and both were 390s. One was original but I couldn't get an engine pic.

I wish you could have. Unfortunately I haven't had the pleasure of hearing an AMC 390 run... Probably should be having some videos on youtube...
Posted By: CatFish Re: Engines that Time Forgot - October 17th 2011 6:35 pm
They had a unique (deep) sound.
Here ya go, one with side pipes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYGXA93Sr3M&feature=related


Posted By: Knightjp Re: Engines that Time Forgot - October 18th 2011 10:08 am
Originally Posted by CatFish
They had a unique (deep) sound.
Here ya go, one with side pipes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYGXA93Sr3M&feature=related



Lovely... Love the related video of the black Rambler Rebel too... You're right.. Very unique and deep; similar to the Hemis.
Funny enough, if AMC was in production today, it would probably be using the current Chrysler Hemi engines which also have a unique and deep sound... LOL.

To me the Hemis have the best noise among the modern engine lineup..
But I wonder which would have the best noise if we were to lineup the SBCs, Ford Windsor V8 / Cobra Jet, the old Hemis and the AMC V8s...

Finding and build an AMC engine probably is probably extremely hard and probably might cost.
Posted By: Ripper Re: Engines that Time Forgot - October 18th 2011 3:29 pm
Some AMXs also had a 327, no relation to the Chevy version.

Jeep was weird, they had some parts from all of the Big 3 in them for a long time after Chrysler took over, not to mention the AMC parts that were left from when they were closed down. AM General, I heard, was GM and AMC working together. I think it is the only surviving remnant of AMC, if that's true. My uncle was in the motor pool in WWII. He said the Jeep name came from the Army's gift of shortening everytihng. They started without a name, then were called "GP" for general purpose vehicles, then that got shortened to "GEEP". How they got a J is anyone's guess.

The oddest combo I've ever seen was in a 63 Pontiac Tempest. Half a 389 V8 up front with a torsion tube back to a rear independent transaxle (from a Corvair). The torque converter was under the trunk.

Not a big horsepower combo, but just very weird.
Posted By: NateB Re: Engines that Time Forgot - October 18th 2011 4:19 pm
Kaiser-Jeep used a Buick 350 named the "Dauntless" engine in the 69 Wagoneer. Was not aware of a 327 used in the AMX's but some of the pre-69 Wagoneers did come through with Chevy 327 engines. I don't know at what point AMC start building they own engines. I do know that they used Mopar 727 transmissions in some apps. Just renamed "TorqueCommand" rather than "TorqueFlite".
Posted By: CatFish Re: Engines that Time Forgot - October 18th 2011 5:28 pm
Yeah Ripper those transaxles in the early Tempest were a PITA to work on but the little cast iron 4 cly was bullet proof. They were the forefather of the "iron duke" engines.
Posted By: CatFish Re: Engines that Time Forgot - October 18th 2011 5:40 pm
How about an opposed air cooled six cylinder? (not exactly forgotten) Seen in vans from time to time.

[Linked Image]
Posted By: CatFish Re: Engines that Time Forgot - October 18th 2011 6:38 pm
Here's an engine that was available in First Gen Chevy vans. I've never seen (or heard of) one so I can only believe they must have been rare. grin
(This one has custom covers.)

[Linked Image]

Posted By: River_Rat Re: Engines that Time Forgot - October 18th 2011 8:23 pm
Seen a bunch but didnt know the put it in a van. Postal jeeps used those for years. I had one and man it took one hell of a beatin. They were used in boats alot to. Im lookin for one to build a new trike.
Posted By: Bullet Re: Engines that Time Forgot - October 18th 2011 9:08 pm
Mercruiser Marine also used that engine, it is little brother to the Chevy inline 6.
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