Engine Popularity?

[gn7]

To me popularity depends on application Most common. Chevy 350 for sure. Simple/poor man's hot rod reliable motor.

Sand cars... LS (all generations), subaru turbo motors (my choice),

Boats... BBC, 10 yrs ago sbc, 20 and 30 yrs ago 460 ' s

Ur buddy is not wrong for wanting to go hemi. It's just not a go to motor in the sand car industry but neither was the Northstar v8 but that proved to be the go to motor for many yes before the LS stuff became popular and affordable.

I AGREE!

I don't know if his buddy is wrong. You drag an all aluminum hemi over to my garage and lets see how fast I drop it in my boat. OH, I get it, its a sand car and weight isn't important in a boat. I guess weight isn't important in a dragster or funny. WEIGHT IS IMPORTANT IN EVERYTHING!!
All aluminum hemis are RIGHT, I don't care if its sitting on an engine stand!

Did you choose a LS for your boat? Why not? I guess weight wasn't as much of an issue as POWER!!!

A friend of mine built a all aluminum Donovan block 572 Chevy with twin turbos in his sand car. He blows transaxles out it pretty regular, but its a beast. His wife hated it, so he built her a twin turbo LS car. Its never broken a transaxle, but in comparison, its a mundane slug.

There is no right or wrong here. Its what the owner wants. Personally I wouldn't let a Illmor in the same garage with my boat, but there are people that think they're king.
I think LS motors make great boat anchors, but there are people that love them.

As for the part in RED, that's laughable. 10 years ago it was sbc and 20 it was 460s in boats?? I have been at this for more than 10 years, and SBC have never been the engine of choice outside if a Bayliner. The 460 is probably less used than the Olds!! The 502 was introduced over 10 years ago. You think more SBC were installed in more boats than 502 ten years ago??

The BBC has been the undisputed king of marine power since 1967 or 68. So its more like almost 50 years. The SBC was NEVER a very popular marine engine, and the 460 is only popular with the jet crowd. I surprised you didn't throw Oldsmobile in there as well.
They have all been used, but not in the numbers the BBC has, and until you move to nitromethane fuel, nothing makes more power.
The most popular marine engine prior to the BBC was the FE Ford, by a long shot. Before that, the 392 hemi. Before that, probably the Caddy. But the SBC is waaay down the list.

SMALL and marine has never been fit well together.

SBC is the all time top dog in popularity. Its no contest. No matter what you talking about them being put in or used for. Not the most popular engine in all cases, but no other engine has been used in as many forms of motorsports.
Believe or not, the next most popular engine of all time used in motorsports is probably the flat head Ford.


The LS has a long long long way to go before it ever comes close to matching the accomplishments of and the numbers of engines used and popularity of the , SBC, BBC, and FE Ford in anything,