Technical Old Big Blocks; preferences

] I've been a Packard fan forever, picked this up quite a few years ago. Very cool (polished) stroker crank and rods, Jahns LC pistons, 414cu. in. Complete isky valvetrain. Ported within an inch of its life.
Aluminum sheaffer flywheel. Receipts show build in 1956-57 by Ansen and never started. Took me a week of soaking with diesel to get the assy lube off of everything to diassemble. Stuff was hard as plastic but thankfully protected every piece in it. I cannot even imagine trying to find those parts now...

 

I've pretty much been a sbc guy my entire life but OT or not, if you've ever driven a 1970 LS-6/4speed Chevelle, to me, the answer is clear, this 16 year old drove a brand new one.
It was epic!

 

Lots of extremely cool big old V8s. But right now I'm focused on this one. Maybe not often considered. The big block B/RB Mopar wedge engine.



Being prepared for my 1931 Plymouth Coupe.

 

I was trying to stay HAMB friendly, but yeah, I'm a 385 series guy....one of mine, 552" with no machine work other than a bore job. They take 4.5" stroker crankshafts no problem.

 

385's are fairly easy to find; just look for E350 motorhomes. That's where I got my last one, parted out a junker with less than 60k miles on it. Just have to desmog them.

 

Same with the 440s. Old Dodge motorhomes are cheap. They're low compression, but that just means you can run regular pump gas and it doesn't produce so much excessive heat. I don't need 500HP.

 

Prefer the biggest heaviest engines I can get my hands on. More weight the better sliding across the scale.

 

I have the entry level 501 cid bbf….love these engines!

 

I get a chuckle of out of you guys whining about budgets. This is the HAMB, where we are very fond of Ford Flatheads, or otherwise known as the most expensive 165 Hp you can buy!

If you are truly worried about a budget - build a 460 Ford, still the cheapest $/hp/ci one can find.

Me, I will keep playing with my weird shit. IH, Packard's, FE's, MEL's, Ford I6's and maybe a flathead or two currently fill the shop up.

 

A buddy was building a custom Rolls Royce for a client and he ended up with the leftover "six and three-quarter litre" V8. Pretty neat engine. Don't know if it qualifies as a big block, but it had the displacement at least, and it's definitely not something you'll see between the fenders of many hot rods.

Why bother with this pedestrian V8 stuff, and just build a Merlin? Sure you'll go broke, but you'll be an instant hero!

 

I found a Daimler hemi v8 in a salvage yard a few years back; I regret not snatching that little fucker up! 250 ci..... dammit... coulda woulda SHOULDA

 

Long time buddy mentioned the other day that he was going to sell his late dad's Packards if he could find anyone that was interested. Both mid 50s, in the garage for probably 60 years, untouched. I'll ask him what's under the hoods, don't think he expects much. He's not a car guy. Said there were a bunch of parts, too. I'm not interested, I've got a shed full of engines.

 

Anyone who feels a 390/428 ford is not a big block has never shoehorned one into an early mustang! Had a buddy
with a 67 mustang gt with a 390 during the gas crisis. big blocks were cheap then as everyone was gas milage worried.
He had a company truck so the car was a toy, he had a habit of running the 390's too high and breaking them. We swapped 390's 3 times in one summer. Finally built a 428 to cobra jet specs and put it in. He got an offer on the car he could not refuse, sold it to a rich kid who totaled it within a week, hit the right side against a telephone pole so hard the rear axle was 25 degrees back.

 

You had to go by the build sheet attached to the truck, Unlike Ford and Chevy, international built trucks customized to the customers vocation, wants, needs, and specs, with a wide variation of options available. The result was confusing to an untrained parts guy that didn’t have access to the build sheet.

 

I worked for IHC/Navistar and this is exactly the case... go back past a certain date and GAWD help you ... and the last few years have had people dragging old Binder trucks out of the weeds and trying to put them back on the road....
not the pickups and travelalls, but the semi's!

 

You should list on our cars for sale thread.
Dan

 

I’ve read articles that when Chevrolet was going engineer and build a bigger or better designed engine they came extremely close to buying the rights to the Packard V8. The 5”
Bore spacing was very desirable to them but y style was not. They also needed a new cylinder head design on the exhaust side and that meant new bolting in that area so they ended up passing on it.

 

I put a 426 wedge and push-button auto in my 40. Only two real problems. The starter and steering box wanted to occupy the same space. And I had to notch the crossmember for the oil pump. Just in case you were thinking about putting your project in a car. Gene.

 

Here's one way to get a 390, and a whole truck with it for $850.

https://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/cto/d/portland-1964-ford-100/7872364565.html

 

don't think I could afford to haul it back to Florida...

 

What are you doing to me? You’re testing my resolve to not have any more big projects That’s what! Shame on you!
Hmm 64 F100 in the weeds, big FE, $850 Portland’s only 1900 miles ( 27 hrs) away and a cool drive from here. Shame on you. I gotta get back in the garage.
Dan

 

Here's a complete T-bird with an FE and transmission "in great condition" for a grand....and it's in Florida:

https://miami.craigslist.org/brw/pts/d/fort-lauderdale-1965-bird/7831508159.html

 

If you have a 352 FE you can dress it up a little and tell people it's a 427. Only experienced Ford people will be able to tell the difference.

 

Few more in your area, I searched for them all within 300 miles of Miami since I don't know where you're at for sure:

https://tampa.craigslist.org/hil/pts/d/tampa-454-big-block/7868213246.html

https://tampa.craigslist.org/psc/pts/d/zephyrhills-ford-fe-engine-block/7868841430.html

https://tampa.craigslist.org/psc/pts/d/hudson-1963-mercury-390-motor-and-trans/7864244403.html

Three deuce intake on the Pontiac for $600
https://tampa.craigslist.org/pnl/pts/d/pinellas-park-1963-four-speed-389/7862425559.html

https://tampa.craigslist.org/psc/pts/d/hudson-1971-pontiac-455-with-ram-air/7864239427.html

https://miami.craigslist.org/mdc/pts/d/miami-454-gm-engine-74/7856905751.html

https://miami.craigslist.org/mdc/pts/d/opa-locka-ford-engine-transmission/7847794267.html

 

A grand for a 65 t-bird? Sweet. You could yard the engine and trans and still sell it for what you paid.

 

Heck; I don't even know where I'm at most days.... Somewheres between Ocala and Inverness