350 chev or 308 twin H

Unknown

I have a 46 hudson super six coupe and long term plan on changing out the engine. I am torn between a small block 350 chev with 4 speed , or as others suggest stick with the Hudson and put in a 308 twin H. Any thought on which way to go as well as the expense and time to do it?? What is the availability and reliability with the 308?? thanks JR new guy

Unknown

308s are very reliable although the engines themselves are getting a little more difficult to find. I'm sure that there are several here on the forum that have at least blocks available.



I'm not a traditionalist necessarily but anything other than a SBC!!! They are the cookie cutter engine, mostly for reliability and availability. But, once you've seen one, you've seen the vast majority!



Welcome to the forum and the wonderful group of guys here.

[Deleted User]

nothing wrong with a 350. would have to be the most popular choice for street rods, and i would bet its reputation is why. i'm a big block fan myself. my buddy just put a 308 in his pacemaker bought about 8 blocks before he found one with a repairable crack. or maybe he bought 8 trying to find one with no crack then just decided to repair a cracked one. depends on what you are going to do. some people are car show nuts, drive to a show park and lift up hood 4 hours later close hood drive home. i used to really enjoy that now, i don't like parking so i just keep moving from show to show or drive in to drive in. and so i go with reliable and available but in big block.

[Deleted User]

I'd build a 308, or dare to be different and go with a Mopar drivetrain! No more expensive than that SBC, more creative thinking, and perfectly reliable, too! Chevy engines are fine, but you'll end up like 90% of the rods at the shows. One Chevy engine looks just like all the others. Personal preference is what it boils down to. Some folks like cornflakes for breakfast, some like beer.

[Deleted User]

Chevy small blocks have a lot going for them as far as I'm concerned, they are reliable/available/economical/dress-up and repair parts are readily available if you are on the side of the road, I once had a 308 engine in a street-rod, the water pump failed and it took me 16 days to get a replacement, had it been a sb chevy I could have gotten one at any parts store and many western auto stores

[Deleted User]

I'd go with the sbc, especially if you want late models. If you go with a later model engine for reliability and mileage, the 308 (IMPO) would never stack up. Their gas mileage will never be 24-26mpg (and I doubt anywhere near that) and all I keep reading on the other forum is how difficult it is to find modifed parts for them. Yeah, I'd like a newer Hemi 5.7, but their about $2K more than my '95 LT1 was (and I hear more of a pain on the electrical side). And I'll bet no one here is going to give me $2K so I can be different! lol



And to be honest, I don't spend all my rod run time looking at motors! I'm really interested in the rest of the cars as well (like body, interior, and suspension mods.



But if you want to be different and not drive it much, go with the 308. If you plan to put alot of miles on it (mine is to be a daily driver) than scrap that idea and go with whatever late model set up you can afford.



Jay

Unknown

Howdy

You can get dress-up parts at any AutoZone at 3am for a SBC, and about anything else that you might need mechanically. Try that with a 308!

I do like the idea of keeping a Hudson all Hudson, though. I was planning on putting together a '50 Pacemaker with a 308 from a '53, but when I figgered out the cost factor, I decided to just finish my '50 Chevy with a '69 Vette motor & trans, and sell the Hudsons to a more willing mechanic.

I still want a Hudson, but am gonna wait and find one that is running or close to it.

Billy

rambos_ride

Personally - I don't care what brand you put in...Just make it the biggest Cubic Inch Performer you can and to he#L with the gas mileage go have fun!

50C8DAN

Dare to be different use a 308! At car shows I just walk by anything with a SBC since it is just the same old same old. I like to look at the whole job not just the body and interior the engine is like the crown jewel of the work. I keep hearing the reliability and parts availability issues and there is some basic truth to that but for the most part if it leaves you on the side of the road with a need for parts you have some major issues that will take time and money to fix no matter what motor you have. Between Clifford (use their 4bbl manifold), Randy Maas's outfit, and uncommon engineering you can have a hellofva reliable and cool looking 308. It will get a lot more attention than a belly button motor! Not being a purist but would like to see new stuff at the street rod shows for a change.

[Deleted User]

You know they each have their strong points and their problems.

I like being different because I have already done the SBC, BBC, Ford,

Buick, Pontiac & Olds powered cars to death. Out of all of them none

was any more reliable than the other when properly set up but the

Chevy was way easier to find stuff for. Anymore price was within a

few hundred different once all the cost were added up.

Its all up to the owner. What do you feel safe with?

The one thing I wanted to do was something that nobody at the drag

strip would take seriously at all. Something that they would look at and

think that they had me covered without any problem.

The Hudson 308 in my 50 Pacemaker will fill that need perfectly for bracket

racing. Its different enough that none of the guys that I will race against

know anything about it at all. Its also got enough parts support to make it

competive for what I want to do.

Now my idea of a cool street rod engine would be a Chevy 348-409 stroker

with the Offy dual quad high rise intake with twin Carters. Its still a Chevy and

will give you the reliability you want but be different enough to catch people off

guard. Besides there is a ton of stuff still out there for these W-motors.

Got the major parts of one in the mini barn if anybody is interested.....

later,

PaceRacer50

50C8DAN

Early last year in one of the Rod & Custom magazines there was a writeup on a 51 Kaiser Covertible. Kaiser didn't make convertibles until '53 but this guy had taken a '51 4 dr and made one (2 door). Looked great, nice work and what did he power it with. I assumed as I was reading it was a SBC job, but no this guy did a Kaiser (Continental) with a blower. Nice work and it got my attention. This guy has not aspirations of drag racing or going fast just a nice ride and unique. I think it would be great to use a Hudson, Packard, or even Buick inline for a streetrod project, would grab the attention!

[Deleted User]

How about a modern powertrain? The V-6 in my Cadillac has 255 hp, a great exhaust note, and the 5 speed auto is super smooth.

[Deleted User]

A Caddy Northstar engine makes a super rod powerplant!!! There are a couple of sweet cars here in OKC that are Cad powered, one is a '34 Plymouth couple and the other is a '36 Ford PU, both Northstars. Neat stuff!

50C8DAN

Now we are talking out of the box! Northstar is a great choice.

50C8DAN

I was just going to mention the new 4.2L DOHC I6. We have one in my wife's Buick Rainier and so far it is a sweet running engine, 291hp and plenty of pep. Not sure if anyone is doing any aftermarket stuff with it yet or not.

Unknown

Since you're asking for people's 2cents worth of input.....here's mine. First, decide what you're going to do with the car when it's finished, and how much of the work can you do yourself. Are you building this car to sell, or to keep? If you have to farm-out some of the work, what kinds of knowledgable people do you have lined-up.If you ask yourself enough questions along these lines, you'll find "YOU'RE" best answer. What works in your situation may be different in someone else's. Me? I went the SBC route, with tons of other modifications, but that's just what worked for me.

Unknown

Howdy

One idea that I was looking at for the '50 Pacemaker, was a wrecked in the rear '91 Eldorado. I was gonna use the entire front clip, enabeling the use of the front wheel drive, power steering, brakes etc, and still have an engine that looks ahead instead of sideways. You could use the Caddy rear axle, too. I figgered that would be sorta unique.

Billy

Unknown

Wow. There's a lot of good responses, here. wKitchens hit it good when he said: Ask yourself what you're going to do with the car. Keep or Sell? Cruise or drive like a bat out of hell? Our '52 Hornet has the 308 w/ the Twin-H and will continue to have it until I die . . . but that's what I bought it for: it's originality. Gas mileage sucks. Well, let me be more specific, it SUCKS!! When it was new, it got 11 mpg. Gets about 10 now, but I didn't buy it for it's great gas mileage and it's not a daily driver. It's going to be a once-in-a-while, on the weekend cruiser. You know, go to HET meets and sometimes week-end cruise-ins or just running down to the ice house for a coke and to chat with whoever walks up. And, as fast as it was in it's day, it's no match for today's horsepower . . . but that 's why I have a 383 sbc (bored out 350) in our '32 Ford Convertible. I wanted a hot rod to burn up the roads and the 450hp/455 lbs torque that the 350 puts out will flat out run circles around the 308, no matter what you do with it. I really wanted a "Ford in a Ford", but just being able to say that I had a Ford in a Ford would've cost 40-50% more, which was just not an option at the time. So, in essence, the Hornet is our cruiser and the '32 is our hot rod.



In the end, just ask yourself: what do I want to do with this car? What do I want the car to do for me? Answers to these questions will help you decide which way to go.



Russell

Unknown

MOPAR BABY, not a just a run of the mill SBC but just as much it not more power, affordable and different. 5.7 hemi are just as affordable but different than a SBC. SBC are just belly button , yawn, wannabe, borrrrriiiiing!!!!

Unknown

This is a good thread and there are a lot of ideas to kick around. I have a 49 coupe and up until today I honestly didn't know what I was going to do. But today I found a sweet low mileage running small block 400 engine complete with 4 bbl, chrome goodies on it and purrs nice. I got it for a very good price and will put a 400 turbo tranny behind it and a granada rear end. This car is going to be a street rod done in the old school look. I was torn between putting in a 308 twin h which I have , or something more modern and decided to stay with reliability as it is going to be driven..a lot. I have an old 315 super red ram v8 out of a 56 dodge custom royal that I thought about using complete with the push button automatic but again was concerned with availability of parts. It would be an attention grabber tho I think. So the conclusion that I decided to do was the 400 in the 49 coupe and maybe some day rebuild the 308 and put it in my 54 wasp, that way I have the best of both worlds. I can park them side by each at a show and have lots to talk about.

[Deleted User]

hemiEssex wrote:

MOPAR BABY, not a just a run of the mill SBC but just as much it not more power, affordable and different. 5.7 hemi are just as affordable but different than a SBC. SBC are just belly button , yawn, wannabe, borrrrriiiiing!!!!

Where are you buying those 5.7's? Everywhere I looked and priced them they were about $2K more for engine/tranny set up than a Chevy. And they have less availability for aftermarket electronics. Granted, I would like one, but I didn't find them as affordable as a SBC.



But if you got the cash.......I'd go the 5.7 hemi route! How's your '28 coming? Any new pics?



Jay

[Deleted User]

the good old 454 chev gets my 37 chev to 12.2 on 1/4 mile at 109 mph i love it drives just nice when not at strip

Unknown

I've got a '40 Hudson 2dr sedan that I built for my wife. It has a 308 with a 4bbl, headers, and a larger than 7x cam. I made an adapter and put a 700r behind it. Rear end is a 9" Ford with 373 gears. It will run all day long at 70 mph plus. If we keep it at 65, it gets 21 mpg.

faustmb

This sounds encouraging to me...

springspeeddemon wrote:

I've got a '40 Hudson 2dr sedan that I built for my wife. It has a 308 with a 4bbl, headers, and a larger than 7x cam. I made an adapter and put a 700r behind it. Rear end is a 9" Ford with 373 gears. It will run all day long at 70 mph plus. If we keep it at 65, it gets 21 mpg.

This is along the lines of what I have in mind for for my '50 Pacemaker, but that's just me. If a wanted a Chevy, I would have a Chevy. It's not that I'm a purist, but I figure that my car has the original 232 in it and has never even had the pan dropped. It runs strong still, so how bad can it be? The Hudson engines seem pretty solid, and these aftermarket parts are available. Although I plan to drive the car plenty, it will not be a daily driver.



My $.02



Matt