Mopar's best engines. Your opinion and why.

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toolmanmike

toolmanmike

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As you know, I am a advocate for the 235/273 but Mopar built many different engines and it seems that every one of you has their favorite. I have owned a couple 235/273's a 318, a couple 340's, a 361, a bunch of 383's and had the pleasure of flogging a couple 440's and a 426 Hemi's. Speaking just from the HP/cu.in. ratings (I know those HP numbers were tainted in the late 60's-early 70"s) The Charger/Commando 273 is #2 on the list. The #1 engine was the 425/426 Hemi. Now don't beat me up on this, lets just discuss the diferent engines and why you thing they are superior. tmm
 
stock 440 ....good street manners ...better than most would expect from such a big engine .....NEVER a shortage of torque on demand....

pretty looking engine ....its just beautiful to look at.

upgradable....if budget allows.

in an A-body gives a nice nose-heavy feeling that makes a unique experience that you will never have in any other type of car.

in stock form they can be tuned to be very dependable ....mine started everyday even in the cold when I daily drove one for almost 3 years.

the only downside: a 440 is a very thirsty engine ....if you have lead foot plan on drinking a whole lot of fuel :D
 
I always liked the 340 if built right you could eat up BB Camaros and Mustangs in a street race. I also like 383 as it was a little easier to stuff in a A body then a RB or Hemi.
 
If you're talking durability, /6 hands down. I know in my younger years I did my share of trying to blow em up and never did. I broke everything else in the drivetrain though. :D


As for all around fun factor and drive-ability I really liked the 340's I had.

Wish I still had them. Hindsight is 20/20.
 
O man Mike that my be a hard one to answer,,AAAhh all of them why because they're made by MOPAR honestly I have never had any bad luck with any of them.and my favorite one and more hp for the buck has to be the b/rb any will do I think they all have good potential dun rite.but If moneys no object no one has beat the mother of all the HEMI bar nun...... this will be a good thread.............Artie:coffee2:
 
godfatherofchry said:
O man Mike that my be a hard one to answer,,AAAhh all of them why because they're made by MOPAR honestly I have never had any bad luck with any of them.and my favorite one and more hp for the buck has to be the b/rb any will do I think they all have good potential dun rite.but If moneys no object no one has beat the mother of all the HEMI bar nun...... this will be a good thread.............Artie:coffee2:
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I agree with you there! I would have to say the most impressive engine was a Hemi in a 68 Road Runner. The road Runner was a 3400# car with a 383. (more with a Hemi) My Dart with a 235/273 is around 3000#. If I could reduce the weight of my Dart by half it might be as fast as a Road Runner with a Hemi. LOL
A 235/273 in a dragster? Maybe I'm on to something.
 
...in terms of numbers...the 318/360. Great gas millage for the 318...very easy to upgrade the 360...other than the /6, probably the most produced..
 
In stock form-68or69 340 light quick and durable.
 
Bad Sport said:
If you're talking durability, /6 hands down. I know in my younger years I did my share of trying to blow em up and never did. I broke everything else in the drivetrain though. :D


As for all around fun factor and drive-ability I really liked the 340's I had.

Wish I still had them. Hindsight is 20/20.
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Those Leaning Tower's of Power have got to be one of the longest lasting engines on the planet. Back in the 60's and 70's, most cabs in New York were Mopar's. Partially because they were cheap to buy but they were so dependable.
 
I guess it depends on what your trying to accomplish.
One thing is for sure,Chrysler has you covered any way you want to go.
 
Being from a 'Machine Shop Family'

And working on engines 'outside-the-car' {ie; Machine Work}

Nothing beat the small-block Mopar {273-318-340}

* Forged Cranks
* Full-Floating Pistons
* Good engine block material

In 30 years of building them, including Race Engines, we never had
a single one come apart.

As God As My Witness.........
 
What are doing with it? Performance....2G HEMI hands down....based solely on the fact that the heads move mountains of air....
 
When I started at looking for a motor for my car, I was looking at first for a 340 and then I asked a racing mechanic and he told me this: if you race the 340 is better because of it`s high rev capability-it is rare and the price tag is usually high. Then if you look at the 360 it is much cheaper because of the availability, it has more torque than the 340 but does not rev as high. If you do not race, a mild 360 can outperform a 340 on the street. It will set you back in the seat harder than a 340, so now I have a 360.
 
leblanc said:
When I started at looking for a motor for my car, I was looking at first for a 340 and then I asked a racing mechanic and he told me this: if you race the 340 is better because of it`s high rev capability-it is rare and the price tag is usually high. Then if you look at the 360 it is much cheaper because of the availability, it has more torque than the 340 but does not rev as high. If you do not race, a mild 360 can outperform a 340 on the street. It will set you back in the seat harder than a 340, so now I have a 360.
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I have never understood the obsession with 340s or why they are so overpriced .....I have a 340 car and a car with a 360 in it and comparing them, I couldn't agree with you more that a 360 packs a lot more punch at a fraction of the cost. a 340 is basically an over bored 318 with the same 3.31 stroke as a 318 .......a 360 has the 3.58 stroke and wow what a difference.
 
For me it's the 383. Durable as a steel anvil. Maybe not the most powerfull of them all, but they take to minor upgrades better than most.
 
been in the automotive field my whole life with proper maintence never had a problem with any mo,including new 85 dodge 2.2 I drove 500000 with out any problems.
 
I'm biased but the '92-2002 5.2/5.9 Magnums are right up there. The 5.9 had lots of torque. The valve train limits the rev range and the intake is an abominmation but its still really good.

The 2.4L is a very impressive 4 cylinder, has the same torque & power of much more elaborate engines from Toyota & Honda plus it was really clean from an exhaust emmisions output.

The Mopar stuff from the 90s was really impressive, not sure what happened with the 2.7, 3.7 & 4.7 engines.
 
For me personally a 383 hands down.
Twice the torque and power of any Chev 350 ever built and a lot better fuel economy.
Absolutely a beautiful engine with just a mild build.
All the 360's I've had were dogs, but early 318's (pre 1970) were a real nice little performers .
 
440 in my world ..torque never ending and without the bad manners of the old HEMI'S ..but man I just love that word hemi ..mine was a 69' back in the day ..when my chevy/ford friends first saw it they had this look ..think it was fear
 
Small block - 1968-71 340 hands down.
Big block - hard to beat the 375 horse 440.
 
RaniDart70 said:
I have never understood the obsession with 340s or why they are so overpriced
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The main reason the're overpriced Rani, is that they were built in fairly limited quantities, other then the Max Wedge and Hemi's. I think you'll be hard pressed to find someone that grew up in the 60s/70s that doesn't have a soft spot for them, or the cars they were installed in.

I personally like that the small block had the tall deck height. Try putting a 6.123" rod in any other "true" small block engine. The only thing I wish was addressed before the race blocks came out, was the 59* lifter angle.

With that said, I like all of them. Some were just better at different things then others.
 
I like them all, but I have to say the 340. Yes, the 360 built today is "better" (compared to the other small blocks), but it doesn't have the nostalgia or legend behind it that the 340 has. "340" is my favorite number. Versatile, history, power, legendary.
 
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