Hot Rod Magazine 20 Best V8's of all time...

385 series #13

Really?!? With the same "performance potential" as a SBF, SBC ???

Of course BBC was #2 and SBC was #1. Go Figure.
Whatever...

Probably #13 because it spells bad luck to the chebbie guys (see rear view of my '69 Mach). Just ask around at our little piss ant track. The 385 guys got mucho respecto.

who even reads those things anyway.

richter69 wrote:who even reads those things anyway.

The kids at my school that take my class. Then I get to here how great chuby's are !

my point is since the advent of all the internet, smartphones etc I'm surprised a magazine is still even available, I damn sure donet buy them anymore lol.

Wow, I knew we wouldn't be in the top 5, but to be 13 pretty much shows of the ignorance of the masses.

I still get MM&FF! I here you!

BEST has a lot of definitions to a lot of different people; to a magazine it is probably which ones have given them the most material to write articles about and make them money, lol.

Let's see ... "BEST" really needs to be defined here;
best engineered...?
best looking...?
best oiling...?
best for least maintenance...?
best over-all power when originally released...?
best in production form...?
best when slightly modified...?
best with available aftermarket parts..."
best with mileage...?
best with making torque disregarding horsepower..."
best horsepower disregarding torque...?
best adaptable to other venues...?
best to work on...?
best over-all packaging...?
best actual longevity...?
best perceived endurance...?
that's some of what can be important to different people
best engine to be screwed-up the most before something bad happens could even be someone's preference.

rmcomprandy wrote:BEST has a lot of definitions to a lot of different people; to a magazine it is probably which ones have given them the most material to write articles about and make them money, lol.

Let's see ... "BEST" really needs to be defined here;
best engineered...?
best looking...?
best oiling...?
best for least maintenance...?
best over-all power when originally released...?
best in production form...?
best when slightly modified...?
best with available aftermarket parts..."
best with mileage...?
best with making torque disregarding horsepower..."
best horsepower disregarding torque...?
best adaptable to other venues...?
best to work on...?
best over-all packaging...?
best actual longevity...?
best perceived endurance...?
that's some of what can be important to different people
best engine to be screwed-up the most before something bad happens could even be someone's preference.

BUT!! In your Best opinion what is the Best????

I expected nothing less from a peterson publication. I still enjoy the articles like the 4 door Catalina pulling the wheels and the hilljacks in their overalls cheering it on. That car is Cool as hell I think.

Very Very Biased artical...... But hey, who cares what they like.

Bet they never checked out HIGH FLOW DYNAMICS. I quit buying those rag mags 30 years ago. Sure is nice to have Ford sites like this one where the 'truth is spoken' .

being in a few drag week & power tours big block fords r very few not saying there not fast or a cool motor just the masses see chevy in every thing built out there.. sbc & bbc are very popular what i dont under stand is the sbf should of placed up with them

Articles like that make it that much more enjoyable for us when we go out there and bust those Chebby's ass's

quick 52 wrote:being in a few drag week & power tours big block fords r very few not saying there not fast or a cool motor just the masses see chevy in every thing built out there.. sbc & bbc are very popular what i dont under stand is the sbf should of placed up with them

Its all politics! OR just B.S.!

Hey everyone ... for them it is ALL about selling magazines.
It's not about the truth, it's about what is perceived to be true by the magazine buying public. Face it ... there are simply more Chevrolets and that number is what drives the magazine sales.

rmcomprandy wrote:Hey everyone ... for them it is ALL about selling magazines.
It's not about the truth, it's about what is perceived to be true buy the magazine buying public. Face it ... there are simply more Chevrolets and that number is what drives magazine sales.

I agree !

rmcomprandy wrote:Hey everyone ... for them it is ALL about selling magazines.
It's not about the truth, it's about what is perceived to be true by the magazine buying public. Face it ... there are simply more Chevrolets and that number is what drives the magazine sales.

That's it in a nutshell

Anybody have a link to the story? Looked through a Hot Rod yesterday at Walmart, I pretty much refuse to buy them...didn't see anything...what other engines beat the POS BBF...Olds, Buick, Rambler...???

I'm not sure what the big deal is. If you read the article and the first 3 sentences are:

Don't Blame Us!
The readers voted.
Here are the results.

If it was voted by readers on their forum or something then who would expect any different outcome. Did you vote? I didn't know about it or vote but I can see how it would be biased. The title should be "Most Popular Engines of all time".

It was a readers thing. They had links to the poll all over FB and on many forums.

It was pretty lame in my opinion, because most people do not have experience across all the different brands. So you had people rating engines they have never put a wrench to much less ever seen in person.

I got halfway through it and quit because it was stupid.

jasonf wrote:I'm not sure what the big deal is. If you read the article and the first 3 sentences are:

Don't Blame Us!
The readers voted.
Here are the results.

If it was voted by readers on their forum or something then who would expect any different outcome. Did you vote? I didn't know about it or vote but I can see how it would be biased. The title should be "Most Popular Engines of all time".

all of the big 3 engine r capable of making good hp and they all have won follower i like going fast if its fast i like it just call me Mikey

While I agree on the list the 385 series probably has the highest Performance potential
(or pretty close to the top). Based on the last 10-15 years and the 5.0 mustang, I'd think the SBF should have easliy out done the BBC in terms of Historic Significance (it is the motor of perhaps the most know American car the Mustang), Looks cool (maybe biased, but I think it looks cooler, call this one a wash), Affordability to build today (yep, price to build a SBF thanks to the mustang 5.0 era has brought it in line with the SBC), and Easy to work on (it's a push rod motor, dissy up front, I'd say no harder than a BBC, if not easier). I don't think performance potential can be compared apples to apples for big and small block. If you take what a production SBF makes and what you can make out a max effort engine, I'd say the gains on a percentage scale is similar between the SBF and BBC. So, bottom line, is the whole things is Chevy biased.

I like being the (underdog)!

Darrin Gorham wrote:I like being the (underdog)!

just get a cape and show up with your bad bbf