Can it really split an engine block?

[Franco2shoot]

My 2 cents... my son and I shot up some disk brakes recently. .308's and 7.62x54r go clean through spraying out chunks of metal on the back side. I would think a .308 would go right through the exhaust manifold, or enter an engine block, but doubt the "split the block" claim.

KKKKFL

 

[45Frank]

Myth buster already did an episode on this from engine blocks to shooting through car doors and such. You may want to research it they used all types of handguns, rifles and slugs. Seen it a while back.

Unread Today, 12:39 AM #6
BCRider
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Join Date: November 15, 2008
Location: Pacific North"Wet" Coast of Canada
Posts: 1,351

Let's keep in mind that the original reputation came from the 30's when the cars were all inline 4's or 6's or 8's for the most part. Think Model A and the equivalents.

I'm REALLY starting to see a Mythbuster's episode here....
__________________
Witty saying to be plagarized shorty.....

 

[ranger335v]

"..if the area it hits is thin enough could even bust out a chunk and let out the oil or coolant."

And that's the truth. The "rest of the story" is BS.

 

[351 WINCHESTER]

I shot the bed of my brother in law's 65 chevy truck with my .45 years ago. The bullet passed thru one side of the bed and was stopped by the other side of the bed. We recovered the bullet.

 

[WardenWolf]

I always heard that it would "crack" an engine block. Not split it. And that is quite true. A .357 will definitely crack a block and ruin the engine.

 

[Sniper X]

Well, a bowling ball is far more resilient than a engine block because the cast iron of a motor is brittle, thinner by far, and rigid, where the bowling ball is thick, plastic and "gives" so it would tend to flex when a bullet hits it. I still think there is no way a .357mag or .44mag will penetrate a motor especially after penetrating a fender, fender liner, and anything in the way for it on it's way into the engine bay. It wold have to go thru all of this to get to the engine block so my say is no way and this is and always has been a myth. On the other hand, I do think that if there was just a motor sitting on an engine stand there is a good chance that depending on where you hit the motor it may penetrate enough to leak oil or coolant.

 

[the-ghost]

It is not necessary to destroy an engine block in order to disable the car. All one has to do is put a hole in the block and the engine will soon heat up and seize. There was a special armor piercing truncated cone .357 bullet that was designed to bust engine blocks: That round was manufactured until about 1960 or so.

Nearly any current .357 round will knock a hole in a modern car engine block. In the 1960s car engine blocks got much ligher due to thin casting technology. Most modern car engine blocks are very thin-3/16" inch or less between the freeze plugs.

thats true, the coast guard uses .50 bmg to stop smugglers in the gulf of mexico. .50 to the engine stops em pretty good.

 

[MachIVshooter]

thats true, the coast guard uses .50 bmg to stop smugglers in the gulf of mexico. .50 to the engine stops em pretty good.

The outboard motors on a go-fast have very little in common with an automobile engine. They're also shooting from above, through only a thin fiberglass or polycarbonate cover, and using a machinegun.

 

[mljdeckard]

Probably with AP or API ammo as well. They also have as many shots as they need to take. Just because they are disabling the engine doesn't mean they are cracking the block.

 

[Dr.Rob]

Only thing that would RELIABLY stop a speeding car of that era (good guy or bad guy) was the BAR, that's why Barrow and Hamer BOTH used them.

Cast iron blocks in good repair are hard to come by to test this teory.

 

[MachIVshooter]

Cast iron blocks in good repair are hard to come by to test this teory.

We've got a bunch that are good for nothing else. They're all stamped with that icky blue oval or silly bowtie

 

[WardenWolf]

A 12 gauge shotgun slug will also quite readily stop a car. Some of our soldiers in Iraq use them for just that purpose. Granted, very few things can stand up to a slug.

 

[LEVRLOVR]

It's the DRIVER of the car you want to be splitting, not the engine block.

 

[Sniper X]

Levr, that isn't the point at all. We all know that!

 

[LEVRLOVR]

I'm laughing pretty hard Sniper, I just couldn't resist posting that.

If you are anywhere near Querque there are plenty of old stolen and abandoned rides a little east of Rio Rancho on the Mesa to test all sorts of rounds on.

 

[RonBernert]

Here's my experience: .357, .38, .45 and MANY other calibers shot at an old pickup a couple of years ago.. Engine was left in the car, we were shooting at it from 25-30 yards, minimum of 1000 rounds that day. Engine block had many hits, not a crack or major flaw was noticed. The only time it started to leak water was when a freeze plug was hit. That's it. Good old Chevrolet 350, 2 bolt mains, cast iron manifolds (which were fine) and an aluminum intake (which had damage). I know the block was hit many many times, due to the lead "splatter" all over the engine compartment. We shot all kinds of ammo, not just wadcutters. Most had a jacket.

 

[fluffi]

Lots of tangents.a 357 or 44 will not split a cast iron engine block, nor kill the guy on the other side.assuming normal ammunition.i have shot an old tractor in the engine block with varios firearms.the only thing i had that stood a chance was a 223 with fmjs,but this to is a tangent.my 2 cents.