Most Reliable Engine for swapping (Page 1 of 2)

I'm sure others will post this but the Buick V6 seems to be one of the longer lasting engines in Lemons.  A well designed engine that was developed and improved through out it's production life.  Any engine that can run at Indy  and win races in various types of pro racing just reinforces that fact.

How many engines can say that they were sold as a NA engine, a turbo version, and a supercharged version as well.

I believe the math was done years ago on the most reliable engine in Lemons was the Alfa V6.  Sample size is small but races run is large.

We are partial to the Buick 3800 as it has been (engine only) infinitely reliable in Lemons with about 18 races on our van and 6-9 iwith a supercharged and tuned in our '47 Plymouth.

Now everything else GM around the engine...mediocure, poor, abysmal, downright trash.  Transmission were our worst nightmares with wiring a close second and either ignition components or steering third...and the craptastic front brakes we replaced pretty darn quick with massively upgraded stuff (still off-the-shelf GM or Ford parts).

Obviously, it is the I6 of a BMW.
However, me thinks the best engine is the Volvo I5 with a turbo.  They are light make great power and were made for a long time, many had trans issues so good engines are plentiful in the junkyards.
However, I am not aware of many running in Lemons to know how they hold up.

i do love Alfas. V-6 or 4 Cyl.
But
the V-6 is rare. Have not been able to put my greasy paws on one , and have been looking for a while.
At least one with all its parts still attached, like the heads, sump, etc.

that is some double digit throbbing-Ford V-4 Taunus power there...

The most basic level, boat anchor, in every panther and half the f-150s spec.  So I’m stressed they never seem to die.

With a sample size of one, I am going to say Redblock. I can seem to kill it. I have blown a head gasket due to lean conditions, had a burnt valve that caused 20 psi boosting at 4500 rpm, and some of my drivers come in at the end of their shift saying the oil pressure light was blinking so they took it easier in the corners so it wouldn’t blink so much.

Does anybody have any ideas for something in the ALUMINUM block  genre?
Cast Iron, is... heavy...

Thanks!

The 1.9L Saturn engines are actually pretty reliable if you don't beat on them as badly as we do.

I don't think many (any?) people have taken the SOHC Ford Mod out of a Panther or Mustang and put it into something else. Would be curious to see how well it does. That's generally true of the Alfa V6, also. Also, the reliability of that engine sure seems contingent on it being run by ALFA PEOPLE.

GM
- The Buick 3800 is kind of the standard answer for this since there are approximately 15 million of them out there still and they make good torque without being too stressed.
- A few Lemons people swear by the 60-degree V6 family (2.8/3.1/3.4/3.9). They're also narrower and easier to fit in things.
- There's a growing contingent of GM Ecotec apologists in Lemons.
- Small-Block Chevys are a mixed bag.
- There was a Quad 4-swapped Honda CRX once. Need way more of that.
- LS/Vortec swaps - Don't do this. It's lame AF.

FORD
- The 5.0L V8 is still a pretty standard swap. It's been slightly better than the Chevy V8s.
- The handful of Duratec and Zetec swaps have run really well.
- SHO swaps are always preferred. RIP the SHOstang.
- A few have gotten Pinto swaps. Those are still a good choice for a Class C car.

CHRYSLER
- The only swap I can think of was the 4.7L V8 swapped into a 300ZX. It ran alright, possibly only because the main wrench was a lifetime Mopar tech.
- Pentastar V6 is just out there waiting for someone. 305 horsepower in an aluminum V6.

HONDA
- J-Series V6s have been alright. They seem to take a beating well.

MAZDA
- B-Series engines (in everything from Miatas to Festivas) have been some tough MoFos in and out of their original cars.

BMW
- I can't think of a ton of times any BMW engine has been put into something else. They can be finicky, don't think I'd recommend this for a lot of reasons.

SUBARU
- Usually swapped into air-cooled VWs. There have been a couple of really reliable ones and many very unreliable. Generally true of Subaru stuff.

LEXUS/TOYOTA
- The 1UZ V8 from the SC400/LS400 is maybe the best performance swap you can do for cheap. Has a tendency to kill the automatic transmissions and god help you if you need to change the starter.

A Cadillac 4.9 is an aluminum block... just sayin'...  It weighed about 90lbs more than our stock miata motor and is quite compact.  I wouldn't use this motor for anything outside of a Lemons build, but it seems to work quite well for Lemons.