3. CAT 3406E

Why We Like It: It’s good to be The King! It is amazing how many people bleed yellow and rightfully so in most cases. There have been some catastrophic failures in the Caterpillar line of engines; the 3406E is not one of them. The CAT 3406 comes in the A,B,C and E models and then evolved into the CAT C15 then CAT C15 Acert engine. This was a very successful engine for CAT as it was really the first evolved electronic engine that was done right.

2. Cummins 855 Big Cam

Why We Love It: How could you not immediately fall in love with this engine from the name alone? Kind of rolls off the tongue eh?! The Cummins 855 Big Cam was the last real mechanical variable timing engine mass produced by Cummins in the 1976. The Big Cam replaced the small cam 855 and was the first engine by Cummins to meet the Clean Air Act and noise regulations of that time. There were four generations of the Cummins Big Cam 855 engines, last produced in 1985 and was replaced by the N14. We love the 855 Big Cam because of the raw horsepower it puts out as well as its reliability. You can easily run a Cummins 855 Big Cam 700,000 miles before an overhaul.

1. Detroit Diesel Series 60

Why We Love It: Hands down the Detroit Diesel Series 60 is the best diesel engine ever produced for the class 8 world. Fun fact of the day: the Detroit Diesel Series 60 was mostly developed by John Deere although how much of an influence Deere had is debatable.