[lt1silverhawk]

Hi All,


I've noticed that the Chevy 305 and 307 engines often get dogged for, well... beings dogs. Good for fuel economy and emissions, but no out-of-the-box performance. And even when performance upgrades are considered, the cost is always overshadowed by the cost to buildup a 350 with more power being the same, if not less.


I have not heard the same for any particular engine from any other GM, FoMoCo or Chrysler Corp companies. Are there any engines, in your opinion, that could be considered the red-headed stepchild of their respective families? I imagine V8s would be the easiest to focus on, since each company has made and continues to make so many of them. But if you want to include others, go for it.


NOTE: This discussion is not meant to be a GM vs FoMoCo vs Chrysler flame war. Thank you!

[jdsaengine]

When I bought my 32 highboy last spring the writeup said it was a 350. After getting it home and checking the block number, turned out it was a 305 out of an 86 pickup. I was the 4 fourth owner, tracked down the original builder and he confirmed the 305. Not that I can tell from a performance/ driving standpoint, still PO'd me that I have a step child engine.

[Valkyrie5.7]

I can think of the second run of olds 400 big block engines, especially compared to the vaunted first run of 400 olds engines. The 65-67 had a forged crank and were great mills. The 68/69 400s shared the same stroke as their 425/455 brethren, but were undersquare with a 3.87" bore. Definitely couldn't compete in the same space as the other big block olds mills.

[Valkyrie5.7]

A couple more would be the 351M from the 335 ford family and the 366TD BBC.

[RWENUTS]

The 267 chevy sb and the 350 and 361 chrysler BB come to mind.

[Dave57210]

For me the 'ones to avoid" are:

SBC 262 and 267 as well as the 307 (the 305 was nowhere near as bad as those were)

Ford: 260, 352, 360 and 428 CJ

Mopar 273, 318 and 360

[poncho62]

GM Quad 4....If the water pump went south, the coolant went into the oil, not good for bearings
Chrysler Mitsubishi 2.3 (I think) 4 cyl......

[Custom10]

352, 360 Ford motors were good to me in complete stock trim anyhow, I never knew the 428CJ and the 260.

I did have a 429CJ and it was the biggest money pit dog POS, I guess it did not help having it built by a pro chevy shop that scorned the idea out of the gate but I was 19 and at least I learned a lesson

[OneMoreTime]

The 4cyl Vega was really bad..not even a good grocery getter..

Sam

[justahoby]

Breaks and Scrap-iron lawn mower engine, free parts in a ditch near you

[LATECH]

Originally Posted by onemoretime

the 4cyl vega was really bad..not even a good grocery getter..

Sam

x2 .........:d

[boothboy]

Let's not forget Old's 350 ci diesel engine 1978-85. There use to piles of them in the wrecking yards.That little beautie put the American diesel back 20 years.

[jdsaengine]

Originally Posted by boothboy

Let's not forget Old's 350 ci diesel engine 1978-85. There use to piles of them in the wrecking yards.That little beautie put the American diesel back 20 years.

yep, had 80 Buick Regal diesel, wife got stranded in it about 3 times, me twice. Also had 74 Vega. For a car guy I made terrible choices back then

[AutoGear]

3L mistu V6
2.4 Chrysler V6 (oiling issues)
403 'pontiac' (olds)
267 chev
2.8L V6s in the S10 Blazers
never liked the 390 Ford or 360 mopar
LT1 OEM optispark unit

307 chevs were okay if you don't expect it to be a DZ302; although they did apparently have a run of camshafts that were prone to going flat

Im equally underwhelmed by the 4.6L in my dads F150 as well. Just not enough low end for a pick up truck. The 300 I6 in the previous truck was way better

[ogre]

pretty much any motor built from 73 to 89