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This is just my opinion : anything in a Ford, but why mess with the other stuff?


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I think when hot rodders started swapping engines there were plenty of Fords to go around. Now don't get me wrong I like Fords, first car was a '31 Model A, currently driving a '97 Tbird 4.6. But I don't have a problem with anything , and I mean anything in a Ford, were talkin' Hot Rods here.

Now when it comes to anything else I've just got this thing about, "Hey , what are ya doing here? Couldn't find the right engine for that thing?"

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1933 Plymouth with an Olds ? NO. :( Now this is just my opinion. ;)http://www.californiaclassix.com/archive/33_Plymouth.html

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I've seen all kinds on Plymouths at shows, walking up thinking man this could have any number of MOPAR engines in it. Nooooo a Chevy ? What's going on?

But the nostalgia thing tells me it's ok to put any number of different engines in a Ford.

0904sr_03_z+1937_ford_truck+studebaker_e

Edited by Greg Myers
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My few pennies worth... I like to see the same manufacturer's engine in a car. The most common engine in early Fords is a Chevy small block V8, just because the hobby supported that with conversion kits. I think it's much cooler when I spy a '32 with a Ford engine in it. One car I fondly remember was a '37 Plymouth 4 door sedan street rod with a Mopar 340 in it. Just was right!

I like seeing the odd ball engines in old rat rods and other street rods as well. Just because they're what ancient rodders used. I think it's cool to use a Buick nail head or Caddy engine in an old roadster. And more unusual, a Buick straight 8 or anything else you'd never expect to see. And that's why my '34 Ford rat sedan has an old Plymouth flathead six in it. That's the cool factor.

I do like to put sixes into my models when I can, especially since few of us do. I plan on building a '70 Nova with a six, '66 Mustang six etc. Friends of mine actually had those cars, and in my circle, this was more common than having a hot V8 back in the day.

I'm not a fan of stuffing Ferrari engines into Chevys or other fantasy models. The cost in real life would be much too much to actually do a build like that.

Edited by Tom Geiger
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There's too many "Me Too" type cars out there, and the Small Block Chevy can be had cheap as an 80's and 90's smog motor (nothing "hot" about those). When dad was plying with cars before I was born, most of them had brand correct engines (Mopars powered by Chrysler motors, Nailhead powered Riv, '55 Chevy dirt oval car with a high revving small blocks, ect)

Dad's first car was a '50 Plymouth that he kept the Flathead 6 in, but had it to the point it would run with the then new and hot '57 Fords with the Supercharged 312 in it for a quarter mile.....and not always an inch further....he kept main bearings on hand just in case. He's thought finding another one of those to put a Pentastar V-6 and suspension from the Challenger in, with that new 8 speed auto behind it would be a whole lot of fun of late too.

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l noticed on Barrett-Jackson this weekend all the ford streedrods and hotrods l saw was powered by smallblock chevys. lf l was buying this would turn me off. Nothing wrong with a 351 Windsor. l have had Ford,Dodge,and Chevy. I am a chrysler or ford guy. Now building models l build box stock. l never was real good at changing things around so l stick to my strengh..

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I have a really good friend who has a 40 ford, very nice hot rod straight body, beautiful paint job quality interior, under the hood small block chevy :unsure: I asked him once why did you do that, his answer was it was less trouble to put in a chevy engine than it would have been to drop a small block ford in it. Sorry I'm old fashion I guess keep the manufacturers stuff together, RIGHT?

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Well for the most part I agree with most of you ...................... but.............a big part of early hot rodding was making something cool and fast with what you had lying around. So if you needed an engine for your rod and the neighbor was junking his old car, your hot rod might end up with whatever the neighbors car had, as long as it could be made to go fast. At least this was how my father has always described it, back in the 50's/60's.

That being said, I'm also one of the anti-SBC crowd. I know there are a million of them out there, making them much cheaper to build than your average Ford or Mopar but it shows a decided lack of imagination and ingenuity. And that's what irks me the most.

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Three simple things accounted for the tremendous popularity of the little Chevy V8.

First, it made more power for its weight than anything else available in the mid-1950s, and that fact alone made it a favorite of the serious go-fast builders.

Second, it was dimensionally smaller than the other engines of comparable potential at the time, so fitting it in an older chassis presented fewer headaches.

Third, BECAUSE of its popularity, aftermarket parts manufacturers were quick to jump on the bandwagon and offer everything imaginable in speed equipment, far far more variety and a lower prices than what's ever been available for any other engine.

That being said, I've been tired of all the belly-button cars with SBCs for many many years. I kinda prefer to see something more original that took a little more effort to use.

The FIRST-generation Olds, Buick and Caddy OHV V8s and early Mopar Hemis are appropriate in anything built as a period-style car. I also enjoy seeing Mopars in Mopars and Fords in Fords.

The truth of the matter is that few hot-rods are really built to go fast these days. The focus has changed from the beginning (making something FAST from junk, while controlling costs) to building cruisers that exist primarily to get looked at.

Edited by Ace-Garageguy
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In addition to what Bill just stated, The Ford and Mopar engines had the oil pans drop in the front where the Chevy engine was at the rear. This allowed for an easy drop into the older cars. As I remember that was the first thing you checked when looking for an engine.

All the custom parts that are available now did not exist back then.

That said I would now prefer the same car / engine combo.

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If a hot rod is an expression of the builder's own personal style and preferences (and it is!), why does it matter what he does? Isn't it sort of like saying that you can't understand why your neighbor likes his steak well done, because you like yours medium rare?

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The truth of the matter is that few hot-rods are really built to go fast these days. The focus has changed from the beginning (making something FAST from junk, while controlling costs) to building cruisers that exist primarily to get looked at.

I have been thinking about that. I have been thinking it might be fun to have an old Ford roadster pickup (Model A thru 1934 or so) in the future. I'd want something 'traditional' but not over the top rat. And I'd want it more to be a cool cruising machine that would be reliable, fun to drive and not shake like a funny car with some huge popcorn maker engine. I wouldn't be going crazy fast in it either since the vehicle would crush like a cardboard box in an accident against today's vehicles.

A while back someone in NJ was selling one of those Shay replica Model A roadster pickups. It had been sitting outside and had a bit of rust on accessories (the body was fiberglass) and would have been cool to rat out a bit. It had the modern Ford 4 cylinder from the Pinto era. I would have been happy to cruise around in that. Now, what I didn't realize at the time was that Shay cranked out mainly Model A rumble seat roadsters and the pickup version is pretty rare. Another one that got away!

If a hot rod is an expression of the builder's own personal style and preferences (and it is!), why does it matter what he does? Isn't it sort of like saying that you can't understand why your neighbor likes his steak well done, because you like yours medium rare?

He can have his steak well done, but I draw the line when he pours catsup all over it! :)

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I've been involved in automobiles for most of my life . When I was coming along, people were still putting Cadillac engines in Studebakers . I've done a couple of Oldsmobile engines in some early 60's Chevrolet trucks . The reason I hear at cruises about the Chevrolet is low cost , interchangeability and availability . Right now , I'm back trying to price out rebuild parts for a Mercury Flathead . The cost is out there in the same league one pays to build a 460 Ford . Sure , I could buy a common 350 Chevrolet an look like everyone else . I'ts not happening ..................

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There comes a point when people start swapping engines because the engine is just better. An example is people swapping LS engines into the 5.0 mustangs. people do it because the LS engines are a great platform and you can make crazy amounts of horsepower with them.

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I'm just the opposite Greg. I say put a Ford engine in a Ford (or at least a Lincoln or Mercury engine) and do whatever with anything else. Had I been a hot rodder in the late fifties, I would have been scouring the junk yards looking for a 312 with a supercharger to drop down in my hot rod.

Bet you'd find a bunch of 'em too :lol:

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I've been involved in automobiles for most of my life . When I was coming along, people were still putting Cadillac engines in Studebakers . I've done a couple of Oldsmobile engines in some early 60's Chevrolet trucks . The reason I hear at cruises about the Chevrolet is low cost , interchangeability and availability . Right now , I'm back trying to price out rebuild parts for a Mercury Flathead . The cost is out there in the same league one pays to build a 460 Ford . Sure , I could buy a common 350 Chevrolet an look like everyone else . I'ts not happening ..................

So how's that workin' out for you ? Got that thing on the road yet ? ;)

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There comes a point when people start swapping engines because the engine is just better. An example is people swapping LS engines into the 5.0 mustangs. people do it because the LS engines are a great platform and you can make crazy amounts of horsepower with them.

Gosh, sounds like the ol' small block Chevy saw, it's small ,it's cheep, and there's bunches of go fast parts for it. :P

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After reading through all of this I can see the History side of it coming through. First , rodders were lookin' to go fast and the ol' flathead just wasn't gettin' it done. ( and remember the Small Block Chevy was a ways off, 1955 and certainly not in the junk yards yet, yeah, we didn't have "Auto recycling centers" back then) so it was an ohv v8 from Cadillac, Oldsmobile, Buick, Studebaker or Chrysler ( and again that ol HEMI was big and expensive) nope, no Ford "Y" block (didn't come along till 1954, in a truck).

Next up, THE Small block Chevy, 265 / 283 / 327, small, light weight, power (and power parts not just from the vendors ,but the factory too, Duntov Cams any one?) and they fit. :o

So this just made sense. Nowa days things are different,.go ahead, put what ever you want in there, but "people are gonna hate" as the saying goes.

At one of our Moonlight Modeler meetings a many years back, a member told us of his 1:1 project. He was putting a HEMI in his 1971 Challenger, I think it was a 318 cid to start with, nothing to write home about ( bellybutton car). Time went by ,as it does, and one meeting he said it was finished and did we want to come outside and see it? There in the dark he popped the hood for all of us to see the "Professionally installed" "392 1950's early HEMI" in his 1971 Challenger. Needless to say you could hear the jaws drop. :o

Yep, you can certainlly put what ever you want in your car. :wacko:

By the way, that's what prompted this build, few got it. :huh:

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Edited by Greg Myers
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In the world of street rods, I say, "Anything goes." In competition, I've seen a '72 Chevy pulling truck running a 460 Ford... The class had a 472 cid limit and you could only get 468cid using a .060" over 454 so the guy used a .060" over 460. aka, 472cid... Did I mention we were smack in the heart of Central Indiana "GM Country"? Yeah, it went over well....

Also, I have an '81 Jeep Wagoneer and am not overly impressed with its powertrain. I've been seriously considering a 350/350 transplant... Simply because it is cheaper and I can make lotsa power with that combo...

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kinda reminds me about the ZZtop Eliminator kit i once built...

i always tought it was a 350 sbc in there...i guess looking closer it's not

but what is it ?..beats me

Outside dimension wise, they're pretty much all the same, 265, 283, 327, 302, 350, 400.

Edited by Greg Myers
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