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One of the interesting quirks of the Honda K-series is that it spins “backwards”. If you try to mate one to a different transmission (or try to mate a different engine to a K-series transmission), it’s going to give you, uh, interesting results! Lots of people found out the hard way when they used their Fast & Furious inspiration to do JDM swaps :)
But thanks to aftermarket support you can get third party parts to fix any issue with the K-series, and even see people turbocharging to get them north of 1,200hp. We've got a local guy with a k-swapped Acura NSX that is an absolute monster of a car.
GM/Chevrolet are still making small-block 350 engines, they started in the 1950's https://www.gmperformancemotor.com/parts/19433032.html
GM/Chevrolet are still making small-block 350 engines, they started in the 1950's https://www.gmperformancemotor.com/parts/19433032.html
I have a feeling GM is going to keep making pushrod v8's until the eventual death of the internal combustion engine.
There have been sooooo many SBCs shat out into the world in industrial applications that even if GM stops making them someone will keep making them. You can't make a compatible single replacement because you'll break a ton of applications. You can't make a ton of different replacements because that's not economical. Only makes sense to keep making them.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The torque steer on those things is unbelievable, they are really unsafe but a lot of fun. I drove one that had 'only' 160 HP according to the owner and it was incredible. Cars like that will get you shrinkwrapped but you will be smiling...
I have a feeling it's one of those things, like owning a Capri 2.8i or one of the really old school 911 Turbos, that is better left to fantasy for me. I love the idea but I'm a pretty rubbish driver and would probably end up getting myself into trouble. ...would be fun though!
The 'worst' mini I owned was a souped up Innocenti bored out to the max, it was still fairly safe to drive but I would not let non experienced mini drivers others drive it, too many surprise factors. We drove that thing through Scotland (my eldest and me) and it was a trip to remember.
Another interesting one - that I didn't drive but the son of the owner did - was a TR with a massive Ford special products V8 shoehorned into it. If you live in eastern Canada and you're overtaken by something small and wicked fast with 'BAD TR' as the license plate, that was it. Getting in the passenger seat of that thing was an interesting experience, the engine took up half the footwell, and the clutch had so little throw that you couldn't really tell when it was depressed and when it wasn't. It certainly moved though.
A design that is both not fundamentally flawed in some way and cutting edge enough for its time to not quickly rendered obsolete the steady increase in expectations should go far longer. A design that is "ok" and cutting edge will probably go 20-30yr. A design that is behind the times, and very good (easier to not make wrong design decisions when you're not on the cutting edge) will probably do 20-30yr as well.
[1] i.e. not some specialty truck or sports car thing that could become not worth making due to a shift in market conditions for the few segments where it's applicable.
I don't think that lack of reliability is the key factor for why new motors are still being developed. Fuel efficiency or changing emission standards are two points that come to mind that drive further optimizations.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The torque steer on those things is unbelievable, they are really unsafe but a lot of fun. I drove one that had 'only' 160 HP according to the owner and it was incredible. Cars like that will get you shrinkwrapped but you will be smiling...
> Cars like that will get you shrinkwrapped… Well that's an evocative term I've not seen before, lol.
https://www.classicandsportscar.com/news/csc-features/mini-t...
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fully_Integrated_Robotised_Eng...