I've been wondering what is the most reliable, bullet proof engine ever made. I seem to remember my teenage friends trying to kill a 225 slant six by draining all the oil and running it. It never quit. Along that thought, what vehicle is the most reliable, bullet proof production vehicle ever made. I remember watching an episode on TV where they put a Toyota pickup on top of a building, blew up the building, then drove the truck away afterwords. Yes, I know maintenance plays a huge role in the outcome, but I'm talking tough even with lack of maintenance.
I'd have to agree, as long as they get basic maintenence. Another older engine used by many early car companies and equipment builders was the Continental four.
Would agree on the american I-6s, the Ford 300 is a beast. Early Volvo B18 series engines were also quite stout, I tried very hard to break them in my youth and never succeeded. mike
LT-5 /thread Here's mine http://www.zr1netregistry.com/Information/PerformanceRecords.aspx World Record Previously Held for 50 Years! NEW INTERNATIONAL RECORDS 100 Miles @ 175.600 MPH 500 Miles @ 175.503 MPH 1000 Miles @ 174.428 MPH 5000 KM @ 175.710 MPH 5000 Miles @ 173.791 MPH 12 Hours Endurance @ 175.523 MPH 24 Hours Endurance @ 175.885 MPH for 4,221.256 Miles WORLD RECORDS - IRRESPECTIVE of CATEGORY or CLASS 5000 KM @ 175.710 MPH 5000 Miles @ 173.791 MPH 4,221.256 Miles @ 175.885 MPH Read Hib Halverson's account of about the day the Record was broken. "They said it couldn't be done", says the announcer. 9:56AM, Fort Stockton, Texas, 3/1/90 was the date and the many world records fell to the true KING of the Hill at the 7.712 mile Firestone/Bridgestone test track in the next 2 days. Although the red car (stock 1990 engine in a 1989 ZR1) seems always in the lead, the King graciously allowed his white sibling (a modified L98 coupe), to receive the first of the World records. The announcer replies that the first 6 hours were at a steady 5500 RPM - 75% ability for the Z. The 24 hour endurance (175.885mph) and 5000 mile (173.791mph) and 5000Km (175.710mph) records fell on the following day, of course, and the King didn't give those records away. Averaging speeds of near 180 mph, the announcer remarks that that is nearly "a football field each second." It is exciting to watch the speedometer at 171 -172 - 173... and see the drivers perspective view of the road. There were suitcases filled with spare parts that the FIA allows, but they were never needed. The 24 hour record (161.180mph) used to be held by Ab Jenkins 50 years previous, who drove a Duesenberg built, single passenger race car, the Morman Meteor III with a 1,570 cubic inch Curtis V12 aircraft engine (that's about 4 1/2 times the size of our puny 350ci's) and they used the Bonneville salt flats to do it. This is an open class, or, as my Daddy used to say, a "Run what you brung" contest that many have tried to win, but none have succeeded since July,1940. NOTE: The previous 24 hour record (161.180mph) used to be held by Ab Jenkins 50+ years ago, who drove a Duesenberg built, single passenger race car, the Morman Meteor III with a 1570 cubic inch Curtis V12 aircraft engine (that's about 4 1/2 times the size of our 350's) and they used the Bonneville salt flats to do it. The 5000 mile record (156.824mph) was previously set in 1976 by an experimental race car, the Mercedes C111/2 turbo diesel. Copy of official FiA document. New Record set. On October 14th, 2011 a prototype of Volkswagen's new W12 Coupe in the final stages of development set the world speed record for distance covered in "24 hours". The 440 kW/600 bhp twelve-cylinder sports car covered 7,085.7 kilometers (4,402.8 miles) at an average speed of 295.24 km/h (183.45 mph). It thus toppled the previous record by a margin of twelve km/h (7.5 mph). In the Volkswagen W12 Coupe capable of 350 km/h (217 mph), which had not been specially prepared for the long-distance record bid, the team of drivers also set two other world records (over 5,000 kilometers and 5,000 miles) and six international vehicle class records. The class record for "12 hours" had already been broken in a trial run. All world and class records are subject to recognition by the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA); therefore the record-breaking drives on the high-speed circuit at Nardo near Lecce in southern Italy were carried out in accordance with the official FIA regulations. The aim of putting the vehicle through this grueling 24-hour ordeal was to analyze the performance potential and the robustness of the twelve-cylinder engine. As can be seen from the remarkable records and the first technical analyses of the drive unit, an ideal set of the results was achieved, exceeding the defined requirements. *Note items in red were not a production vehicle...the ZR-1 was....straight off of the line with very minor body modifications...taping headlights, etc...
With the variances in production tolerance, your best bet is to look at the maintenance and repair history of the individual car, not the brand reputation. Keep in mind there is often the odd gem to be found amongst the sewage of even the worst cars, not to mention the odd turd amongst the gems of the best. The other piece of advice is this: There is really no such thing as a fairly high mileage 30 year old lemon. Most, but certainly not all, of the old pushrod V-8s will easily give you a million miles of trouble free driving if they are properly maintained, and if the mileage is accumulated in long runs, not short hops. The same with a lot of the old I-6. The MOPAR slant 6 is durable, but if you get one that is 79 or older, be prepared, they have solid lifters, and part of the semi-annual tune up is the valve adjustment. They are also not as good on gas as you might expect. We had a 72 and a 75 Dart, both 225 1 bbl cars. I have had 4 of the late-70s Thunderbirds, 2 with the 302 and 2 with the 351M. The Birds, all of them, gave better mileage than the Darts. For durability and ease of maintenance, my personal choice is one of the late-70s carbureted Ford V-8 cars, and down the road, plan on adding an AOD transmission for fuel economy on the highway. The rest of the car seems to be extremely durable and very easy to repair should the need arise. Parts are also easy and comparatively inexpensive to buy. We've also had GREAT luck with the Panther platform full sized Ford and Mercury cars. We have accumulated over 500,000 miles on more than one, but no matter the mileage, it was rust or crash damage that sent them to the scrap yard, not mechanical defects or repairs.
I'd argue that any cast iron engine from the last 20 year or so is bulletproof. My 1999 Chevy crewcab dually has over a quarter million miles on it. The 454 is untouched internally. I replaced the water pump and timing chain as a preventative measure at 150,000 miles. Neither part was giving me any trouble at that time. Other than routine tune ups and injector cleaning, and a crank position sensor replacement, I've not touched the engine. The in-tank electric fuel pump is a different issue. I get about 60,000 miles on a pump. It's about due to go again any time now.
Actually that is what sets the LT-5 apart from other production engines. They were a very small batch, completely hand assembled, and the production tolerances were much tighter than the usual production engine. this is a great video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKWN1TzM7u8
I believe that the OP was trying to get a recommendation on what was the most reliable normal production engine, not a recommendation for a reliable limited-production racing engine. Marshall
Man, I'd have to say one of those 1980's vintage Mercedes diesels. Those W123 models were indestructible which explains why they are still so prevalent and fairly common on the road 35 years later.
While I will concede that the LT-5 was special, he asked what was the most bulletproof engine ever made........technically the LT-5 is a production engine installed in production cars (C4 ZR-1 Corvettes that John Q public could buy) for over 5 years, and 5000+ units..mine is a Lingenfelter high performance example, but a regular LT-5 engine is absolutely bulletproof, with a bottom end design similar to the skirted block design of old Donovan Chrysler engines, that the drag racers preferred. Here you can see the robust skirted block design that holds the crankshaft. :2_thumbs_up_-_anima
Where I live, I see lots of Volvo 240 series one the road. Some seem to be 30 years old and still chugging along. Lots to be said for that!
I had a I6 - the 300 in an F150 that ran for.... I don't even know. The odometer stopped working at over 200,000 miles and it kept going after that. I sold that sucker in 2010 and as far as I know it's still going.
Whatever the greatest engine you all come up with give it to my son to put in his 1985 Chevy truck and he will kill it in a week! If he don't kill the transmission first.
The FORD 300 inline six gets my vote as well. I put mine through hell and it kept on humming. I think you could pour used vegitable oil into the crankcase and they would keep running. I Know a guy who put 500,000 miles on one. The whole truck fell apart around the engine, but it just kept running.
