GM, Dodge and Ford engine sizing in the past

[dodge man]

For street cars there is no doubt the new iron is much better, but go to the drag strip, most people with the fast cars running old iron or a modern version of it.

 

[Johnny g]

How bout we go back a little farther, Chevy 283, mopar 313, & my favorite, ford 312.

 

[Bird]

How bout we go back a little farther, Chevy 283, mopar 313, & my favorite, ford 312.

If we go back to 1964, the first police sedans I drove were Fords with the 289 cu. in. engines. In 1966, we got Chevrolet's with the 283 cu. in. and in 1968, we got Fords with the 302 cu. in.

And if I remember right, my 1956 Mercury Montclair convertible had the 312 engine.

 

[zzvyb6]

454 truck motor in a 63 Impala SS convertible 4 speed Muncie. We used to wait and watch at the Sunoco gas stations for customers buying Sunoco 240. Then buy $.50 worth of 190 from the same pump and hose. (That was about 1.5 gallons in those days).

 

[arrow]

For street cars there is no doubt the new iron is much better, but go to the drag strip, most people with the fast cars running old iron or a modern version of it.

And there is a ton of money being spent there. If I had to contribute as to what the biggest difference today is in obtaining hp in newer motors it would be fuel atomization and valve timing. Some manufacturers are also increasing compression. The new Mazda 4 cylinders are running 14 to1 and still burn regular gas. 45 yeas ago, I had a 428 Mustang that ran 11.2 in the quarter. It got 8 -10 mpg on it's best day. Factory Mustangs in my class back then (or those backed by Ford Motor Company) were running 10.7's and 10.8's. This kind of torque was obtained by dumping as much fuel as possible in an unsophisticated intake with raw gas being dumped in from an 850 to1000 cfm carb. They still run this kind of engine today at the drags. I have a buddy who owns a 65 Vette with a 383 stroker and dual turbos. This car gets 22 mpg when driven sanely and has a best of 9.9 in the quarter. LS 6's and turbos really make for some go. It is funny to me how very old tech with some tweaking, is being utilized to this day to obtain fuel efficiencies.

 

[wawajake]

I learned to drive on my Dad's 1964 Chev Belair.but it did not have any 454 (I wish) my Dad went with the straight 6 I think it was 230 Cubic inch but could be wrong.

 

[Oaktree]

Always starts, idles smooth, flat torque curve and mileage that will get you called prone to exaggeration .No vapour lock, no flooding, no fan belts jumping off. No points , no heat riser and no sticking choke. Runs 300,000 miles with just two set of spark plug changes,. Regular oil changes and air filter changes. Good old days, no they were not the good old days.

From a driveability standpoint (and routine maintenance) you're absolutely right, and I sure don't miss carburetor quirks nor the need to do a tune-up every 8-10k. OTOH, on the old engines if you jump a timing chain, you may be stranded but no harm done. Timing belt breaks in a modern car and the engine is trashed. Not cheap or easy to replace 'em either. Likewise with today's serpentine belts...lose a belt, you better pull over NOW. With the old V-belts, there were usually multiple belts. If one went you might lose the alternator or power steering, but chances are you still have the water pump so you can at least get home. Can't say I've ever had an old-style fan belt jump.

Speaking of modern vs old school engines...do they use a different method of calculating HP these days? You read of some modern 4 bangers that supposedly put out 200+ HP, yet the car doesn't feel noticeably peppier than an older (and heavier) car with way fewer horses.

 

[sd455dan]

The 4 barrel carb. was good until it started to over flow crossing a railroad track or bump in road and poured gas over the engine.
Then driving got interesting. stop raise hood and use fire fighting methods to put out fire road side gravel and sand or snow what ever could grab.
Not really liking the metric method of sizing engines. What ever used to keep the pistons flying up and back down with fuel injectors keep the fuel inside the container.


Sounds like a Holley to me :laughing:

 

[tcartwri]

And there is a ton of money being spent there. If I had to contribute as to what the biggest difference today is in obtaining hp in newer motors it would be fuel atomization and valve timing. Some manufacturers are also increasing compression. The new Mazda 4 cylinders are running 14 to1 and still burn regular gas. 45 yeas ago, I had a 428 Mustang that ran 11.2 in the quarter. It got 8 -10 mpg on it's best day. Factory Mustangs in my class back then (or those backed by Ford Motor Company) were running 10.7's and 10.8's. This kind of torque was obtained by dumping as much fuel as possible in an unsophisticated intake with raw gas being dumped in from an 850 to1000 cfm carb. They still run this kind of engine today at the drags. I have a buddy who owns a 65 Vette with a 383 stroker and dual turbos. This car gets 22 mpg when driven sanely and has a best of 9.9 in the quarter. LS 6's and turbos really make for some go. It is funny to me how very old tech with some tweaking, is being utilized to this day to obtain fuel efficiencies.

It's also great that you can go to the wreckers and buy a shortblock with 60 or a 100 thousand miles on it, that will need absolutely no machining or aftermarket pistons or rods etc...

 

[wawajake]

Way back in my highschool days they had Auto class that was available from grade 9 right thru to grade 12. That is no longer seen here in Ontario , now they have a general version that teaches how to change a tire.
Back then by the time we had graduated Grade 12 Auto we had got to change pistons , hone cylinders and valve seating etc etc on many a donor car from the 1960's, even some Carburetor rebuilds ........it all seems like a waste now, most of those techniques are too complex on todays engines,
Back then a friend of mine and I would go to car dump and flip a car over pull the oilpan , pull the crank bolts and pull out a piston to add to my shelf collection of various sizes of pistons (my largest was a Euclid Mine truck piston)