Five uncommon OHV’s of the 50s

If your on the HAMB, it’s likely you already know that American overhead valve V-8’s came on strong in the 1950s. After all, we owe the single-handed most popular aftermarket motor of all time to the year 1955: The small block Chevy, which debuted as a 265 c.i. “Turbo-Fire V-8”.  So if your not running the ubiquitous SBC in your old timey rod, but you want a mid 50s period ohv motor, what are the next most common choices? The mighty Chrysler Hemi, Buick Nailhead, Olds Rocket, Ford Y-Block, and my personal favorite, the Cadillac 331 are all very good options for a powerful and smart looking engine bay. Nowadays however, you see a good number of these engines popping up in all sorts of traditional (and not so traditional) hot rods. If I wanted to run something really odd with style, what would my top 5 overhead V-8 50s-era engines be? In no certain order:

1. Dodge Red Ram Hemi: 241 Cubic Inches. It’s only 40 hp shy of it’s 331 c.i. big brother, and weighs 120 pounds less (neither motor is ‘light’ by any means). It’s not the fastest Hemi in the world, but there are options for souping it up. Extra cool points for running the stamped ‘Red Ram’ script valve covers.

2. Plymouth (Poly head) Hy-Fire: Again, not a barn-burner in terms of horsepower or torque, but it’s a strong, well built motor (a one rocker shaft Hemi, essentially) with some very interesting shaped-valve covers. You rarely see them in hot rods, and most spectators don’t know what car they came out of- That’s good.

3. Pontiac Strato-Streak: Here’s a GM V-8 engine with great power and good looks, but because the displacement changed every single year (287, 316, 347, 370), it never became a popular choice like the other ‘Generals’ of the era. Not to mention the bulletproof Poncho 389 came out in 1959 and everyone nearly forgot about those earlier motors.

4. Studebaker President: I almost left this engine off because it it SO similar to a Cadillac 331 (GM actually sued Studebaker over the design), but it’s a cool motor in it’s own right. Tom Branch’s ’32 proves that it’s indeed a great uncommon choice V-8.

5. Lincoln 317/ 341/ 368: Yes, it’s essentially a Y-block, but it beat Ford by two years, and this is the same mill that Bill Stroppe and Clay Smith killed the competition with in the ’52 and ’53 Carrera Panamericana Mexican Road Races. That’s a cool motor by any measure.