# Best Mill **URL:** \ **Category:** General Discussion\ **Created:** [March 11, 2012, 3:38pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/best-mill/71380 "2012-03-11T15:38:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![friedo82](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/friedo82/32/981_2.png) [@friedo82](https://community.cartalk.com/u/friedo82)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 4:49pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/best-mill/71380/21 "2012-03-13T16:49:55Z")
HEMI !!! The original one. ---
**Author:** ![DfromSD](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/dfromsd/32/1669_2.png) [@DfromSD](https://community.cartalk.com/u/DfromSD)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 6:28pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/best-mill/71380/22 "2012-03-13T18:28:17Z")
My first car was a 65 Chev Impala 2dr. with a 327 that I rebuilt with my Dads help. Always will be my favorite if only for sentimental reasons! ---
**Author:** ![MikeInNH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a587f6/32.png) [@MikeInNH](https://community.cartalk.com/u/MikeInNH)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 6:36pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/best-mill/71380/23 "2012-03-13T18:36:19Z")
My dad’s Malibu with the 327…died (broken timing chain) after 340k miles. We thought about putting a new timing chain on the car…but just went and bought a new car. In 75…it wasn’t considered a classic. I wish I had that car now. Probably got crushed at the junk yard. ---
**Author:** ![mark9207](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71c47a/32.png) [@mark9207](https://community.cartalk.com/u/mark9207)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 4:04am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/best-mill/71380/24 "2012-03-14T04:04:53Z")
@Bing The list is compiled every year based on the opinions of the people testing them based on everyday driving. This would explain why the Northstar V8 kept making the list. It is a very easy engine to live with when it’s new and you don’t have to work on it or worry about longevity. Smooth, quiet, and powerful will make that list, and a good running Northstar will provide all that. As for my vote, add another tally mark to the Chevy small block V8. Cheap, versatile, plentiful, easy to work on and get parts for. Just about any “good old boy” has piles of SBC parts laying around, and anything you need is a phone call away, and you may get it for a case of beer, if you know the right people. Heck, I probably have at least half a dozen people in my cell phone contacts list I could call, and any or all of them would have several of any SBC part you could ever need, priced anywhere from “cheap” to “just ask”. For new parts, there is a huge aftermarket for making a SBC to make anywhere from 200 horsepower daily driver on up to over a thousand for an eight second stripper. ---
**Author:** ![jtsanders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c2a13f/32.png) [@jtsanders](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jtsanders)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 4:09am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/best-mill/71380/25 "2012-03-14T04:09:34Z")
I’ve got a 1998 Regal LS with the 3.8L. It has almost 140,000 miles on it and still has a lot of grunt - for a 6-cyl. We’ve had almost no problems with it, and none with the drive train. The 3.8L certainly has been a workhorse for GM in Buick, Olds, and Pontiac cars for quite some time. But it isn’t the performance engine that the SBC (SBGM?) is. ---
**Author:** ![ok4450](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ok4450](https://community.cartalk.com/u/ok4450)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 9:58pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/best-mill/71380/26 "2012-03-14T21:58:44Z")
My oldest son has a 96 Camaro with the 3.8L Buick in it and that car has about a quarter million miles on it. During one of the last services at around 225-230k miles I ran the as per usual compression check and it was still carrying 190 PSI on all cylinders. The compression was no higher that when it rolled off the assembly line originally. ---
**Author:** ![kmccune](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/kmccune/32/1237_2.png) [@kmccune](https://community.cartalk.com/u/kmccune)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 2:53pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/best-mill/71380/27 "2012-03-15T14:53:02Z")
Sure would have liked to to have had a 2wd S-10 or Sonoma,with a Gen II 3.8 in it-Kevin ---
**Author:** ![Rod-Knox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a183cd/32.png) [@Rod-Knox](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Rod-Knox)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 7:49pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/best-mill/71380/28 "2012-03-15T19:49:08Z")
The 3.8 Buick engine has proven itself to be among the greats. Several of my “seasoned” customers owned GMs with that engine and enjoyed 250,000+ miles without any problem other than the timing chain. A couple of them got .001 under rod bearings installed and went well past 300,000. ---
**Author:** ![bing](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/bing/32/4619_2.png) [@bing](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bing)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 9:20pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/best-mill/71380/29 "2012-03-15T21:20:07Z")
250K? I had 530K on my Riviera 3800 when I retired it. Engine still strong just had an unresolved stalling problem. ---
**Author:** ![kmccune](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/kmccune/32/1237_2.png) [@kmccune](https://community.cartalk.com/u/kmccune)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2012, 1:20am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/best-mill/71380/30 "2012-03-16T01:20:04Z")
I remember a guy had one of those 88s with a 3.8 get about 30 mpg on a trip-Kevin ---
**Author:** ![jtsanders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c2a13f/32.png) [@jtsanders](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jtsanders)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2012, 1:27am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/best-mill/71380/31 "2012-03-16T01:27:03Z")
My FIL says he gets about 30 MPG in his LeSabre wit the 3.8 and also got that in his 3.8L Delta 88 before the Buick. ---
**Author:** ![pleasedodgevan2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ad7895/32.png) [@pleasedodgevan2](https://community.cartalk.com/u/pleasedodgevan2)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2012, 9:34am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/best-mill/71380/32 "2012-03-16T09:34:21Z")
The best one has to be the 4.8 chevrolet and the bigger one. They put them in old vehicles with an aftermarket PCM. Good engine with parts available everywhere. It came with a factory roller cam. It don’t get a lot better than that. ---
**Author:** ![kmccune](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/kmccune/32/1237_2.png) [@kmccune](https://community.cartalk.com/u/kmccune)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2012, 2:11pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/best-mill/71380/33 "2012-03-16T14:11:42Z")
Can we actually forget the Mopar 318? Like the slant six,even in the days of inferior lubes,they were like the “Energizer Bunny”-Kevin ---
**Author:** ![OmegaMan62](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/df705f/32.png) [@OmegaMan62](https://community.cartalk.com/u/OmegaMan62)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2012, 8:47pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/best-mill/71380/34 "2012-03-17T20:47:36Z")
@pleasedodgevan2 I like to think you’re right about the 4.8 and 5.3 Chevy engines as being among the best modern V8s. My '02 Silverado has the 4.8, which has been running well so far (got it new); it’s a little early to tell about its longevity yet, since it only has 47,000 miles on it. I maintain it regularly, and the oil is still clear enough between oil changes that I can easily read the dipstick markings; for the first few weeks after an oil change, I have to hold the dipstick up in the light to make sure there’s oil on it. Anyway, the 4.8 and 5.3 engines are modified de-tuned versions of the 6.0 Corvette engine, which I guess is why they have factory roller cams. @Bing @kmccune The 3800, or 3.8 GM V6 could be quite peppy. I once had an '87 Olds Regency(98) with the 3.8, fuel injected, and it was very powerful. The gas mileage was pretty good too. As for longevity, that’s where mine fell short, despite regular maintenance; at 92,000 miles, one of the timing sprockets broke (cam sprocket I think). I was told by my mechanic, who did the maintenance on it, that the 3.8s had a lubrication problem in the top half of the engine, and that the lack of sufficient lubrication sometimes caused timing sprockets to break. The car was nearly 13 years old at the time (1999), and the mechanic said that to do the repair would be more than the car was worth (Blue Book)., because the entire top half of the engine would need to be disassembled. I sold the car “as is”, for $200, to the mechanic, who had the tools and equipment at his disposal to fix it ($200 was OK considering that the local salvage yard only offered me $100); he said he could use it as a 2nd vehicle. A couple days later, I got a good deal on an '89 Buick Regal with a 2.8 V6, and kept it for 3 years. Ironically, the Chevy 305 V8 I had in my '85 C-10 had 152,000 miles when I traded it in (on the '87 Olds), and was still going; the 305 was not known for being one of Chevy’s best, either, so I guess I got a good one. All in all, for a good V8 with the versatility to be either a workhorse or a performer, the 350 small-block is excellent, but not so much for fuel economy. Parts availability (for a 350) is great and, and it’s much less expensive to repair or soup-up than many other engines. ---
**Author:** ![bing](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/bing/32/4619_2.png) [@bing](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bing)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2012, 11:13pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/best-mill/71380/35 "2012-03-17T23:13:40Z")
Yeah, I had to replace the timing sprockets on two of my 3800’s somewhere around 250K and 300K. They had that composition gear material that just gave out. The one stalled at a stop light on me and the place I had it towed to said $1500 and it was shot. Towed it the 50 miles home and for about $100 in parts and a days work, fixed it myself and it was strong as ever. I did have a 318 back in the 70’s as did my folks. They were very good engines. Chrysler had some issues back then though. I remember a troublesome problem with stalling on a nearly new car. Turned out to be that little heat disk used to open the choke. Just not a good system. ---
**Author:** ![pleasedodgevan2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ad7895/32.png) [@pleasedodgevan2](https://community.cartalk.com/u/pleasedodgevan2)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2012, 11:38pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/best-mill/71380/36 "2012-03-17T23:38:44Z")
Sorry to miss the 413 Chrysler industrial engine. Runway sweepers (snow brooms) would run and run. Cummins diesels are laughed at when they’re compared to the old reliable 413. Good girls go to heaven but 413s go everywhere. ---
**Author:** ![kmccune](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/kmccune/32/1237_2.png) [@kmccune](https://community.cartalk.com/u/kmccune)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2012, 11:52pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/best-mill/71380/37 "2012-03-17T23:52:08Z")
I guess the mechanic cried all the way to the bank, I had a similar story.Our 2000 Focus(I think I overmaintained it)at around 117K it eat a valve,my wife was spasing about it-so I got an offer from the junkyard then the Mechanic who ran the wrecker service that towed it in showed interest in [it.so](http://it.so) he got it.Fixed the head and has ran it ever since,probaly had to replace that piston as well.Just goes to show one mans junk is another mans treasure-if we had the means and time to fix things no telling how long something would last us-Kevin PS PDV2 Brother had one in a 65 New Yorker,no complaints ---
**Author:** ![karl-sieger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c77e96/32.png) [@karl-sieger](https://community.cartalk.com/u/karl-sieger)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2012, 6:00am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/best-mill/71380/38 "2012-03-20T06:00:51Z")
My 96 Cirrus has a Mitsubishi 2.5L V-6 w/250K miles on. Leaks a lotta oil, yeah, but still humming. 30 MPG on trips. No fun replacing the rear plugs, but not near as bad as a lot of Ford engines. 100,000 mi. spark plug interval. ---
**Author:** ![Rod-Knox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a183cd/32.png) [@Rod-Knox](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Rod-Knox)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2012, 7:24am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/best-mill/71380/39 "2012-03-20T07:24:13Z")
pleasedodgecan2’s last post reminded me of a somewhat sexist truck stop joke from long, long ago. A Detroit Diesel is like a truck stop queen, they sound good from red light to red light in town but when you get out in the country they let you down. I hope I can endure the flames, ladies. ---
**Author:** ![pleasedodgevan2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ad7895/32.png) [@pleasedodgevan2](https://community.cartalk.com/u/pleasedodgevan2)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2012, 9:03am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/best-mill/71380/40 "2012-03-20T09:03:30Z")
Yup. Long ago is where I’m from. [Previous page](https://community.cartalk.com/t/best-mill/71380.md?page=1) [Next page](https://community.cartalk.com/t/best-mill/71380.md?page=3)