Best of the old skool V8's

[Beastmavster]

I would vote for the 302 windsor (with or without the EFI). The newer alloy V8s are also good but the price is too much.

I have never known anyone who had a 253 who didnt have issues with it during the time that they had it - overheat too easy, gutless and more fragile than a v8 has any right to be. Never even think of attempring to tow stuff with one (100% failure rate towing a tandem from multiple attempts), even in cold cold Melbourne.

Of course it could have just been an implausable string of bad luck

Having said that, they can be rebuilt to be a 7000rpm high revving beast, and can be made good for more horsepower than you'd be looking for too.

Downsides of a stock 253 - little more go than a 202 and heaps less reliable, but no more expensive to run either.



Chev or Clevo Ford size and weight isnt great for your application (assuming this is going in a lux or zook). Once again later EFI Chev be good but too much $$$.


For a zook though I think the extra weight benefits of an all alloy rover v8 would make that swap worth investigating. You've got the cheap 3.5 carb option all the way to 4.6 EFI (and can be taken out a long way further if need be).

There's a few V6's that could be interesting too (say a VG20 Turbo) or the all too common V6 commodore.


Overall, gimme a windsor any day. Reliability? They're the most common engine block in the world and cheaper and easier to get hot up parts for than just about anything. Getting an old 4.7 (289) for the extra revs would be great as well, but rare as.

No V8 is gonna thrive at high rpm without substantial mods. Too much weight rotating and too little care in assembling at the factory.

[grumpy221]

mmmmm ...Go the 350 chev reciently had a look at putting one in my paj but at 450bhp all it would do would be to break things. way back when... the Z28 camero came out with a 350 chev with the most hp per ci and damm near bullet proof. Also had a 283 chev used to lift the front wheels of a ht monaro ....didnt stop it going on it roof though.

[Bighazza]

just digging up an old thread here

My mate has offered me a 302 Cleveland engine

Just wondering how it would go in a 40 series?

also does anyone have any power figures?

cheers

[6.5 rangie]

Having owned Holden, Chev, Ford, Chrysler, and Rover V8s, I would have to say Chrysler wins hands down. So easy to mod, my last one was a 318,mild cam, balanced, 650 holley, dual plane manifold, ran 13.2 all day in a VF coupe.
Chrysler, if its good enough for the Duke boys its good enough for me. MOPAR

[Zeyphly]

gotta go better than old cruiser motor it is replacing, but you could have a think about buying my chev and turbo 400 with transfere for a cruiser off me

[mule75]

efi windsor out of eb-au gets my vote.

[Beastmavster]

just digging up an old thread here

My mate has offered me a 302 Cleveland engine

Just wondering how it would go in a 40 series?

also does anyone have any power figures?

cheers

Depends on the year... they varied a lot over the years with emission spec.

For instance XC Cobra and GXL Fairmont 351 is only rated around 160kw and the 302 150kw.

Earlier 351's say XA were about 185kw (with GT's about 224kw) and XA 302's were around the 170kw mark.




Exact horsepower spec is basically irrelevant since you won't find one that's in factory stock condition anyway 20 odd years on.

Power is whatever you want it to be based on cam, carb etc. If you want 250 hp or 300 hp out of your 302 no problem. If you want much more than that you'll start grafting 351 bits.

[known 2]

if it's for a light car like a z00k be a good swap to go for a rover 3.5 or 3.9l v8 small light and produce plenty of power, next one up 302 windsor they've bin in production for 30 years gota be a good thing and lots can be done to them, 350chev go stand with all those other guys hardly original but efective, and the 351 awsome motor but have bin out of production for about 22 years sso spares guna be a problem in future.

[ozrunner]

My 0.02c

I think from your comment that you want something that can be engineer and DOT passed puts a few limits on some of the engines already mentioned.

1st off I see you are in Vic, which as far as I am aware means no way will you now get a 350 or 351 approved in a Hilux, so you may have to scratch those.

Also you don't mention what year Hilux you're planning on using but if its a 90's plus etc then you are again limited to 90 plus vintage V8 engines which means EFI !!!! so scratch all the Mopar stuff. The only option for these and other non EFI is to have dedicated LPG, which requires more compression etc etc and LPG sucks anyway

So EFI V8's means the 5.0 Ford, Holden or maybe a US EFI 5.0 (Camaro etc).

I have a 5.0 Ford in my 4Runner and its an awesome engine and there are more performance parts available for these than you can shake a stick at. Super reliable and goes like stink

The Ford EEC-IV efi system is also the only one that can self learn, ie any additional performance parts can just be bolted on and the ECU recalibrates accordingly etc.

Mechanically the 5.0 holden is probably on par but its been out of production awhile now and besides Fords are better .

Also what trans/transfer are you intending to run so you need to first ascertain if adapters and bells etc are available for each particular engine and trans combination. But before making any decision first I would be talking to your selected engineer to ascertain what can or cannot be approved and in what guise etc.

JD

[bigpat]

Some wise words... take heed.

[460cixy]

meh cant polish a turd and 253s sound like 2 thongs slapin on the foot path. winsor all the way 289 302 or 351 can also be stroked useing a 400 clevo crank and compact light big revs. or throw on clevo heads for serious grunt

[Beastmavster]

The Hilux in question im not sure but is old skool..... it's no older than 1982.... think it's 80 - 81. fat guard round headlight.

[sudso]

V8Patrol wrote:

Leyland 4.4litre V8
rare as hens teeth but in their day they were a great motor....
being an all alloy motor you'll get your lightweight V8 but you'll be in trouble spares wise.
easily injected, loves LPG better than petrol, the best thing pommies ever built ....... pity that Rover didnt borrow the design

You beat me to this one.
I seem to recall that a lot of internals of the 4.4 were compatible with a lot of other common V8's so parts might not be an issue.
When I worked at Baker Hydraulics they had some ex Leyland honing machines for the hyd. cylinder honing so I think that the Leylands were built here too.

My ex in laws had a P76 with the 4.4 and reckoned it was the ugliest and best car they ever had. Plenty of grunt and low maintenance.
Could be one to consider if not only for it's lighter weight?

[mick355]

Why not stroke a 308 to a 383 if its torque you are after? They don't overheat like a chev and weigh about half as much as a clevo. While you are there get a later model injected one and never have to tune the thing again!

[CRUSHU]

Why not stroke a 308 to a 383 if its torque you are after? They don't overheat like a chev and weigh about half as much as a clevo. While you are there get a later model injected one and never have to tune the thing again!

Thats funny, the latest and greatest aftermarket Holden Style blocks use Chev SB front covers and cooling systems, and oil systems, as the holden stuff if not up to scratch.

[jimmyb]

I run an injected 302W in my F350, and a carbied 302W in one of my Jeeps, Both of these motors drink the oil under heavy loads.

My current buildup CJ7 plonked a 351C in it, gear drive, mile cam and running LPG, the torque I get outta it is far superior to the other motor.

[mick355]

Why not stroke a 308 to a 383 if its torque you are after? They don't overheat like a chev and weigh about half as much as a clevo. While you are there get a later model injected one and never have to tune the thing again!

Thats funny, the latest and greatest aftermarket Holden Style blocks use Chev SB front covers and cooling systems, and oil systems, as the holden stuff if not up to scratch.

Of the two aftermarket blocks available doesn't the COME block still retain a holden setup. The Torquepower block would use a chev front because of the sheer volume of yank bits available cheaply.Isn't the chev nicknamed the kettle? I've owned both and never had a holden boil in traffic on me like an overbored 350. As for the holden oiling system it easy to fix if you restrict the amount of flow to the lifters and rotate the cam bearings.

[ozrunner]

The Hilux in question im not sure but is old skool..... it's no older than 1982.... think it's 80 - 81. fat guard round headlight.

Hmmmm each to his own but if thats the case unless it was a real scmick rig to start with noway would I waste $5k plus on a 26 year POS . Just not worth the trouble in more ways than one.

Broken record I know but there's no real point in doing heaps of research etc deciding on a motor/trans etc and then asking the engineer/DOT if its Ok. Go to one first and ask what CAN you put in a 80's Lux etc and then make a decision.

Keep in mind all the 5.0's have stroker kits available for later fitment and they don't change the outside physical appearance .