Technical The smallest physical dimension production V8?

Going down the road the other day, doing what I do a lot of the time, thinking about building something after I get my Linc completed. Was sorta thinking about a 27 T roadster since the have a little more leg room than a 23 T, and you could get a stretched one for a little more. Then got to thinking about a power plant, it would be a light car, a 4 or a 6 would do fine, but we're hot rodders, so it had to be a V8, right? In keeping with the small and light theme, what V8?

What was the smallest production V8 you might find in a junkyard? I would think the aluminum Buicks would probably be the lightest. But what would be the smallest, dimensions wise? And which one had the least displacement?

This is all just theoretical, I don't know if I'll ever get to another one, but might be good info for somebody else that might be like me and think out of the box every once in a while. Something besides a SBC or flathead Ford.....

 

221 SBF Windsor is pretty damn small.

 

Nads is using a 151 ci hemi in his T bucket..
That's pretty small internally, don't know how big it is externally

 

215 Buick v8,n Olds,are now Rover V8s

 

Well, I can't get under 151 Cu. In., whatever engine that might be, but I have a 215 Olds in my '23 T roadster. I don't think physical size is much different than a SBC though. Since you mentioned the Buick version there was also one used by Pontiac (I never researched if that was the Buick or Olds version) and then Rover bought the whole she-bang.

My T weighs in about 1350 or 1400# and with a few mild modifications it has the 215 should be good for about 160-180 HP. Pretty spirited little car. Too bad the Olds transmission is, well...not so great.

Fun thing about the Olds engine is having people guess what it is.

If I were building another T, whether it be a '23 or '27, I would seriously consider a 4.3 L Chevy V-6. The shorter length of it would be quite a benefit in my opinion.

Lynn

 

60 hp flathead?

 

135 cubes, but alas, a flathead.

 

That would be the 2.5 litre Daimler.
I think it was in the 70's that Toyota produced a Hemi V8 which was used in large sedans which we never got here in Oz. I don't know their displacement but a local guy ran one in a T-bucket and was importing them from Japan and selling them locally. I think they were only made for a few years so may be hard to find one now.

 

215 are pretty cool looking little motors..and the sand rail guys Hop em up...

 

Bobby, don't rule out the flathead 60, it's a small V8 but with that it is also a small displacement engine. HRP

 

V860

 

This is in a Hillman Husky/ Comer Cob van. Not sure if a V-8 60 on Simca Verdette, but the engine bay once housed a small 4 cylinder. JW

 

All good ideas, especially the little Hemi that Nads has, I remember the thread on his. I didn't think about the imports, they might have something, too. I was just thinking small size, light weight, maybe a 5 speed behind it, like an oversized go kart if you will.

Gives me something to think about. Hoping to retire next year and work part time a while, know I'll be wanting something to build to take up some time, just don't want to get into anything big. Something small that I can source mostly used parts for and build on a budget {read dirt cheap}. I'm thinking something like stock A front end, 8.8 rear, small V8, maybe V6, 5 speed, fiberglass body on a kit style T frame. If it takes few years to come up with stuff, so be it, it's not going to be a rush job, if I even do it.

 

I have a Flathead V8 60hp I'd sell. They are tiny. 136 whopping cubic inches.

 

Just to compare, a Willys Jeep side valve is 134 ci and 63hp standard. JW

 

Studebaker offered a 224 cu in V8 in 1954. It was the same size externally as other Stude V8s, or about the same size as a small block Chevy. The small Daimler is about the smallest you will find but good luck finding one. BMW had a small V8 of 2.6 to 3.2 liters 1951 - 65, then a 3 liter M60 in 1992.
Your best bet would be a Rover 3.5, successor to the Buick, as far as availability goes. They are small and only weigh about 320 lbs.
Then there are some lame-o American V8s from the 80s like the Chev 267, a lightened version of the Chevy small block. I think Pontiac made a 301 cu in light weight version of their V8.

 

Daimler Hemi 2.5lt (152ci) V8

 

Just out of curiosity I did a tiny bit of searching but didn't find any physical dimensions for a V-8 60. Anyone have the length, including all the front of the engine parts, width and weight? Basically, would a V-8 60 fit under the stock hood of a '24 or '27 Ford T without cutting into the firewall?

Lynn

 

23" from tip of fan blades to back of block. The cast on clutch housing adds another 4" but that is just down at the bell. It's about 16.5" wide. No idea of weight.

 

Thanks, pkhammer! That's really compact! A quick search showed the length of the hood all the way back to '17 is 24 7/8" and the '26/'27 is a bit longer. Sounds to me like a full fendered T was built with a V-8 60 in mind.

Crap....now I'm dreaming about "another" what-if project. I could never live long enough to build everything that I dream up.

Lynn

 

Except for the 351.....

 

Should fit a T to a T! Ba-dumm-ching.........(drum and symbol).

 

Am I missing the point of your question you pose.
Do you actually mean the small size of the engine physically or by cubic inches or my interpretation was the smallest production numbers, meaning the least number of V8 engines made???

 

Some engine sizes.
http://www.carnut.com/specs/engdim.html

 

I would really like to have an Olds/Buick 215. Back in 1963 my dad had a Jetfire-215 water injected turbo-that got 1 HP/cu in. That car would scoot. Unfortunately, the dealer couldn't keep the turbo running and he traded it in a year later. It cost $300 more than the carb version when he bought it and was worth $300 less when he sold it.

 

That's probably what I'm doing,too, but it keeps me out of trouble most of the time!

I was wondering about physical size, it pretty much stands to reason that a small package would have less cubic inches. But there were some standard sized blocks with small cubic inch displacements, as per the 267 Chevy and 221 Ford mentioned above. Sorry if I wasn't clear.
I was thinking smallest physical size V8 to use in a small lightweight car. If you use a standard sized block like a sbc or sbf, you might as well go as big on the cubes as they made. Not what I was looking for, I was thinking out of the box....
I was also referring to actual production and use in a vehicle, one off's and design mules don't count.

I changed the title so maybe it's clearer now...

 

I've come up with so many ideas that my wife doesn't even question them any more. She just listens and (likely) thinks to herself, "This too shall pass". It generally does, but I've heard that dreaming and thinking keeps the old gray matter functioning.

Lynn

 

I like to think that, too. If you keep dreaming, thinking, and planning, you keep your mind sharp. I know when I'm faced with fabbing something up, I'll think on it a while, sometimes days, then it will usually come to me what I need to do. Now if I could just build with my hands what my mind dreams up, that would be amazing in itself!

 

Friend of.mine put the 215 Buick in a 58 MGA, nice little engine and a great combo for his car. Backed it up with a 5 Speed from a late 80s GM F-Body

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

At 122 CI the Ferrari 208 GT4 V8 may be one of the smallest production V8 engines. But the chances of stumbling across one in a junkyard are pretty slim. Unless you are on a reality TV show. Then odds are you find one. For almost nothing.