britain in WW2: Double overhead cam, 4 valves per cylinder, turbo charged and supercharged, over 2000HP from merlin V12. cutting edge tech. britain in 1970: main bearing too small. water pump fucked. engine squaring fucked. head bolts fucked. fuel system fucked. how to build engine... i forgor....
Well the Merlin had all its parts hand fitted, when Packard got ahold of the design for US production they had to change like half to parts to make them acceptable for tight production line tolerances. Plus all those engines were maintenance hogs with teardowns needed after 150-500 flight hours or in the case of the Merlin using war emergency power required a teardown and paperwork to be filled out by the pilot XD
The Ford GAA V8 used in the Sherman M4A3 was also very advanced. Aluminum block, DOHC, flat plane crank, 32 valves. Ford didn't return to an aluminum OHC V8 until the 1990s
@@antikythera42 even worse, the brits got the packard engine and then took the superchargers off, so they could complain about them being too weak, so they could build their garbo merlin engine.
I'm surprised by seeing a "worst v8s ever" video that doesn't mention the 5.4 ford Triton engine. but then i listened to the story on the Triumph v8, and realized maybe a spark plug in orbit every once in a while isn't that bad
the 5.4 is perfectly fine bro😭😭 im sick of mfs saying that the 5.4 2v and 3v are trash just because of spark plugs and cam phasers, if properly maintained they last a long time
@@gooderrailfan8967 I wouldn't call spark plugs exploding out the threads bc of bad design "perfectly fine". 2V and 4V are fine, but the 3V is not Ford's finest engine...
The 5.4 in my van runs great at 212k. Spark plug issue fixed in late 01. The 3v in my mustang has taken some merciless abuse. Spark plug issue on that motor fixed in late 08.
I mean they're literally the building blocks of why Us children have the V8 they're literally the beginning of performance parts for V8 engines like they ardun head conversion which made them hemispherical and you can push 500 instead of 300 with the Flathead but no one's trying to push those numbers nowadays because that engine is a literal Time capsule and if you tried to push 500 out of that you'd be spending thousands of dollars to make a time bomb. Just to get 500 horsepower of them you would have to run nitromethane. As well with a lot of internal work exhaust port customization. Plus the engine was only pushing 3 holes instead of four like what's on the average small block 350 or 302. I literally would call it a ginormous Briggs and Stratton.
A small 2.5l v8 made from two tiny I4s essentially bolted together, making >150hp would've been pretty cool back in the 70s. It's a shame triumph didn't just perfect their concept engine.
This was sadly mist likely due to the massive management issues at British Leyland alongside all the problems with the Unions which meant they didn't have the time nor money to carry on with the Bosch fuel injection.
The concept of fusing two motorbike engines together to make one small-displacement V8 still lives on today; that legacy primarily being carried on by British firm Radical, whose RPE family of V8's are based primarily on Suzuki Hayabusa architecture.
The N63 is actually the best V8 ever. Why? Because it's the only one that paid for my mortgage deposit. I sold those mf's allll the time. The real cause of most of the failures seemed to be sticking injectors. I guess the injectors didn't like being cooked by the turbos. Once they stuck open, they washed the alloy (Alusil, no liners) bores and instantly scored them. The turbo oil drains into the main bearings. I can't imagine why they thought draining superheated foamy oil onto the mains seemed like a good idea. Turbo oil feeds liked to get blocked too, leading to the compressor nut sometimes undoing itself! And doing nearly anything required removing the whole engine, as they were jam packed that tightly into the cars they came in. Oh, and the PCV system was dogsh*t (like all BMW's). They had lots of timing chain, valve stem seal and HPFP issues too. Finally, the oil burning was a baked in failure from low tension rings fitted to try to meet emissions targets. There was even a bulletin in AIR explaining this, and that dumping loads of oil in was considered normal.
Yup. Absolutely garbage motors. They are fun when they run though! Same with their sisters the s63. Though the s63's usually weren't as terrible (usually). Still valve stem seals and pcv valves are issues bmw has yet to fix.
@ S63 failure rates were about the same in my experience, and they also had those 4 short coolant hoses on top of the engine that used to leak and cause issues all the time. When the G80 M5 came out I remember the training materials for it went on about how great the new variable flow oil pump was for meeting emissions targets. On startup it would only flow the bare minimum amount of oil in order to reduce emissions. This seems like the worst possible idea.
@ma61king wow that is genuinely horrible. I've yet to work on any m5 post f10 but hopefully my current one stays alright. Replaced all plastic hoses etc already, turbo oil drains, valley pan gasket, and all injectors and hpfp. So far been okay but the fear is always there of rod bearings or something worse. Oh well I guess.
Agreed. Poor aluminum quality compounded by use of Extra Fine bolt threads that were too small in diameter. If GM had used thread inserts in the initial design, it would likely be a legendary engine, rather than infamous.
as an (unfortunate) lover of the northstar, I really appreciate that you didn’t just call em all trash and called it a day AND specified that they gradually got a lot better. now as someone who loves the northstar, one other thing of note is just how much oil leaks out of them. I know gm isn’t known for dry engines but the northstar is something else, I don’t think i’ve ever seen one on the road not sweating oil like a wet rag being rung out
I would recommend some more research into the flathead V8s, there were quite a few inaccuracies. A lot of your points about them can be applied to ALL engines from the same era, judging one engine by modern standards and calling it terrible is rather foolish. In its day, the Flathead V8 was an incredible step forwards in technology, it was a cheap, monoblock cast V8, which produced, for its day, quite a bit of power. You have to take in the context of the fact that it was competing with inline fours and sixes, putting off anywhere from 20-40 horsepower. Yes, by the end of its run in '53, the flatties were getting a bit long in the tooth, but they served their purpose- they made V8s an affordable, popular engine platform, we wouldn't have V8s as we know them without them. One of the other things they did is open the floodgates for hot roders, who could take a flathead that churned out 100 horsepower when it rolled off the line, and crank out 300-400 horse, which in the '50s was a lot of horsepower for things on the road.
Your point is exactly why I used it as an entrance point into talking about other V8s with worse reputations. You are right, obviously modern standards shouldn’t be completely applied to antique engines for argument’s sake, but that doesn’t change the fact that it wasn’t the greatest thing ever either. If anything, it just means that most engines of the time were also really crumby and primitive, and the flathead was just the tip of the iceberg.
Primitive, yes, looking at it compared to today's engines. I wouldn't necessarily call it a bad engine, either- That's like looking at a modern engine eighty years from now and calling it bad and primitive just because it isn't capable of whatever the latest things eighty years from now are, it's a rather narrow-minded way of looking at it. I could sit here and wax poetic about the things the Flatheads got right (again), but that isn't very productive. I'd hardly call them perfect engines, but the philosophical question of what does constitute a perfect engine is something that you'll never get two people to answer the same way for the same reasons. By the same logic, it seems like a bit of a stretch to label them bad engines for things that their contemporary engines also had, or were limited to by the technology that was available when they were built, since after a little while of that, you just wind up with 'old thing bad because not new. New thing good because new"
And more carbs. They usually wake up pretty well with high performance heads and 3-4 carbs. Blower gets them up higher, and boring and stroking them helps quite a bit too. Some crazed hot rodder fairly recently cranked 700 horse out of one for a Bonneville speed record, although I'll admit I'm not familiar with what all was done to it, other than I believe Ardun heads (an OHV conversion for the flathead, as insane as it sounds).
Lol the ending got you a like and subscribe. I really like the style you use where the audio is straight and dry and all of the shenigans are in the video.
I have to say, I clicked on this, remembered how beautiful the Stag is and how non-functional of a car it is, and got sad. It really says a lot that one of the most common fixes for them is to put in the 3.5 or 4.4 litre Leyland/Rover V8, both of which are ALSO otherwise known as unreliable hunks of junk.
All of your points against the flatheads are valid and well spoken. In defense of the Flathead: their factory hp numbers are pretty poor in hindsight, but good for the time. They are very torquey which makes them very easy (and fun) to drive and were good for semi trucks (which they powered for a good part of the 20th century). They got a lot better with the issues you described in the later models. Finally, they are a fantastic performance platform and people have done some very cool things with flatheads!
I mean yeah basically, but the amount of fun you had driving an early flathead prob doesn't outweigh the nonsense you gotta deal with for maintenance and repair
@@SeeBasssss The funniest thing about Ford Flatheads having thermal problems is that they have TWO water pumps, however, that was primarily due to the fact that each bank had separate cooling passages that did not cross over.
Sad how a couple of bolts can ruin the reputation of a great engine, I have a Northstar 4.6 with the bolt repair and it already has 300k kms without problems
The only time I’ve seen a Triumph V8 work as intended is in the last episode of the Grand Tour in James’ car. And it was pretty clear everyone thought it wasn’t gonna make it but miraculously it did.
the NorthStar isn't that bad. I blame industrial espionage because there is evidence to show the issue was purposely made worse. what would be a much worse V8, is the Ford Triton V8 which while it didnt have head issues, it would destroy its own valvetrain over and over again, fire sparkplugs through hoods, and burned oil almost as bad as the northstar.
This is such a good video please make more automotive content and could you do a video on most reliable engines and go into depth on why they’re so good
@@SeeBasssssyou should split that into different categories by cylinder count as well. Id love to see the 300 inline 6 get compared to its constituents.
I'll say this, The only real issue the V8-6-4 WAS the stupid system itself (and the EGR as you stated). The 368 was actually just fine if you didn't utilize the system, didn't make a lot of power but they'll run. Great video
0:44 you’re talking about the flathead but neither of the cars from the American Graffiti clip have a flathead and the next clip doesn’t have one either.
Next time you wanna call your cars engine a pos just remember an engine is an amalgamation of hundreds of parts that all have to move in perfect timing, and synchronization, with optimal levels of lubrication, and temperature control. While having tens of thousands of explotions happening inside it every minute. As it spins at thousands of revolutions for many hours at a time. An oil leak here and there, or sensors going out is nothing. Engines are really easy to mess up, really hard to get right
@RVBJohn really depends on the engine there. A 350 sbc will jump time 100 times over and itll just run poorly. A newer engine will jump one tooth and the pistons will smack the valves immediately
Fords innovation with the flathead was not it being flathead as most cars into the mid 50s and were flathead designs and they were around since the early 1900s. His innovation was being able to cast the block as one piece, but to do so he needed to have two of the exhaust ports go through one hole and the water jacket. So saying the engine was poorly designed is idiotic. On top of that it’s 65hp rating was at least 20hp more than most new cars on the road at the time, and while the engine did have its pitfalls with overheating, it was a great engine being popular and produced into 1953/4, and was great for the time.
i got a 1951 ford with a flat head v8 manual no overdrive i bought at auction for 2k it had last been registered in 1991 according to the odometer it has 91k miles wouldn’t be surprised if it was 191k regardless and keep in mind it sat under a shed no rust or nothing like that but after replacing all the breaks and hoses fuel pump be building the carburetor new oil new belts and water pump that engine runs like new despite being 70 years old and having at least 91k miles on it you cant even hear it running when its idling after doing all that to it i drove it about 150 miles in one day not a problem whatsoever i could swear up and down their is no engine today thatll last that long and run that good
6.4 powerstroke, Cadillac horizontal v8s, first Ford Y block, Chrysler Power tech 4.7, DOD GM LS, DOD Chrysler 5.7, Ford 3 valve Triton, Oldsmobile 350 Diesel, can't recall very many more.
The ford Y-block wasn’t really a bad engine, it got a bad wrap because people used non-detergent oils in them and the oil passages would get plugged, causing failure
It really wasn't THAT bad. The early version kind of sucked but the later version only had weak head bolts that would stretch. Replace them with ARP studs and some better head gaskets and you have a pretty damn good engine. My friend has one with over 600,000 miles on it. With copper head gaskets, o ring grooves in the block, and a set of splayed bolt main caps, you can turbo one and make 250+ HP. Add custom pistons, a custom made forged crank, and a set of aftermarket big block Chevy rods, and the block is capable of handling anything that you could throw at it. The fuel system is capable of around 500 HP with a custom injection pump. The best version to start with is the 1981 truck engine, which has the later model block along with the stronger early version heads that don't crack.
My favorite part about the ford flathead is the fact the 9n, 2n, and 8n tractors literally have half of the flathead block turned upright and mounted to a 3speed manual.
SBC best engine ever. All the other manufactures have been trying to make copies of it that where never as good. Name me another push rod small block V8 that was as good as the SBC. Ford and Dodge were too busy trying to run coolant through there timing covers. lol
Right so Chrysler copied the sbc in the early fifties? Chrysler built the early Hemi, designed some simpler heads toward the end of the fifties to put on that same block (the A block), and then lightened it a few years later giving us the “LA” block. Not everyone is into “paint by numbers” hotroding, and they want something other than the ubiquitous sbc. I certainly don’t think the sbc is a bad engine, but if anyone else’s engine had the aftermarket support the sbc has, the playing field would be even.
@@The0utmodehonestly a big block Mopar is very very simple, if not the simplest of the era, dry intake external oil pump, front mounted distributor, skirted block. Essentially it’s a copy of a y block and sbc with certain improvements in valve train. Is there flaws? Yes as with anything ever made but for the era they where bullet proof there’s a reason the 383 big block was one of the most mass produced v8s Chrysler made and why they where heavily used in military applications.
quit being a brand loyalty sheep. The SBC was not the first OHV v8, and it *certainly* NOT the best.... The SBC suffers from the same problem that most older pushrod v8's had, terrible cylinder heads that didn't flow much air, only one worth while for the SBC is the vortec. also the SBC is heavy, there's lighter and stronger engines out there now. Not to mention the stupid decision to have siamese exhaust ports, only took em until the late 90s with the LS to realize it wasn't a good idea.
Speaking of the Northstar V8, there are so many examples of Oldsmobile cooking up some insane shit but being fucked over by GM's incessant desire to cut corners. They were, in my humble opinion, GM's most innovative division. By a country mile. Look into the 1962 F-85 Jetfire and its all aluminum turbocharged 215 ci V8. That little bastard made as much power off of a single barrel carburetor and 115 fewer cubic inches than my 1966 F-85, which came from the factory with a 2 barrel. It's just, back then nobody gave a shit about properly maintaining their car and keeping all the fluids filled because you could get a rather nice replacement for $2000 when yours inevitably wiped a cam or threw a rod or whatever BS would happen to them at the magical 100,000 mile mark. Because nobody cared to take proper care of them, the methanol tank was never kept full (Yes, *FACTORY METHANOL INJECTION IN 1962)* the complex vacuum powered boost bypass system that Olds rightfully designed for idiot-proofing purposes would remain active and prevent it from building boost, effectively making it a normal 215 ci V8 with a weird remote mounted side draft carburetor and a decorative Garrett AiResearch T5 turbocharger. Also, speaking of MY Oldsmobile, at some point in the early to mid 1960s, Olds took the Buick Super-Turbine 300 two speed automatic and looked into making it better. Want to know how they did just that without adding more power to the engine or more speeds to the transmission? A switch pitch torque converter. That's right, the stator vanes in the TC were actuated by a solenoid controlled by an electrical throttle position sensor. Oldsmobile was peak GM, and they were killed by the mediocrity of other GM brands leaking over into their lineup as badge engineered GARBAGE with an Olds emblem and superficial bodywork changes. Had GM given the oldest American car manufacturer the funding and independence it deserved, it would have still been kicking today, perhaps even replacing GMC, Cadillac, and/or Buick, who are falling down the same ladder that Oldsmobile once fell down by simply rebadging Chevrolet and making the interior slightly fancier and calling it good enough. If I were filthy rich, like Elon rich, I would buy the intellectual rights to EVERY SINGLE MAKE AND MODEL the company ever produced, as well as the rights to both Oldsmobile and REO as companies themselves, and restart it all from the ground up. I have a good feeling Ransom E. Olds would have been made sick, seeing what GM had done to his life's work, his _namesake_ for the love of God, by the time it was dissolved in 2004.
The only V8 I owned was a Volvo 4.4 in a XC90 It had extremely good driveability and a decent rich sound. But it should be a contender, I sent two mechanics into delirium with this POS
wouldnt touch any older bmw engine with a 10 foot pole those things are nightmares just ask any vanos owner with above 180k miles if they are satisfied (most of them are on their second pair of engines)
I would have put the newer displacement on demand V8’s in here too because they eat camshafts and lifters. Like the 5.7 hemi or newer style 5.3 LS engines
That’s only because of emissions laws unfortunately I don’t think it’s much of an engineering error because they have to do that bs. But usually I notice almost no major issues on those engines aside from the mds and dod tbf. Plus they’re not bad engines to work on either compared to how annoying it can be to work on a 5.0 from ford. Just my opinion tho.
great video with good info. if you make a part two you should cover the ford 6.0 and 6.4 diesels (if they count) surely ford would use the right amount of fucking head bolts on an engine with 16+ to 1 compression AND boost RIGHT?????
You Gotta Remember That The Ford Flatty V8 Was Supposed To Be A LOW PRICED CAR Engine For The Masses. CHEAPER To Mass Produce And EasIer To Fix. When 45 mph Was Fast Enough For All The Better Those Mostly DIRT, Windy And Hilly Roads Were At The Time. It Was NOT The High Speed Interstate Highway Era As You Seem To IMAGINE. And Long Distance Travel Was Done BY TRAIN. Aftermarket Products Took Care Of The Vapor Locking And Block Heat Problems. But Dumping More Costly Hemi And Overhead Valve Engines Into Family Cars Didn't Arrive Until The Early 1950's, The SAME Time The Flattie V8 Was Pretty Much Retired. By Then The Roads Were Getting Better Rurally, And Multi Lane Highways Were Needed For Heavier Traffic In Larger Cities...
I can bearly watch this kid with all those random cut in the outburst. & Lack of power cars in the mid 70s... Kid it was the early smog era get a clue out us cars lost half the power ok. 👎
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
britain in WW2: Double overhead cam, 4 valves per cylinder, turbo charged and supercharged, over 2000HP from merlin V12. cutting edge tech.
britain in 1970: main bearing too small. water pump fucked. engine squaring fucked. head bolts fucked. fuel system fucked. how to build engine... i forgor....
Necessity breeds invention. No need to do anything more than the bare minimum, as people will buy anything shiny nowadays.
Well the Merlin had all its parts hand fitted, when Packard got ahold of the design for US production they had to change like half to parts to make them acceptable for tight production line tolerances. Plus all those engines were maintenance hogs with teardowns needed after 150-500 flight hours or in the case of the Merlin using war emergency power required a teardown and paperwork to be filled out by the pilot XD
Well it's hard to put in all the effort and money when you're war torn and heading into a decade that's about to Kickstart the malaise era
The Ford GAA V8 used in the Sherman M4A3 was also very advanced. Aluminum block, DOHC, flat plane crank, 32 valves. Ford didn't return to an aluminum OHC V8 until the 1990s
@@antikythera42 even worse, the brits got the packard engine and then took the superchargers off, so they could complain about them being too weak, so they could build their garbo merlin engine.
I'm surprised by seeing a "worst v8s ever" video that doesn't mention the 5.4 ford Triton engine. but then i listened to the story on the Triumph v8, and realized maybe a spark plug in orbit every once in a while isn't that bad
the 5.4 is perfectly fine bro😭😭 im sick of mfs saying that the 5.4 2v and 3v are trash just because of spark plugs and cam phasers, if properly maintained they last a long time
@gooderrailfan8967 the 5.4 2vs are decent. Mine had 230k on it. The 3vs are absolutely garbage
@@gooderrailfan8967 I wouldn't call spark plugs exploding out the threads bc of bad design "perfectly fine". 2V and 4V are fine, but the 3V is not Ford's finest engine...
The 5.4 in my van runs great at 212k. Spark plug issue fixed in late 01. The 3v in my mustang has taken some merciless abuse. Spark plug issue on that motor fixed in late 08.
@@gooderrailfan8967 It's not a bad engine, but it's just as temperamental as the average Euro OCH V8.
ROCK AND ROLL MCDONALDS
ROCK AND ROLL MCDONALDS
rock over london rock on chicago
Yes goat
Rock over london, rock over Chicago. Wheaties, breakfast of champions.
I mean they're literally the building blocks of why Us children have the V8 they're literally the beginning of performance parts for V8 engines like they ardun head conversion which made them hemispherical and you can push 500 instead of 300 with the Flathead but no one's trying to push those numbers nowadays because that engine is a literal Time capsule and if you tried to push 500 out of that you'd be spending thousands of dollars to make a time bomb. Just to get 500 horsepower of them you would have to run nitromethane. As well with a lot of internal work exhaust port customization. Plus the engine was only pushing 3 holes instead of four like what's on the average small block 350 or 302. I literally would call it a ginormous Briggs and Stratton.
A small 2.5l v8 made from two tiny I4s essentially bolted together, making >150hp would've been pretty cool back in the 70s.
It's a shame triumph didn't just perfect their concept engine.
This was sadly mist likely due to the massive management issues at British Leyland alongside all the problems with the Unions which meant they didn't have the time nor money to carry on with the Bosch fuel injection.
The concept of fusing two motorbike engines together to make one small-displacement V8 still lives on today; that legacy primarily being carried on by British firm Radical, whose RPE family of V8's are based primarily on Suzuki Hayabusa architecture.
The N63 is actually the best V8 ever. Why? Because it's the only one that paid for my mortgage deposit.
I sold those mf's allll the time. The real cause of most of the failures seemed to be sticking injectors. I guess the injectors didn't like being cooked by the turbos. Once they stuck open, they washed the alloy (Alusil, no liners) bores and instantly scored them. The turbo oil drains into the main bearings. I can't imagine why they thought draining superheated foamy oil onto the mains seemed like a good idea. Turbo oil feeds liked to get blocked too, leading to the compressor nut sometimes undoing itself! And doing nearly anything required removing the whole engine, as they were jam
packed that tightly into the cars they came in. Oh, and the PCV system was dogsh*t (like all BMW's). They had lots of timing chain, valve stem seal and HPFP issues too.
Finally, the oil burning was a baked in failure from low tension rings fitted to try to meet emissions targets. There was even a bulletin in AIR explaining this, and that dumping loads of oil in was considered normal.
Yup. Absolutely garbage motors. They are fun when they run though! Same with their sisters the s63. Though the s63's usually weren't as terrible (usually). Still valve stem seals and pcv valves are issues bmw has yet to fix.
@ S63 failure rates were about the same in my experience, and they also had those 4 short coolant hoses on top of the engine that used to leak and cause issues all the time. When the G80 M5 came out I remember the training materials for it went on about how great the new variable flow oil pump was for meeting emissions targets. On startup it would only flow the bare minimum amount of oil in order to reduce emissions. This seems like the worst possible idea.
@ma61king wow that is genuinely horrible. I've yet to work on any m5 post f10 but hopefully my current one stays alright. Replaced all plastic hoses etc already, turbo oil drains, valley pan gasket, and all injectors and hpfp. So far been okay but the fear is always there of rod bearings or something worse. Oh well I guess.
4:51 North Star threads pulled because poor aluminum they made blocks with. TTY bolts are not what caused it. LS/LT has had TTY since 97 and no issue.
seems so obvious when theres literally a picture of the bolt with the blocks threads stuck to it.
you can fix it with inserts if you like your cheap $500 90s caddie or oldsmobile enough to spend all your free time rebuilding and machining the block
tty bolts are dumb. just use fucking studs.
Agreed.
Poor aluminum quality compounded by use of Extra Fine bolt threads that were too small in diameter.
If GM had used thread inserts in the initial design, it would likely be a legendary engine, rather than infamous.
as an (unfortunate) lover of the northstar, I really appreciate that you didn’t just call em all trash and called it a day AND specified that they gradually got a lot better. now as someone who loves the northstar, one other thing of note is just how much oil leaks out of them. I know gm isn’t known for dry engines but the northstar is something else, I don’t think i’ve ever seen one on the road not sweating oil like a wet rag being rung out
I would recommend some more research into the flathead V8s, there were quite a few inaccuracies. A lot of your points about them can be applied to ALL engines from the same era, judging one engine by modern standards and calling it terrible is rather foolish. In its day, the Flathead V8 was an incredible step forwards in technology, it was a cheap, monoblock cast V8, which produced, for its day, quite a bit of power. You have to take in the context of the fact that it was competing with inline fours and sixes, putting off anywhere from 20-40 horsepower. Yes, by the end of its run in '53, the flatties were getting a bit long in the tooth, but they served their purpose- they made V8s an affordable, popular engine platform, we wouldn't have V8s as we know them without them. One of the other things they did is open the floodgates for hot roders, who could take a flathead that churned out 100 horsepower when it rolled off the line, and crank out 300-400 horse, which in the '50s was a lot of horsepower for things on the road.
Your point is exactly why I used it as an entrance point into talking about other V8s with worse reputations. You are right, obviously modern standards shouldn’t be completely applied to antique engines for argument’s sake, but that doesn’t change the fact that it wasn’t the greatest thing ever either. If anything, it just means that most engines of the time were also really crumby and primitive, and the flathead was just the tip of the iceberg.
Primitive, yes, looking at it compared to today's engines. I wouldn't necessarily call it a bad engine, either- That's like looking at a modern engine eighty years from now and calling it bad and primitive just because it isn't capable of whatever the latest things eighty years from now are, it's a rather narrow-minded way of looking at it. I could sit here and wax poetic about the things the Flatheads got right (again), but that isn't very productive. I'd hardly call them perfect engines, but the philosophical question of what does constitute a perfect engine is something that you'll never get two people to answer the same way for the same reasons. By the same logic, it seems like a bit of a stretch to label them bad engines for things that their contemporary engines also had, or were limited to by the technology that was available when they were built, since after a little while of that, you just wind up with 'old thing bad because not new. New thing good because new"
How the hell do you make 400 hp from a flathead in the 50s?
@ blower and intake and different heads and cam and adjust timing and fuel
And more carbs. They usually wake up pretty well with high performance heads and 3-4 carbs. Blower gets them up higher, and boring and stroking them helps quite a bit too. Some crazed hot rodder fairly recently cranked 700 horse out of one for a Bonneville speed record, although I'll admit I'm not familiar with what all was done to it, other than I believe Ardun heads (an OHV conversion for the flathead, as insane as it sounds).
That music you played during the triumph V8 part always reminds me of james may building a shed only to have it blow up and burn 😂
If you're curious it's the end of Floods by Pantera.
Lol the ending got you a like and subscribe. I really like the style you use where the audio is straight and dry and all of the shenigans are in the video.
Thank u good sir
I have to say, I clicked on this, remembered how beautiful the Stag is and how non-functional of a car it is, and got sad. It really says a lot that one of the most common fixes for them is to put in the 3.5 or 4.4 litre Leyland/Rover V8, both of which are ALSO otherwise known as unreliable hunks of junk.
All of your points against the flatheads are valid and well spoken. In defense of the Flathead: their factory hp numbers are pretty poor in hindsight, but good for the time. They are very torquey which makes them very easy (and fun) to drive and were good for semi trucks (which they powered for a good part of the 20th century). They got a lot better with the issues you described in the later models. Finally, they are a fantastic performance platform and people have done some very cool things with flatheads!
I mean yeah basically, but the amount of fun you had driving an early flathead prob doesn't outweigh the nonsense you gotta deal with for maintenance and repair
@@SeeBasssss The funniest thing about Ford Flatheads having thermal problems is that they have TWO water pumps, however, that was primarily due to the fact that each bank had separate cooling passages that did not cross over.
I laughed when he used CJ’s on fire scream. Might fire up the ole PS2 and give San Andreas another run-through.
A tier list of car shit I didn’t know about packaged in funny editing? Subbed!
Sad how a couple of bolts can ruin the reputation of a great engine, I have a Northstar 4.6 with the bolt repair and it already has 300k kms without problems
This is pretty good. Good memes and good commentary, properly mixed and funny, you got a sub my boy.
Cant forget the gmc 5.7 deisel
Another Oldsmobile project that would've probably been awesome if GM hadn't shot the Olds R&D guys in the head with the bean counting gun.
Amazing use of Pantera's Floods! Metalhead approved 👌 🤘
Hot valley isn't all that uncommon in race engines, it's not that uncommon in other new production cars. BMW just fucked up bad.
Love the editing bro, definitely deserves more views.
I love the way this is edited
This video is fantastic. One thing: mix your voice louder than the music and meme edits, maybe normalize the audio of the voiceover.
The only time I’ve seen a Triumph V8 work as intended is in the last episode of the Grand Tour in James’ car. And it was pretty clear everyone thought it wasn’t gonna make it but miraculously it did.
the NorthStar isn't that bad. I blame industrial espionage because there is evidence to show the issue was purposely made worse. what would be a much worse V8, is the Ford Triton V8 which while it didnt have head issues, it would destroy its own valvetrain over and over again, fire sparkplugs through hoods, and burned oil almost as bad as the northstar.
My Dad didn't believe me when I told him my 53 Ford with a flathead V8 has two water pumps. And they're basically the motor mounts as well.
Very nice video. I really enjoyed it.
THE NICK EDIT! AYYY
Glad someone caught that too
This is such a good video please make more automotive content and could you do a video on most reliable engines and go into depth on why they’re so good
I am preparing to do so after the next update, thank u gangsta
@@SeeBasssssyou should split that into different categories by cylinder count as well. Id love to see the 300 inline 6 get compared to its constituents.
12:33 don’t ever stop this format ❤subbd
Dude, This was funny as hell, please keep doing more. Original and refreshing style.
I'll say this, The only real issue the V8-6-4 WAS the stupid system itself (and the EGR as you stated). The 368 was actually just fine if you didn't utilize the system, didn't make a lot of power but they'll run. Great video
This video is fire, please make more
If u think the flathead v8 is bad dont worry they added 4 more cylinders to them
Ah memories of peak Malaise era when a 5+L engine would barely give you 90hp
Cadillac on their way to make 150 hp out of an 8.2 liter big block: *Ace Ventura police station scene*
@ true american luxury is being rattled by a roaring v8 engine putting out less horsepower than cheap European Coupe’s
@@lsswappedcessna Meanwhile if you tuned the engine even slightly you had a 7L V8 making at least 300HP for the next 20 years.
150hp and like 400 ft-lbs
This video was amazing, NEVER STOP MAKING THEM
0:44 you’re talking about the flathead but neither of the cars from the American Graffiti clip have a flathead and the next clip doesn’t have one either.
i knowww but the footage was and I liked ittt mann n
🤓
Next time you wanna call your cars engine a pos just remember an engine is an amalgamation of hundreds of parts that all have to move in perfect timing, and synchronization, with optimal levels of lubrication, and temperature control. While having tens of thousands of explotions happening inside it every minute. As it spins at thousands of revolutions for many hours at a time.
An oil leak here and there, or sensors going out is nothing. Engines are really easy to mess up, really hard to get right
It doesn't have to be perfect your timing and shit can get really sloppy before it stops working
@RVBJohn really depends on the engine there. A 350 sbc will jump time 100 times over and itll just run poorly. A newer engine will jump one tooth and the pistons will smack the valves immediately
my dad fixed most of the issues on the north star we have in our caddy so it pretty much is one of the best cars we got now
1:27 mde never dies
Great video man- subscribed!
hey man I think I'm going to subscribe 👍
I will cry tears of joy on the altar for you tonight
good video!
I could watch an entire series about this
this video is a gem
Fords innovation with the flathead was not it being flathead as most cars into the mid 50s and were flathead designs and they were around since the early 1900s. His innovation was being able to cast the block as one piece, but to do so he needed to have two of the exhaust ports go through one hole and the water jacket. So saying the engine was poorly designed is idiotic. On top of that it’s 65hp rating was at least 20hp more than most new cars on the road at the time, and while the engine did have its pitfalls with overheating, it was a great engine being popular and produced into 1953/4, and was great for the time.
And in the 1960s two Brit boffins Costin and Duckworth developed the immortal Cosworth DFV.
i got a 1951 ford with a flat head v8 manual no overdrive i bought at auction for 2k it had last been registered in 1991 according to the odometer it has 91k miles wouldn’t be surprised if it was 191k regardless and keep in mind it sat under a shed no rust or nothing like that but after replacing all the breaks and hoses fuel pump be building the carburetor new oil new belts and water pump that engine runs like new despite being 70 years old and having at least 91k miles on it you cant even hear it running when its idling after doing all that to it i drove it about 150 miles in one day not a problem whatsoever i could swear up and down their is no engine today thatll last that long and run that good
This is very good content please make more
6.4 powerstroke, Cadillac horizontal v8s, first Ford Y block, Chrysler Power tech 4.7, DOD GM LS, DOD Chrysler 5.7, Ford 3 valve Triton, Oldsmobile 350 Diesel, can't recall very many more.
The ford Y-block wasn’t really a bad engine, it got a bad wrap because people used non-detergent oils in them and the oil passages would get plugged, causing failure
The lack of audi v8 is embarrassing. I know that issue goes to pretty much all their modern engines but still.
oldsmobile v8 diesel was trash
true, if it ran on gas i would have prob included it in the vid
@@SeeBasssssyou should do a video on trash early v8 diesels
It really wasn't THAT bad. The early version kind of sucked but the later version only had weak head bolts that would stretch. Replace them with ARP studs and some better head gaskets and you have a pretty damn good engine. My friend has one with over 600,000 miles on it. With copper head gaskets, o ring grooves in the block, and a set of splayed bolt main caps, you can turbo one and make 250+ HP. Add custom pistons, a custom made forged crank, and a set of aftermarket big block Chevy rods, and the block is capable of handling anything that you could throw at it. The fuel system is capable of around 500 HP with a custom injection pump. The best version to start with is the 1981 truck engine, which has the later model block along with the stronger early version heads that don't crack.
My favorite part about the ford flathead is the fact the 9n, 2n, and 8n tractors literally have half of the flathead block turned upright and mounted to a 3speed manual.
I knew they looked too familiar lol
I dont think there was a better song to put over the 8-6-4 part than Rock N Roll McDonald's 5:48
They ran really well the first 12 miles.
SBC best engine ever. All the other manufactures have been trying to make copies of it that where never as good. Name me another push rod small block V8 that was as good as the SBC. Ford and Dodge were too busy trying to run coolant through there timing covers. lol
sad but true
Right so Chrysler copied the sbc in the early fifties? Chrysler built the early Hemi, designed some simpler heads toward the end of the fifties to put on that same block (the A block), and then lightened it a few years later giving us the “LA” block. Not everyone is into “paint by numbers” hotroding, and they want something other than the ubiquitous sbc. I certainly don’t think the sbc is a bad engine, but if anyone else’s engine had the aftermarket support the sbc has, the playing field would be even.
@@Buckturrible Still not as simple as a SBC.
@@The0utmodehonestly a big block Mopar is very very simple, if not the simplest of the era, dry intake external oil pump, front mounted distributor, skirted block. Essentially it’s a copy of a y block and sbc with certain improvements in valve train. Is there flaws? Yes as with anything ever made but for the era they where bullet proof there’s a reason the 383 big block was one of the most mass produced v8s Chrysler made and why they where heavily used in military applications.
quit being a brand loyalty sheep.
The SBC was not the first OHV v8, and it *certainly* NOT the best....
The SBC suffers from the same problem that most older pushrod v8's had, terrible cylinder heads that didn't flow much air, only one worth while for the SBC is the vortec.
also the SBC is heavy, there's lighter and stronger engines out there now. Not to mention the stupid decision to have siamese exhaust ports, only took em until the late 90s with the LS to realize it wasn't a good idea.
Love this video
I love how rock n roll McDonald’s was used for the 8-6-4
Speaking of the Northstar V8, there are so many examples of Oldsmobile cooking up some insane shit but being fucked over by GM's incessant desire to cut corners. They were, in my humble opinion, GM's most innovative division. By a country mile. Look into the 1962 F-85 Jetfire and its all aluminum turbocharged 215 ci V8. That little bastard made as much power off of a single barrel carburetor and 115 fewer cubic inches than my 1966 F-85, which came from the factory with a 2 barrel. It's just, back then nobody gave a shit about properly maintaining their car and keeping all the fluids filled because you could get a rather nice replacement for $2000 when yours inevitably wiped a cam or threw a rod or whatever BS would happen to them at the magical 100,000 mile mark. Because nobody cared to take proper care of them, the methanol tank was never kept full (Yes, *FACTORY METHANOL INJECTION IN 1962)* the complex vacuum powered boost bypass system that Olds rightfully designed for idiot-proofing purposes would remain active and prevent it from building boost, effectively making it a normal 215 ci V8 with a weird remote mounted side draft carburetor and a decorative Garrett AiResearch T5 turbocharger.
Also, speaking of MY Oldsmobile, at some point in the early to mid 1960s, Olds took the Buick Super-Turbine 300 two speed automatic and looked into making it better. Want to know how they did just that without adding more power to the engine or more speeds to the transmission? A switch pitch torque converter. That's right, the stator vanes in the TC were actuated by a solenoid controlled by an electrical throttle position sensor. Oldsmobile was peak GM, and they were killed by the mediocrity of other GM brands leaking over into their lineup as badge engineered GARBAGE with an Olds emblem and superficial bodywork changes. Had GM given the oldest American car manufacturer the funding and independence it deserved, it would have still been kicking today, perhaps even replacing GMC, Cadillac, and/or Buick, who are falling down the same ladder that Oldsmobile once fell down by simply rebadging Chevrolet and making the interior slightly fancier and calling it good enough.
If I were filthy rich, like Elon rich, I would buy the intellectual rights to EVERY SINGLE MAKE AND MODEL the company ever produced, as well as the rights to both Oldsmobile and REO as companies themselves, and restart it all from the ground up. I have a good feeling Ransom E. Olds would have been made sick, seeing what GM had done to his life's work, his _namesake_ for the love of God, by the time it was dissolved in 2004.
The stag is such a tragedy. Its such a good looking and beautiful car but the engine is just such a death sentence
10:24 the Top Ground Gear Force music loo
The only V8 I owned was a Volvo 4.4 in a XC90
It had extremely good driveability and a decent rich sound. But it should be a contender, I sent two mechanics into delirium with this POS
The Volvo v8 was co developed with Yamaha, and they know a thing or two about reliability and clean sound, so yeah that’s why!👀
Damn didn't hold back on the triumph
9:39 fucking incomprehensible bmw nomenclature
FLOODS SOLO RAAAAAAHHH🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
im gonna invent the v9 in 10 minutes
the flathead was possibly one of the best V8's, stop lying
5:00 water cooled alternator…cmon GM
11:15 dean blunt!!
Dean -> dave
Am I tweaking or did the Northstar V8 part of this video have spongebob music?
wouldnt touch any older bmw engine with a 10 foot pole those things are nightmares just ask any vanos owner with above 180k miles if they are satisfied (most of them are on their second pair of engines)
I would have put the newer displacement on demand V8’s in here too because they eat camshafts and lifters. Like the 5.7 hemi or newer style 5.3 LS engines
That’s only because of emissions laws unfortunately I don’t think it’s much of an engineering error because they have to do that bs. But usually I notice almost no major issues on those engines aside from the mds and dod tbf. Plus they’re not bad engines to work on either compared to how annoying it can be to work on a 5.0 from ford. Just my opinion tho.
We must've got lucky with our northstars we loved them only had the common water pump problem that we would had to replace and that was it
1932 Ford v8: $460
1932 average annual income: $5,349
2020 cheapest v8 (ford, duh: )$38,745
2024 average annual income: $62,027
hey friend, whats the song from 13:00 onward?
This video suits my very specific type of autism, Very nice 👍
great video with good info. if you make a part two you should cover the ford 6.0 and 6.4 diesels (if they count)
surely ford would use the right amount of fucking head bolts on an engine with 16+ to 1 compression AND boost RIGHT?????
11:25 dean blunt jumpscare
Air compressor that doesn't release Air Ford bulit backwards 😭🤌 there still a great company.
At least Ford Australia made one of the best 6 cylinder’s in terms of the Barra engine
You Gotta Remember That The Ford Flatty V8 Was Supposed To Be A LOW PRICED CAR Engine For The Masses. CHEAPER To Mass Produce And EasIer To Fix. When 45 mph Was Fast Enough For All The Better Those Mostly DIRT, Windy And Hilly Roads Were At The Time. It Was NOT The High Speed Interstate Highway Era As You Seem To IMAGINE. And Long Distance Travel Was Done BY TRAIN. Aftermarket Products Took Care Of The Vapor Locking And Block Heat Problems. But Dumping More Costly Hemi And Overhead Valve Engines Into Family Cars Didn't Arrive Until The Early 1950's, The SAME Time The Flattie V8 Was Pretty Much Retired. By Then The Roads Were Getting Better Rurally, And Multi Lane Highways Were Needed For Heavier Traffic In Larger Cities...
insane schizo ranting boomer with inconsistent capitalization spotted
He LITERALLY mentioned THAT in the VIDEO
Next video "the ford 300 and the greatest Inline 6s of all time
Good idea, I’ll keep this in mind
@@SeeBasssss The AMC/Jeep straight 6 better be in there
4.0L HO 💪💪💪💪💪
My car has a 8ba flathead and I wouldn't trade it for any other engine in the world
I appreciate the floods cameo
Same
Im a massive triumph v8 fan. However.... They are absolutely terrible.
Why no HT4100? By FAR a worse motor than the Northstar.
1:27 I see you😂
👀
Oh hey, NFL Films soundtrack
The BRZ isn't underpowered, that's a skill issue.
The EJ is the best V8
5.4 triton takes that ribbon
Hit like near the start of the bud but had to un-like just to like it again at 10:20 when I heard pantera 😂
Chrysler didn’t make the list let’s gooooooooooo
I can bearly watch this kid with all those random cut in the outburst. & Lack of power cars in the mid 70s... Kid it was the early smog era get a clue out us cars lost half the power ok. 👎
Man, theres so much more to building and engine than what youtube peeps say.
10:08 FLOODS WOOOOOOOOOO
BMW has either some of the most reliable engines (M52, M57 or the B58) or N63 type shit.
B58 derived from M52 (actually M54 but the block is the same), by the way.
Gem of a bideo
N63 is a Granate designation no?
Most recognizable engine layout in history? In gringoland maybe 🤣
Cos the REST OF THEN FOCKING WORLD USES 4 CILYNDER STRAIGHT ENGINES
Look herr look listen 😂😂😂