Jalopnik: Engine of the Day

Engine Of The Day: The Very First Chevrolet V8

Murilee Martin — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 15:15:00 EST

We haven't had an Engine Of The Day for a while, but the Chevrolet Series D V8 engine deserves some attention. 288 cubic inches, overhead valves, crossflow heads… and it was manufactured 38 years before the small-block Chevrolet engine. That's right, Chevrolet had an OHV V8, generating an excellent-for-its-time 55 horsepower, back in 1917! Chevrolet was absorbed by General Motors that year, and the Series D was dropped when The General's marketers decided to make Chevrolet its low-priced marque… but imagine what might have been, had early hot-rodders become accustomed to cheap V8s in the decades before the Ford Flathead V8.

[How Stuff Works]
Image source: GM Photo Store

Engine Of The Day: Chrysler Trans Four

Murilee Martin — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 14:00:00 EDT

After Uncle Sam bailed out "too big to fail" Chrysler in 1979, the race was on to bring to market small front-wheel-drive cars that could compete with Japanese imports better than sluggish Cordobas and Volares. The K-cars were powered by Chrysler's very first all-metric four-cylinder engine, the 2.2, and it proved to be a reasonably reliable and versatile powerplant. Just about every car Chrysler built from 1981 through the mid-90s could be had with some flavor of the 2.2 or 2.5 engine, and the turbocharged versions made plenty of power; the peak was the Turbo III, with Lotus-designed DOHC head and an output of 225 horsepower. Be sure to check out Allpar's interview with engine designer Pete Hagenbuch, for the scoop on how the Slant Six and 2.2 were developed. [Allpar]

Engine of the Day: Cadillac OHV V8

Murilee Martin — Thu, 08 May 2008 15:00:00 EDT

Much as we like flathead engines, Detroit's development of V8s with overhead valves after World War II really gave a shot of horsepower to those speed-maddened hot-rodders who were ready to take their machines to the next level past the ol' flathead Ford. Cadillac and Olds came out with their sibling OHV engine design in 1949, and Caddies from that year until 1967 were powered by 331s, 365s, 390s, and 429s. Plenty of these engines found their way into hooned-out Model Ts and As as well. Engine photo credit: Stephen Foskett [Wikipedia]

Ass-Kickin' Engine of the Day: Hudson Six

Murilee Martin — Tue, 06 May 2008 14:00:00 EDT

You know what's wrong with NASCAR these days? Two things: the fans no longer drink beer from steel cans, and nobody races inline-six flatheads! Oldsmobile and Chrysler had new overhead-valve V8s in the early 50s, but Hudson Hornets equipped with 308-cubic-inch, twin-carb (called "Twin-H") flathead six engines utterly dominated NASCAR during the era. You can get a 308 equipped with a 4-71 supercharger nowadays, in case your Hornet needs even more power! Make the jump for the sound of the Hudson six. [Collector Car Market]

Engine of the Day: Nissan SR

Murilee Martin — Mon, 05 May 2008 15:20:00 EDT

How many engines can you think of whose names are known by millions of 20-year-olds who have never touched an engine in their lives? The SR20DET version of the Nissan SR series is such an engine, having achieved pop-culture status beyond that of many movie stars. Nissan has been making the DOHC-equipped SR for more than 20 years now, and it has seen service in the Sentra, Altima, 200SX, and many other vehicles. [Wikipedia]

Engine of the Day: Nissan VH

Murilee Martin — Thu, 01 May 2008 14:00:00 EDT

Developed by Nissan for use in the President limousine and the Infiniti Q45 (not to mention the R390 GT1 race car), the VH series of V8 engines was manufactured from 1989 through 2002. Available in 4.5 and 4.1 liter displacements, the aluminum-block VH sported a DOHC valvetrain (with variable valve timing on some engines) and- once the whole timing-chain-guide thing got sorted out- smooth power and decent reliability. [VH45DE.com]

Engine of the Day: Mercedes-Benz OM617 5-Cylinder Diesel

Murilee Martin — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 14:00:00 EDT

Could the OM617 be the most reliable automobile engine ever made? A very good case could be made for it, although its successors haven't been around long enough for us to judge whether they might be even better. Sure, diesel engines have the advantage of using a fuel that is itself a lubricant, and they generally operate at lower RPM ranges than gasoline engines... but once you get past 500,000 miles (as so many 70s and 80s Mercedes-Benzes powered by the OM617 have done), that line of argument loses much of its power. Make the jump to see some video of this engine in action. [Wikipedia]

Here's some video shot of a vegetable-oil-powered Mercedes-Benz at the 24 Hours of LeMons race last October; another veggie-oil diesel Benz finished 19th at that race.

Engine of the Day: Ford Windsor V8

Murilee Martin — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 14:20:00 EDT

Since we've already seen the Chrysler LA and Chevrolet small-block engines in this series, we're about due for the V8 Ford made by the millions during about the same span of decades: the Windsor small-block. Starting with the 221- and 260-cubic-inch versions in 1962, Ford put Windsors in cars and trucks for the next 40 years (and you can still buy brand-new crate 302s and 351Ws from Ford today). Ford didn't make the Windsors quite as friendly for component mix-and-match fun as did their Detroit competitors (and perhaps the 351W is different enough to deserve its own EOTD entry), but the numbers don't lie: the Windsor was a true workhorse. Make the jump to hear a Windsor-equipped Cobra in action. Engine photo credit: Stephen Foskett. [Wikipedia]

Commenter Andy_Wallwhore suggested yesterday that some auditory engine pr0n might be a good idea for these posts, so we're trying out the idea.

Engine of the Day: Toyota A

Murilee Martin — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 13:00:00 EDT

The Toyota R and its amazing 43-year run make it tough for other Toyota engines to grab the spotlight, even in the case of an engine family that was born in 1978 and is still being manufactured today. The Toyota A certainly deserves some attention, having been dropped into everything from snoreworthy econoboxes to screamin' factory hot rods. Corollas, Camrys, MR2s, Tercels, Celicas; if Toyota (or, in some cases, GM) made it, chances are it could be had with some flavor of A engine. The A has been made with 2, 4, or 5 valves per cylinder, one or two cams, natural aspiration or supercharging. [Wikipedia]

Engine of the Day: Citroen Type A, Plus Engine of the Week Poll

Murilee Martin — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 14:00:00 EDT

Does an engine that powered ten million vehicles qualify for Engine of the Day honors? You bet it does! An air-cooled, boxer two-cylinder engine with displacement ranging from 375cc to 652cc (and power levels of 9- yes, nine- to 33 horses), the Type A powered millions of Citröen 2CVs, thus giving wheels to France in the grim years following World War II. There was no way in hell this engine could be made to run cleanly, so it was doomed by the emissions laws of the early 1990s after a 42-year run. For a good example of how lightweight and simple this engine is, check out this video of some guys firing it up on a workbench. Thanks to Franzouse for helping out with research! [French Wikipedia, English Wikipedia, 1949 Parts Catalog]

Engine of the Day: AMC Straight Six

Murilee Martin — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 13:40:00 EDT

How about an engine family that stayed in front-line service from 1964 through 2006, powering everything from the Rambler American to the AMC Gremlin to the Jeep Cherokee, with a few years of IHC Scouts thrown in for good measure? Starting with the 138-horspower Typhoon 232, the engine evolved into the 199, 258, and 4.0 engines used in just about everything AMC and Jeep made for decade after decade. You can even get one with Renault/Bendix fuel injection (but we don't recommend it). [Wikipedia, Novak Conversions]

Engine of the Day: Subaru EJ

Murilee Martin — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 14:00:00 EDT

Long after Volkswagen gave up on the boxer-four engine configuration, Subaru keeps getting more and more power out of the design with their EJ engine series. Starting in 1989 and continuing through the present day, the 4-valve-per-cylinder EJ has been made in SOHC and DOHC form, with displacements ranging from 1.5 liters to 2.5 liters. Power outputs from the EJ run the gamut from double-digit figures to "How much money you got?" with the WRX versions reaching the magical 300-horse figure right from the factory. [Wikipedia]

Engine of the Day: Volvo Red Block

Murilee Martin — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 14:00:00 EDT

Even though I just replaced a perfectly good Volvo B23 engine with a Ford 302, that doesn't mean I lack appreciation for the tough and versatile OHC slant-four Volvo engine family, which powered the majority of Volvo cars from the late 70s through the late 90s. Available with 8 valves or 16, naturally aspirated or turbocharged, the Red Block was the direct descendant of the early-60s-vintage pushrod B18. [Wikipedia]

Fighting Fascism With a Sheet-Metal Block: Crosley COBRA

Murilee Martin — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 15:00:00 EDT

What has 44 cubic inches, weighs just 133 pounds (including all accessories and flywheel), a block made of copper-brazed sheet steel, and joined with the Willys Go Devil to help plant a big steel-toed boot in the asses of Adolf Hitler and Hideki Tojo? The Crosley COBRA! Yes, UDMan, your suggestion has been heeded (in spite of the fact that I had a childhood of anti-Crosley propaganda from my grandfather, who bought one new in '46 and considered it the dumbest decision of his entire life). To be fair, however, an engine designed for stationary, fixed-RPM operation as a military generator powerplant can't be expected to hold up well under the temperature fluctuations and stop-start demands of a motor vehicle. By '49, Crosley had switched to a cast-iron block, which was more reliable but nowhere near as cool. [Crosley Auto Club]

Engine of the Day: Mazda 13B

Murilee Martin — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 17:40:00 EDT

Here's an example of an engine we couldn't really include in the Workhorse Engine of the Day series, because in spite of its incredible power-to-weight ratio and overall screamin' glory, the rotary engine is just not bulletproof enough to be considered a true workhorse. All that's changed with the new EOTD series, however, and we can now celebrate the nonreciprocating awesomeness that is the Mazda 13B. In truth, all the Mazda Wankels are variations on the same design; we just selected the 13B as the flavor that was built for the longest period, 1973 through 2002. Cosmos, RX-7s, 7-second Starlets, you name it, the 13B has powered it. Make the jump for our favorite hypnotic GIF animation. [Mazda, Wikipedia]

Engine of the Day: Packard Inline Eight

Murilee Martin — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 09:40:00 EDT

We were all set to go over to Europe for today's engine, because the last couple have been American... but then Teargas let us know about the video after the jump, and it was impossible not to go with the Packard flathead inline eight-cylinder engine. To see what we mean, turn your speakers up as high as they'll go before starting the video; in fact, go out and buy better speakers right now!

When you're done with that, you'll probably want to go see the other videos shot by this Packard-powered genius.

Packard made their flathead straight-eight engine for several decades, from 1924 through 1954; the largest displacement was the 359-cubic-inch version. By the time the DOTS 1953 Packard Cavalier was built, all of Packard's competition was boasting V8 power (including quite a few overhead-valve V8s) making the old inline eight seem old-fashioned (not to mention its 1,000-pound-plus weight). But you want torque? Of course you do! Sorry, wasn't able to find a single comprehensive Packard engine site, but this Studecentric site has a pretty decent rundown of the postwar engines: [Studebaker-Info.org]

Engine of the Day: Chrysler LA Series

Murilee Martin — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 10:20:00 EDT

How about an engine family that included V6, V8, and V10 variants and is still being manufactured today after more than 40 years? Starting with the 273-cube V8 in 1964 (itself a descendant of the mid-50s-vintage A series engine) and proceeding through vast numbers of 318s and 360s (and let us not forget the screamin' 340 Six-Pack pictured above), the LA design ended up as the basis of the 488 and 505 V10s used in Vipers and SRT-10s. While the Slant Six has pretty well established itself as the top contender for the All-Time Most Bulletproof Detroit Engine Award, its 318 stablemate makes a strong bid for second place. [Allpar]

Willys Go Devil: Engine Of Democracy!

Murilee Martin — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 10:40:00 EDT

It's been a while since we had a Workhorse Engine of the Day; the problem with that series was that many great engines don't quite rate "workhorse" status (whatever that is) and we kept getting all bogged down in debates over whether a given engine really belonged. But we love great engines, regardless of equine semblance, so we're coming back at you with a new/improved series with an edgy, highly original name: Engine of the Day! Today we're looking at a flathead four-banger that did more to crush Nazism than any engine (with the possible exception of the V-2 diesel in the T-34 tank): the Willys L134 Go Devil! Thanks to BrandonValentine (and others) for the suggestion. [Wikipedia]