EK JAY wrote: have talked to quite a few old school mechanics and seems to be a recuring theme
that the 253 were abit more reliable then the 308 something to do with the lengthening of the stroke in the 308
some refenced the two like a 186 and a 202 slight power increase but less reliability
im new to the whole v8 thing but i get what they meen when they put it like that
i guess its something a bit different without being too out there
like you said Blacky people tend to go for the 308 because of the power increase
but im not after a power house i just like the sound of a v8 and if i need it enough power is there to make you smile
I wouldn't put much trust in your "old school mechanics" 253 and 308 were the same stroke!
Both engines work well in their intended application.
I just hate all the bull that goes on with the that's better or its faster or shit that's unreliable, to be honest its all bull.
You have to understand that anything mechanical has a limit of what it can do, some better than others. It my experience I have found that's its best practice to build an engine to a limit and then make sure you keep it there. There is simply no better advice than to do it right once and forget it. Some people love to spend lots on heads carbies cams exhaust and leave the bottom ends stock, just a recipe for disaster in my opinion.
I think you will do ok with any engine as long as you are not tempted to rev the ring out of them, if you want to cruise and have some decent fuel economy then the 253 will be fine. Just as a matter of interest I have a 283 Chev that I built to race with all the good gear, steel crank, eagle rods, forged pistons, roller rockers etc etc, it has 300RWHP and will rev to 7000 rpm and at this point I have had no dramas. I did however spend a lot of man hours preparing everything so it wouldn't break.
So go out and research yourself and don't let to many backyard mechanics tell you different unless they can show you the proof in the pudding so to speak.
Most of the guys on this forum have a lot of knowledge and between us all I'm sure we can help you make the right decision.
I'm sure you can get them to go well, but the 253 I owned and the 253's I've ridden in were complete dungers. The stock factory 253's struggled to keep up with the 250 F0rd 6 cylinder, and the 265 Valiant motor left it for dead.
If I were going to go to the effort of complying a car for a V8, I'd go 308
MeFB wrote:I don't know if it was just my teenage imagination (probably was), but I always felt that the 253 had a better exhaust note than a 308.
Totally agree Alan
wot179 wrote: if the sound of two thongs slapping togeather puts hardwood in your strides, then the 253 is the motor for thee
after reading alan and wayne's posts i was thinking oh my god there is actually 2 people in the world that like the sound of a 253
then craig summed it up eveybody i know refers to them as the thong slappers
you can get a reasonable sound with a single 2,1/2 exhaust
sometimes yor just better off shitting in yor hands and clapping
i havent settled on a engine yet still looking at 253 308 /chev 283 307 327 but thanks for all the advice guys nothing like experience
i guess its like why work a 138 grey motor when a stockish red will blow the rocker cover of it its all a matter of personal choice
i guess some people might like the sound of two thongs slapping together or the sound of a 3.8 v6 running on 3 cylinders im sure what ever i decide to do it will
be juusst fine
also what mick said the type of exhaust you put on a car makes all the diference
a good example is all those subaru's you here with the 5 inch exhausts what a horid sound they make
wot179 wrote:If the sound of two thongs slapping together puts hardwood in your strides, then the 253 is the motor for thee.
Yep they sound terrible with dual exhaust. Its the weird firing order that makes them sound like that.
A stock 253 is pretty restricted to be economical. If you make them breath a bit you can get them going.
A better cam and a four barrel quadrajet will sort it out.
If you got bigger l34 type heads you will need to relieve the bores a little as the inlet valve may hit.
This doesnt happen on 308s.
I just hate all the bull that goes on with the that's better or its faster or shit that's unreliable, to be honest its all bull.
You have to understand that anything mechanical has a limit of what it can do, some better than others. It my experience I have found that's its best practice to build an engine to a limit and then make sure you keep it there. There is simply no better advice than to do it right once and forget it. Some people love to spend lots on heads carbies cams exhaust and leave the bottom ends stock, just a recipe for disaster in my opinion.
I think you will do ok with any engine as long as you are not tempted to rev the ring out of them, if you want to cruise and have some decent fuel economy then the 253 will be fine. Just as a matter of interest I have a 283 Chev that I built to race with all the good gear, steel crank, eagle rods, forged pistons, roller rockers etc etc, it has 300RWHP and will rev to 7000 rpm and at this point I have had no dramas. I did however spend a lot of man hours preparing everything so it wouldn't break.
So go out and research yourself and don't let to many backyard mechanics tell you different unless they can show you the proof in the pudding so to speak.
Most of the guys on this forum have a lot of knowledge and between us all I'm sure we can help you make the right decision.
Wow that has certainly created a lot of discussion
I may as well throw my 2 cents worth in as well.
As you know I have the injected 5l in my FB and I can't fault it, I turn the key no matter how cold or hot and it starts up and drives away without any fuss (I love it!).
On the other hand my mate has a carby 307 Chev in his EK and he starts it in the morning at least 4 times while it coughs and farts until it's warm enough to drive down the road.
My opinion only but if you can stretch the finances to get the injected motor I would do it for the power, economy and no fuss.
SC00BB wrote:Wow that has certainly created a lot of discussion
I may as well throw my 2 cents worth in as well.
As you know I have the injected 5l in my FB and I can't fault it, I turn the key no matter how cold or hot and it starts up and drives away without any fuss (I love it!).
On the other hand my mate has a carby 307 Chev in his EK and he starts it in the morning at least 4 times while it coughs and farts until it's warm enough to drive down the road.
My opinion only but if you can stretch the finances to get the injected motor I would do it for the power, economy and no fuss.
Good luck with it.
I think your mate needs to sort the chock out on his carb scoob
have talked to quite a few old school mechanics and seems to be a recuring theme
