Out Of The Big Three

[earlthegoat2]

All the ones made from about 1999 -2008 were pretty good across all manufacturers.

 

[TJay]

I know it's not one of the big three but the old Jeep Cherokee, that straight six engine they had was a workhorse.

 

[transfixer]

I had a 302 my Dad and I built , flat top pistons, 289 4brl intake, small Holley 4brl carb, was a good solid engine for a lot of miles, had great power and good fuel mileage, my Dad had a Dodge van with a 225 slant 6, you couldn't kill that engine, it just kept going,

but I have come to the conclusion the best engine I've dealt with in my lifetime, is the 2000-2005 Gm LS 6.0 engine, before they started DOD, they have a lot of power/torque, and last forever if you do normal maintenance, its not unusual for one to go 400k-500k miles and the bottom end still be fine, I'm exposed to virtually every engine out there since I work in automotive repair, and there is nothing else that can compare to the LS 6.0 in those years

 

[elfiii]

No love for the GM 283? That was a stout little V8.

 

[TJay]

No love for the GM 283? That was a stout little V8.

Yes it was and it really responded well to just minor modifications.

 

[elfiii]

Yes it was and it really responded well to just minor modifications.

4 barrel carb, full race cam and solid lifters and that thing would walk and talk.

 

[WishboneW]

4 barrel carb, full race cam and solid lifters and that thing would walk and talk.

Add a set of camel hump heads with long tube headers!

 

[TJay]

A guy that I went to high school with had a '63 Impala, at least I think it was a 63 I'll have to verify that with him. His Impala had a 283 and while it wasn't a 396 or anything like that with dual exhaust and a holley 4 barrel it would go pretty good. I'll bet he wishes he had it right now.

 

[bfriendly]

I grew up a GM guy. Only built 1 engine(had built). We dug out a 350 4bolt main from a van at a junkyard And built it with a 400s crank and rods. We put that 383 in my black with gold trim ‘81 Z28. I had a bunch of fun with that thing……I still miss it! I need to take a picture of the pictures I have of it.
THe slant 6 in a Jeep is probably one of the best running engines ever, cept maybe some 4 cylinder toys and dats.

 

[natureman]

Well, I don't know which is the best but IMO one of the worst was the Chevy 305. Had one in my 1978 Chev Blazer.

 

[bfriendly]

Then again, the Honda 3.5 V6 seems to be running strong even after doing this……I’ll probably try to put a 4 in that first digit before getting rid of it.

 

[Redbow]

No love for the GM 283? That was a stout little V8.

Oh yeah, I loved the 283 and the old 292 that Ford built. I have ridden many miles behind both engines.

Yeah the Chevy 305 engines I had no use for nor the 307. I wasn't a Chevy 400 fan either.