Hooniverse Asks: What Engine Has The Weirdest Life Story?

Buick-Fireball-V6
Dodge once had a model called the “Swinger” which was an extremely befitting name for a company that shared their engines among a number of other car makers. If you pop the hood on a Jensen Interceptor, Dual Ghia, or one of the two and a half Monteverdi HAIs in the world, you will find Mopar iron.
Engine sharing or selling has given us some wonderful cars, performance icons like the DeTomaso Pantera and Shelby’s venrable Cobra. It has also resulted in some weirder mashups, and there are even cases where engines have been sold and then re-bought again, as though the original owner had a change of heart.
That’s the kind of history we’re looking for today. Engines that have seen some s**t over the course of their production lives. What do you think is the engine with the weirdest life story?

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  1. Kiefmo Avatar
    Kiefmo

    In with an easy one that is probably well-known to all of us, but not necessarily well-known overall.
    In the early 1950s, Buick started development of a compact, all-aluminum V8 (with heavy pressure from Alcoa, supposedly) for use in compact and midsizers. When it was finally introduced in 1961, it made good power for its size (150hp/220tq out of 3.5L), and even better with higher compression and a 4bbl (up to 200hp/240tq).
    To boot — thanks to its all-alum construction, it weighed only about 1 NFL linebacker — 320lbs.
    Oldsmobile built the ultimate iteration of this early aluminum V8, with a turbocharger and methanol “Turbo Rocket Fluid” injection (to quell knock), making 215hp/300tq (and hitting the still-rare 1hp/cid mark).
    Unfortunately, due to casting issues leading to block porosity (likely due to the industry’s lack of familiarity with aluminum), it was a short-lived experiment for GM, lasting only through the 1963 model year.
    But the 215’s story doesn’t end there. In 1965, the UK’s Rover group bought the tooling to the V8, and in 1967 released their first Rover sedans with the engine. To make a long story short, the Rover V8 became the UK’s SBC. It was long-lived, with displacements up to 5.0L from the factory, used in everything from sports cars to SUVs to hotrods and everything in between, and it was finally phased out in favor of newer engine designs in the early 2000s.

    1. Tiberiuswise Avatar

      And related to the V6 that was sold to Jeep and then bought back.
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buick_V6_engine

    2. pj134 Avatar
      pj134

      That’s lineman weight. Linebackers are usually around a svelte 250.

    3. JayP Avatar
      JayP

      The V6 based off the BOP V8 ran in MG Metro rally cars and I believe ended up in the XJ220.

      1. Rust-MyEnemy Avatar

        Yup, via the XJR-9.
        The Freight Rover Police riot van was one of the most iconic 1980s applications of the Rover V8…
        https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5001/5371355156_05e6b983c7_b.jpg

        1. Rover 1 Avatar
          Rover 1

          Often mislabelled Fright Rover, which is actually the more accurate name – confirmed by driving a few.

    4. NapoleonSolo Avatar
      NapoleonSolo

      I think you missed one. The BOP 215 was also the engine upon which the championship-winning Repco-Brabham V-8 Formula One engine was based.
      “Brabham had seen the engine’s potential racing against Chuck Daighs
      Scarab Buick in a one off appearance at Sandown, Australia, in early
      1962. The engine’s competition credentials were further established at
      Indianapolis that year when Indy debutant Dan Gurney qualified Mickey
      Thomsons 215-engined car 8th, the car failing with
      transmission problems after 92 laps. It was the first appearance of a
      stock block engine car at Indy since 1945.”

      1. Krautwursten Avatar
        Krautwursten

        Actually that’s a popular misconception. The Buick 215 has five cylinder head studs, the Repco has six cylinder head studs, so one’s head won’t go on another’s block. The reason for that is because the Repco is based on the Oldsmobile 215 instead which is very similar in size and shape, but has the aforementioned six studs as the most noteable difference.

        1. NapoleonSolo Avatar
          NapoleonSolo

          You’re right that the Repco was based on the Olds engine, but the Olds was still a BOP 215, so my statement is accurate and not a misconception. The BOP 215 was one basic design produced with several variations. Olds probably added another head bolt because their engine was turbocharged. The head bolts were a weak point in the Rover version of the engine, also. If you torqued the bolts to factory spec, you eventually ended up with leakage into the valley. Rover issued a revised torquing procedure that pretty much solved that problem, but people continued (and probably still continue) to torque them to the original factory specs which are published everywhere. This is all nitpicking, anyway. Point is that it was a pretty progressive bit of tech for old GM to introduce at the time, and it had a long, long production history in the end. The real reason GM stopped producing it was because it was cheaper to produce a slightly larger iron block and gas was about 20 cents per gallon.

  2. Citric Avatar
    Citric

    The Coventry Climax FW line was an extremely successful racing engine in its day, even though it wasn’t actually originally designed for automotive use, instead intended to run really good fire pumps.
    http://www.mikebrotherwood.com/climax_08_007_res.jpg

    1. Kiefmo Avatar
      Kiefmo

      Such a great name, too — Climax.

    2. sunbeammadd Avatar

      FW derivatives also powered road cars such as the Lotus Elite, TVR Grantura and Rootes’ Imp and Talbot Sunbeam ranges.
      When Walter Hassan designed the FW he took inspiration from the Sunbeam S7 motorcycle engine, which in turn was based on the WWII-era BMW R75 motorcycle engine.

      1. Citric Avatar
        Citric

        Gotta love that contrast, an engine designed to stay still turned into one famous for going fast.

    3. anonymic Avatar
      anonymic

      Technically, it is itself a fire pump.

  3. Sjalabais Avatar
    Sjalabais

    This isn’t low hanging, but fallen fruit: The PRV engine. A circumsised V8 with two third French and one third Swedish roots. Never achieved the glory it was intended to, despite application in beautiful Volvos and Peugeots, and, not least, the DeLorean. The next time Volvo tried to offer a V8 was just in time for the credit crunch, and in the middle of a violent uptick in eco-consciousness. They now stick to I4’s only.
    i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s–F2et7To1–/18ay5gyattkz2jpg.jpg

    1. Dutch Avatar
      Dutch

      Didn’t that motor wind up in the Eagle Premier and Dodge Monaco as well?

      1. Amoore Avatar
        Amoore

        Yep. That would be the Renault part of PRV. The story goes that since Renault had made the deal with AMC to bring such coveted cars as the Encore and Alliance to this side of the Atlantic, the oil crisis was suddenly over and consumers wanted bigger cars. Development started on a large sedan powered by the PRV engine before Chrysler came in and bought AMC. Renault carried through to provide engines and cars to become the Eagle Premier and Dodge Monaco. After that Renault went home, yet to return to the states since.

        1. Sjalabais Avatar
          Sjalabais

          And hence the theme of burned fingers surrounding this engine continues. Excellent summary btw!

          1. Amoore Avatar
            Amoore

            Thanks! I took the liberty of looking into the French side of automotive history over the holiday break delving into such madness as Simca, Talbot, and Matra (which is still pretty confusing) and I am glad to say basically the only thing I understood was this whole Renault AMC thing…besides that, the Rootes Group and how that relates to Peugeot will have to wait until a later time…

          2. nanoop Avatar
            nanoop

            You’re lucky, if I recall correctly, the Rootes Group has no direct link to the spiderweb of a timeline for British Leyland… or does it?

          3. Amoore Avatar
            Amoore

            Thanks, that inspires confidence…

  4. Alff Avatar
    Alff

    I’ll go with the Wankel rotary, an engine that soldiered on for decades despite presenting insurmountable challenges to efficiency and durability. Too busy to chase it now but that big Aussie sedan (Holden?) that it found its way into was one of the great mismatches of modern automotive engineering.

      1. Andrew Lamb Avatar
        Andrew Lamb

        Not quite as much of a glorious mismatch as the Mazda Parkway Rotary 26…. And note that 26 refers to the number of seats. It had a carby 13b.
        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mazda_Parkway

    1. pj134 Avatar
      pj134

      I feel like a torqueless pickup truck was a novel idea as well. Not that it makes me want it any less. http://motormavens.com/emAlbum/albums/Antonio%20Alvendia/Events/Mazda%20Sevenstock%202009/IMG_9070_rotary_pickup_truck_RXPU_copy.jpg

      1. Alff Avatar
        Alff

        One of my high school buds made his own REPU out of a Courier and a JDM RX-7 engine. It was scary fun.

    2. Batshitbox Avatar
      Batshitbox

      The Wankel design is used in the seat belt pre-tensioner system of some Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen cars. When the deceleration sensors
      sense a potential crash, small explosive cartridges are triggered
      electrically and the resulting pressurized gas feeds into tiny Wankel
      engines which rotate to take up the slack in the seat belt systems,
      anchoring the driver and passengers firmly in the seat before a
      collision.
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wankel_engine#Non-internal_combustion

  5. neight428 Avatar
    neight428

    Not sure what else it might have found itself in outside of the Toyota family, but if you can find a more disparate pairing of vehicles for the same engine, I’d like to see it.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_GR_engine#2GR
    http://zombdrive.com/images/2010-lotus-evora-4.jpg
    http://zombdrive.com/images/2010-toyota-sienna-2.jpg

    1. P161911 Avatar
      P161911

      See most any American V-8, smog choked 1970s Malaise-mobiles to 900+HP race cars.

    2. dukeisduke Avatar
      dukeisduke

      The Ladies’ Dress Shop (Clarkson’s term), and a minivan.

  6. 0A5599 Avatar
    0A5599

    Crosley CoBra was installed in WWII planes and boats (powering generators) before becoming a passenger car engine. And the block was sheet metal!
    http://sports.racer.net/engines/crosley.htm

    1. PaulE Avatar
      PaulE

      Let’s not forget the Hemi’s use in powering air raid sirens.

      1. salguod Avatar

        A friend has a rat rod powered by an old air raid siren Hemi. He answered a Craigslist ad for a 331 Hemi with “30 hours” on it. Intrigued, he emailed what that meant. The engine was essentially new, just pulled from a decommissioned air raid siren. He pulled the valve covers and it was perfect inside. He re-painted it and installed it in his truck.
        He also found an army surplus brand new 727 trans still in the crate for it, so the truck has a nearly new ’50s engine backed by a brand new ’60s trans.
        Here’s his truck:
        2014-05-24 09.47.25
        Full custom frame, ’47 (I think) Dodge cab & grille, custom designed suspension, custom fabricated bed.

        1. WinstonSmith84 Avatar
          WinstonSmith84

          That’s fantastic. It seems far too nice to be a rat rod, maybe more of a lakester pickup.

          1. salguod Avatar

            I’d agree, but that’s what he calls it. It’s a very cool build, and nearly all the work was done by him.

        2. dukeisduke Avatar
          dukeisduke

          Yeah, quite a few of the Hemis (180hp, 2-bbl carb) out of Chrysler Air Raid Sirens found their way into cars.
          http://www.victorysiren.com/x/index.htm

  7. ramLlama Avatar
    ramLlama

    Not a particular engine but a manufacturer: Lycoming.
    Now known for their piston aircraft engines, they were a premier auto engine manufacturer in the ’20s under the Auburn group. Cord’s and Duesenberg’s were powered by Lycomings

  8. Borkwagen Avatar
    Borkwagen

    Triumph slant-4 engine.
    https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/1975_Dolomite_1850.JPG
    Began life in humble Dolomites, but it gained a second life when the design was bought by Saab, many of the kinks were ironed out, and it was given turbos and 16 valves to make the engine that powers my car today.

    1. Frank T. Cat Avatar
      Frank T. Cat

      Stop stealing my Hooniverse asks answers!
      The modern H engine is basically indistinguishable from the original Slant-4, except for bore spacing. I should do more research on what exactly SAAB did to improve the reliability of the Slant-4 when they released the B engine. All I know is they stopped buying the engine directly from Triumph.

      1. Borkwagen Avatar
        Borkwagen

        I feel like they also did something different with the cooling system, which for a turbo engine is kinda crucial. Can’t confirm though.

  9. JayP Avatar
    JayP

    Ford’s 2.3 I4 has been in everything. It’s still kicking as the LRG-425.
    http://www.powertechengines.com/M10PwGerry07Ac45.jpg

    1. PaulE Avatar
      PaulE

      In that same vein, Ford’s V4s powered Taunuses, two-digit Saabs and was an industrial engine.

  10. Rust-MyEnemy Avatar

    The Rover K-Series was initially designed as a steam engine.
    It went into production and performed extremely well, in cars as diverse as the Rover 25 and Lotus Elise before, in many cases, going back to being a steam engine again.

    1. discontinuuity Avatar
      discontinuuity

      Is this a joke I’m not getting? I can’t find anything about it being designed as a steam engine.

  11. bigredcavetroll Avatar
    bigredcavetroll

    Maybe not THE weirdest, but the one that comes to my mind first:
    https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/Viper-v10.JPG
    Based on an architecture that’s been around since 1964 1/2 and then turned into a V10 truck engine that was redone by Lamborghini, put into a high-performance car, and overseen by the likes of Bob Lutz, Lee Iacocca, Carroll Shelby, and Tom Gale and still used today. In the current ACR it has set many a lap record too.

    1. Sjalabais Avatar
      Sjalabais

      Always fascinating to see how far back the engine sits under that long hood.

      1. Vairship Avatar
        Vairship

        Such a beautiful and interesting car. A shame they never had the money to make it a success.

  12. engineerd Avatar
    engineerd

    Ford’s 300 I-6 (or 4.9L for those of you using heathen units) has been used in Stewart & Stevensen baggage tugs, Harlan aircraft tugs, ski lifts, fire pumps, tractors and most UPS trucks. In fact, it’s a good bet that any non-diesel UPS truck is still running a Ford 4.9L engine.

    1. anonymic Avatar
      anonymic

      I wonder how many of them have blown the head gasket on #6 then cracked the head. I’m guessing all of them

  13. Krautwursten Avatar
    Krautwursten

    The Buick aluminium V8 has lived quite a life. Introduced in Buicks, Pontiacs and Oldsmobiles to much applause in 1961, it became the first non-Offenhauser engine in the Indy 500 in 16 years in 1962 when it qualified eighth and retired due to unrelated issues, its full license was purchased by Rover of Great Britain only five years later, who in turn used it to great acclaim in all sorts of vehicles including Land Rovers, Morgans and TVRs, GM then failed to buy back the license from Rover, and the block continued on in various cars until as late as 2004 (in the Land Rover Discovery), and travelled as far in the world as Australia (in the Leyland P76), and is used in British dirt sprint car racing to this day.
    Edit: I should’ve read Kiefmo’s post first.

  14. Citric Avatar
    Citric

    Bugatti Royale engine, based on an engine for planes that was never produced, then put in the ultimate luxury car at the time, and when nobody bought luxury cars because it was the 1930s – and apparently you had to have good table manners to buy one – the leftovers were used to power rail cars.
    http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s–kphJ9A-9–/18s0sl1y35o0cjpg.jpg

  15. Tomsk Avatar
    Tomsk

    Alfa Romeo’s 3.5L V10 racing engine from the late 1980s managed to go 0-for-3 in terms of getting used in anger. Originally, it was set to power Ligier’s F1 cars until the deal fell through. Then Alfa stuck it in the back of the 164 Pro-Car for the F1-support series for family-sedan-bodied silhouette racers that didn’t happen. Finally, the company dropped it into the SE 048SP, a program for the new 3.5L Group C formula that ended up being re-powered with a Ferrari V12 before it too was canceled!
    https://s3.amazonaws.com/static.carthrottle.com/workspace/uploads/posts/2015/10/3a2f6eba-9d42-49d0-a88c-8d11719a0255.jpg
    http://www.woiweb.com/wiki/images/b/b8/Alfa_Romeo_SE_048SP.jpg

    1. Fuhrman16 Avatar
      Fuhrman16

      I absolutely love the 164 Silhouette racer. It just looks perfect!
      https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Alfa_Romeo_164_procar.jpg

      1. Monkey10is Avatar
        Monkey10is

        Indeed: if you are going to build a silhouette racecar, then why not start with one of the best silhouettes there is…

  16. nanoop Avatar
    nanoop

    Wasn’t there a tragic Diesel engine that failed in the market but did well as a gas engine (block) for drag racers? I have faint memories that I’ve heard about it here on Hooniverse, but I’m sure some of you can just tell me from the top of their head.

    1. ptschett Avatar
      ptschett

      Olds 350ci (5.7L) diesel.

      1. nanoop Avatar
        nanoop

        That was it, exactly! From a looser that convinced an entire nation that weak Diesel engines are unreliable, to a single-shot-must-work-or-else performance part. Well, the cast iron bits were reliable, I guess.

        1. Fuhrman16 Avatar
          Fuhrman16

          The Olds 350 diesel did have a fairly stout block and internals. The problem was gave the engine 22:1 compression to make sure it would start reliably in colder climates. Unfortunately, the cylinder heads didn’t have enough bolts to deal with it, so they would blow head gaskets all the time.
          You add that to the typically rubbish build quality that GM cars (or any American car for that matter) had in the late 70’s-early 80’s, and the engines pure lack of power it was a perfect recipe for poor sales.

  17. ptschett Avatar
    ptschett

    The Cummins B-series is an ancestor of the competing engine that took its place in its original application.
    It started with a joint venture 50/50 between J. I. Case and Cummins. Cummins wanted to get into the ‘smaller’ engine business (~1 liter per cylinder); Case needed new engines across their range and needed a partner. The result was Consolidated Diesel Company (CDC) and the B- and C-series (8.3L) engines; the first B engines were in Case tractors. Later, Dodge came along and adopted the B-series for the Ram heavy-duty.
    Then in the ’90’s, Fiat-owned New Holland & Iveco both needed new engine families for their tractors and trucks, and had rights to use the then-new Bosch CP3 injection pump; Cummins had their new 4V/cylinder head to amortize, and wanted a crack at the CP3. Called the European Engine Alliance (EEA) and structured with Cummins holding 1/3rd, this partnership developed the Iveco/FPT NEF and the Cummins European B-series engines.
    Not long afterwards, Fiat bought Case IH and merged it with New Holland to make CNH. As Case & New Holland product lines were harmonized, if a machine was an old Case B-series application it transitioned to the NEF; and as NEF production increased, Fiat decided they were enough of a heavy-duty diesel engine maker on their own that they could market the FPT-made diesel engines to non-captive customers.
    With the writing on the wall, CNH and Cummins agreed that CNH would take full ownership of the EEA and Cummins would take full ownership of CDC.

    1. discontinuuity Avatar
      discontinuuity

      I think I need some sort of diagram to understand all of this.

  18. Maymar Avatar
    Maymar

    http://www.wjjeeps.com/v8ho3.jpg
    As I understand it (I may even have learned this from another Hoon), Chrysler’s PowerTech engines (the 3.7L V6 and 4.7L V8) started life as an AMC design, even though they wouldn’t go into production until 12 years after AMC stopped existing.

    1. bigredcavetroll Avatar
      bigredcavetroll

      The second generation 4.7s (2008+) were actually neat engines in my opinion and started to make decent power. The bottom end was forged and girdled (the first generations were girdled, but weren’t forged), they had long rods, twin spark plugs, the first generations short-comings were fixed, etc. Chrysler should have kept it around and developed it into a forced induction engine.
      I really want to take a 1997-2004 Dodge Dakota regular cab and put one of the 2008+ 4.7s in it backed by a T56 transmission. I think that would be a fun truck that would get pretty good fuel mileage.

  19. Fuhrman16 Avatar
    Fuhrman16

    The Ford flathead V8. Ford first produced it for their car and truck lines starting in 1932 and became one of the first affordable V8 engines. In 1948, it was offered to Ford of France, were powered the Mercury-esque Ford Vedette. In 1954, due to lower than expected sales and worker strikes, Ford of France was sold to Simca, who continued to build the Vedette until the mid sixties in Brazil.
    Around this time, Simca was purchased by Chrysler, who decieded to update the out of date Vedette. The flatheads were fitted with over head valve hemispherical cylinders heads simular to the Ardun performace pieces. They were put into the sleek looking Esplanada and were built until 1969.
    https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/85/Simca_Esplanada_%C3%81guas_de_Lind%C3%B3ia.jpg/1024px-Simca_Esplanada_%C3%81guas_de_Lind%C3%B3ia.jpg

    1. discontinuuity Avatar
      discontinuuity

      The Simca version of the Ford flathead was used in military trucks as late as 1990:
      http://www.sfflatheads.com/history/
      More info on the Vedette here:
      http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2011/05/the-other-chrysler-hemi-simca-esplanada/

  20. WinstonSmith84 Avatar
    WinstonSmith84

    The BMW M328 engine of 1936, itself an OHV development of an engine introduced in 1933 and claimed by some Brits to be a 6-cylinder development of the Austin 7 engine that BMW cut their automotive teeth building under license, was grabbed by Frazer Nash after WWII and then returned to production in the UK by Bristol, who built a line of cars combining the M328 engine with the pre-war BMW 326’s chassis. Bristol further developed the engine and produced it until 1961, by which time it had also powered a number of AC sports cars(Ace, Aceca, Greyhound) and the Arnolt-Bristol.

  21. Batshitbox Avatar
    Batshitbox

    Possibly the best industrial machine noises I’ve run across.
    1909 10HP Blackstone oil engine was used for pumping water from a river
    to a market garden. The engine was sabotaged in the 1920s by someone
    blowing up the cylinder with explosives. A new cylinder was installed
    and the engine was returned to service for a number of years when it
    eventually fell into disuse. A number of river floodings submerged the
    engine and it was eventually partially buried in silt. It was recovered
    in the 1990s and in 1997 it was dismantled, cleaned and started again
    after many years of neglect. The starting procedure requires heating of
    the hot bulb with a blow lamp in order to vaporise the fuel ( kerosene )
    and to preheat the internal combustion chamber to allow fuel ignition.