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V8

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novelties

Lego Maniac Blows Minds With 1440 RPM Mindstorms V8 Lego Engine

Lego Mindstorms is a brilliantly simple combination of sensors, actuators, and logic control that can be made to do the most devious and delightful things. Like this lego maniac who built an air-powered V8 engine with a rev counter on one of the cams. That counter tells us this baby can crank up to 1440 RPM, and that's without any kind of lubrication system. The cool part is, even though it's all plastic and powered by air, it still has that comforting V8 sound. (Hat tip to Phillip!)

[nicjasno]

12:20 PM on Fri May 16 2008
By Ben Wojdyla
7,673 views, 50 comments

Latest by keyrat: Any estimate at how much the pieces would cost to build this? I assume you'd have to buy other kits and mix and match, but some kind of educated guess would be fine. more »

engine of the day

Engine of the Day: Cadillac OHV V8

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]

3:00 PM on Thu May 8 2008
By Murilee Martin
880 views, 26 comments

Latest by dohcspit: @Murdoc: AFAIK the 500 is the largest in a production passenger car, but certainly not the largest V8 ever made. The ford GAA V8 for example+ Watch video dwarfs it at 1100 cid (for a mere 500hp!) A bit of googling hasn't more »

engine of the day

Engine of the Day: Nissan VH

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]

2:00 PM on Thu May 1 2008
By Murilee Martin
1,804 views, 24 comments

junkyard find

Cadillac Northstars Finally Appearing In Self-Service Junkyards

I remember a time in the early 1990s when small-block Chevy HEI distributors finally started showing up in large numbers in the cheap self-service junkyards; those of us driving Chevy-powered heaps could rejoice at being freed from the misery of ignition points for a mere ten bucks. Now that point has been reached with the Cadillac Northstar engine: an aluminum DOHC V8 available for your personal engine swap madness for just $100 complete (on Half Price Day, that is). Here's a '93 Eldorado I found at a local junkyard not long ago. Hmmm... wonder how hard it would be to fit this engine in a Cavalier?

3:00 PM on Wed Apr 23 2008
By Murilee Martin
2,186 views, 58 comments

Latest by Sketch242: @tts10driver: I haven't kept up with the latest developments, but as of a couple of years ago, the easiest way to install it is using the auto trans that came with it. From what I've heard, the PCM will freak more »

choose your eternity

PCH, Northstar Swap Edition: Toyota MR2 or Pontiac Fiero?

Since yesterday's Packard Straight Eight Swap Edition (which was won by the '37 Pontiac) was so much fun, we're going to stick with Alternative Powerplant Hell for another day. All engine swaps are fun, of course, but the best ones involve stuffing an engine much, much larger than anything the car's designers ever considered. When you accomplish such a swap, you get respect; when you start with the knuckle-shredding, sanity-destroyingly tight engine compartment of a small mid-engined car (say, a Fiero or MR2)... well, that's when folks start treating you with the deference reserved for the truly mad!
More »

5:20 PM on Fri Apr 18 2008
By Murilee Martin
5,016 views, 50 comments

Latest by Turboner: @BillStrong: Do what I did, get a wife who values torque over square footage... Wait, that came out wrong, I've got plenty of square "footage" where it counts! more »

2010 ford mustang

2010 Ford Mustang To Get Turbo-Boosted 5.0-Liter V8?

If you believe Bill Osborne, President of Ford Australia, the 2010 Ford Mustang will get the new 5.0-liter engine under the hood — potentially with some turbocharging or supercharging mixed in. He dropped the bomb on the kiwis over at Stuff.co.nz while talking about engine mixes on the next Ford Falcon. Here's what they say about what he said in order to limit that whole game o' telephone:
Beyond that Osborne confirmed a new 5.0-litre V8 to be developed and built in North America for the Ford Mustang was being examined for possible use in Ford's new Falcon.
More »

7:25 AM on Thu Apr 17 2008
By Ray Wert
5,694 views, 65 comments

Latest by Hello_Newman: They have to keep up with Corvette somehow, and going to this seems like a pretty good idea. Vettes cost more of course but this at least keeps them in the realm of competition. The new Z06 is going to more »

junkyard find

No Room For The Cadillac Engine? Get The Emblem!

When I saw the junked '71 Eldorado last weekend, I said the same thing to its engine-displacement emblems that (ex-schoolteacher) Chaim Witz said to 16-year-old Christine when he saw her walking home from school: I got to have you! Of course, I didn't mean quite the same thing by my statement (you hope), but the upshot is that I've got a companion for the Super-Malaise Cadillac V8-6-4 emblem now stuck on my office bulletin board. Apparently The General's marketing types felt that the British "Litre" spelling would give the Eldo added style; we can also see this philosophy on the '73 Grand Am.

3:00 PM on Wed Apr 16 2008
By Murilee Martin
814 views, 28 comments

Latest by thatguy01: @sneaky_j: Zed's dead, baby. Zed's dead. more »

engine of the day

Engine of the Day: Chrysler LA Series

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]

10:20 AM on Tue Apr 15 2008
By Murilee Martin
1,161 views, 33 comments

Latest by Galaxie500: I had a 1979 Ram Charger with a 318 4bbl, in CA no less...The V8's would take abuse and still do 150,00 - 200,00 easy, leaking oil and everything else. Only other problem was having to pull the intake manifold more »

industry news

First 2008 BMW M3s Marked Up To $100k

As the first 2008 BMW M3s have started arriving at American dealerships, they're being marked up as high as $100,000. The M3's MSRP is $57,275. The picture, from DragTimes.com shows a car sitting in Century West BMW in North Hollywood, the sticker features a "Dealer Market Adjustment" of $30,000 on top of several options packages. Offering 414bhp from an all-new 4.0L V8, this promises to be the fastest M3 ever. But whether or not it's worth $100,000 remains to be seen. Gallery images via BMW Blog.

1:45 PM on Mon Mar 10 2008
By Wes Siler
2,582 views, 51 comments

Latest by cazin678: Oh man, I never tire of that airport pic- priceless! As to M3 pricing- hello, free-market economy, read a book sometime..... Whining about the mark-up isn't gonna get you any closer to owning it than the Enzo that you couldn't afford, more »

down on the street bonus edition

Geneva Project Hell? Aston Martin V8 Vantage

As we were exiting the incredibly trippy Schtroumpfs residential development, our eye caught something sleek and silver and slowly floating down the road on a flatbed. This Aston Martin V8 Vantage seems to be in the midst of a restoration and probably becoming a new man's Project Car Hell. We couldn't quite nail down the vintage, but it looks like early 70's for this lithe British beast. The fella with the Touareg seemed happy with the attention the car garnered, but we would have lost our minds driving that big trailer around the cramped streets of Geneva.


5:30 PM on Fri Mar 7 2008
By Ben Wojdyla
2,096 views, 41 comments

Latest by Rust-MyEnemy: @GreenVanMan: Triumph 2500. Originally 2.5Pi, with Lucas injeccy, then carbs as the 2500. (engine fires) BL didn't even trust Lucas when the cars were new! more »

racing news

Aston Martin Vantage GT2 Tests For Le Mans

We've known for a while that Aston Martin was preparing a GT2 Racer based on the V8 Vantage. But now, thanks to the guys at UltimateCarPage, we've got photos of it in action during a test session at the Paul Ricard circuit. The 4.3-liter V8 is expected to make around 480 HP. So, this is a couple steps up from the GT4-spec Vantage N24, and a step down from the GT1-spec DBR9. Aston is scrambling to finish the GT2, and is expected to deliver cars to teams a couple races into the season. It will be raced in ALMS, FIA GT and Le Mans Series, so all those Porsche 911 GT3 RSRs, Ferrari F430 GTCs, and BMW M3 GTRs better watch their mirrors. [via UltimateCarPage]

10:00 AM on Thu Mar 6 2008
By marnold
998 views, 12 comments

Latest by voodoojoo: Every time I go to that site, I like to pretend that I'm going to most accurately judge how old my carp is, imagining a dedicated carp fisherman screaming at his computer "What do you mean that domain name is more »

custom cars

V8 Ford Festiva, Now With Video

Everyone seemed to like the Ford Festiva powered by a rear mounted Chevy V8 driving the front wheels. So here's the video. As expected, it features such knockout classics as front wheel reverse donuts and the ever- popular chocked wheel burnout till tire explosion. Just to spice things up, cabin smoke choking driver is thrown in for fun. We like this video, even if it's just a bunch of hoons in a backyard acting the fool in a Festiva, which alternately sounds like a tractor and a funny car.

4:15 PM on Tue Feb 12 2008
By Ben Wojdyla
3,442 views, 30 comments

Latest by toyotaboy: greatest sleeper car of all time, hands down. that is impressive, I wonder what parts they had to strengthen up. Could definately use some sort of barrier from the engine. more »

custom cars

V8 Powered Ford Festiva Torque Steers Itself Into Our Hearts

Most sane people who would consider swapping a V8 into Ford Festiva (an admittedly small subset) would make the switch to rear wheel drive. If you're going to do all that work, you might as well make it right wheel drive. One would also imagine such a swap would stay in the family, a Ford engine for a Ford Car, GM for GM, and so on. Well, Cardomain.com member Theon Parseghian decided against both of those things when he built his widowmaker, the appropriately named Lost Innocence. Powered with a 355ci Chevy V8, with the cogs being turned inside a TH-350 running a BMW front axle, we're pretty sure the little red bomber will do some seriously stupid things. Front wheel donuts in reverse comes to mind immediately, but how about torque steering across multiple lanes of traffic? That could be fun, right?

4:45 PM on Mon Feb 11 2008
By Ben Wojdyla
3,804 views, 60 comments

Latest by velocecrat: I wonder whether the builder will be disappointed at how slow this thing'll be, what with the inevitable wheelspin that'll plague this thing in pretty much all gears. Like decorative pickled food jars: interesting, utterly useless. more »

super bowl ad watch

Super Bowl Ad Watch: Hyundai Genesis Super Bowl Commercials Online; Halftime Show Still Live

If you're not a football fan, you may have just lost one reason for watching the big game this Sunday night (unless you're going to be watching in anticipation of a Tom Petty wardrobe malfunction). That's right, we've got the highly anticipated Hyundai Genesis Super Bowl Ads right here, right now. More »

8:30 AM on Fri Feb 1 2008
By marnold
4,042 views, 39 comments

novelties

The Chevy 350 V8-Powered Scion xB Defies Stereotypes, Logic

As we become a more automotively diverse culture you're bound to see dozens of modded Scions and JDM Nissans with Fairlady badges on one side of town, and some good old boys in their Camaros and small-block powered Novas on the other. Rick, of Whitemarsh, Maryland, has found a way to roll with both crews by dropping a stroked 350 V8 good for 450 horsepower in his 2004 Scion xB.

More »

2:45 PM on Fri Jan 25 2008
By Matt Hardigree
5,657 views, 60 comments

el camino

Report: Lutz Confirms Holden Ute-Based GMC Concept At NY Auto Show, Is The Crewamino Nigh?

It looks as though Maximum Bob Lutz has confirmed to Australian website GoAuto that a four door truck concept based on the Zeta platform will be appearing at the New York Auto Show as a GMC. While we can't be sure this is the precursor to the new El Camino we keep asking about, what we're picturing in our head is totally a four-door El Camino. Specifically he said "We will have a ute concept at the NY show, but that is going to be badged GMC... and a very interesting study in that it is a GMC tough-looking four-door ute that could then obviously be badged as a Holden for Australia." A lot of people have taken to thinking this refers to the Holden Crewman, which didn't get updated like the other Utes in Holden's lineup.

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5:45 PM on Tue Jan 22 2008
By Matt Hardigree
2,662 views, 73 comments

Latest by justpete: TEXANIDIOT25, That one tonner would look bitch'n with a set of short stack exhaust pipes wouldnt it? more »

detroit auto show

Detroit Auto Show: 2009 Kia Borrego officially unveiled

The 2009 Borrego marks Kia's first entry into the mid-size SUV market. Featuring body-on-frame construction and an optional 4.6L, 333bhp V8, it should offer serious competition to vehicles like the Ford Explorer. It also features three rows of seats, optional air-suspension, hill descent control and a high- and low-range 6-speed automatic gearbox. With the V8 it can tow 7,500lbs. The Borrego goes on sale early this summer.




Feature

4:05 PM on Sun Jan 13 2008
By Wes Siler
2,484 views, 28 comments

Latest by starzzguitar: If it has the reliablity of a Kia, that is good enough for me. That is not an insult anymore, that is a COMPLIMENT. Take it from someone who has one. Looks like you should get out to a dealer more »

novelties

The V8-Powered Snowblower Owns Frosty's Ass

What do you do when you have a 454 c.i. chevy big block V8 and a massive amount of winter precipitation? While there are those among us that would rather toss it in a LeCar, Kai Grundt decided a six-year journey to create the world's greatest V8-powered snowblower was the way to go. Remember: engine displacement = snow displacement. There's no price on this monster, though the company claims that it'll build one. Either way, it's fun to look at. Full details below the jump:

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11:30 AM on Mon Dec 31 2007
By Matt Hardigree
5,886 views, 37 comments

Latest by thomas124: Reminds me of the movie 'Moving' with Richard Pryor...the big block lawn mower. more »