Engine Popularity?

[2manymustangs]

A friend of mine is building a sand car and wants to put a 426 hemi in it, all aluminum supposedly. I was arguing why not go LS platform as it seems most are built this way presently.
We banter back and forth about engine popularity all the time in cars boats and trucks.
So my question is what is the most popular engine base ever( for all applications)? Admittedly I don't know very much about them, but I suspect it is the "Big Block Chevrolet".


CH3NO2

All aluminum 347 OR 363 ford using a dart block... The weight to HP ratio would be a big bonus in a sand car I would think...

[RogerThat99]

Most popular ever would be the small block Chevrolet .

You are correct. I wasn't thinking small block.

[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,

[gn7]

All aluminum 347 OR 363 ford using a dart block... The weight to HP ratio would be a big bonus in a sand car I would think...

Bruce, Bruce, Bruce. Who does that?

5.4 Ford Aluminator crate engine and be done with it.
Besides, it has those really really cool overhead cams you think are soooo important..

[Menace Marine]

VW. Not because its the cheapest or lightest but because nothing hurts your pride more than when a vw walks away from you at the drags.
It's the same reason I want to build a nasty sleeper 455 jet boat. It's odd and kind of dumb but when I beat you, you won't soon forget it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[WESTERNAERO]

VW. Not because its the cheapest or lightest but because nothing hurts your pride more than when a vw walks away from you at the drags.
It's the same reason I want to build a nasty sleeper 455 jet boat. It's odd and kind of dumb but when I beat you, you won't soon forget it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[McRib]

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,

10 yrs ago when I was looking at boats everyone's merc entry level boat was either the 350 or the 5.7 thing. I believe the 6.2 and the 383 were sbc also if you had the coin you paid for the 496 or higher upgrade. 20 and 30 yrs ago the 80s and 90s btw every boat I had ever been iin had a 350 unless it was a jet. BBC probably does dominant the industy.

Motor weight doesn't mean shit to me. I'm not a pro and shaving a tenth of a second at a time means nothing to me. As for the Chrysler. I didn't boat with jesus so I've never been in a boat powered by one . In the end I don't give a shit. I'm just posting about my experiences.

[Adrift]

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!!!
[I]I've been thinking about it myself[/I].

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. [I]Looks like your friend had the wrong tranny in his sand car, he should of ran an Albins or the Mendi HD4S both good for up to 1700hp in the sand, I ran a 1200hp 582 Brodix and could not break my Tranny even prerunning with no issues.
[/I]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.
[I]I do love my LS in my Chevelle, dollar for dollar cheap efficient HP. [/I]

As for the part in RED, that's laughable. 10 years ago it was sbc and 20 it was 460s in boats??
[I]More like 40yrs ago[/I].

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??
[I]Yes they were, and still are in mass produced production based Boats.[/I]

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
. Yes, pretty much.

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,[I]Correct, but it is gaining yr after yr.[/I]

10 yrs ago when I was looking at boats everyone's merc entry level boat was either the 350 or the 5.7 thing. I believe the 6.2 and the 383 were sbc also if you had the coin you paid for the 496 or higher upgrade. 20 and 30 yrs ago the 80s and 90s btw every boat I had ever been iin had a 350 unless it was a jet. BBC probably does dominant the industy.

[I]BBC in the Performance Boat Ind. but not in the overall boating industry, you have to look at the numbers of the Mass produced line of mfg's compared to the PD Mfg's. the ratio is 1000's to 1.[/I]
Motor weight doesn't mean shit to me. I'm not a pro and shaving a tenth of a second at a time means nothing to me. As for the Chrysler. I didn't boat with jesus so I've never been in a boat powered by one . In the end I don't give a shit. I'm just posting about my experiences.

I have and I remember seeing Jesus after a 100mph.
Tell your friend to put an LS7 in his rail and forget about it, the Chrysler will be a head ache with Tunes, Adapter Plates, Headers and the list goes on and on, there are so many parts on the market for the LS Based Platform.

[gn7]

vw. Not because its the cheapest or lightest but because nothing hurts your pride more than when a vw walks away from you at the drags.
It's the same reason i want to build a nasty sleeper 455 jet boat. It's odd and kind of dumb but when i beat you, you won't soon forget it.

x 100,000

[gn7]

I have and I remember seeing Jesus after a 100mph.
Tell you friend to put an LS7 in his rail and forget about it, the Chrysler will be a head ache with Tunes, Adapter Plates, Headers and the list goes on and on, there are so many parts on the market for the LS Based Platform.

The LS is the easy way. Thank god not everybody does things the easy way. It would be a cookie cutter world. I would never let something as simple as adaptor plates and headers stop me from using the engine I wanted.
Imagine how stupid the first guy was that used a LS in a sand car, How stupid was he? Or the first FE 427 Ford in a boat when everybody knew the 392 Hemi was the way to go. '
Or the first BBC in a boat.
The first SBC instead of a flat head Ford?
Hell, how about the first V drive, or the first outdrive. Pretty stupid when you think about it.