Tell us: “Horrible engines” that really aren’t that horrible

Is this a thinly-veiled attempt to discover ideas for uncommon engine swaps? Perhaps.

Colin Wood said:

Is this a thinly-veiled attempt to discover ideas for uncommon engine swaps? Perhaps.

Either way, I approve.  Paddle on, Colin

Pretty much any diesel gets a rep worse than it actually is.  That's good for me because it keeps them from being more expensive than they already are.

Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:

Pretty much any diesel gets a rep worse than it actually is.  That's good for me because it keeps them from being more expensive than they already are.

I will fight to the death to keep the OM642's reputation as low as possible.

Maybe it's only because mine have been the 2v versions, but I hear a lot of dissatisfaction with the Triton motors.  They've been awesome for me, though.

200-250ci Ford I6

Braze/TIG some injector bungs on the integral intake, throw boost at it, grin.

Iron Duke. Horribly slow, yes, but reliable.

I've always wondered about the Oldmobile Aurora 4.0L V8. Apparently it was used as a basis for an Indy Car engine or something? Related to the Northstar?

Off to google.

EDIT: Wiki sez

The Aurora came standard with Oldsmobile's 4.0 L (244 cu in) L47 V8 engine, a DOHC engine based on Cadillac's 4.6 L Northstar V8. The Northstar engine and 4T80-E had been exclusive to Cadillac prior to the Aurora. The L47 put out 250 hp (186 kW) at 5600 rpm and 260 lb⋅ft (353 N⋅m) torque at 4400 rpm.[7] The Aurora used a four-speed automatic transmission with driver selectable "normal" and "power" shift modes. A highly modified 650 hp (485 kW) version of this engine was used by General Motors racing division initially for Indy Racing League and IMSA competition starting in 1995 with the GM-supported Aurora GTS-1 racing program, then was later used in the Cadillac Northstar LMP program in 2000. Both engines retained the 4.0 L capacity, but the Northstar LMP version was twin-turbocharged.[8]

Apparently it was also used in the Shelby Series 1 car.

I'm assuming it's not easy to adapt to RWD or something. Also plenty of engines that are great in factory form,  but lack aftermarket support or require lots of parts to be turned up much which kills it's popularity before it can get started. If you have an engine that makes 250hp stock, and has the head flow and bottom end to support 600hp but the bean counters gave it pencil thin rods then it's not going to become huge. Or even just saddling the engines with a non-enthusiast platform to begin with. Like the Nelsons and the Atlas engines, overlooked because of it's size/oil pan and Trailblazer surroundings, among others.

The Porsche M96. Do the IMS once and actually ring it out and it will last forever.  Same thing with Mazda rotaries, if you actually drive it like it's meant to they last. If you let it sit all the time and baby it, they break. 

Moral of the story is buy high mileage sports cars. 

I'm attempting to swap a mildly popular FWD motor into a RWD platform.
Honda L15B7 into a Spitfire/GT6.

Light, compact, powerful, plentiful, and loads of aftermarket stuff to X2 the stock HP.

Not really a 'Horrible Engine' when used in Civics and such, but as a RWD swap candidate, has drawbacks.

No RWD transmission, the closest I found was a bellhousing used to convert to a
propeller belt drive for use on light aircraft, which even if I found one, would still need
an adaptor to the transmission itself.
And what to do about standalone engine management?

But I figured out how to fit a Getrag gearbox from a BMW 323i with an adaptor ring.
And there are Hondata boxes that can run the motor standalone, as in the aero application.
See this link:  Viking 195 Turbo Engine — Viking & Valkyrie Power (vikingaircraftengines.com)

I'll admit to have been eying the Toyota GR16 3 cylinder motor, but good luck finding one of those.
(bring the BIG wallet)

In reply to Javelin :

If what we learned from our Porsche Boxster S project car, fixing the IMS issue isn't nearly as scary as many would make it out to be.