Push rod engines in the 21st century? Really ?

[Jairus]

During the last 100 years of automotive development nearly everything has been tried. Very little is new currently and as was posted earlier, it all depends on cost and re-engineering. Neither DOHC nor are push-rods better than one another or more restrictive in breathing. It all depends on the engineering and design... and usability.

Heck, my son-in-law still has a 1937 Flathead in his street rod that starts on the first crank and purrs like a kitten. And that's an engine that was originally assembled in 1936!

You can't judge an engine solely on the number of cams, technological advances or horsepower output. But instead it would be better to use the more sensible approach of .... what engine do you depend on and has never left you stranded.

For me it's a 390FE. (born on date of 1975)

But that's just me.

[Chuck Kourouklis]

OHC is great, OHV is great, but this is all sillly when valve-in-block engines still have such a following even 50 years removed from the last domestic production units-

http://uncommonengineering.com/

See, one of the things I dig best about those is the sound, man - rumpety-rump from a factory '32 all the way thru the wild ones like your link.

They just growl like hairy, spitting beasts.

[Fabrux]

Revell/Monogram 1999 Ford Lightning (just reissued, 5.4 DOHC supercharged)

The Lightning engine was only ever a SOHC, and a 2-valve at that. I'm also hesitant to call the kit's engine a 5.4L; if it has coil-packs molded into the ends of the heads, its a 4.6L. I think the engine is the same as in the Harley Davidson kit; I'll look into that this evening...

[Chuck Kourouklis]

Yep, forgot that - I was under the impression that Revell went a little further than to plop a blower on their 4.6, but we are talking 13 years since the last one I went thru.

And while we're at it, the Polar Lights Ford GT had a 5.4 32v supercharged - again, that "presentable" thing rears its head, 'specially compared to Revell's engine.

[Chas SCR]

Also the LS3,5 and 7 can be found in the new camaro kits with the corvettes. There is a little changes to the 5 to the 7 on how and where the AC,Alt and brackets are all put in place on the motor. Other then that it's the same motor.

[Chuck Most]

Yep, forgot that - I was under the impression that Revell went a little further than to plop a blower on their 4.6, but we are talking 13 years since the last one I went thru.

And while we're at it, the Polar Lights Ford GT had a 5.4 32v supercharged - again, that "presentable" thing rears its head, 'specially compared to Revell's engine.

The PL GT engine looks okay considering it's only fully visible from the top an bottom. In 1:1, the SVT Lightning and GT used the same engine.