5 Best Vintage V8 Muscle Car Engines

[@johnkendall6962]

I'm of the age of Viet Nam war vets 1 person I knew saved all the money from his time in Nam and wanted the hottest car he could get when he returned He didn't want a corvette or Hemi so he bought the Buick 455 stage 1 the dealer told him about an even hotter set up called stage 2 which was only dealer installed but he would need to leave the car there a couple of days. His best times were low 11s on a size wider than stock street tires . That meant it would probably be a mid 10 second car with slicks. Always wondered what happened to that car.

[@elbello1975]

Junk yard since early 80s

[@jeremyboehm5512]

The 426 Hemi is hands down king of the drag strip.

[@wyattkranz2450]

Well...sort of, in the mid to late 60’s the cammer easily beat it, really the only reason that you don’t see the 427sohc in drag racing is that Ford stopped making parts for the cammer, they were more interested in nascar, so they put all their attention into the cobra jet.

[@Ted_Stryker]

​@@wyattkranz2450Yes. The, cammer", was ford's answer to the Hemi. Nascar shut it down before they could actually put them in cars, but Mopar actually had an answer for ford's cammer. It was their dual overhead cammed 426 Hemi, known as the doomsday engine. There are still two in existence. One travels around at various auto shows. The other is in a private collection somewhere. I've also heard that someone was able to acquire some prototype heads from the project. Nascar actually shut down both projects, because they, apparently, were of the mind that things could get out of control if they didn't. Hence, why there were only about 1500 or so cammers produced as well. Btw, many of the 427 cammers ended up with Hemi bottom ends, because the 427s couldn't handle the extra power very well. No hate. Just think that the story behind both of these engines is quite interesting, but often overlooked.

[@randycoursey7230]

Nice assembly of Detroit Muscle here. I've own a 1970 MACH I since 1977. 351 Cleveland 425 HP after the rebuild in 2016. Wife drove the car daily from 1980- 90. Then it became a Sunday driver. Wife loved it, she loved driving circles around most cars back then. Most were compression choked out dogs. The FOX MUSTANGS with the 5.0 V8 was pretty fast though.

[@1Klooch]

Engines that are what they are. No nagging, fault prone computers and sensors, no alien technology. And room, ROOM, to fit your hand AND a tool at the same time! Oh merciful God deliver me from my GM Ecotec 2.2!

[@charlesbireland1780]

Had a 1968 Shelby GT500KR with a 428 Cobrajet not much room there to change the plugs. I did keep it tuned though.....well enough to beat a 427 Yenko Camaro by 8 car lengths (twice) one night on a stretch of unopened Interstate 95 north of Jax. Fla. His wife embarrassed him when she told us the Yenko had never been beat before. I would have never left home with that 427 tuned so badly.Tuned properly, I think the Chevy should have won. My next car was a 1970 Nicky Nova SS (COPO) 375hp/402cid. After re-jetting the Holly Carb & setting the distributor for 38 degrees total advance @2000rpm, a set of Hooker headers and a "Flexalight"fan the Nova ran the quarter mile in 12.01seconds. The NHRA record for B Stock Automatic was 11.65 sec.

[@Bartonovich52]

Really? Adjusting valve lash, changing points and condensers, rebuilding carbs, setting timing, and after 100,000 miles it’s burning oil, overheating, and needs a rebuild..... vs an engine that doesn’t need anything other than fluid and filter changes for the first 100,000 miles, coolant is good for 5 years, and should it have a problem a $20 made in China code reader will tell you exactly what it is and it will cost you like $100 and a six pack to change out the offending O2 sensor.... and at 100,000 miles it runs better than anything made before 1984 did out of the showroom.

[@rustyjeep2469]

Bartonovich52 Hahaha right. Exaggerate much?

[@paulk5311]

@@Bartonovich52 there is a difference between a mechanic and a technician. the latter is just some hack that knows how to plug in a computer. probably could not set valve lash if his ride depended on it.

[@stewartcampbell7794]

@@charlesbireland1780 ; U Did Not Change # 6 Plug without Lifting the Engine . NO WAY ! Can't B Done . My Pinkie is Still Down there Somewhere & I want it Back .YYZ , Rock-Crush'in Ratman . I Had Me 2 Nova's 68 &69 402's Heavily Modded 4 Street . 12.5 Compressed & Changing Spark Plugs were a Dream compared with those A Pillar Nightmares . No Yenko or Copo cause I did My Own Hot-Rodding" . Worked at G/M Oshawa at the Tyme ! Happy Day's 4 Sure .

[@johnriley8591]

The Chevy 327 Turbo Fire was pretty hot. Factory Edelbrock Hi Rise intake, with a huge Rochester 4 jet Carburetor. Rated @ 360 HP. The 63 Bel Air could really scoot with the Powerglide.

[@craigmanning2439]

I loved my 289 A-Code in my 65 fastback mustang. Plenty of power, got 26mpg. Loved that car. Too bad I got married.

[@Thestargazer56]

I had a 1971 Challenger R/T 383ci. I did minor upgrades (cam, intake, Holly 650cfm, headers, etc.) I got an honest 20 mpg unless I "mashed" the accelerator. When my wife told me that she was pregnant, I sold the car. I was already spending too much time tinkering on the car, it was becoming a money pit, couldn't find good gasoline anymore and had to keep dropping the timing.

[@opencurtin]

@@Thestargazer56 the vanishing point is my favourite movie with a challenger in it !

[@dianelee2100]

Love learning about how great American cars were in the day. So I redid a 1969 AMC AMX 390 GO PACK WITH EVERY AVAILABLE OPTION. IT IS BUILT .040 OVER AND IS A BEAST. GREAT VIDEOS. THANKS

[@Papasmurf7597]

Enjoyed your video. Brough back many memories. I bought a brand new 1969 Plymouth Satellite convertible, April '69'. Special order car. 383 cubes with a big(for a 2 barrel) Rochester carb(when first taking the air cleaner off, it looked like a four barrel). If my memory serves me right, it had 300hp. 4 barrel only brought it up to 330hp, I think? Don't know exactly how fast it would go, but had the needle pinned many times, and still more to go! Again, thanks for the video.

[@1926howiemack]

I started working on these muscle cars when they came out new. I knew all of them well. All the different engines had their unique qualities and weaknesses. What we did back then is go to the local junk yard and buy these engines out of cars that were wrecked usually at a bargain price. One engine that gets overlooked but was a great engine and lots of power was the Ford 428" motor that was commonly put into station wagons. They had a longer stroke than the 427" but were powerful and could be bought for about $250 dollars most of them had less than 30,000 miles on the engine. We made a lot of sleeper cars using these engines. I was glad I got to be a mechanic during that era. We had many fun times street drag racing. Today everything is so regulated to the point you can't hardly breathe without someone destroying your hobby.

[@mechanicman8687]

1926howiemack Country Squire LTD had the 429cid in 1971

[@randystegemann9990]

@@mechanicman8687 I had a 1972 Country Squire with the 429cid. Best deal I ever got, 120K miles in eight years and it only cost me $600. It needed no major work until I parked it because of rust. I sure miss that car!

[@todd5082]

Don’t go to the Ford dealer. U will see a 2020 GT500 Mustang that puts out 760hp with catalytic converters, 7-speed trans, with a 3yr warranty. GPS, A/C, heated seats, power everything. 0-60 in 3.3 seconds, top speed is 180+. Guys on the internet r making a few tweaks and getting 900hp from a bone stock factory engine. And don’t get me started on the supercharged Hemi Dodge Hellcat.

[@aludawithbiglove9839]

hi senior, i have 500 cid engine , wath can you tell about this engine ? i want Strengthen this engine and add in 1969 old cutlas .. wath you thing wath will be ? :)

[@markperry2827]

The SCJ 428 had a lot of power and was upgradeable due to the reinforced webbing on the block. Non CJ blocks were not as great and could not handle over 500 HP for very long.

[@mijomcgyver6270]

It's a tough task to only pick 5 engines out of the dozens that were noteworthy during the musclecar wars of yesteryear. I can't find fault with this group, but I can think of many others that could easily have been on it: The Ford Boss 429 & 428SCJ, Chevy L72 & L88 427s, Pontiac RamAir IV, Chrysler 440, and the mighty-mites - Ford Boss 302 & Chevy DZ 302 - are all worthy of mention (as are many others).

[@fredanddebramacdonald2445]

Back when real cars were made! And I remember pumping preumium gas costing 32 cents per gallon! Real gas! Try running cars like this on 91 octane at three bucks a gallon! Ping, ping, ping!!

[@davidstephens4639]

Not in SLC at 4500' elevation. 10:1 up here makes the same cranking compression, all else equal, as 8.5:1 at sea level. I put 305HO heads on a smogger 350 and left the smogger cam in, it ran fine on pump regular at 10.2:1.

[@chrismemphis8062]

@Bighorn44 None ...and .34 in 1966 adjusted for 2019 inflation is $2.74 today. The old days weren't that good.

[@chrisbaker2903]

I remember paying 21 cents a gallon at the cheapo station right next to Ventura High school in Ventura California in 1968/69. Mostly I bought regular which ran fine in my mom's merc station wagon with 10:1 compression at sea level. It was no performance car but the 383 version of the Lincoln 430 was still a torque monster. I wish I had one like it now in good condition. 2.73 gears, 55 in first 95 in second and no idea in third. Shifting at 4,000 RPM... LOL My dad liked it too. We pulled a 14' camping trailer up over 33 towards Taft and at one point, on a long straight stretch, he got all 4, probably the trailer too, airborne over a rise that would be a gentle slope at 65. The speedometer was somewhere past 105 when I saw it as we were slowing down. I believe that he honestly didn't notice how fast we were going. You're not going to do that with ANY modern car.

[@jeffreyanderson810]

methanol a low grade corn mix money flow 4 big corporation.

[@davidhubbard7573]

I remember 32 cents a gallon I was 11 years old I remember how passed off the adults were whe italmost trippled over night too

[@tomdrummy4984]

Late 60’s 427 in a vette.......rocket on wheels !

[@autiebell1357]

Rat Motor.

[@ThePaulv12]

The 440 six pack could've had it's own entry but i suppose it wouldn't fit.

[@jeremythompson9122]

Absolutely. The Pontiac 400 Ram Air IV too

[@larryyatsko6966]

I had a 70 cuda with a 440 six barrel engine. 3:54 gears and a positraction rear and 727 torgueflite transmission. I installed a set of Big Tube Hooker Headers, changed to carburetor linkage to progressive linkage. Yanked out the stock distributor for a Mallory Dual point. Carbs and distributor were set up by "Ramchargers" Car prepped by Bob George. That car never lost a race. It was freaky fast.

[@markperry2827]

440s were the poor mans engine. The 383 was the grandpas engine. Mopar had wonderful plants but the 428 SCJ smoked the 440 and it was not even close. Took a lot of work to get the 440s competitive. Not the best head design.

[@ThePaulv12]

@@markperry2827 Mopar expert?

[@Widebody20]

For me I loved the Pontiac tin indian powered with a 421 engine.

[@timothypaulo7060]

Robert Lyon I think the 421 is probably the best Pontiac engine ever made!

[@Widebody20]

@@timothypaulo7060 No question about it. Arny Beswick with a 1963 Tempest.

[@timothypaulo7060]

The 421 equipped with 2 four barrel carbs was an absolute powerhouse. Totally under appreciated engine.i believe it’s even huskier than a 409 with. Dual quads. (Another awesome engine!)

[@rguy2684]

I was going to bring up the Pontiac 421. Recently set up a pure stock on a stationary dyno at 585 Hp and 590 tq! Best production motor ever.

[@michaelotten2724]

389, 400, 421, 455.

[@olliehopnoodle4628]

It's a fair list. The video is well done and worth watching.

[@JazzzRockFuzion]

Great video - however, MOPAR is definitely underrepresented here. I'll highlight just a single example: -The 340 small block was an incredible high performance motor offered throughout the Dodge/Plymouth range in different model years. In a comparatively "compact" car like the Demon/Duster, you could easily take the fat cats in their intermediates & full sizes from a stop light. Even in a larger model like the Charger/Road Runner, the 340 was a killer motor.

[@bhaggen]

@JazzzRockFuzion.....You took the words right outta my mouth. The 68 340s with the now sought after heads.

[@kennethlaw5216]

JazzzRockFuzion you could say that about a lot of small blocks, for reliable driving and stop light to stop light. give me a mopar 340, and chevy 327, ford 289, and many others. but I think this article was king of the hill bog block. it's all in what you were looking for

[@davidstephens4639]

340 was excellent among smallblocks, but a 400 HP 440 vs a 400 HP 340, the 440 is more driveable and way higher average torque. Same acceleration with less rear axle gearing, despite weight, makes less noise and longer life.

[@reindaz]

the 340 is a fantastic engine, but the ones from 1970 was the are even better!

[@jamesgillgam8199]

I totally agree, those 340s were outrunning big blocks and the 440s were putting the hurt on plenty of Brand X and Ford cars.

[@johnfuchs5398]

One engine that was missed was the 4 cylinder used in the 1972 vega. I had a friend with one. He actually drove it over a curb stop. Well, half way, then the trans went out. Never mind.

[@SpecialAgentJamesAki]

john fuchs 😂

[@jerryw6699]

@@SpecialAgentJamesAki my aunt had one too, it melted.

[@tomschwartz4853]

Put a 350 in a 73 Astra same as Vega the 4 cylinder was a dog.

[@skaldlouiscyphre2453]

@@tomschwartz4853 Cosworth made it good

[@wymple09]

@@tomschwartz4853 Depending on the model, there was up to 110 HP in a GT. It was equal to it's intended competition, mostly the Pinto. And no big block ever touched 1/2 it's fuel mileage. Rust proofing made it a decent fun little car. Sleeving the block made it last. The block warping problem was only showing up in cars with insufficient anti-freeze to prevent hot spots. The coated cylinder walls did not hold up because the bean counters thinned it out too far. The original coating design was fine.

[@mikeb46]

Awesome info there. I was aware of the 455 Buick but had never heard specs on it. Wow. Those were all big engines. There were a few small block cars that broke into the high 13's in the 1/4 mile but they were in small cars like the Dodge Dart and the Mustang or Comet. The insurance companies started whacking anyone under 30 with high rates hoping to discourage young guys from buying the really hot cars. Face it, young drivers with only a year or two of driving experience were far more likely to crash a hot performance car. Faster reflexes are a poor substitute for better judgment and experience. Anyone who was willing to do the work or hire it done could modify a chevy 350 or 396, a ford 390 or even a 289/302 in a mustang and get it into the mid 13's. Cams, big valves, headers could easily add 50 hp to an engine. I had a 69 Road Runner that was modified by a guy who used to race at Nascar. It was a factory 383 but when he got through with it, it was faster then a factory GTX with 440. Back then $400 could buy a lot of performance. I bought street legal Mickey Thompson slicks, they had just enough sipes to make them streetable. They were so sticky it was unbelievable. If I held the tach at 3000 let the clutch up fast and mashed the gas at the same time it launched as if a car had hit me from behind. It only took a few weeks of abuse before the pressure plate gave out. When the dealer removed it it was so warped it rocked back and forth on the floor! One of the adjuster screws had backed off so they warranteed it for me! I did NOT leave the slicks on when I took it in. A friend had an early Mustang with 289. He had a guy do some work on it. It got really fast before he got hit by some body who ran a stop sign. I never got to race him but I bet it would have been close. If he slammed second gear and popped the clutch at full throttle it would break both tires loose and get a bit sideways. Ah, the good old days. Those muscle cars were not terribly more expensive than the grocery getters back then. But now, they are at least 35% more expensive some being twice the cost of a basic car.

[@bartstarr972]

Missed a big one guy's...the Ford 427 cammer was the standard for monster V8's. Headers , a little bigger carb and a slightly more aggressive cam put this badass motor at 600+ horsepower...that why Nascar outlawed it as soon as it hit the track...... mostly due to complaints from Plymouth , due to the fact that it smoked the 426 Hemi.....

[@jerryw6699]

it was never in a production vehicle and very few were ever assembled.

[@randycoursey7230]

@@jerryw6699 Bill France approved the 426 Hemi despite the engine not being in a car at that time. Ford countered with the SOHC 427 which never saw a stock car and Bill shut them down, never raced in NASCAR. 1969-70 FORD & CHRYSLER competed with the AERO cars. GM couldn't compete. After 1970 France ended the AERO WAR CARS. GM was back. Ford won the most races in this short era with the Mercury Cyclone Spoiler & the Ford Talladega. Or Cobra. The Torino body was used. In 69 David Pearson won the Grand National Title in a Ford. Richard Petty driving a Ford that year finished second.

[@timbean9827]

@@randycoursey7230 ford made 10,000 427 thunderbolts and made cars that were not street legal with that engine like the falcon demon for drag racing

[@jerryparks6123]

427 sohc , single 4v 616 H. P. ,DUALL QUADS 657 H. P.

[@bartstarr972]

@@jerryparks6123 Amen Brother !

[@davidthayer6969]

They should have mentioned that the venerable Ford 427,in 1967 won the Daytona 500, 24 hrs of LeMans AND the AA/FD title in the NHRA......although the performance of all of the others is fantastic, NO other engine has ever, or will ever do this agains.

[@3fingermike1]

and 12 hrs of Sebring. The 427(in it's various forms) is Ford's all time race winning leader.

[@Beastcustoms]

Another little piece of trivia not well known is that Ford sold their remaining inventory of 427ci side oilers to non other than Chris Craft to power their Constellation cruisers. One need only to search your local boat yard for one of these rare gems. It's how I found mine. Your welcome!

[@allenkeiser1718]

Engine

[@jeremythompson9895]

@@allenkeiser1718 Definitely...... I think the Ford R-Code 427 should've been number 2. The high compression LS6 454 was only in production for one year(1970) Besides I always thought the Chevy L72 427 performed better than the LS6 anyway. And the Stage 1 455 Buicks were fast but they were notorious for cracked blocks, due to the use of 2 bolt mains and very thinwall casting. Always cracked in the lifter valleys. Couldn't take the high rpm abuse like the others on this list so I don't really think it belongs here, but others may disagree

[@heathdale5903]

@@Johnny_Fairlane the 427 sohc was ford copycating chryslers hemi. because ford cant come up with anything on ther own. cheating little bitches.

[@jackschwartz1783]

Personally. I'd take a '63 Chevy 327, 340hp Rochester Q-Jet(pre-quadrajet manual secondaries) Fuelie heads 4 bolt main. over ANY engine you picked here. Designed for Corvettes but you could order it in any chevy made that year. 25+ mpg if you didn't open up the secondaries. But if you did 'open it up' it would keep up with these motors. Plus, out of the factory, you could take it up to higher RPMs than any of these motors. In fact it was the First Stock motor offered to the public that produced more hp than it had cubic inches Once you've had one your admiration of Big Blocks fades rapidly Take Care All

[@VAHOSS]

What a joke. You have a SD 455 on the list, but no Olds 455, or 429 scj? 😆 You need to do a little research on the late 60s - early 70s 4-4-2, and Mach1 mustang.

[@sabrehawk-427]

my dad had a 1970 w30 422 oldsmobile he said he said it would out run 440 six packs and corvettes

[@oldsman4446]

I was wondering the same thing lol I own two Oldsmobile 455s and two olds 425s and torque for your buck they are the best.

[@sabrehawk-427]

@phuc ewe at 30 mph kickdown 440s did not have a chance leaf springs have alot of wheel hop gm s have the real deal four link rear suspension

[@stewartcampbell7794]

@@sabrehawk-427 ; Hey GTR ; Guess U Never Heard of a Lakewood J-Bolt Coupled with a Set of M&H's . A leaf Did a Very Satisfying Front End Lift after Installation . Something a Coil Could NEVER Do with-out Heavy & Very Costly & Expensive Mod's . All Coil Kar's Sadly Suffered the Same Disfunkshion . YYZ , Rock-Crush'in-Ratman . O ,almost 4r-got about the Rear bud Stop Lock . Very Essential .4 Positive Forward Momentum & Rear Weight Shift in a Positive Moment ! Vroom-Vroom & Let'r RiPPppppp .

[@stewartcampbell7794]

@@sabrehawk-427: Luv 2 Disappoint : Head 2 head U'r Dad Bought a Hollywood Marketing Dawg of a 1/4'r Mile'n 2 +Ton Boat anchor ! Although Miss Hurst made it More Palatable . Me 69 Nova would Guarantee they Would Stay in da Shed .70ish & Although Changeld they Would Not come out 2 Play & Rather Yakkadie -Yak how about how Fast their Kar's Were as opposed 2 Proven it all the while Shining their Fender's & NOT mak'in Eye Contact .. Bench Top Racer's we use 2 Call them ! An Absolute Truth . Albeit Ton's of H/P they ALL were 2 Heavy & Their Coil Suspension Could not Deliver the Piston Punching Power 2 the Ground . 1st Gear Might as Well been 3rd cause they were already 4 > 6 car lengths B-hind . They sure were Pretty & I Drove a Few & Yes , they were Dawg's . Nice Comfy Kind'a Ride ! A Buick Feel Sort'a . & Yes I know not what I Speak of 4 at the age of 16 I was already Comfortably Driving a Left Hand Drive Rolls-Royce & a Porsche 911 Cara -Targa + Half way constructing My 1st Race-Kar ! YYZ , Rock-Crush'in Ratman . Been There , Done That , Period !

[@stinkydogfilms]

Honorable mention 429 SCJ 428 SCJ and the top end beast 351 Cleveland 1970 and 1971 factory 4 barrel.

[@harrycallahan692]

The 426 Hemi definitely rocked!

[@jerryparks6123]

Fords 427 sohc Cammers blew them away 7days awesome and Twice on Sundays at the Dragstrip !

[@harrycallahan692]

@@jerryparks6123 Another awesome big block. What is your opinion about Ford's 429?

[@jerryparks6123]

@@harrycallahan692 Well I had a 68 Thunderbird with the 429 Thunderjet and 2 72 Merc. MARQUIS 429s they'll get right up and Boogie !

[@Mike-vi9do]

Remember, Chrysler had to DE-TUNE the HEMI for street use. It was a real race engine. All others had to cobble their street engines to make horsepower.

[@richardhoepfner1633]

The 1973 Oil Embargo killed the muscle car.

[@almodequindre8601]

That was part of it but it was mostly emissions that killed the muscle car.We still had the Trans AM and Corvettes in the mid 70s which were decent but then in 1982, Ford brought back the Muscle car and a fews year later the Buick Grand National came out and the Mustang GT and the Buick GN were even beating the European exotics in the 1520.

[@briansd2772]

Thanks for including the Pontiac SD-455!

[@Rich-hy2ey]

Buick's Grand National was just as much an all-out push for performance as anything in the 60's and they did it with a V6.

[@kellyh4035]

The GNX was a legend ahead of its time and in a league of it's own.

[@randycoursey7230]

Loved these engines. I could actually work on them! Now today you can't find the engine, so much stuff to dig through.

[@Primus54]

catmodelt: I also have a low mileage ‘14 Impala V-6 which is 300+ HP stock! And yes, opening the hood brings a sea of plastic engine covers, but when you loosen a few bolts and remove them, it is an impressive looking engine. I have the red LTZ trim and it always turns heads for such a large car. The ride is phenomenal. Chevy really did something with the redesign thanks to their European division. A shame this is the last year for the Impala.

[@moeshouse575]

dont for get the 1964 Hemi was a race only version. the 1966 Hemi was what Chrysler called a street Hemi. they LOVED to eat spark plugs

[@jeremythompson9122]

They did like to foul plugs when people drove them around in city traffic at lower RPM for too long. Like the solid lifter Ford FE 427 and the Ford BOSS 429 they are much more at home out on the open highway seeing how they were designed specifically to run at high RPM for long distances ie NASCAR. The 426 Hemi was not an ideal powerplant for daily driving purposes. The 383 and 440 were much better suited for that

[@curbstomp3126]

I always liked the 327 SBC 375hp

[@bobrandal4022]

Dam straight!

[@rondyechannel1399]

No match for the Ford Boss 351 canted valve motor, but a great engine, and I have owned several of both.

[@3.2Carrera]

The SBC may not be perfect to work on from a design perspective or the best performance engine for that matter, but today I greatly appreciate Chevrolet's backwards part commonality that goes back 30 years or so. Takes the guess work out of what part will work with this block or that head, etc.

[@rondyechannel1399]

Vince yes it makes it easy, but it also turns every keyboard mechanic into an expert. When I started building motors in the 1960's I worked with big and small Chevrolets. There were lots of them and they were cheap. Over the years I have grown to appreciate Fords because they were always so innovative. SOHC 427 Hemi , 427 Tunnel Port, BOSS 429 Hemi. 351 C., 289/302 Boss Inline 1400 cfm Autolite carbs. etc. @@3.2Carrera

[@georgewilson9121]

the 327 63-65 vettes owned the streets.

[@lovethesmellofracefuelinth7374]

MoPaR or no car !!

[@NHfiddle]

I was lucky back in the day. I've owned three Dodges, two Dodge Dart 340s, '68 and '70, and a 68 Dodge Charger w/426 hemi and a 4 speed behind it. All three were manual transmission and my fave was obviously the Charger. the motor outlasted the body so I restored it, being only 7 years old it had been thru a lot but we got it done and I had a "real" muscle car.

[@michiganmotorsports]

455 was a beast. 3" main journals on the crank.

[@1calvin]

I love the fords and gms motors but that elephant motor was a beast IMHO

[@micaelcaruso6489]

I have a 1969 Buick GS 400 stage one convertible . the car can fly

[@nitrowrench79]

My dad had a 70 455 Stage 1 GSX. That car was an absolute monster. Those Stage 1 engines were very underrated.

[@quincee3376]

I love the 73 Trans Am 455 Super Duty. Really the last good performer .

[@KobyMathews]

A transmission video would be nice to go along with this.

[@paulsmallriver6066]

If you are old enough you can sit in your favorite chair, close your eyes, and you can hear those beautiful engines as they cruised Main Street and the local drive-ins. What a glorious time that was.

[@paulsmallriver6066]

@catmodelt ah those are ace vehicles. Good on ya.

[@ryanurukalo4347]

Oh, how I miss the days when gas was less than a buck per gallon, and enormous naturally aspirated V8's ruled. Now EPA rules...it's too bad

[@pipeofdoom]

yea but if an EU manifacture made that engine it would be more than that

[@boblazar1443]

The current crop of performance cars are pretty darn good and gas is cheaper than ever if inflation adjusted.

[@chadhaire1711]

Buck a Gallon? You mean back in 1970 when the min wage was $1.50 an hour? Now with inflation min wage is 7 times that but gas in only $2.25 a gallon not even twice that--CHEAPER. And any 2016 Dodge Rt with a stock 5.7 V-8 375 horse engine can blow these old rust bucket engines off the road!

[@423FGFDFHFHV]

In those day they would have run off petrol.

[@billtaylor4224]

bet you would give your right thumb to have one of these "rust buckets". A nice 4spd LS6 Chevelle would set you back $100K+. Of course nostalgia is part of that cost but there is something to be said about the uncomputerized rawness of these machines when driving them.

[@MBailey1977]

Five great choices! If I were choosing five more to the list it would be the 440 six pack, w30 455, ram air 4, boss 429, L72 427.

[@amranabubakar330]

MBailey1977 i choose dodge chargers

[@alexbenjaminlubbers]

Amran Abu Bakar The engines that were equipped into those cars, NOT the cars themselves...

[@sabrehawk-427]

yes the w30 oldsmobile 422 it had a balanced and blue printed engine from factory

[@davidvincent3434]

@@sabrehawk-427 I'm an olds fan myself had a 64 Jetstar 88 with 330 and a 68 Delmont 88 with 425 great engines both came out of fatctory ultra high compression pistions good runners .

[@rondyechannel1399]

The Olds would not run with the top competitors 'cause it could not rev and had small ports and valves. I've built several w-30 example 455's. Once raced against an $8500 upgraded Mondello 2/4 tunnel ram engine jet boat, in an identical boat I owned with a 460 with SCJ heads and tunnel ram. It was NO contest and my entire boat/trailer with home built engine cost about $6500. He was the son of the town mayor and humiliated after all the bragging he did before 'The Event'. He tried again later after having his pump blue printed and lost just as bad. The Olds is not an easy engine to build with the huge main bearings, wanky valve train angles, and small heads. The factory crutched the heads with lots of cam duration in the W30 but you had to build compression to match. Just a little too much compression and it would self destruct. It would make my 1978 Cutlass Supreme fly though!

[@MrJerbrad]

Can I ad my 2cents? The 327 was the best ever.

[@markperry2827]

My pops ran a 327 in his dump truck with a granny gear transmission. Stock. 8 years duty before giving up the ghost.

[@allanbowes6952]

The warranty was a big issue in 1967 when I was buying a new car. I was living in Sask and insurance was not a factor, just reliable cars over long distances. The warranty was a big factor.

[@farmerdude3578]

Depends on your interpretation of the word best. Most of these engine was not seen on a common basis. I was at the end of the muscle car movement. Built and help build plenty of street cars. Drag raced on back roads and cruised town nearly every Friday night.. So I made my list of 5 engines to the common gear head. First Chevy 327 , second ford 351C, third Chrysler 440, fourth Chevy 396, and last was my favorite and still is today. Because I loved the manual shift of the ford top loader. 289 Hypo.

[@7natcho]

Farmer Dude357 as for your 5 picks i do like the GM 327 in it's stock form . As a stock engine the performance was there but as a engine to be built the GM 350 ,,,, high nickle 010 and 020 was a nuch better block to build . When it comes to building a Mopar block i found i made much more horsepower building a 383 Magnum pre 1968 block than the 440 . Manipulation of the valve trane and cam modification along with stroke was cheaper and from my experience out performed many 440 engines ... I do like your picks though Sir

[@farmerdude3578]

7natcho I wouldn’t say these are the best. Just so popular when I was a gear head in the early 80s. I’m not a Chevy fan. But if I remember right these Chevy guys was digging up these 327 engine in old farm trucks. These engines had the all steal crank shaft. And also had the 202 valves in the heads. Add a nice intake and a 4 barrel carb and you had a fast car.

[@7natcho]

@@farmerdude3578 You are correct ,,, in it's stock form the truck 327 was a good engine . As i said when machine work and performance comes into the equation the 350 010 &020 are high nickle blocks . Controls heat dissipation and cracking more efficiently . I have build engines from all the big 3 . All engines have short comings and most times it is the preference of the builder !

[@HotAmericanCars]

Considering there are tons of American V8 videos done by complete idiots just to click bait you all over the web, this one is 9 out of 10. Great job guys and long live the American muscle

[@Ballenxj]

Sadly, I see no mention here of Oldsmobile's "W" Machines. You did however mention the Pontiac SD 455, and it was one of the few Pontiac engines that came from the factory with 4 bolt mains. Thumb up fr the video.

[@351WINCHESTER]

My brother bought a new 73 Trans Am with the 455SD engine. It was British racing green & was the fastest car I ever drove. Top speed was over 165mph. When I was in junior hs a schoolmate's dad bought him a 65 Plymouth Satellite with a hemi. It was too much car for him.

[@bevancook1523]

hemmings rates the studebaker v8 as the worlds best v8 ever & google bonneville record breaker

[@jerrysumner9415]

have astock 400 159 mph easy!

[@jackwhite9395]

All I know is that the GTO with a 389 was just about the best street racer.

[@nasedo3129]

A guy in my small home town had all the fast cars back in the late 60's and he said the fastest one was his GTO. Faster than his Plymouth GTX 440 six pack, faster than his Hemi Cuda, faster than his Chevelle SS396. That really surprised me.

[@zubitron5]

@@nasedo3129 And then he woke up and realized that is was all a dream. The GTO essentially started the Muscle Car Era and was the fastest car when it came out, but, all things being equal, it was no match for any of those other cars you mentioned, unless they were all dogs. Don't believe me, look it up for yourself.

[@markperry2827]

Until a Mopar pulled up. 383, 440, 426, even some 340s....that tripower was toast but looked sweet. That option to drop the exhaust was a pimp thing also.

[@justinsteinley4093]

No talk of the ZR1 all aluminum 427 in the 70 vet?

[@barcrrt]

Great engines! The SD455 was America's last big breather. Total respect for Pontiac!

[@jeremythompson9895]

It's too bad the 455SD came out during the gas crunch era, or it might've gone down as the baddest of them all

[@victorialouden1912]

Barcrrt I had one in the 80's my dad work at Norwood Assembly plant in Cincinnati the birthplace of the "F" body!!

[@gregorysepeda3006]

My ‘73 Grand Prix SJ had a 455SD.... it was a beast even on unleaded gas. Everyone gave into the no more horsepower narrative. Not Pontiac

[@billyfoster3223]

Me too!

[@timheersma4708]

Research Outlaw Trans Am...it has been re-incarnated to an 800+ HP monster...not original of course, but I would assume just as fun ;-)

[@dennisschell5543]

I was there and can unequivocally say that you have NO CLUE!!!

[@steverussell6642]

Of what the power or better engines?

[@busaron816]

What about the 1970 Oldsmobile 455 W-30 engine?

[@davidhubbard7573]

the gutless as we used to call them back in the day

[@Widebody20]

1966 Dodge Plymouth was called street Hemi. 64 65 race Hemi came in only 2dr. cars with only two van seats in front no warrantee came with the car.

[@gordonmckenney4525]

I loved the AMC 343 .

[@elevenbucks5682]

In the late 70s we ran a Javelin with a 360 amc , Had a hydraulic cam ,intake and headers, ran 11.20 all day.

[@JeffinTD]

Was a grunty engine, especially with the dealer option cam.

[@TheDochoffman1]

BUICK RULES! I SPENT OVER 30 YEARS , STARTING IN THE EARLY 60'S, IN A BUICK DEALERSHIP IN THE SERVICE DEPT, ALL PHASES. NOT REALLY PUBLICIZED, THERE WAS A STAGE 2 OEM GM KIT AVAILABLE FOR "OFF ROAD USE". I IMAGINE THAT SOME ENDED UP IN "STREET" RODS.

[@phantom0456]

Love to see Buick make a break from building boring crossovers and build another car like this Stage 1 GS...

[@eddiebowens1919]

i think this was a fair representation

[@savagetilley2782]

ya know... you went with the SD-455 I'd put the 389 tri power there.

[@autiebell1357]

My old man had a 65 GTO with a 389 that he and the guys he worked with built that used to Routinely Blow away Brand new 74 and 75 Trans Ams right on I-5.

[@derekstewart8175]

Even with zero decking a SD455, setting quench to .040, using modern flat top 7cc vr pistons and milling the 111cc heads a BUNCH you are still only getting a real 9.3-9.5:1 compression, a better way to go is using a 4.50 inch stroke crank and that makes a 30 over 455 495cid then you get the compression up and monster torque, BUT SD455 stuff is so expensive almost nobody can afford to build it! Nah Pontiac should have produced a RA4 428 that would have been a legend!

[@tillivanilli6481]

One time more a very nice video from you about Automotive History, Thank you very much! :) I'm from germany and I'm also even looking about the Automotive History, especially the great Automotive history about the USA & the amazing makers like the "great 3", especially GM with Fisher Body is a favorite part for me.... I've to say, the best cars was never produced at Germany, and never at japan or another asian coutries... The best cars ever made was produced in very very high numbers at USA between 1950 and late 1970s. That's my opinion. And yes, i'm from germany and says this! ;) & When I look at the present cars in production i've to say, the best, or last good cars what are still in production comes from USA, especially Made by MOPAR. The Dodge Charger or also Challenger are the best, especially when we look about the price for this cars. The Challenger with the not superchatged HEMI is the best i think. Because you get a good styling what is using the great and nice lines of the 60/70s Sedans what was so beautyful. OK it's also using a unibody design, but MOPAR was using this design also back in the 50s... But when i Look at GM or Ford, tears will flow out my eyes when i think what they produce now, and what good Cars and history they have and Made so great cars Back in the 60/70s... :( That's a shame that GM or Ford aren't using the Body on Frame design with V8 and even RWD still in the moment... because i think this things are too importand and good to cancel this for present GM and Ford Cars. OK, you could buy a US Pickup by Ford, GM or also Mopar and they're the best. But what about the sedan/Limousine Cars, especially in MID, or even FULLSIZE segment!? That's a shame that's only MOPAR what is producing real US Cars what are using their great designs and styling, RWD and V8's.... Ford and GM have to use Body on Frame design, V8's and RWD again with a styling what stands for their great amazing history of building cars. It's a big shame that GM had closed Fisher Body/ - Fisher Body was so good in building car bodies,... This company has also a so big amazing history... I Hope we'll see RWD, Body on Frame, and also V8's with a new Coke bottle Styling in MID and FULLSIZE Models by Ford and GM in future again. Because this is the only way to make americas great Auto makers great again i think. (& I'm a Designer for Cars, i'm also a restoring US Classic Cars....)

[@robertscrocca3324]

What about the HO455 IN 1972 TRANS AM?

[@eddiebowens1919]

SD

[@jeremythompson9895]

Not even close to being top 5 all time......a 72 455ho is a low compression boat anchor, but performed pretty good when put up against other engines from 1972

[@davidstephens4639]

What about it? It couldn't touch the '71 LS5 BBChev, which couldn't hang with any of the BBChev 427s. It also couldn't touch the '70 Buick 455 Stage 1 which was much lighter on the scales andc made a lot more torque. Even the 500 Cad couldn't beat it for torque.

[@mojo3008]

That was an olds engine.

[@quincee3376]

Ya baby! But i'd take the SD-455 in the 73 T/A . Actually both were awesome. The 70 1/2 400 Ram Air IV was special too.

[@joeschlotthauer840]

I had a Buick GSX car #125, fastest car I was ever in for the day, and in 1980, it was affordable, paid $1800.00.

[@johnnytoobad2979]

I'm 54 now and remember them beside Vietnam boys parents houses for 1000 to 800 bucks in the early 80s with weeds and grass growing around them.Some were even free if you offered to move them and mow the yard. Seriously in rural North Carolina 1982 Wilson NC.

[@rverro8478]

I still have the next best thing. Mine is a 1970 convertible Stage 1. It will be my last complete restoration because, it show its age and, so am I.

[@garyenglert7950]

would you like to sell it

[@joeblow1359]

single overhead cam engine? like the Ford 427 sohc , made Mopar boys whine like little girls. lol

[@davidstephens4639]

Ford's big cammer was the 429. Too rare to fairly include.

[@GetsumJ]

427 FE R code and W code. Keep in mind , the 1964½ T-Bolt ran an 11:28 @ 123mph..... off the showroom floor. When Ford released the 427 Cammer, Hemi had no chance.

[@s.hooper4683]

The 427SOHC (cammer) was definitely a force to be reckoned with but the other Bad Boy in the Ford stable was the Boss 429. The Boss 429, like the Cammer was horribly under rated both in Horsepower and Torque was rated at 375HP and 390HP respectively. Actual numbers for the Boss was 585HP and the Cammer put out an even more impressive 612HP. Yes, the Dodge Hemi's and big block GM's were kings of the tracks back then. At least until those guys in the Boss 429 Mustangs and the Cammer Galaxies showed up. Interesting huh? Nascar/Winston Cup even tried to have those Ford engines banned on the roundy-round circuit. It took a year or two to get the Boss thrown out but the Cammer was nixed immediately. They were just fine with the Chrysler Hemi though.. One of several reasons why I don't bother with Nascar and never really have. Anyway, have a good day.

[@s.hooper4683]

@Mark rapacki, oh good. Another Google nut who thinks he's going to educate me. Ok then captain internet, maybe you can explain to me how it's even possible for a neighbor of mine to buy a Cammer Galaxie from a Ford dealership in the San Fernando Valley. He had it for years. I remember listening to him talk about how he took it to the local Saturday night drags and blow the doors off the Chevys and the Dodges. I thought he built himself until he broke out the paperwork and let me look over the original build sheet. Or maybe you can enlighten me on how a few of these cars being for sale at Pomona had paperwork and build sheets from dealerships all over California. Truth be told, I couldn't care less whether you believe me or not but I will admit it's amusing to watch people like you tell me I'm wrong. Maybe you should think about turning your computer off and try getting out into the real word. Just a thought.

[@Ted_Stryker]

​@@s.hooper4683 Yes. The, cammer", was ford's answer to the Hemi. Nascar shut it down before they could actually put them in cars, but Mopar actually had an answer for ford's cammer. It was their dual overhead cammed 426 Hemi, known as the doomsday engine. There are still two in existence. One travels around at various auto shows. The other is in a private collection somewhere. I've also heard that someone was able to acquire some prototype heads from the project. Nascar actually shut down both projects, because they, apparently, were of the mind that things could get out of control if they didn't. Hence, why there were only about 1500 or so cammers produced as well. Btw, many of the 427 cammers ended up with Hemi bottom ends, because the 427s couldn't handle the extra power very well. No hate. Just think that the story behind both of these engines is quite interesting, but often overlooked.

[@vikwillwin]

You can not forget the Z-11 all aluminum 427 Would put out 575 hp in stock form with open exhaust and was as light as a small block .

[@parrmik]

I want my 390 67 bullitt mustang back! Why o why did i sell it ?

[@johnkendall6962]

People today look at those times and yawn but the forget about the skinny bias ply tires of the time .Today we put bigger stickier tires on a 4 cylinder SUV. With good sticky tires most of those cars could easily take off a sec or more to the 1/4 mile time.

[@BrewBlaster]

Thanks again for your great work.

[@markg7030]

The SD455 was rated at 310 (Net) in 1973 and 290 (Net) in 1974.

[@clevlandblock]

Research this and you'll see that the 310 rating was only in some pilot cars and and cars issued for press road tests. All cars sold to the public for 73 and 74 were rated at 290hp due to cam change for emissions.

[@shawnriddle3018]

And of course Chryslers big block Hemi is still the choice for top fuel and funny car along with alcohol race cars. You either ran a chrysler at the track or you went home.

[@rondyechannel1399]

Not in the late '60's it was SOHC Ford. But eventually when it got to where you tore down between rounds, the push rod valve train was the winner but only after aftermarket blocks and heads. Ford made a huge mistake by producing all the speed parts you could ever want for their awesome motors, so when they got out of the racing business in 1970 there were no more trick parts because the aftermarket would not compete against the factory. Chevy's and Chrysler's parts did not come from the factory so many aftermarket suppliers so in the '70's that what everyone started using.

[@billyfoster3223]

Love the looks of the 70-74 Trans Am!☺

[@harwoods11]

I gotta 455 formula 1974.😊

[@billyfoster3223]

@@harwoods11 Great!😁

[@bolt4694]

Chrysler 413 max wedge. Would run in the tens in a quarter mile.

[@MH-53E]

Right.

[@MangoHombre]

Fun Fact: The Ford FE 427 had an actual displacement of 425.98ci.

[@jerryparks6123]

Considering Chrysler had the 426 ,Chevy the 427 ,why didn't Ford just refer to it as a 425 ? .

[@MangoHombre]

@@jerryparks6123 Because NASCAR had a 7 Liter limit so Ford just said 427. It's okay to say your bigger when you're not. In car engines anyways.

[@robjones1328]

the 440 is better than the hemi...

[@carmenalexander1354]

Until one starts building the 440. A stock 440- 6bbl will out run a stock hemi but when it comes to building for more power, that's where the Hemi shines. Have you ever see anyone build a 440 top fuel motor?

[@michaelmendillo4614]

The Chevy 350 has to be one of the best motors ever made,,,,they where fine for everyday driving, and could also been turned into beasts ! Same for Pontiac, except they had a 2 bolt main,,,, I am not talking race car caliber, just a good motor in general,,,, 😁✌

[@goldenaxl]

69,70 ram air IV

[@rocksince64]

My friend has a ultra rare 1973 Firebird Formula 455SD. Most of the SD engines made there way into Trans Am. I believe his is 1 of the 43 they produced. The car is in fantastic shape and only has 43k miles on it. He is a 3rd generation Texas Oil Man and has a very nice car collection kept in a climate controlled environment. His sister had ordered the car and wanted the Formula hood with the two snorkel scoops. By checking of the top engine option no one explained it would come with a shaker hood . The car came in and she did not want it . Her brother my friend said he would take it. Hence he is the owner of a rare and legendary Pontiac Performance car. It's the only Pontiac in his collection . A very good one to own.

[@classrockin]

Anyone else catch something odd at 14:40 ? That's a 440 six pack? Well, that's a 440 six pack air cleaner assembly, but that engine is CLEARLY a Mopar small block .

[@stripervince1]

You're right, that's a 340with a 440 air cleaner cover. All Chrysler small blocks had distributor in the rear near firewall. All Chrysler big blocks had distributor in front of engine. Great catch there. I didn't notice that, usually I catch mistakes like that, being a Mopar expert. That's probably a Cuda, the cleaner says 440 six barrel, only plymouths called them six barrels, dodge called them six packs. Looks like a Cuda, hard to tell

[@joesc641]

I had a 427/425hp 69 Camaro. It was a beast! OK, not factory built. Took the motor out a a 67 corvette. Still very nice. When gas went to 75 cents a gallon, I dumped it.

[@bluesman7475]

We had guy in our town who had one of the COPO Camaros. 69, L88, 4 speed and 4:11 12 bolt. It was black/black and the only thing that kept it from being a total sleeper was on the roof pillars..... "King Kong" in white lettering. Street raced many years and never saw him beat. Wiped out my 74 SD-455 Trans Am by 3 car lengths.

[@sabrehawk-427]

@@bluesman7475 them copos are rare worth big money cause they where bad asses

[@Warrior_Resisting_Colonialism]

@@bluesman7475 Do you recall the rear's gearing in your trans am by any chance? They were probably low gearing too uh?

[@maxxer127]

One thing GM did well was the 396-427 Chrome Valve covers you never grow tired of them old Chrome mirror Clean looking Valve covers One other thing GM did great in there cars what that HorseShoe shifter with the gauges seeing both of them in a RS or A SS car very nice

[@bjensne123]

The Corvette big block engines in '67 were 390, 400 and 435 hp plus the L 88.

[@charlesmarshall2697]

The high reving 340 Mopar with X heads in a 2900 pound Dart or Duster wore out most of these big blocks and all other small blocks on real street encounters!

The best domestic small-block V-8 ever built. A close runner-up would be the Chevy 327. PS, AAR Cuda was the superior ride.

[@eaglefat9398]

Ok here i go again, i respectfully disagree. #1. The ZL1 427 (7.0L) Was an all aluminum race engine with forged internals, the block weighted 100lbs less and the heads weighed 70lbs less making it lighter then chevy's lightest small block 283cid. The ZL1 Camaro ran 13.1s@110mph 1/4 mile but with headers, 275 wide slicks, and a little tuning it ran a 11.6 @122mph it also set several super stock records running low 10s. It was rated at 430hp@5200rpm/450tq although with its solid lifters, high lift/long duration cam and large port heads with 12.0;1(*?) compression ratio peek horsepower should occur around 6200rpm this indicates the engine made far more horsepower then advertised and it has the quarter miles times to back up that claim. GM used woefully undersized tires 195/75-14 and simply switching to a appropriate size tire could drop 1/4mile times by up to one second. #2. Chevy's DZ302 (5.0L) was a true race engine built strictly for trans-am racing GM only intended to build around 60 production models to comply with production car rules but the snappy high revving engine quickly gained a cult following and production model numbers went way past sales expatiations. The DZ302 was a de-stroked 327cid with a large oil journal crank, solid lifters and forged internals. Rated at 290hp it was clearly under rated due to the fact it had the same cam and heads as the 375hp 327ci meaning if you revved the dz302 higher it would make the same horsepower (well slightly less 360hp although less tq ). in trans-am and Formula 5000 racing the DZ302 made as much as 500-550hp at 7,400rpm but shifted at 8,000rpm due to its wide power band meaning it was always near peek power allowing it to out perform other engines with similar power. In the 1968 NHRA super stock championship two DZ302 Z28 Camaros won beating out all the big block cars with a mostly stock DZ302 (only mods were 275 slicks/open headers/4.56gear) it ran a low 11sec. it was so good Formula 5000 keep using it till 1976, 6years after chevy stopped making it. #3. Chevy's port fuel injected 327cid/375hp (5.3L) introduced in 1962, it was the most powerful and most horsepower per cubic inch naturally aspirated, single-cam, production small block V8 until the appearance of the 385 hp/385 lb·ft Generation III 5.7L LS6 in 2001, this is very impressive considering the horsepower wars did not peek until 1970 and port fuel injection was not used in the corvette again until 1985 . The small block only weighed 535 lbs almost 150lbs less then the 396cid big block that made the same 375 horsepower. With a near perfect 1:7 rod ratio,large 4"inch bore and a short 3.25"inch stroke it was a free revving engine with a still to this day high red line it truly was ahead of its time. #4. Pontiac 455SD, i agree with you there. The heads flow almost as good as a hemi and with 30cid more all you needed to do was mill the heads down to raise the compression up to 10.5:1 and add high flow long tube headers/exhaust and you would have a engine that has more power potential then any of the other GM 454/455 engines. #5. mopar 440 six pack, every body knows the 426 hemi has great flowing heads but it also weighed almost 800lbs! On the street and at the track 440 proved it was just as fast as any 426 hemi if not faster in some cases. Now the being said the 426 hemi saw larger power gaines from modifications and a 8-71 roots blower paired up with a hemi's superior head flow is unmatchable, but stock vs stock the 440 is going to idle better and hold its own on the drag strip.

[@hotboylayne8969]

did you copy that off wikipedia? haha good insight

[@eaglefat9398]

No i typed it TWICE the dam page reloaded right as i went to hit enter and man was i pissed , i had a lot more info but i forgot some and was to lazy for the rest, thats why i started with "Ok here i go again". Fine i did copy and past "the most powerful and most horsepower per cubic inch naturally aspirated, single-cam, production small block V8 until the appearance of the 385 hp/385 lb·ft Generation III 5.7L LS6 in 2001," but i added "and most horsepower per cubic inch" and "5.7L" you got me aha ha.

[@janebook294]

340n dusters would blow the cheby off the track

[@eaglefat9398]

ha ok 340 had NHRA rating of 325hp vs a LT1 350 NHRA rating of 425hp. I use NHRA ratings because factory ratings are misleading. The 340 was the best small block mopar had to offer but a 283 sbc could keep up if it had 4.11 or better gearing and a stick

[@2nasti840]

Having owned a couple 340 cars, including a Duster, on the street could out run many higher hp cars light to light. It did not have a huge traction issue like the higher power cars. It was a well balanced power/traction car. On the track, the larger hp engines will take advantage of the better traction and were easily a second faster by the end of the track. Short blasts on the street surprise many, but at the end of the 1/4, it was still a 14 second car. I miss my old Mopars, sigh.

[@OddTimeMan]

I have a 2000 GMC 3500HD one-ton dually. Sadly, that was the last year for the 454. It doesn't have much HP, around 290, but the torque is decent at 410 lb. ft. Fortunately, a few simple bolt-ons can boost those numbers dramatically.

[@john1adams125]

Video correction. In fact, Ford DID produce another race car engine in a full production Ford. It is available NOW in the Mustang GT-350 and GT-350R with the Voodoo flat plane 526 HP @ 8250 RPM engine.

[@melvinhunt6976]

Top 5, in the 70s.? How about the, gs 455 , 440, 340,six pack,mo par,351cleveland, 428 cj, 396/454 Chevy! That's my 70s top 5 🤓

[@markperry2827]

Loved the Cleveland but it was the worst real seal design to ever be produced. Oil leakage was mandatory haha.

[@melvinhunt6976]

@@markperry2827 NOT TRUE.

[@daveagne3308]

You "showed" a pic of the Ponitac SIX-PACK, but didn't talk about it. And where would the "409" fit in this list if it were longer?

[@scottbarker9058]

the 1970 ss 454 -ls-6 not only came in the chevelle but also the more nasty looking el camino!!

[@maxxer127]

That was another one that could not keep from spinning the tires

[@RCredneck85]

Chrysler never rated the 426 hemi in net. They were all rated at 425bhp

[@chadhaire1711]

WRONG..after 1971 426 was rated at 350 net....get your facts right......

[@frankrommerts5358]

The 426 HEMI is the best, nothing beats a Mopar B/E body with a HEMI!!!

[@russmarasheski7005]

The Buick Torque Monster!!!!

[@sanfranciscobay]

Well done video. Rest In Peace Muscle Cars. Your memory lives on.

[@meeester11]

loved me some old big blocks but times are good again, amazing actually.

[@ChachoGSX]

Glad to see Buick on the list.

[@GeorgiaBoy1961]

Would have been nice to see the legendary Oldsmobile 455 HO on this list, as used in the 1970 Olds Cutlass 442 W30 - alongside its equally-worthy Buick counterpart. Two name-plates not know for laying down massive power, doing just that.

[@TheCthtoNicfLy]

Yea the camero killa I got a 67 330 320hp ultra hi compression bone stock

[@dannydennis318]

Very true The Buick and 4sp W-30 were closer to over 440hp.

[@timsharpe3498]

You left out the Pontiac Ram Air 2 in favor of the overrated tripower 389s. The 1968 RA2 Firebird was as quick as any car on the list and it did it with 50 less cubes.

[@MidnightinSavannah]

Too me, the '68 Firebird RA II was Pontiac fastest production car. It's a shame that the '68 Firebird never got the 428, with RA II heads it would have been a killer.

[@ginaboos9563]

i had 71 nova a little 307 3spd with a carter. did mid 13s. always liked the carters. id take a rochester over a holley tho. hollys are good at the track and need alot of adjusting. thats my opinion

[@01trsmar]

My 68 Charger RT 440 Magnum 4bbl,auto and 3.23 gears ran 12.80's bone stock ! Back in 1973 !!! I added wide tread tires that were 205 60 series yeah 205 were as wide as you could get then ! It still spun but my Dad raced a lot ans I knew how to drive ! Dads new 70 Cuda 440 6 barrel and 3.54 dana 60 ran high 11's 2 weeks after he bought it ! He added headers and tweaked the carbs ! By 1979 I ran 12.30's with my 68 Charger RT with 130,000 miles on it..I changed the intake and carb added headers engine had stock cam and never touched ! Remember some guys ran cars that 1st gear changed at 40 mph lol,it should go to 1-2 at 50 and after the shift youre north of 60 mph ! It takes 2 seconds to adjust the trans shift point ,my Charger I bought of the orig owner in 1972 shifted perfect ,I did see and buy many that shifted at 40 lol !

[@3.2Carrera]

Right on!

[@chadhaire1711]

You are talking out your ass....a 440 magnum only put out 325 hp net, and stock could barely get 13.8 in the 1/4 mile..... and all these "mods" you list are not "stock". A 2019 Chevy Camaro puts out 335 hp net---more than your "stock" 440-6 did so get real and stop spreading bullcrap

[@ToddWPerry]

I’m surprised that they were all big blocks.

[@stevesolo16]

My 1970 LS6 in one of our trucks took very little massaging to make a powerful. We milled the heads then clearanced the pistons. Headers, a good cam and bigger carb. This made a very peppy fun truck to drive.

[@CJ-ib2jy]

Was a LS6 an option in a truck or is it a transplant?

[@johnvanlindingham9490]

Having owned several a 440 is hard to beat.

[@chadhaire1711]

easy to beat...only 325 hp net...any modern V-6 can do that now....LOL

[@allanbowes6952]

Good choices, the main problem with the 426 HEMI was the warranty was 12000 miles versus 50000 for the 440 and 383 etc. along with a lot more money to buy.

[@dukecraig2402]

The biggest problem with the 426 Hemi was it's horrible combustion chamber, the only reason they made the power they did is because they came from the factory with the rubber band already wrapped up pretty tight in them, ie big cams, solid lifters etc etc, hardly anyone understands that the reason behind the Hemi design wasn't to intentionally make a big dished out head and put a big dome on the piston, that's actually detrimental to flame propagation. About 17 or so years ago when a friend of mine came running into my shop all excited saying "Did you hear? Chrysler's bringing the Hemi back!!!" I immediately told him "It's not going to be a true Hemi, I'll guarantee you of that, I'll bet everything I own it's gonna have flat top pistons and closed chambers like a bathtub style", when he ask how I figured that I told him "Because the old Hemi's were horrible, inefficient combustion chambers, and there's NO WAY they'll be able to get them to pass a modern emissions test", don't ya know the first time he showed me a cut away view of one in one of his car magazines he was standing there saying "You were right, it's not a "real" Hemi". "Hemi" combustion chambers like that were in aircraft and Harley engines long before Chrysler used them, matter of fact that's where Harley and Chrysler learned it from, aircraft engines, Harley dropped the Hemi combustion chamber in 84 with the Evo engine and went with a flat top piston and a partially closed "D" shaped combustion chamber and performance rose sharply, especially with just small mods they made much more power then the Shovel engine that had the same exact bore/stroke and bottom end assembly. There's a reason no one makes a true Hemi combustion chamber anymore yet power to displacement ratios are much higher than they were back then.