What is the rarest or strangest, unusual engine you have owned?

Lucky for me, I’ve generally owned engines that are highly regarded. A 318 Mopar in a 1969 coronet, a VQ30 in ‘97 maxima. A 5.9L Cummins B series. A j35 Honda, etc.

Probably only two engines I’ve owned might be remotely unusual. First was the old poly head 318 I had an my 1967 Coronet. Technically being a 1967 it should have had the newer LA 318 that everyone knows, but this had one of the last “A” engine 318s. Much heavier than the later LAs (LA= lightweight A engine). It was rumored that some of these old 318 could be bored all the way to 340 bore (a whopping 0.130” overbore) if the casting was sonic checked. Cylinder head was quite different from later LA wedge heads (I think they called it a “semi hemi”. 2 bolt valve covers that always leaked.

The other was the 4gr-FSE in my 2007 is250. GDI only in 2007 and pretty small for a v6 at 2.5L. But it revved and it was smooth. And unlike most of them, mine was reliable and didn’t have major carbon problems.
 
Nothing special historically.

Though our Sienna is a 2.5 four cylinder (naturally aspirated) hybrid with 250 hp aided by two electric motors which can achieve 36 mph on 87 octane. Pretty tame concept by today’s standards. However it still kinda blows my mind sometimes.
 
I would say the VW VR6s are more unusual than most being posted here. We have 2. 2.8 12v in son's '98 GTI and a 3.6 in our Atlas. Narrow angle V6s with a single head...a sort of combo inline/v setup. My W8 is like having 2 VR6s together minus 2 cylinders on each bank. High strangeness from the Germans.
 
I had a 76 Mercury Capri with a 2.8 liter Ford Cologne engine. While not rare at all, it was unusual because the the crank and cam were meshed together with two gears and not a timing chain or belt.

My wife had a 76 Honda Accord that I rebuilt. It was a CVCC with a third valve to let in the rich mixture. The valve was the size of a person’s little finger.
 
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Well, most of my cars have been straightforward, but there are the two twin-turbo V-12s we own at the moment. Shown here in the roadster with the beauty covers removed.

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Then there is the Packard eight. Straight eight. Flathead. Roller cam. Nine main bearings. Updraft carburetor. Dual points ignition.

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I know the sparkplugs are disconnected, that’s because the plugs are in hand-tight, and I turn the engine over by hand periodically with a shot of oil in each cylinder. The Packard is in need of some engine work, so, it’s not running, but I keep the engine free by turning it over.
 
Not at all rare, strange or unusual but my three B5244S engines over 20 years of Volvo V70 ownership has elicited the loudest, oddly consistent and most "overacted" responses.

It's funny how twisted some people appear when they hear the words, "5 cylinder".
 
Not at all rare, strange or unusual but my three B5244S engines over 20 years of Volvo V70 ownership has elicited the loudest, oddly consistent and most "overacted" responses.

It's funny how twisted some people appear when they hear the words, "5 cylinder".
That is one of the most solid engines ever built.

The Achilles’ heel is the PCV system of course, but I’ve owned six cars with that engine, and three of them at the moment are over 200,000 miles, and running strong.

One of them is over 300,000 miles, and it still starts quick, idle smooth, and pulls hard when you need it to.

A really good engine.
 
If motorcycles count then my 1979 Honda cx500 v twin.
Nothing else I've owned has been unusual. Small block Chevy's, small block Oldsmobiles, two 302 Ford's, a 2.2 Cavalier, 3800 V6 and a gm ls V8.
 
The flathead V-12 in my dad's (now mine) Lincoln. The 1946-1948 Lincolns were the last American cars available with a V-12. A lot of them got replaced with V-8s, so finding one that still has the V-12 is a rare thing. I was pleased to see a '46 Lincoln at Stan Hywet a few years ago that had the original engine.
 
My dad had a 64 GTO but moved to the suburbs of NYC in 69 with 3 young boys so decided to jump on the bandwagon of buying a station wagon. He ordered a 1969 Chevy Townsman wagon with a 4 barrel 427 big block. Rare im thinking because it was a big block towed the boat with ease and he would lay rubber if mom wasn't in the car and we begged him enough
 
Not me but my father had a Ford with a 260 in it. It threw oil. I know other cars with that engine also threw oil everywhere.

I think V-6
 
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