When I bought me Daytona I replaced the stock h/g gasket for a performance one ( FWDperformance.com ) . I ended up selling it to my neighbor who put an additional 110k on it and it still runs fine.

It only has maybe 255Hp but that it still not bad for 2.2 litres.

When ever I was asked for advise on a used or new car my answer was. "Never buy any American car with the following"

1- 4 banger engine
2- Diesel engine
3- Any engine in production less then 2-model years
4- Turbo engine

Always stick with a V6 or V8



Well my little 4 cylinder Mercury Topaz daily driver with a 4 banger Diesel motor, which they only built for 2 years would prove this wrong.

I get 50mpg all around, plus my car has almost 200,000 miles without any problems worth mentioning

I agree, the 300cid inline six is almost impossible to destroy. I had one in a '79 F-100 which had nearly 300,000 miles on it with no problem. It would burn 1/2 Qt. oil between changes and had lots of power. It was totaled in a roll-over, some lucky person got a great engine.

Al

Anybody remember the Chevy 262 SBC circa 1975-76 they put in the V-8 Monza's ? It made the 267 that followed look absolutely awesome. They even gave it an oddball stroke of 3.10, couldn't even make it a 3.00 stroke so we could use the cranks to build more LJ 302's................

Subaru Justy, very few evewr made it much past 60,000
2.8 Chevy V6 had about the sorriest bottom end
2.6 Mitsubishi. The wost head cracking engine of all time and also the biggest pos carburator ever.

I don't think I would go that far



haha well said

By listing the CADILLAC HT4100, PHR has only confirmed what I've long suspected.

In this list, where the Pontiac Turbo 301? That was one of the worst engines ever! Also the chevy 307 should be on that list, one hell of a smoker!

Geo 3 cly .

I think the Topaz used a german made diesel

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Originally posted by 28 Essex
When ever I was asked for advise on a used or new car my answer was. "Never buy any American car with the following"

1- 4 banger engine
2- Diesel engine
3- Any engine in production less then 2-model years
4- Turbo engine

Always stick with a V6 or V8



Well my little 4 cylinder Mercury Topaz daily driver with a 4 banger Diesel motor, which they only built for 2 years would prove this wrong.

I get 50mpg all around, plus my car has almost 200,000 miles without any problems worth mentioning
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I think the Topaz used a german made diesel

Actually the motor was built by Mazda, A very high tech motor for it's time, although it could sure use a turbo charger

It's really the best car that I've ever owned, and the lowest operating costs.

260 olds v8...what a pile of dodo. No power and that crappy clickity clack valvetrain.

Sorry man, I know this is only my second post (after introducing myself...) but I have to defend the 262! I had one of those V8 Monzas with a 262, and that engine had to be a few notches above a 267! I put a Crane cam in it at 120 000 miles and the original was still quite useable.

At the time I figured I had a muscle car on my hands!

Now hey, hey, hey, 4 bangers arent all that bad. If we'd all be driving V8's our wallets would be thinner. So for a dailiy transportation vehicle I'd say stick to a 3-4 cylinder. Of course for roddin' stick with a V8 or higher
And Diesel engines arent all that bad either, they get used a lot in other areas of the world where the climate is warm. South America uses a lot of diesel, europe does too. They're even more reliable than gas engines, so I wouldnt call them the worst production engines ever.
Plus Diesels are very efficient when it comes to trucks. That's why most trucks have Diesel and not gas engines.



Mike

I am sure the pontiac 301 turbo produced less than expected power but as far as the 301 being the worse engine, I am not so sure.


Growing up my family had a 77 grand prix with the 301, hauled a family of 5 around until it had around 200,000 miles, then it became a test vehicle for a new 16 year old driver, said driver attempted burnouts at every stop and beat on it at will. The car still managed 20 + mpg which amazed me, probably close to 25. The car then sit for 3 years, out of the blue I changed the plugs and battery, fired right up and drove it for another two years off and on, then sold it to another fella that drove it for a year or two then totalled it. Not one thing was replaced, other than normal maintenance parts. Well the alternator was replaced and the tranny needed work, due to the said attempted burnouts at every stop but those aren't engine specific. So it proved to be very dependable and according to the mpg it was getting, somewhat efficient engine but a power maker, it wasn't.