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Technical Crossing brands on powerplant choices?

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by AlmightyCrash, Feb 25, 2015.

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  1. Finnrodder
    Joined: Oct 18, 2009
    Posts: 2,970

    Finnrodder
    Member
    from Finland

    Well,i havent hear never anyone bitching why they put a Cadillac motor in Hirohata Merc....
    Using different brand motors is not a new thing and it would be really boring,if every hot rod/kustom etc have their factory powerplants.
     
    kiwijeff likes this.
  2. Hnstray
    Joined: Aug 23, 2009
    Posts: 12,355

    Hnstray
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from Quincy, IL

    Don, I well remember that flap. It was both hilarious AND ridiculous. A combination of wounded "pride of ownership" , profound ignorance and political hay making.

    The car's buyer actually thought an Oldsmobile branded engine (a 307 or 350) was somehow superior to a Chevrolet sourced engine of similar specs. The various State's Attorneys General, who are ALWAYs a looking for a way to climb the political ladder, jumped on it like starving dogs!!

    What none of these dipwads knew, or cared about if they knew, was that Ford and GM cars, among others , used the same engines across brand name lines for decades. Not all engine versions were used that way, but many were. Why didn't Chrysler buyers complain about their Plymouth 318 or Mercury buyers about their Ford 292?

    And even more laughable, when GM responded by labeling all of their engines "corporate", but "manufactured by such and such division", the whole issue went away. Same Chevy engine in an Oldsmobile, but semantics eventually won the day. Thing is, there was nothing real to "win" in the first place. Thereafter, you could find Chevy, Olds, Pontiac and Buick engines in a variety of GM brands, including the OEM 350 Chevy in my son's '92 Caddy Sedan DeVille.

    Ray
     
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  3. 73RR
    Joined: Jan 29, 2007
    Posts: 7,175

    73RR
    Member

    ...yeah, I dunno about all that Heinz-57 stuff...but as long as you put in an EarlyHemi you'll be good to go.....:p

    .
     
    kiwijeff, Hnstray and scotty t like this.
  4. Seen that done at least a couple of times... My favorite was one done locally back in the late 60s/early 70s; a dual-fours 427 Ford/four speed dropped into a '40 Chev coupe. Very fast, and the owner liked to take it to the 'all-Chevrolet' drags every year.... drove the 'purists' crazy....
     
  5. mike bowling
    Joined: Jan 1, 2013
    Posts: 3,560

    mike bowling
    Member

    Anyone else get their seed catalog yet?
     
  6. Petejoe
    Joined: Nov 27, 2002
    Posts: 12,264

    Petejoe
    Member
    from Zoar, Ohio

    Man I miss him Larry. Glad to see you back too!
    Now let teach the OP.
    Go back to the original days of hot-rodding and you will find putting more powerful engines in hotrods was just that ...hot-rodding.
    I could give thousands of instances but you really need to read about our predecessors.
     
    kiwijeff and 3wLarry like this.
  7. Moriarity
    Joined: Apr 11, 2001
    Posts: 30,778

    Moriarity
    SUPER MODERATOR
    Staff Member

    My 55 Chev has a nailhead that was swapped in back in 61 ImageUploadedByH.A.M.B.1424972887.108313.jpg

    My forty is a hoot to drive with its caddy 331
    ImageUploadedByH.A.M.B.1424972945.722619.jpg
     
  8. Petejoe
    Joined: Nov 27, 2002
    Posts: 12,264

    Petejoe
    Member
    from Zoar, Ohio

    Yep!! Last year in March I was out installing Preen on a block size garden last year.
    Hell I cant even find the dirt to put the seeds in!
     
  9. 69fury
    Joined: Feb 24, 2009
    Posts: 1,452

    69fury
    Member

    These two schools of thought are my favorites (there are certainly more):
    1. Put what you got that's hot in the light weight car that you bought.
    2. Put your favorite mill in your favorite ride.
    I combined the 2 and put my hot small block dodge into a 61Falcon i found in a barn.
     
    nelson845 likes this.
  10. 73RR
    Joined: Jan 29, 2007
    Posts: 7,175

    73RR
    Member

    One of my favorites was back in 1967...One of the then-old-guys at the Woodburn dragstrip bought a new Camaro and put in a Ford Flathead. Ran real good in his class. Yeah, made the bow-tie boys crazy.

    .
     
    nelson845 likes this.
  11. That's called hot rodding. I am not a purest like some are. I am picky about what I put in what to some extent, I probably wouldn't pull a 426 max wedge out a MOPAR in favor of a small block chebby or throw a flathead V-8 in a '63 Impala. I would probably throw a Ford cammer in either of those if I had to though. :D

    I am more prone on engine choice to go with size and HP/torque output. For instance if I had a '59 Cadillac convertible I probably would not throw an Iron Duke in it, but if I had a '27 ford coupe I wouldn't give a second thought about throwing the Chevy banger in it.

    make sense?


    LOL back in about the mid '90s I helped a guy wedge a 440 with 2 4s on a tunnel in a second gen Camaro, did double duty in the pissed off dept. Got the Camaro guys and the MOPAR guys in one fell swoop. :D I know off topic but one should never ever pass up a chance to piss of the purists. :D :D

    As I recall there used to be a Lowey coupe that ran a flathead V-8 on the salt. I don't know that he pissed anyone off with it but he did hold a record or two for awhile.
     
    Last edited: Feb 26, 2015
    nelson845 likes this.
  12. Frank was a true original,and he is missed! HRP

    [​IMG]
     
    Tony and 3wLarry like this.
  13. 31Apickup
    Joined: Nov 8, 2005
    Posts: 3,367

    31Apickup
    Member

    The car doesn't know the difference.
     
  14. So true, on the other hand, I recently saw a beautiful 57 T-Bird with a small block chevy, just didn't seen right.
     
  15. 48jeep
    Joined: Apr 3, 2009
    Posts: 66

    48jeep
    Member

    I saw a picture of a Studebaker Champion six in a Corvette. Made my day.
     
  16. AlmightyCrash
    Joined: Jan 31, 2015
    Posts: 153

    AlmightyCrash
    Member
    from Tyler, TX

    Thank you. I'm looking forward to this new life.

    wasn't shooting for a record thread. I was asking a valid question.
    You're right. I'm new in this field. I've built Jeeps and Harley's, but never a car...much less a classic. I joined this forum to learn, and to share what I learn myself.


    I guess I should have shared how I feel personally on the topic. I'm a firm believer in finding what I like and making it work... No matter the source.
    My 51 Merc (which is still in transit to me) has a sbc 350 mated with a th350....and a camaro front end. I'm sure I'll be putting many other parts from many different vehicles. I even have motorcycle parts waiting to be put on. I just catch flak locally when I tell people my Merc has a Chevy engine. I wanted to see if this was universal, or just a few elitists.
    ImageUploadedByH.A.M.B.1424975639.731330.jpg
    ImageUploadedByH.A.M.B.1424975693.969091.jpg
     
    1927graham likes this.
  17. "Built Ford tough with Chebby stuff" :D
     
    1927graham likes this.
  18. You might be catching flack for the ultimate belly button vs a crossbreed. The flack may appear similar but it comes from different places.
     
    Crazy Steve likes this.
  19. In Cuba it's done out of necessity. The rest of us do it because we're hot rodders, not purists.
     
    kiwijeff likes this.
  20. When I was a young man I used Ford flathead V-8's because they were cheap, plentiful and hop-up parts were readily available.
    Now I am an old man and use Chevy V-8's because they're cheap, plentiful and hop-up parts are readily available.

    That was an asinine question to ask on a hot rod board anyway.
     
    nelson845 likes this.
  21. At least he didn't ask something dumb like what is the correct color to paint my exhaust manifolds or the like. :rolleyes:
     
  22. Hahahahahahahah
    LMFAO

    Man there's been a few good ones come thru, They really will let anyone in here.
     
  23. Well they let you and me in didn't they. :D

    You mentioned crossbreed builds earlier and it made me chuckle. I was power parked at one of those high roller shows in my old Galaxie once (did it on a dare) and this old guy in a *Plan Jane Mustang and asks if he can park next to me. So I said, "Sure Why?" he said that he had parked next to a bunch of really nice mustangs and they asked him to leave. I noticed that he had a long low scoop on one side of his hood so I asked what he was running. So he opened the hood and there on the freakiest set of long manifolds was a brace of SUs the manifolds were attached to a slant 6. I know why the Mustang guys run him off, he was right at home with me though. We had hot dogs and cotton candy and root beers. That was a good day.

    *off topic car for the forum on topic car for the thread, uh I think. :confused:
     
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  24. nickleone
    Joined: Jun 14, 2007
    Posts: 463

    nickleone
    Member

    I saw a 302 Ford in a 34 Chevy at an auto show one Thanksgiving weekend. It was in Denver CO.
    Builder said the Ford was what he had.

    Nick
     
    kiwijeff likes this.
  25. I'm not getting your point there brother. :D:p:D:p
     
  26. Mike51Merc
    Joined: Dec 5, 2008
    Posts: 3,856

    Mike51Merc
    Member

    So now the truth comes out? :eek: 55 posts into the thread and this is the issue you're concerned about? I'd venture to say that there are so many 350/350 combos living inside Mercs to practically constitute a majority nowadays. That's not to say it's my preferred powerplant, but I am saying that you're certainly not going to be mocked for having it. Keep your hood closed at shows and you'll be just fine. :rolleyes:
     
  27. lcfman
    Joined: Sep 1, 2009
    Posts: 379

    lcfman
    Member
    from tn

    The reason I like hot rods is that there are such diversity and freedom in what you can do. If all the cars looked alike what fun would that be, not much. The reason that sbc are so prolific is that they are small, light weight, reliable, parts are plentiful, reasonable costs and easy to make good street power. They also look great.
     
    AlmightyCrash likes this.
  28. 64 DODGE 440
    Joined: Sep 2, 2006
    Posts: 4,421

    64 DODGE 440
    Member
    from so cal

    Personally, I'd like to put a flathead six into an altered wheelbase '60s B-body Mopar and park it at the local cruise nights with the hood open to see the reactions of the folks. It would have to be a Mopar flathead six though, because I am a purist. o_O
     
  29. Put anything you want into whatever... this is hot rodding. Probably the only thing that sometimes 'bugs' me is a largish car with a big, roomy engine compartment and there's a small block whatever looking lost in there. If you're trying to make a statement about power, fill 'er up!
     
  30. Being a purist in the hot rod world, makes you a racist.
    Maybe early hot rodding had purists, but I think hot rodding was born outer necessity, they used what they had, or could find, cobbled it together, and had a shitload of fun.
    Nowadays, those who are that concerned about same brand crap are not hot rodding, and are not having fun.
     
    64 DODGE 440 and AlmightyCrash like this.
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