That is the measurement every country in the world uses except the USA. You are so fucking conceited you refuse to join the rest of the world. In fact most Americans don't even know there is an entire world out there far advanced over you. The US only accounts for 4.23% of the world's population.
@@EarlGuyton425 I had a 72 Eldorado convertible. I repainted it 2 x The car had a rougher ride over the crappy streets in CHicago area, but was a dream on the highway with the top down. Thankful to be able to be part of that era..... The 69 eldorado was probably fast with the higher compression and better cam...Cheers
my choice in engines hands down are straight 6 and slant six engines. owned several of them and they run forever . as for V-8's I chose the dodge 318 over all V-8's . driving for 52 years gives me the right to say whats right ............
@@garyowen9044 My dad had a 71 Dodge pickup with a slant 6 with a 3 on the tree. It had 198,000 miles on it when he sold it. The original clutch was still in it. We used to keep the ballast resistors in the glove box. We grabbed them from the junk yards too. Quick fix and down the road again! That was the good old Mopars.
I had a 1981 F-100 with a 300 online 6 that was bulletproof. It has a granny 4 speed and top speed was 82 mph and it was wound up tight. When I sold it, it had over 400,000 miles and still didn't burn any oil.
I'm not a Ford man at all, but will give credit where it is due. The 300ci truck engine, the 240ci for cars, and the 2.3 Pinto motor. Despite the strangling smog equipment of the day, it was a good motor that, given even basic care, could rack up a lot of miles.
I had a GMC straight six in a pickup. At 250000 it overheated and blew a head gasket. Fill it with oil and it still had good power even though it smoked like hell. I wasa kid and drove it that way for three months, sold it to a guy who replaced the head gasket and used it as a daily driver. Bulletproof isn't the word for those engines.
It depends on the union contract. The 1974 Plymouth engine we had was built when the Union was in contract dispute. The slant 6 engine blew up at 47500 miles and the tranny give out at 82000 miles.
Knew a guy back in the early '80's that had a slant 6 that outlived 3 cars and ended up running a sawmill for years after. But, in all fairness, all of the Big 3 were building super tough inline 6's. My Dad had a 1978 GMC pickup with the 250 ci, which hauled everything we could load in it without complaint; and I owned a couple of Ford trucks with 6's( 240ci,and 300ci) that gave me everything I asked of them. Inline 6's rule!@fred9384
My 1st car a 1964 Plymouth Valiant V-220 Signet sedan. With the Leaning tower of power 225 slant six. And a 3 speed push button Auto. When we sold with a 328,000 miles on it. The only thing ever replaced. Was the water pump at 280,000 miles. It did not overheat, but is was starting to make noise.
I won hundreds of 1964 dollars drag racing a 225 powered 1964 Plymouth Savory. It dominated all 6 cylinders racing at the time. Let's Roll ! Wolf Alaska
I drove a 2005 Crown Victoria Police Interceptor and currently drive a 2011 Crown Victoria LX. That 4.6L V8 2v is literally smooth as butter. It’s a real and true engineering of such engines that makes these cars last so long. ❤
I have a 2004 Mercury Grand Marquis LS Ultimate with 44,000 miles on it. It has been Ford dealer serviced so much, it is 'serviced to" 130,000 miles! Runs great, looks great, everything works! Paid $6,400 in December 2023. Let's Roll! Wolf Alaska 🐺
I had a 2005 Lincoln Town Car with the 4.6L engine. When I finally decided to trade it in, it had over 300,000 miles on it - and the engine still ran great. I used only Motorcraft oil in it with a Motorcraft filter. Also, only Motorcraft antifreeze mixed 50 / 50 with distilled water. The transmission on the car was finally starting to show it's age when I traded it in. I found out later one of my friends who was a ford tech at another dealership saw it at auction, and knowing the owner picked it up right away. He replaced all the seals when he installed a new transmission and said if he didn't know the vehicle, he would have guessed it had around 150,000 miles on it.
Ford 300 six. My brother in law was a UPS mechanic through the 80’sand 90’s when their big delivery trucks (they were officially called Package Cars by UPS) that you see ran 300 six’s. They routinely got 400k+ out of them and then they rebuilt them and got another 100-150k out of them. These were hard city stop and go miles. It’s been said “when the last LS dies it’ll be a Ford 300 six that hauls it to the scrap yard “.
Toughest engine I had was the Ford Straight six in a 1980s old Ford van. I was deep in the woods, busted the radiator plug, drove it several minute until it seized, found water that was in a cattle trough, found a stick and carved a wooden plug, added water, rolled it downhill (my only luck that it stopped on a hill), popped the clutch, nothing. Tried again, nothing. Third time she spun and ran. Smoked quite a bit but ran it for many more miles. Of course, pre EPA days about the oil burning and the reason I ran it out of the woods, if I got it to the road my motor club would tow it. The van had major other issues but even with my abuse, the motor still ran good.
My F-150 has the 300 / 4.9L engine. It's tough and reliable but sucks on an interstate especially with a load or towing. It simply is lacking in high end torque. A 5 speed standard transmission might help that. It also only gets 13 - 15 mpg.
2 engines that should be on the list are the Ford 289 and the MOPAR 318. Both put in everything from little grocery getters to big trucks pulling and hauling. Both nearly impossible to destroy.
1995 Jeep Cherokee 242 CID (4.0) with 460,000 one owner miles. Untouched other than Valve Cover Gasket and Water pump. Uses not oil and runs to Redline on the Tach without drama. Best vehicle I've ever owned since my first in 1969. .
In the 70's I was raising a family of 5 , I was just back from Nam and was working all around New Jersey with my 318 Duster , It managed over 300,000 miles with just tune ups and maintenance. Thanks Chrysler !
I like all of them but my 03 Silverado 5.3 has got 350,000 miles on it and still going. I’m going with the LS I hear ole Bob singing like a rock every time she starts up. GOD BLESS!!!!!!!! ✌🏻from Ga.
Agreed I have 2000 Silverado 5.3. Beast of an engine. Just did a motor medic oil treatment with oil flush and cleaned the throttle body and did a Sea Foam hot soak. Then did new spark plugs. Got it running solid. Hard engine to kill. Runs like the day I bought it. 218k on original engine. Hard to beat the Chevy small blocks from the 90's and early 2000's .
Spot on. I have owned most of these motors. I miss them. I have only bought Japanese cars for 2 decades because they work, the way American cars used to work.
I had an 83 Chevy van, for work. Had a 305. Ran it 407k, then sold it to a gardener, who drove it for years after. Also had a personal 89 Siverado pickup, with a 350. Used it to tow my ski boat 600 miles, round trip, to the river, ...countless times. And daily to work..in LA traffic. Had 458k when I sold it. Still reliable, but tired. Recentltly bought a 94 Sierra, from the original, elderly owner. 94k...stored indoors, and meticulously maintaned!! 454 in it. !Looks like a new truck. Not a ding or scratch in it! Score for me! Very lucky to have found it. Tows my boat like a boss! Very happy!!! A brand new truck will not be a viable vehicle...30 years from now.
I had a pontiac ventura with a 250 chevy six cylinder...I put a hundred and six thousand miles on it..gave it to my dad..he sold it to a guy..it had two hundred and sixty thousand miles on it when he sold .it..three years later that guy was still driving it..250 chevy in line six .one of the best motors ever made
I was so glad to see the GM 3800 in this video. I didn't know it was so old, though. I had one in both of my Pontiac Bonnevilles. A series 1 and 2, nether were supercharged. Never heard of one blowing up and never had to do engine work in them.
all those engines were good, but there should have been 8 of the most reliable American car engines. you forgot one. the 318 which came in three version. the A block, the LA block, and the Magnum. I put over 325,874 miles on the 87 roller hydraulic cam 318 V8.
The 318, 306 and 3.9 liter v6 should have been listed together. They shared many of the same parts and any one of them would go 300k+ miles with normal maintenance. I've owned several Dodge pickups with those engines and all of them went over 250,000 miles with no engine problems. Unfortunately, the best engine in the world won't stop rust from destroying a truck.
Yes the 318 was the best engine ever made. The Trucks had the 318-3 with sodium filled exhaust valves, and forged steel crankshaft, and were indestructible in 1968. People report that they would routinely be in service at 400,000 miles in maintenance vehicles, on the original internals.
The main reason the Slant Six lasted so long was something the engineers did not design-in: Superior lubrication. When they slanted it 30 degrees to the side, it was only because the new Low-Line look was becoming popular and Chrysler needed a low profile six to fit under the hood of their new Dart/Valiant cars. Slanting the engine slowed the return of oil from the top to the sump, and also produced more oil splash at the bottom - resulting in very good lubrication. Most of the straight six engine produced in America were extremely good, and could liver very long lives because they were sourced from farm and industry, applications the US was very good at. The Ford 240 and 300 were especially good. In the case of the best small block ever built - the GM - lubrication was also betterthan its peers. Larger oil galleys were the key. The old 350 could go 200,000+ miles easily, with nothing done even with sketchy oil maintenance. Get religious about that oil and filter, and a 300K trip was very probable.
The slant 6 was originally designed for military purposes, during WWII, but was never put into production. The design was shelved until the late 50s when it was put in to 59 Dodge Lancers and Plymouth Valiants
@@John-d7pNylon cam gear was the main problem. It would deteriorate around 100k miles, and the teeth would break off or get worn. Usually when starting the chain would jump a link, then you had to replace it.
My buddy looked it up a few years ago. There were entire fleets of Cround Victoria taxicabs in New Youk City with over 300000 miles on them! That's stop and start in city traffic!
@robertcamble3543 look, if you have a 351w in your truck or van, a 351w from a crown vic will fit in it! Now, the truck intakes were taller due to the fact that there's more clearance! A 5 liter will bolt right up to the bellhousing, but the deck height is only 8.2" vs th 10.2" deck 351w. Now, the headers get close floorboards, but we never had a problem.
Yeah!!! Why don't the car makers go by that rule?. they should still be making the slant six, the small block Chevy, and the old 302 Ford - not the new piece of s#*t. I would rather have a 300 HP old school 302 than a 700HP new overcomplicated boat anchor.
How many miles on the clock? Any major engine work? Asking for an old XJ friend... who I need to keep driving a couple years more, until my daughter finishes college (and I'm done paying tuition...).
@@yournamehere6719 About 250k on the odometer and it is now limited to being my local driver so not a lot of miles per month as I am now retired. Three radiators, three water pumps, about 10 batteries (I live in the desert), a hand full serpentine belts, and I just swapped out the harmonic balancer. The motor has never been opened up and purrs like a kitten. It's really kind of freakish how reliable it has been over the years. I see other owners of older jeeps discuss jeep motor reliability all the time on TH-cam and various other forums. I am still on the original starter. The great thing about these old jeeps is their simplicity and ease of repair. No computer to plug into. The important thing is staying on top of the fluids. I change the oil every three or four months regardless of mileage. The old XJs can be hard to come by so good luck finding one in good shape.
I ran several cars with the GM 3800. Great platform. Had a Park Avenue Ultra with the supercharger make it to 342,000. It was still running strong when some guy rear ended me and totaled the car.
They were just as reliable but true versatility means more than running time. Ford always smeared the table with engines that wouldn’t interchange parts with anything else. That’s why you never saw a ford motor in a Chevy. And also why dirt track racing had very few Ford winners.
@@hayride5953 Ford had a short attention span when it came to fully developing its engines. They tended to move onto something else. They also were not good in support of the grassroots racer. They went for the Brass ring, Indycar, SCCA, LeMans, top tier NHRA and NASCAR Championships, etc. They many times missed the boat with the crowd that were actually buying their cars. AND I SAY THIS AS A LIFELONG FORD OWNER.
I just wrote the same thing about the old school ford small blocks!! And I did say they are as good as Chevy small blocks. Nice to see someone agrees with me!! Cool!!
LS engines are amazing. Tolerances are precision, materials are forged, they are bulletproof. I got 29 mpg on the highway with over 400 hp. These are 400,000 miles plus engines.
Before the video even started I said to myself they better put the Crysler slant six in the list and low-an-behold it was the first entry! They were tough!
I was thinking the same thing! lol And then, while that part of the video was playing, I wondered what was next and thought, the GM 3800, and it was next. The Ford 4.9 inline six.....was that the 300 cu. inch? Always wanted one of those, but the Ford trucks had that Twin I Beam suspension.....ugh.
I've been building/working on engines since the 60's. You just can't say enough good things about the LS. I've even given talks on it to small groups of young people. It's just brilliant. I remember hunting for "4-bolt" small blocks, every LS is 6-bolt, and Y block! Something as simple as the 1" cam, vs the 3/4, slowing things down! The tremendous bargain $$, and many other things. I remember drooling at a SS 396/375hp, the power!! Now my 2500 Silverado truck is 368/360hp, in a truck!! And being very fussy about Mobil_1 oil/filter every (too often) will likely run way past 250k miles!! LOL JMHO's 8) Peace --gary
My father had a slant 6 in a Duster. The car was old and used it just to go back and forth to work. Believe it or not, he ran it so low on oil that it stopped running. Filled it up with oil and fired it up. It ran for a couple of more years, then he sold it. The guy knew all the history and paid very little for it. I don't know how long it ran.
I bought a 2006 Mustang GT Premium in 2013. The 4.6 liter V8 car already had 147K highway miles. Since then I have added another 43K where the car now has over 190K miles. As I average about 4,000 miles a year and I keep the engine very well maintained I expect the car to go well over 200K. I truly believe that good preventive maintenance can make any vehicle achieve a long, useful life of service.
I had a 95 Grand Cherokee also. 225,000 miles. The trans went at 90k, was ready for another trans at the end when the unibody rotted out; but only regular maintenance on the engine that still ran strong.
What ever was in my 2001 4cyl Cavalier… 250,000 miles, no rebuild. Oil changes, and tire rotation every 5K. It developed an overheating issue I couldn’t track down, and I donated it to charity. Engine and drive train were still strong, ran really smooth.
Agreed with a lot of these. I have a daily driver 05 GMC it just turned over 413000, still running strong, original engine and transmission. Yes I do maintain it. Well, that’s the ticket.
Any serious discussion about classic American engines would never use the term "liter"!! The Chrysler "slant six" was ALWAYS known as "the 225", and so on. Further, those Ford modular engines were a complete joke when it came to durability! I did equipment maintenance for a large state agency for 30 years, the Crown Vic cop cars were always problematic. Their "favorite" issue was blowing the spark plugs out, usually #2 or #3, but I also saw one come into the shop with a hole in each side of the block. I called the "the glass motor", if you babied them and never got on 'em they'd hold up okay, but they would take absolutely NO abuse of any kind!
Anyone who is interested in these older engines and especially older people like me who had and worked on these engines know them by their cubi inch displacement, not liters. They were known and branded by cubi inches. So why do you identify them by liters? They're American cars.
yeah, liters suck. they are for the trash Europe calls cars. heres a hint. Multiply 60 times the liter. ex. a 302 is now called a 5.0 L 60 times 5.0 is 300. 2 cubic in off. A 400 is called a 6.6L 6.6 times 60 is 396. It will get you close enough. Boycott Eurotrash cars!!!!!!!! They are slow, ugly and VWs stink like melted tar.
I have 2 LT1s(5.7 Liter) that have over 300,000 on them and have had only Oil Changes, Spark Plugs, and Plug Wires changed. They still have the original Distributor Cap and Rotor(real PIA to change)...
As a mechanic of 45 years , I agree with every one completely, I worked with every one. Amazing stories, like before the jeep 4.0 was 258, came in the CJ5's, 7, they also came in American Motor Eagles and Ambassadors, the Buick 3.8 started long before you mentioned, Buick early '60 sold the patent to Jeep and they used used an odd fire firing order and Buick changed it to even fire., balanced it and it was best known with a turbo in the Grand National, I actually installed one in my 1981 Toyota pickup, gm automatic adapted to the Toyota t-case, 10" lift 35" tire 4x4 . But what I think is the best universal dream is the LS series. They can into anything, adapt to old or new GM and you can build them up. Great vid, I could put a real life story to adventure to every engine here that I've learn along the way. Keep 'em coming. oh, you should have mentioned that the Ford 4.6 evolved into 5.4l that Ford put in everything.
I’ll say the LS is the best , I’ve never had any problems with the motor in my 2005 GMC Truck 174,568 miles Chang oil every 3.000 miles, I’ve never replaced spark plugs cause it doesn’t miss , 295 Hp great motor.
You are just broken in. I sold a Camaro with an LS-1 with 256,600 on it. Guys tracking them on Corvette forum had Corvettes with over 400,000 on their LS-1 engines.
I can't imagine a list without a Ford Windsor engine on it. 260/289/302/351 engines and some of the variables have been around since the early 1960's and are still available for some special applications.
A great and accurate overview, thanks. Constructive criticism: Other than the GM 3800 and the Jeep 4 Liter, most of us Americans think in terms of cubic inches. These were all American engines, as you said. I had to keep doing quick equations in my head (about 60 cc's per c.i.). Additional facts: 1. The Jeep 4.0 liter did not come to life in the 1980's. It goes back to the 1960's AMC Gremlin. Yes, about indestructible. I had one in my Cherokee that had a manual transmission and no tachometer. One beautiful day I was driving about 95 in the south park of Colorado when I realized that I had not shifted out of 4th! No complaints from the engine! 2. I also own one of the GM 3800's, Series II. The picture you show is a Series I, although it was not called that until the Series II came along. These engines have on persistent problem that I don't know if GM or the gasket companies ever resolved: the lower intake manifold gaskets. I have tried every stop leak under the sun, and have resigned myself to adding coolant rather than tearing apart my engine top, with supercharger. Pick your battles. 3. The original 265 CUBIC INCH small block Chevy was revolutionary in 1955. It used the latest design and casting methods to obtain a V8 that was smaller and lighter than any other previously. It was even called the small block before there was a "big block" to differentiate it. See what kind of trivia can accrue when one lives a long time? Not sure if you mentioned it, what with the liters BS, but the small block made it to 400 CUBIC INCHES in one variation, by putting pairs of cylinders so close together, there was no water jacket between them. That limited any ultimate horsepower attempts.
Still drive daily a 3.8 in a Holden(Australia) 405'000 k ,about 250'000 miles, and is faultless.Just service's and various minor electrical over that period .Brilliant motor.
I've read a lot of positive comments on the Ford 3.0 V6! I had one in a 2003 Ranger! Interesting mix of old and new! Pushrod and rocker arm valve train, EFI and Electronic Ignition. I read stories about these engines approacking 300K and burning little to no oil! In the 1960s, Ford's stock engine was the 240ci I-6! I had a Ranch Eating with a 289 2bbl!
Well, I'll add my two cents worth: I had a 2000 Ford F-150 4.6 liter Triton engine pick up. It had 420,000+ miles on it when I donated it to the DAV. I only got rid of it because it was so hard to get interior parts and ancillary parts. The engine was original and still running like a champ with no leaks or problems. I replaced the transmission at 356,000 plus. Just a great truck and engine!
Buicks 322 v-8 from the early 50’s was very reliable. Even now there are folks dragging those old cars with 322’s in them and getting them running again with little effort . Great engines
You are not the first Internet site to sing the praises of the GM 3.8 liter. Everyone I know that had one must have gotten a lemon because they all seemed to have major issues with blown head gaskets. I worked at Budget Rent a car and our 1979 Monte Carlos, Malibus and Cutlasses had that engine. We had customers complain about how rough they ran.
Many of these engines were "reliable" until a plastic timing gear would let go. Later years, we again saw metal timing gears. Assuming the gear got replaced at the first water pump replacement, nearly any US made V8, V6, or straight 6, from early 60s on, could be got to live a long time by changing the oil and filter at 2K miles or 2 months, with somewhat longer intervals for unleaded gas and premium oils. The Slant 6 might not even care if you changed the oil, just so long as it HAD oil. BTW, it was not unusual to replace water pumps, fuel pumps, oil pumps, distributors, and perhaps carburetors on ANY of them. And Ford products for a long while were notorious for leaving you on the side of the road with a clogged paper fuel filter. The fix was of course to change it, and immediately splice a Chrysler can-style fuel filter into the line ahead of it; the Chrysler filter was HUGE by comparison and could filter out a LOT of crap from your gas. Chrysler products for a short time after introducing electronic ignition in 1973 could leave you stranded with a failed dual ballast resistor. They were cheap, usually easy to get to, so you carried a spare.
Toyota beat even the best American engines because not only did their engines last 750,000 - 1,000,000 miles, their water pumps, fuel pumps, oil pumps, distributors, and carburetors lasted at least half that long as well.
Excellent. Great selection! I love the inherent smoothness of an inline-6 - they don't need balancers like a V-6. Smoothness = less wear & greater longevity. I have such an engine now in my '98 Lexus SC300 - 3.0L DOHC inline-6 - a classic in its own right. 'Love it!
My first car was a Dodge Aspen with a slant 6, i swear, you did not even need to put oil in that thing... It had a top speed of like 70 miles an hour (on a good day) i was a teen, and i did not respect that car as much as i should have. But now i would would love to have that car back. It was red, 4 door, slow, you know every teens dream...
It is a real disservice to those of us who lived through the times to call engines by their metric size which no one used in that era. They were famous for their cubic inch displacement and known by that number. Liters didn't start until the engines were crap. Show me an engine from today that can go half a million miles on simple maintenance!
I have had 2 of the engines in your video. I agree that the 225 slant six is a great engine. It will last forever as long as you take care of it. Don't run it out of oil, keep the coolant full, and mainly use common sense. I have had many small block chevys from 283 to 350 including a bone stock 78 305 which was a peppy eng with lots of torque. It had a 3.5 inch stroke, same as a 350 but with smaller pistons. It was in a stock auto trans Camaro and got 20 mpg, my 250 straight 6 Mustang only got 15mpg. In my 56 Chevy with a Muncie 4 speed, and 4.11 posi rear. I had a 350 when I first got it. Then a 283, which was surprisingly fast and finally a 327. A 4 inch bore like the 350 with a 1/4 inch shorter stroke of 3 1/4 which was a happy medium between hi RPM capability and good torque. The 327 had a stock bottom end and I shifted it at 6500 RPM and never broke anything in the engine. So that's a pretty strong lower end. You didn't list the older 302 from Ford. I had 2 71 Mustangs. The hardtop had a 6 cyl and the ragtop had a 302 2 barrel all stock except a better air cleaner and dual exhaust. That car flew and I never had any trouble with the engine. The Only thing on the engine I had to replace other than maint was the mechanical fuel pump. In my opinion the Forb 302 is as good as a small block Chevy. Unfortunately I'm not a Ford fan except for early Mustangs and 58 thru 66 T birds. In the 60s all 3 American car companies made good cars and AMC too. On my 1956. 1957, 1962, 1967 and 1968 vehicles I can only remember very little plastic!!! By 1971 there was so much plastic in my Dad's new car I was in shoch and disbelief. I should have been born 15 to 20 years earlier when most musclecars were 3 to 4000 brand new.
My '96 XJ 4.0L just ticked over 280k this afternoon. Previous owner kept up with oil & fluid changes, and didn't off-road it or let his teen-ager abuse it. Compression and oil pressure are still good. I may treat her to a head re-fresh (valves, guides) at 300k, but the body-rust is starting to get embarrassing, so I dunno. I only paid $3k for it 6 years ago. It's been a gem.
I’ve owned: Mercedes, Ford, Chevy, Datsun, Ram, Jeep and I’ve gotten over 300,000 on all of them. The keys: regular maintenance and never overheat. My current vehicles include: 2004 Tahoe w/324,000, a 2008 Ram 2500 6-speed with 344,000, and. Jeep GC with 191,000.
The Slant Six was also customizable. It could be fitted with custom headers and 4 barrel carb. A person could mill the head, and put in a hotter cam. The cylinders had a lot of meat and the engines could be bored out to 60 over, possibly more. A person could achieve 250+ HP without a super charger. Putting one of those on it could get you over 300HP.
The GM 3800 was known to have intake gasket issues, I had a 1998 Buick Lesabre and another relative had a 2003 Lesabre we both had to fix intake gasket problems
He forgot to mention the 350 & 455 Olds. My buddy had a 78 Cadillac Seville with a fuel injection with the 350 Olds. He put 400,000 miles on it & rebuilt the engine which really wasn't necessary at the time. What about the Chevy 250 inline six. I knew someone back in the day that had a 65 or 66 Chevy panel van. He put 600.000 miles on that. The Buick 350, 430 & 455 last a long time too. But the Ford 4.6 is the best. I own a 2000 Crown Victoria I bought the car at a auction with 100,000 miles. It belonged to a Police department & it was the Captains car. My drivers and myself put a little over 500,000 miles. The car got into an accident & I pulled the motor out of the car & sold it to a friend of mine that he wanted & know about the miles & he didn't car e. He dropped the motor in a newer Crown Vic & drove it for a while & sold the car. & the newer motors where even Better. Because of the aluminum intake manifold. Versus the older ones with a plastic intake manifold. Which I replaced a couple of times.
AMC had the 4.2L (258 cu in) in line 6 in my old 73 AMC HORNET. 1bbl carburetored with the Chrysler 904 Torqueflite Trans. If it wasn't for the Northeast salted roads in the winter, I'd still have that car! That was a strong 6 cylinder engine. The 1960 Chevy 283 2bbl V8 was in my first car. I got it in 1966 thank you Mom and Dad! No P/S, no P/B, but a joy to drive! Again with the Northeast salted roads. I wish I still had that one also! My wife had an 86 Buick LeSabre with the GM 3.8 V6 and it was FWD. In late 1985 the LeSabre was RWD. From Jan 1, 1986 on, the LeSabre was FWD. The electrical part of that car made it a rolling intermittent on 4 wheels, but except for that dumb idea of coating the camshaft gear with plastic, that engine had over 427,000 miles on it and still kept going until the transmission finally quit! That was a great engine also!
Son in law has a 2002 Chevy Suburban with small V-8 that has over 500,000 miles on it and his son drives it now a 106 mile round trip to a Jr. College. He’s a high school getting Diesel Mechanics at the Jr. College 4 days a week. Still runs good.
If I had to pick one engine that got left off the list but should be on the list, it would probably be the 318 Chrysler. I am 85 years old and have run mostly GMs so not biased towards Chrysler. I was genuinely impressed by the 318's durability that kept running great for years long after the the bodies badly rusted.
I ordered a brand new 1989 Pontiac Bonneville and kept it for 14 years with 240K on it. The 3800 engine still ran great, used 0 oil but the car was rusting and falling apart.
I've owned dozens of cars in my 42 years of driving (car crazy i would guess) 5 out of the 7 engines on this list has been in cars and trucks i have had the privilege of ownership, all great engines! Excluding the LS and the Slant 6 although family members have owned those 2 and they are legendary as well!
My 2012 Ford Focus Hatchback got over 300,000 when the struts required service, I traded it in for a 2018 Focus...its at 135,000, the 2012 engine was operating perfectly trans too
My Granada with the 300cid 6 had 295,000 miles on it when I sold it. The only thing done to that engine was regular maintenance and replace the choke spring at about 200,000 and install a new fan belt, hoses and thermostat a couple times. I saw the car a couple years after being sold and it was still running well. Also had three Fords with the 4.6 OHC and they both ran well at over 100,000 miles with no problems at all.
Interesting and well-done! Except when you covered the GM LS engine and showed a Ford truck when you referenced it being used in trucks. Two other engines you should have covered were the Ford 200 and 289.
The Ford 4.9 inline 6 is indeed a fine engine but the Chevy 292 is very similar. The 292 is often overlooked on these lists because it wasn't in production as long as the 300.
My '96 Silverado had 356,500 on its 5.7 V8 when I sold it. I had 256,600 on my '98 Camaro LS-1 when I sold it. Both engines had never been opened. I have had well over 200,000 on most small block Chevy engines when I have sold but often they had a valve job around 180,000 typically.
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9 Most Reliable Japanese Car Engines of All Time
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What’s all this litre crap, can’t you say 225, 265 , 283 cubic inch
spoken like a true ignorant American. it is still ok to use cu. in. for old gas guzlers.
That is the measurement every country in the world uses except the USA. You are so fucking conceited you refuse to join the rest of the world. In fact most Americans don't even know there is an entire world out there far advanced over you. The US only accounts for 4.23% of the world's population.
no.
Well said ,why this woke transgender litre garbage.
AI nonsense. It's not well developed at this time.
For us old guys...I'd prefer cubic inch displacement vs liters
yeah...8.5 L cadillac? 501 cubic inch Eldorado...now that was a gas hog but what a cruiser!
When I hear these guy's talking in ltr's cars that came in cu.in. I just want to turn it off.
@@douce3623 For sure...289,327,350,383,396,409,426,440...I can relate to!
@@kevhauser I have owned 2 of the 500 CI cadillac cars, one was a 69 eldorado and other being a 1975 sedan deville.
@@EarlGuyton425 I had a 72 Eldorado convertible. I repainted it 2 x The car had a rougher ride over the crappy streets in CHicago area, but was a dream on the highway with the top down. Thankful to be able to be part of that era..... The 69 eldorado was probably fast with the higher compression and better cam...Cheers
Please use cubic inch displacement when talking American engines.
The Ai robot voice generator is not smart enough
my choice in engines hands down are straight 6 and slant six engines. owned several of them and they run forever . as for V-8's I chose the dodge 318 over all V-8's . driving for 52 years gives me the right to say whats right ............
The 318 was solid.
I wish I could find an early 60s Valiant with a slant 6.
@@jamesb.armstrong5433If you can keep valve seals in them. Oil burners. SB Chevy was the best..
I had a 1973 Valiant with a 318. Great car, I always kept an extra ballast resister in the glovebox.
@@garyowen9044 My dad had a 71 Dodge pickup with a slant 6 with a 3 on the tree. It had 198,000 miles on it when he sold it. The original clutch was still in it. We used to keep the ballast resistors in the glove box. We grabbed them from the junk yards too. Quick fix and down the road again! That was the good old Mopars.
I had a 1981 F-100 with a 300 online 6 that was bulletproof. It has a granny 4 speed and top speed was 82 mph and it was wound up tight. When I sold it, it had over 400,000 miles and still didn't burn any oil.
I'm not a Ford man at all, but will give credit where it is due. The 300ci truck engine, the 240ci for cars, and the 2.3 Pinto motor. Despite the strangling smog equipment of the day, it was a good motor that, given even basic care, could rack up a lot of miles.
Inline
Inline
@@alanscott8719 GM had a similar engine, the 292 inline 6. Over the years we had several of them and they were incredibly strong and durable.
I had a GMC straight six in a pickup. At 250000 it overheated and blew a head gasket. Fill it with oil and it still had good power even though it smoked like hell. I wasa kid and drove it that way for three months, sold it to a guy who replaced the head gasket and used it as a daily driver. Bulletproof isn't the word for those engines.
The slant six would be running perfectly while the Chrysler bodies would rot away to rust dust.
Still running an '87 pickup with the slant 6...Don't know if it's over 200K or 300K (bought it used).
It depends on the union contract. The 1974 Plymouth engine we had was built when the Union was in contract dispute. The slant 6 engine blew up at 47500 miles and the tranny give out at 82000 miles.
It almost put Chrysler out of business, nobody was buying new cars. AND THEN CAME THE K CAR, 80,000 MILES AND DEAD .....CHRYSLER LEARNED THEIR LESSON.
Knew a guy back in the early '80's that had a slant 6 that outlived 3 cars and ended up running a sawmill for years after. But, in all fairness, all of the Big 3 were building super tough inline 6's. My Dad had a 1978 GMC pickup with the 250 ci, which hauled everything we could load in it without complaint; and I owned a couple of Ford trucks with 6's( 240ci,and 300ci) that gave me everything I asked of them.
Inline 6's rule!@fred9384
My 1st car a 1964 Plymouth Valiant V-220 Signet sedan. With the Leaning tower of power 225 slant six. And a 3 speed push button Auto. When we sold with a 328,000 miles on it. The only thing ever replaced. Was the water pump at 280,000 miles. It did not overheat, but is was starting to make noise.
I had one. I could stand next to the engine with my feet on the ground, and change the plugs. Of course, I was thinner at that time.
I won hundreds of 1964 dollars drag racing a 225 powered 1964 Plymouth Savory. It dominated all 6 cylinders racing at the time.
Let's Roll !
Wolf Alaska
I agree except the mopar alternator that blew up.
@@wolfalaska7638ol
I drove a 2005 Crown Victoria Police Interceptor and currently drive a 2011 Crown Victoria LX. That 4.6L V8 2v is literally smooth as butter. It’s a real and true engineering of such engines that makes these cars last so long. ❤
I have a 2004 Mercury Grand Marquis LS Ultimate with 44,000 miles on it. It has been Ford dealer serviced so much, it is 'serviced to" 130,000 miles!
Runs great, looks great, everything works! Paid $6,400 in December 2023.
Let's Roll!
Wolf Alaska
🐺
The 4.6 did not start out well, and many of those early to mid '90's ones were oil burners. I'm glad they improved over time!
I had a 2005 Lincoln Town Car with the 4.6L engine. When I finally decided to trade it in, it had over 300,000 miles on it - and the engine still ran great. I used only Motorcraft oil in it with a Motorcraft filter. Also, only Motorcraft antifreeze mixed 50 / 50 with distilled water. The transmission on the car was finally starting to show it's age when I traded it in. I found out later one of my friends who was a ford tech at another dealership saw it at auction, and knowing the owner picked it up right away. He replaced all the seals when he installed a new transmission and said if he didn't know the vehicle, he would have guessed it had around 150,000 miles on it.
Ford 300 six. My brother in law was a UPS mechanic through the 80’sand 90’s when their big delivery trucks (they were officially called Package Cars by UPS) that you see ran 300 six’s. They routinely got 400k+ out of them and then they rebuilt them and got another 100-150k out of them. These were hard city stop and go miles. It’s been said “when the last LS dies it’ll be a Ford 300 six that hauls it to the scrap yard “.
At least GM doesn't support gay rights 😮
Toughest engine I had was the Ford Straight six in a 1980s old Ford van. I was deep in the woods, busted the radiator plug, drove it several minute until it seized, found water that was in a cattle trough, found a stick and carved a wooden plug, added water, rolled it downhill (my only luck that it stopped on a hill), popped the clutch, nothing. Tried again, nothing. Third time she spun and ran. Smoked quite a bit but ran it for many more miles. Of course, pre EPA days about the oil burning and the reason I ran it out of the woods, if I got it to the road my motor club would tow it. The van had major other issues but even with my abuse, the motor still ran good.
A Good engine by American car standards, but Toyota 4 cyl, V6 and V8's go 1,000,000 miles.
The Chevrolet 4.1 and 4.8 inline 6s.
My F-150 has the 300 / 4.9L engine. It's tough and reliable but sucks on an interstate especially with a load or towing. It simply is lacking in high end torque. A 5 speed standard transmission might help that. It also only gets 13 - 15 mpg.
2 engines that should be on the list are the Ford 289 and the MOPAR 318. Both put in everything from little grocery getters to big trucks pulling and hauling. Both nearly impossible to destroy.
Definitely , the 318 Mopar , took a licken and kept on ticken !
1995 Jeep Cherokee 242 CID (4.0) with 460,000 one owner miles. Untouched other than Valve Cover Gasket and Water pump. Uses not oil and runs to Redline on the Tach without drama. Best vehicle I've ever owned since my first in 1969.
.
318 Chrysler, damn good engine
Most reliable out of all these !
Also, the Chrysler 361. It was a beast.
It's a crime not to include the Mopar small block V8. The 318 is just as tough and reliable as any engine, EVER!
In the 70's I was raising a family of 5 , I was just back from Nam and was working all around New Jersey with my 318 Duster , It managed over 300,000 miles with just tune ups and maintenance. Thanks Chrysler !
@@hellskitchen10036 It is a shame that Chrysler is ruined now. I had 318 and a 340. Great engines.
I have always been able to appreciate the 3800 from Buick.
That’s a great engine.
I drove a 1989 Reatta with a 3.8 it was a dog..No torque
I like all of them but my 03 Silverado 5.3 has got 350,000 miles on it and still going. I’m going with the LS I hear ole Bob singing like a rock every time she starts up. GOD BLESS!!!!!!!! ✌🏻from Ga.
Agreed I have 2000 Silverado 5.3. Beast of an engine. Just did a motor medic oil treatment with oil flush and cleaned the throttle body and did a Sea Foam hot soak. Then did new spark plugs. Got it running solid. Hard engine to kill. Runs like the day I bought it. 218k on original engine. Hard to beat the Chevy small blocks from the 90's and early 2000's .
Spot on. I have owned most of these motors. I miss them. I have only bought Japanese cars for 2 decades because they
work, the way American cars used to work.
200,000 miles was the break-in period for Chrysler's slant six engine!
It had a characteristic tick when it ran. It didn't seem to bother it.
0:02 @@robertthomas5906FACT : The solid lifters were supposed to be adjusted each tune up . Most never were adjusted !
you are correct my friend!!!
I had an 83 Chevy van, for work.
Had a 305.
Ran it 407k, then sold it to a gardener, who drove it for years after.
Also had a personal 89 Siverado pickup, with a 350.
Used it to tow my ski boat 600 miles, round trip, to the river,
...countless times.
And daily to work..in LA traffic.
Had 458k when I sold it.
Still reliable, but tired.
Recentltly bought a 94 Sierra, from the original, elderly owner.
94k...stored indoors, and meticulously maintaned!!
454 in it.
!Looks like a new truck.
Not a ding or scratch in it!
Score for me!
Very lucky to have found it.
Tows my boat like a boss!
Very happy!!!
A brand new truck will not be a viable vehicle...30 years from now.
I had a pontiac ventura with a 250 chevy six cylinder...I put a hundred and six thousand miles on it..gave it to my dad..he sold it to a guy..it had two hundred and sixty thousand miles on it when he sold .it..three years later that guy was still driving it..250 chevy in line six .one of the best motors ever made
That's what I had in my 76 Nova, 3 banger on the floor.
I wish that I still had that car!!!
Timing chains was a problem and exhaust leaks.
@@artemiofierros5371 no timing chain.
I was so glad to see the GM 3800 in this video. I didn't know it was so old, though. I had one in both of my Pontiac Bonnevilles. A series 1 and 2, nether were supercharged. Never heard of one blowing up and never had to do engine work in them.
all those engines were good, but there should have been 8 of the most reliable American car engines. you forgot one. the 318 which came in three version. the A block, the LA block, and the Magnum. I put over 325,874 miles on the 87 roller hydraulic cam 318 V8.
that 318 in my '97 Ram 1500 is still going strong. We're over 235K on the clock now....
The 318, 306 and 3.9 liter v6 should have been listed together. They shared many of the same parts and any one of them would go 300k+ miles with normal maintenance. I've owned several Dodge pickups with those engines and all of them went over 250,000 miles with no engine problems. Unfortunately, the best engine in the world won't stop rust from destroying a truck.
Yes the 318 was the best engine ever made. The Trucks had the 318-3 with sodium filled exhaust valves, and forged steel crankshaft, and were indestructible in 1968. People report that they would routinely be in service at 400,000 miles in maintenance vehicles, on the original internals.
The main reason the Slant Six lasted so long was something the engineers did not design-in: Superior lubrication. When they slanted it 30 degrees to the side, it was only because the new Low-Line look was becoming popular and Chrysler needed a low profile six to fit under the hood of their new Dart/Valiant cars. Slanting the engine slowed the return of oil from the top to the sump, and also produced more oil splash at the bottom - resulting in very good lubrication. Most of the straight six engine produced in America were extremely good, and could liver very long lives because they were sourced from farm and industry, applications the US was very good at. The Ford 240 and 300 were especially good.
In the case of the best small block ever built - the GM - lubrication was also betterthan its peers. Larger oil galleys were the key. The old 350 could go 200,000+ miles easily, with nothing done even with sketchy oil maintenance. Get religious about that oil and filter, and a 300K trip was very probable.
The slant 6 was originally designed for military purposes, during WWII, but was never put into production. The design was shelved until the late 50s when it was put in to 59 Dodge Lancers and Plymouth Valiants
Timing chain was the only down fall of most American v8 engines replace it and drive another 100,000 miles
@@thomasringer954 Believe it or not, it's the same thing on bicycles: Chain stretch.
@@John-d7pNylon cam gear was the main problem. It would deteriorate around 100k miles, and the teeth would break off or get worn. Usually when starting the chain would jump a link, then you had to replace it.
Seen a lot of 350s fail @ 50k miles camshafts and cracked cylinder heads
Chevy 350 & Mopar 225 slant 6... I don't do liters
i have a 2007 f-150 4.6 with 763000 on it and still driveing
Good day from Ont. Wow 763000 miles? ths
My buddy looked it up a few years ago. There were entire fleets of Cround Victoria taxicabs in New Youk City with over 300000 miles on them! That's stop and start in city traffic!
@@markmccarty9793 Does the Crown Victoria share the same engine in the Ford e350 van ?.
@robertcamble3543 look, if you have a 351w in your truck or van, a 351w from a crown vic will fit in it! Now, the truck intakes were taller due to the fact that there's more clearance! A 5 liter will bolt right up to the bellhousing, but the deck height is only 8.2" vs th 10.2" deck 351w. Now, the headers get close floorboards, but we never had a problem.
What brand and weight motor oil did you put in it? I would like to get 500K miles out of my 4.6 !!!
When you've made something great, don't mess with it.
Your comment has to do with 100% of domestic automakers of course. Not the Toyotas.
Yeah!!! Why don't the car makers go by that rule?. they should still be making the slant six, the small block Chevy, and the old 302 Ford - not the new piece of s#*t. I would rather have a 300 HP old school 302 than a 700HP new overcomplicated boat anchor.
I put 300,000 miles on a Mopar 3.9l V6, never had to get into the engine for any reason. 3 fuel pumps, serpentine belt, and muffler. That was it.😅
What year and model vehicle was it in?
@@JamesStover-gr3hw 1993 Dakota Sport truck.
My Ford e250 5.8 1994 engine has reached 500,000 miles and is still going.
You missed the dodge 318 and 360 V8 those motors are unstoppable
The Slant Six don't know what death is
My 1993 Jeep Cherokee 4 liter in line 6 has been my daily driver for 31 years and has passed 14 emission tests.
How many miles on the clock? Any major engine work?
Asking for an old XJ friend... who I need to keep driving a couple years more, until my daughter finishes college (and I'm done paying tuition...).
@@yournamehere6719 About 250k on the odometer and it is now limited to being my local driver so not a lot of miles per month as I am now retired. Three radiators, three water pumps, about 10 batteries (I live in the desert), a hand full serpentine belts, and I just swapped out the harmonic balancer. The motor has never been opened up and purrs like a kitten. It's really kind of freakish how reliable it has been over the years. I see other owners of older jeeps discuss jeep motor reliability all the time on TH-cam and various other forums. I am still on the original starter. The great thing about these old jeeps is their simplicity and ease of repair. No computer to plug into. The important thing is staying on top of the fluids. I change the oil every three or four months regardless of mileage. The old XJs can be hard to come by so good luck finding one in good shape.
I ran several cars with the GM 3800. Great platform. Had a Park Avenue Ultra with the supercharger make it to 342,000. It was still running strong when some guy rear ended me and totaled the car.
My brother put 420,000 miles on his 1991 Buick Riviera 3.8 liter non-turbo. He sold it to a friend 4 years ago,
and it is still on the road.
The 4.9 L six in my '88 Bronco was unstoppable.
Ford small-block Windsor 289-351 series overlooked here. Every bit as reliable as the first generation small-block Chevrolets.
They were just as reliable but true versatility means more than running time. Ford always smeared the table with engines that wouldn’t interchange parts with anything else. That’s why you never saw a ford motor in a Chevy. And also why dirt track racing had very few Ford winners.
@@hayride5953 Ford had a short attention span when it came to fully developing its engines. They tended to move onto something else. They also were not good in support of the grassroots racer. They went for the Brass ring, Indycar, SCCA, LeMans, top tier NHRA and NASCAR Championships, etc. They many times missed the boat with the crowd that were actually buying their cars. AND I SAY THIS AS A LIFELONG FORD OWNER.
Amen!
I just wrote the same thing about the old school ford small blocks!! And I did say they are as good as Chevy small blocks. Nice to see someone agrees with me!! Cool!!
LS engines are amazing. Tolerances are precision, materials are forged, they are bulletproof. I got 29 mpg on the highway with over 400 hp. These are 400,000 miles plus engines.
Unless the valve train grenades.
@@patrickmcwilliams3957 Never on LS400 & LS430. Yes on some LS460's due to a bad batch of valve springs.
The 225 CID slant six!!!! Of course, all of those listed have earned their way to the top!
Slant six was really good. Starter change was a piece of cake but the distributer on the low side was a little tough,
You neglected to mention Mopar LA engines: 318; 340; & 360 V8s.
3:40 was a screamer
Or, the three 318 engines.
A model, LA model, and the
Magnum.
Any would beat these shown here.
Before the video even started I said to myself they better put the Crysler slant six in the list and low-an-behold it was the first entry! They were tough!
I was thinking the same thing! lol And then, while that part of the video was playing, I wondered what was next and thought, the GM 3800, and it was next. The Ford 4.9 inline six.....was that the 300 cu. inch? Always wanted one of those, but the Ford trucks had that Twin I Beam suspension.....ugh.
Alit of us did
I have an '05 Jeep TJ Rocky Mtn with the 4.0L I6 going on 180K miles, and she still runs strong! By far the best and most fun vehicle I've had.
Just broke I'm. My 96 dd.Cherokee just crossed 242,000. Loves road work!
My 04 grand Cherokee with the 4.0l has 476,000 and still running great, all original
Loved my slant six. Never a problem. 350 K miles, and I was the 4th owner and sold it.
Chrysler 318 not being on this list makes me scratch my head ? Most reliable engine ever made !
the foolish man admires complexity, the wise man admires simplicity.
You are a smart man!! Simplicity lasts longer no matter what it is.!!!
I've been building/working on engines since the 60's. You just can't say enough good things about the LS. I've even given talks on it to small groups of young people. It's just brilliant. I remember hunting for "4-bolt" small blocks, every LS is 6-bolt, and Y block! Something as simple as the 1" cam, vs the 3/4, slowing things down! The tremendous bargain $$, and many other things. I remember drooling at a SS 396/375hp, the power!! Now my 2500 Silverado truck is 368/360hp, in a truck!! And being very fussy about Mobil_1 oil/filter every (too often) will likely run way past 250k miles!! LOL JMHO's 8) Peace --gary
Dodge 318/360 In decades past, Studebaker 259 V8 (4.2L).
Right on Dude !
My father had a slant 6 in a Duster. The car was old and used it just to go back and forth to work. Believe it or not, he ran it so low on oil that it stopped running. Filled it up with oil and fired it up. It ran for a couple of more years, then he sold it. The guy knew all the history and paid very little for it. I don't know how long it ran.
I bought a 2006 Mustang GT Premium in 2013. The 4.6 liter V8 car already had 147K highway miles. Since then I have added another 43K where the car now has over 190K miles. As I average about 4,000 miles a year and I keep the engine very well maintained I expect the car to go well over 200K. I truly believe that good preventive maintenance can make any vehicle achieve a long, useful life of service.
My ‘95 Jeep Grand Cherokee that had the 4.0 I6, had 300,000, still getting 19 mpg when I put in a 4.7 I6 that jumped to 22 mpg
I had a 95 Grand Cherokee also. 225,000 miles. The trans went at 90k, was ready for another trans at the end when the unibody rotted out; but only regular maintenance on the engine that still ran strong.
I have a 3800 Buick bought new in 2004. I look a new cars and suat say no. People probably think I am poor.
I've got an 89 Buick Riviera with the 3800 rides smooth and luxurious back when they built cars to last
the millionaire next door
I drive a 1981 buick century/ have 200k in the bank/5 property's/ they think I'm poor to.
Damn, I would love any one of your cars.
@@ronaldmoravec2692 I drive 🚗 a 1981 buick century/ have 200k in the bank.
What ever was in my 2001 4cyl Cavalier…
250,000 miles, no rebuild. Oil changes, and tire rotation every 5K. It developed an overheating issue I couldn’t track down, and I donated it to charity. Engine and drive train were still strong, ran really smooth.
maintenance!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Agreed with a lot of these. I have a daily driver 05 GMC it just turned over 413000, still running strong, original engine and transmission. Yes I do maintain it. Well, that’s the ticket.
Any serious discussion about classic American engines would never use the term "liter"!! The Chrysler "slant six" was ALWAYS known as "the 225", and so on. Further, those Ford modular engines were a complete joke when it came to durability! I did equipment maintenance for a large state agency for 30 years, the Crown Vic cop cars were always problematic. Their "favorite" issue was blowing the spark plugs out, usually #2 or #3, but I also saw one come into the shop with a hole in each side of the block. I called the "the glass motor", if you babied them and never got on 'em they'd hold up okay, but they would take absolutely NO abuse of any kind!
flyurway you are full of $hit as you were not listening when they described the 4.6 TWO VALVE !!! DUUUUUUUHHHH!!!!!!!!
LS for sure still driving my 99 silverado everday since bought brand new in 99!! 290,000 miles. Still drives A1!!
Anyone who is interested in these older engines and especially older people like me who had and worked on these engines know them by their cubi inch displacement, not liters. They were known and branded by cubi inches. So why do you identify them by liters? They're American cars.
yeah, liters suck. they are for the trash Europe calls cars. heres a hint. Multiply 60 times the liter. ex. a 302 is now called a 5.0 L 60 times 5.0 is 300. 2 cubic in off. A 400 is called a 6.6L 6.6 times 60 is 396. It will get you close enough. Boycott Eurotrash cars!!!!!!!! They are slow, ugly and VWs stink like melted tar.
I have 2 LT1s(5.7 Liter) that have over 300,000 on them and have had only Oil Changes, Spark Plugs, and Plug Wires changed. They still have the original Distributor Cap and Rotor(real PIA to change)...
Nice to include GM 3800. Owned it like six times. Bingo. Had to be on list. Was light years ahead of many American engines
As a mechanic of 45 years , I agree with every one completely, I worked with every one. Amazing stories, like before the jeep 4.0 was 258, came in the CJ5's, 7, they also came in American Motor Eagles and Ambassadors, the Buick 3.8 started long before you mentioned, Buick early '60 sold the patent to Jeep and they used used an odd fire firing order and Buick changed it to even fire., balanced it and it was best known with a turbo in the Grand National, I actually installed one in my 1981 Toyota pickup, gm automatic adapted to the Toyota t-case, 10" lift 35" tire 4x4 . But what I think is the best universal dream is the LS series. They can into anything, adapt to old or new GM and you can build them up.
Great vid, I could put a real life story to adventure to every engine here that I've learn along the way. Keep 'em coming. oh, you should have mentioned that the Ford 4.6 evolved into 5.4l that Ford put in everything.
my 305cu in used in my 1988 red firebird went 450,000 miles and was still running fine when I sold the car. That chevrolet v8 was a great engine.
GM's LS motors were so amazing they even put them in Ford F150s (6:16)
LOL 😄😄😄
I’ll say the LS is the best , I’ve never had any problems with the motor in my 2005 GMC Truck 174,568 miles Chang oil every 3.000 miles, I’ve never replaced spark plugs cause it doesn’t miss , 295 Hp great motor.
You are just broken in. I sold a Camaro with an LS-1 with 256,600 on it. Guys tracking them on Corvette forum had Corvettes with over 400,000 on their LS-1 engines.
Our 3.8 liter ran flawlessly for over two hundred thousand miles and it was a bit abused at times. She finally dropped a valve 206000 miles.
I can't imagine a list without a Ford Windsor engine on it. 260/289/302/351 engines and some of the variables have been around since the early 1960's and are still available for some special applications.
Good to finally see a “list” where everything on it deserves to be.
Except it's missing the Mopar 318 !
Oh and my family 04 Yukon XL with the 5.3 it has 300k and so smooth it is the vehicle of choice amongst the family members for long distance trips
SBC 350 and 5.3, 6.2 LS engines are hands down the top picks for hotrods and resto's.
A great and accurate overview, thanks. Constructive criticism: Other than the GM 3800 and the Jeep 4 Liter, most of us Americans think in terms of cubic inches. These were all American engines, as you said. I had to keep doing quick equations in my head (about 60 cc's per c.i.).
Additional facts:
1. The Jeep 4.0 liter did not come to life in the 1980's. It goes back to the 1960's AMC Gremlin. Yes, about indestructible. I had one in my Cherokee that had a manual transmission and no tachometer. One beautiful day I was driving about 95 in the south park of Colorado when I realized that I had not shifted out of 4th! No complaints from the engine!
2. I also own one of the GM 3800's, Series II. The picture you show is a Series I, although it was not called that until the Series II came along. These engines have on persistent problem that I don't know if GM or the gasket companies ever resolved: the lower intake manifold gaskets. I have tried every stop leak under the sun, and have resigned myself to adding coolant rather than tearing apart my engine top, with supercharger. Pick your battles.
3. The original 265 CUBIC INCH small block Chevy was revolutionary in 1955. It used the latest design and casting methods to obtain a V8 that was smaller and lighter than any other previously. It was even called the small block before there was a "big block" to differentiate it. See what kind of trivia can accrue when one lives a long time? Not sure if you mentioned it, what with the liters BS, but the small block made it to 400 CUBIC INCHES in one variation, by putting pairs of cylinders so close together, there was no water jacket between them. That limited any ultimate horsepower attempts.
Still drive daily a 3.8 in a Holden(Australia) 405'000 k ,about 250'000 miles, and is faultless.Just service's and various minor electrical over that period .Brilliant motor.
Long ago I heard the cheapest engine to dig out of a junkyard was a slant 6 because no one ever needed one.
I've read a lot of positive comments on the Ford 3.0 V6! I had one in a 2003 Ranger! Interesting mix of old and new! Pushrod and rocker arm valve train, EFI and Electronic Ignition. I read stories about these engines approacking 300K and burning little to no oil! In the 1960s, Ford's stock engine was the 240ci I-6! I had a Ranch Eating with a 289 2bbl!
Well, I'll add my two cents worth: I had a 2000 Ford F-150 4.6 liter Triton engine pick up. It had 420,000+ miles on it when I donated it to the DAV. I only got rid of it because it was so hard to get interior parts and ancillary parts. The engine was original and still running like a champ with no leaks or problems. I replaced the transmission at 356,000 plus. Just a great truck and engine!
Buicks 322 v-8 from the early 50’s was very reliable. Even now there are folks dragging those old cars with 322’s in them and getting them running again with little effort . Great engines
You are not the first Internet site to sing the praises of the GM 3.8 liter. Everyone I know that had one must have gotten a lemon because they all seemed to have major issues with blown head gaskets. I worked at Budget Rent a car and our 1979 Monte Carlos, Malibus and Cutlasses had that engine. We had customers complain about how rough they ran.
Many of these engines were "reliable" until a plastic timing gear would let go. Later years, we again saw metal timing gears. Assuming the gear got replaced at the first water pump replacement, nearly any US made V8, V6, or straight 6, from early 60s on, could be got to live a long time by changing the oil and filter at 2K miles or 2 months, with somewhat longer intervals for unleaded gas and premium oils. The Slant 6 might not even care if you changed the oil, just so long as it HAD oil. BTW, it was not unusual to replace water pumps, fuel pumps, oil pumps, distributors, and perhaps carburetors on ANY of them. And Ford products for a long while were notorious for leaving you on the side of the road with a clogged paper fuel filter. The fix was of course to change it, and immediately splice a Chrysler can-style fuel filter into the line ahead of it; the Chrysler filter was HUGE by comparison and could filter out a LOT of crap from your gas. Chrysler products for a short time after introducing electronic ignition in 1973 could leave you stranded with a failed dual ballast resistor. They were cheap, usually easy to get to, so you carried a spare.
Toyota beat even the best American engines because not only did their engines last 750,000 - 1,000,000 miles, their water pumps, fuel pumps, oil pumps, distributors, and carburetors lasted at least half that long as well.
Well Done -- Thanks so much.
Excellent. Great selection! I love the inherent smoothness of an inline-6 - they don't need balancers like a V-6. Smoothness = less wear & greater longevity. I have such an engine now in my '98 Lexus SC300 - 3.0L DOHC inline-6 - a classic in its own right. 'Love it!
My first car was a Dodge Aspen with a slant 6, i swear, you did not even need to put oil in that thing... It had a top speed of like 70 miles an hour (on a good day) i was a teen, and i did not respect that car as much as i should have. But now i would would love to have that car back.
It was red, 4 door, slow, you know every teens dream...
Windsor 302
Mopar 318
Mopar 239
GM 350
GM 231
FORD 300
AMC 242
It is a real disservice to those of us who lived through the times to call engines by their metric size which no one used in that era. They were famous for their cubic inch displacement and known by that number. Liters didn't start until the engines were crap. Show me an engine from today that can go half a million miles on simple maintenance!
I have had 2 of the engines in your video. I agree that the 225 slant six is a great engine. It will last forever as long as you take care of it. Don't run it out of oil, keep the coolant full, and mainly use common sense. I have had many small block chevys from 283 to 350 including a bone stock 78 305 which was a peppy eng with lots of torque. It had a 3.5 inch stroke, same as a 350 but with smaller pistons. It was in a stock auto trans Camaro and got 20 mpg, my 250 straight 6 Mustang only got 15mpg. In my 56 Chevy with a Muncie 4 speed, and 4.11 posi rear. I had a 350 when I first got it. Then a 283, which was surprisingly fast and finally a 327. A 4 inch bore like the 350 with a 1/4 inch shorter stroke of 3 1/4 which was a happy medium between hi RPM capability and good torque. The 327 had a stock bottom end and I shifted it at 6500 RPM and never broke anything in the engine. So that's a pretty strong lower end. You didn't list the older 302 from Ford. I had 2 71 Mustangs. The hardtop had a 6 cyl and the ragtop had a 302 2 barrel all stock except a better air cleaner and dual exhaust. That car flew and I never had any trouble with the engine. The Only thing on the engine I had to replace other than maint was the mechanical fuel pump. In my opinion the Forb 302 is as good as a small block Chevy. Unfortunately I'm not a Ford fan except for early Mustangs and 58 thru 66 T birds. In the 60s all 3 American car companies made good cars and AMC too. On my 1956. 1957, 1962, 1967 and 1968 vehicles I can only remember very little plastic!!! By 1971 there was so much plastic in my Dad's new car I was in shoch and disbelief. I should have been born 15 to 20 years earlier when most musclecars were 3 to 4000 brand new.
Glad the 3800 V6 got some love 😊
You left out the 318 Dodge!
Yep !
Because most 4 cyls are faster. But the 318 is reliable, don't expect to win any races. use a 440 if you wanna race
2000 4.8 chevy silverado 19 yrs/333000 miles.
J35 series honda engine is legendary. Still making it today, started in the 90s
My '96 XJ 4.0L just ticked over 280k this afternoon. Previous owner kept up with oil & fluid changes, and didn't off-road it or let his teen-ager abuse it. Compression and oil pressure are still good. I may treat her to a head re-fresh (valves, guides) at 300k, but the body-rust is starting to get embarrassing, so I dunno. I only paid $3k for it 6 years ago. It's been a gem.
Personally my 2 faves are the Jeep 4.0 liter in line 6 and the Chevy small block V8....😎
I’ve owned:
Mercedes, Ford, Chevy, Datsun, Ram, Jeep and I’ve gotten over 300,000 on all of them. The keys: regular maintenance and never overheat. My current vehicles include: 2004 Tahoe w/324,000, a 2008 Ram 2500 6-speed with 344,000, and. Jeep GC with 191,000.
The Slant Six was also customizable. It could be fitted with custom headers and 4 barrel carb. A person could mill the head, and put in a hotter cam. The cylinders had a lot of meat and the engines could be bored out to 60 over, possibly more.
A person could achieve 250+ HP without a super charger. Putting one of those on it could get you over 300HP.
The GM 3800 was known to have intake gasket issues, I had a 1998 Buick Lesabre and another relative had a 2003 Lesabre we both had to fix intake gasket problems
He forgot to mention the 350 & 455 Olds. My buddy had a 78 Cadillac Seville with a fuel injection with the 350 Olds. He put 400,000 miles on it & rebuilt the engine which really wasn't necessary at the time. What about the Chevy 250 inline six. I knew someone back in the day that had a 65 or 66 Chevy panel van. He put 600.000 miles on that. The Buick 350, 430 & 455 last a long time too. But the Ford 4.6 is the best. I own a 2000 Crown Victoria I bought the car at a auction with 100,000 miles. It belonged to a Police department & it was the Captains car. My drivers and myself put a little over 500,000 miles. The car got into an accident & I pulled the motor out of the car & sold it to a friend of mine that he wanted & know about the miles & he didn't car e. He dropped the motor in a newer Crown Vic & drove it for a while & sold the car. & the newer motors where even Better. Because of the aluminum intake manifold. Versus the older ones with a plastic intake manifold. Which I replaced a couple of times.
AMC had the 4.2L (258 cu in) in line 6 in my old 73 AMC HORNET. 1bbl carburetored with the Chrysler 904 Torqueflite Trans. If it wasn't for the Northeast salted roads in the winter, I'd still have that car!
That was a strong 6 cylinder engine.
The 1960 Chevy 283 2bbl V8 was in my first car. I got it in 1966 thank you Mom and Dad! No P/S, no P/B, but a joy to drive! Again with the Northeast salted roads. I wish I still had that one also!
My wife had an 86 Buick LeSabre with the GM 3.8 V6 and it was FWD. In late 1985 the LeSabre was RWD. From Jan 1, 1986 on, the LeSabre was FWD. The electrical part of that car made it a rolling intermittent on 4 wheels, but except for that dumb idea of coating the camshaft gear with plastic, that engine had over 427,000 miles on it and still kept going until the transmission finally quit!
That was a great engine also!
Son in law has a 2002 Chevy Suburban with small V-8 that has over 500,000 miles on it and his son drives it now a 106 mile round trip to a Jr. College. He’s a high school getting Diesel Mechanics at the Jr. College 4 days a week. Still runs good.
Forgot the 318.
Right on !
If I had to pick one engine that got left off the list but should be on the list, it would probably be the 318 Chrysler. I am 85 years old and have run mostly GMs so not biased towards Chrysler. I was genuinely impressed by the 318's durability that kept running great for years long after the the bodies badly rusted.
I ordered a brand new 1989 Pontiac Bonneville and kept it for 14 years with 240K on it. The 3800 engine still ran great, used 0 oil but the car was rusting and falling apart.
I have a 2006 Chevy TrailBlazer with the 4.2 Liter Inline 6 and he has 200,886 miles. Still running strong.
I've owned dozens of cars in my 42 years of driving (car crazy i would guess) 5 out of the 7 engines on this list has been in cars and trucks i have had the privilege of ownership, all great engines!
Excluding the LS and the Slant 6 although family members have owned those 2 and they are legendary as well!
My 2012 Ford Focus Hatchback got over 300,000 when the struts required service, I traded it in for a 2018 Focus...its at 135,000, the 2012 engine was operating perfectly trans too
My Granada with the 300cid 6 had 295,000 miles on it when I sold it. The only thing done to that engine was regular maintenance and replace the choke spring at about 200,000 and install a new fan belt, hoses and thermostat a couple times. I saw the car a couple years after being sold and it was still running well. Also had three Fords with the 4.6 OHC and they both ran well at over 100,000 miles with no problems at all.
They never put a 300cubic in motor in a passenger car ,only trucks cars were 170,200,and 250.
300 6 wasn't used in cars
Interesting and well-done! Except when you covered the GM LS engine and showed a Ford truck when you referenced it being used in trucks. Two other engines you should have covered were the Ford 200 and 289.
The Ford 4.9 inline 6 is indeed a fine engine but the Chevy 292 is very similar. The 292 is often overlooked on these lists because it wasn't in production as long as the 300.
My '96 Silverado had 356,500 on its 5.7 V8 when I sold it. I had 256,600 on my '98 Camaro LS-1 when I sold it. Both engines had never been opened. I have had well over 200,000 on most small block Chevy engines when I have sold but often they had a valve job around 180,000 typically.