Re: The Absolute Best Engine Ever put in an Automobile
Yep, I agree, I suspect it's what we grew up with and are familiar with that makes these engines greatest and that's o.k. I never really believed that a Wankel rotary engine worked the way they said it did and was absolutely freaked when I saw one steadily cranking out 10,000 RPM's under load.
Potentially that could still be one of the greatest engine designs ever.
The problem with a rotary is repair and overhaul. changing Apex seals is a major hassle.
I gauge a good engine by how far it will go without an overhaul, how good it is on fuel and what sort of torque it makes. All the horsepower in the world makes no difference if you can't make some low end torque, especially when towing.
I've tried several import trucks, all failed miserably. I've consistently run my Ford Rangers and F150s for well over 250,000 miles without overhaul.
The best trucks I've owned have been inline 6 cylinder powered, hands down.
My 1966 Chevy C30 with a 298 I6, (A bit hard on gas but the factory 3.82:1 gears had a lot to do with that, I ran it for 244,000 miles before buying a Dodge with a 225 Slant 6, which ran for 5 years and a little over 200,000 miles, then a 1984 Ford 150 with the 300, which ran for 265,000 when I traded it in for a 1992 with the same motor which I kept for 165,000 miles.
None ever had any engine issues, none ever needed an overhaul.
The only truck I had in which I needed to replace an engine in was my 1983 Chevy C10, which dropped an exhaust valve at 44,000 miles, on a 305 engine.
(I had a few other Chevy V8's with engine issues, but mostly valve train noise and oil leaks).
I had a Toyota p/u, with the 22RE engine, it lost a motor at 11K, and again at 24K, and one at 55k, I gave up at that point and sold it. I had an axle break on a Mazda pickup, parts availability issues on my Land Cruiser, so much so that it sat for a month when I couldn't find a carburetor for it when the throttle shaft broke off at 68k. It was a great truck when it ran, but it broke down all the time, it was always something, it was the same way with my 1988 Toyota p/u, if it wasn't the engine, it was the trans, or transfer case, or the A/C, that truck was never right, from day one. It seemed like I spend 3 years fighting with Toyota to get one thing or the other fixed right.
Problems like that pretty much cured me of ever buying another foreign vehicle, I don't want a foreign engine in my American car either.
I was looking at a new Ranger, but since they dropped the only good engine they made, the 3.0L, and the 4 banger is Mazda, I gave up on that idea and have been searching for a clean older E or F150 with the 300 I6.
