Anti-stance wrote: Aircooled people call them wide fives just like old Ford guys do with Ford wide fives. Edit: also, I don't think those are stock VW wide fives because of the slots.
If I remember correctly they are early Porsche
Anti-stance wrote: Aircooled people call them wide fives just like old Ford guys do with Ford wide fives. Edit: also, I don't think those are stock VW wide fives because of the slots.
If I remember correctly they are early Porsche
I'm kind of partial to this one at the moment.
Supercharged 3.8L Ford. 210hp, 300 lb/ft torque in stock trim and it came from the factory with a 5 speed behind it. It hauls a 3600# car quite nicely. In a 2000# car it would be 
Then again this one hasn't blown a head gasket yet. 
Interesting to see all the love for the GM 3.8. I didn't lnow those engines were so popular. Wasn't there just a thread where people were saying how 90 degree V-6s suck?
Toyman01 wrote: Then again this one hasn't blown a head gasket yet.
Balderdash, there's coolant everywhere!
kreb wrote: Interesting to see all the love for the GM 3.8. I didn't lnow those engines were so popular. Wasn't there just a thread where people were saying how 90 degree V-6s suck?
Ever heard of the Grand National? That 3.8 turned sideways is the 3800. So you have tons of N/S or E/W options and plenty of factory boost parts including turbocharged and supercharged mills. Damn things are nearly bulletproof. It was originally developed by Buick as basically the V6 version of the aluminum V8 (that later became the Rover motor), AMC owned it for a bit, and it was named one of the 10 best engines of the 20th century.
Fun fact, the n/a 3800 Series II in Mrs. Javelin's Grand Prix makes 205HP/235TQ stone stock and only weighs 22Lbs more than the DOHC GM High Feature V6, despite being all iron. Slap some aftermarket alloy heads on, bigger cam, and stand back!
Another vote for the 3.8 or aka 3800.
Tons available used cheap in Buick, Olds, Chevy, and Pontiac models.
Aftermarket see:
intense-racing.com 3800performance.com thrashercharged.com
OK, you said V6, so this one technically doesn't count, but my favorite 6 cylinder by far is the Subaru 3.3L. NA 230 hp 24V 6-cylinder horizontally-opposed boxer with 10.0:1 compression. Aluminum block and heads, DOHC and hydraulic valve lash adjusters. Forged internals, non-interference.
Cheap.
Will bolt to any Subie trans, including the 6-speed from the STI.
Easily handles twin turbos or supercharger on stock internals.
Only disadvantage is the boxer engine is wide. It won't fit between many frame rails.
Since I own one I have to throw my lot in with the Cyclone 3.7L if OP is looking for something modern and lightweight. All aluminum block means it should be nice and light. The upper limit for a supercharged 3.7L appears to be 650hp (then the pistons go bye-bye, see bottom of page 9 and top of page 10 for photo carnage), so unless you're building something especially nutty then it should handle whatever you can throw at it.
Plus, they are (relatively) cheap for a new engine design. The OP paid $1700 for a new short-block from Ford, and junkyard engines seem to be in the $1400-2000 range. Not cheap by GRM standards, but much cheaper than the $6-7K asking price for a EcoBoost or Coyote V-8, new AND used.
Never liked the sound of the GM V6 myself.
I've played the "...what engine?" game with my imaginary Stratos build. And I keep wondering about the engine from the NSX.
Keith Tanner wrote: Never liked the sound of the GM V6 myself.
The early ones were odd-fire and they all have funny cranks, rods, and firing orders. That's why Buick hung turbos off of them. 
The odd-fire thing was long gone before that engine saw a turbocharger.
The only thing I don't like about the 3800 is the sound. Very raspy, nasty sounding thing. Love everything else about it.
Mine was I believe 260hp,280ftlbs bone stock.
Javelin wrote: Ever heard of the Grand National? That 3.8 turned sideways is the 3800.
Oh, no. The 3800 and the 3.8 have almost nothing in common, except maybe timing cover gaskets and stuff like that. Maybe the head gaskets interchange, but the heads are different, and for the Series II the deck height is different, the bellhousing is different, even the port order is different IIRC.
This isn't a bad thing. The old 3.8 was 60's technology. The 3800 (Series II on) is like a proto-LS1 minus two cylinders. Deep block with cross bolted mains, much better sealing technology, rear cover plate for crankcase airflow purposes, etc.
As much as 90 degree V6s suck, their crankshafts don't look half as weird as 60 degree V6 cranks.
93EXCivic wrote: Alfa V6 for me cause they sound better then any of the other engines mentioned so far.
This.
Although all the love for the GM V-6 is interesting. Off to Wikipedia....
Keith Tanner wrote: Never liked the sound of the GM V6 myself.
GM V6s in front-drive form always sounded weird because of the exhaust layout that GM used. Because of GM transmission architecture not really allowing anything to go underneath it, the simplest way to do an exhaust was to have the left bank route over the top of the transmission and then dump into the right bank's manifold, which had a separate, single outlet. So a log manifold dumping into another manifold, which then had an exit in the middle.
The worst thing? I've only ever seen one NSX in real life, and it sounded exactly like some Xbox-playing fratbro's 3.1 Grand Prix with a rusted out muffler. I am assuming that it had a crappy aftermarket exhaust, since magazines would have ripped Honda a new one for making a car that sounded that bad.
Knurled wrote: The worst thing? I've only ever seen one NSX in real life
I passed one in the wild yesterday.
I see NSXs frequently, and they sound awesome. Occasionally, I come across one with a stock exhaust. Its pretty quiet. Kinda reminds me of my S2000 with a stock exhaust - it sounds like a damn Honda Odyssey.
...which has a pretty good v6.
It IS a pretty good V6. Honda put a lot of them in Odysseys, Accords, Acura something-or-others, and Saturn VUEs. Zillions of them.
Yes, people found a way to put them in EG Civics.
2GR rules.
http://youtu.be/jtMchLfN340
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-1f4SLilSs&feature=share&list=UL5-1f4SLilSs
VQ(30, 35, 37, 40, brian crower makes a 41)
http://www.cartuning.ca/products/product.php?model=grandprix&engine=l36
My vote is for the duratec or cyclone V6.
Duratec sounds great opened up http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWJpM03-tak
93EXCivic wrote: Alfa V6 for me cause they sound better then any of the other engines mentioned so far.
Amen!!
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