292 swap?

[sethv]

Hey guys. For those who might of read my 350 build thread, it was failed and I got rid of the motor.

I'm thinking about putting a 292 in my truck. Found a junkyard one for $350. I love inline 6's and I think it would be cool. My buddy's Cherokee turned me onto inline's lol.

What kinda mileage should I expect? And how about driving on the highway? I have 3.42 gears and 245/75/16's.

Also, I know I'll be losing some power.

Would my flywheel from the 350 bolt to the 292? What about accessories? Will I need the 292 alternator and PS pump? Or will my 350 stuff work?

Thanks guys.

[Edahall]

Originally Posted by sethv

Also, I know I'll be losing some power.

You'll be losing a tremendous amount of power. Here are the specs for a 292
115 hp @ 3400 rpm and 215 lb. ft. @ 1600 rpm

If you really want a good inline 6, I recommend installing a Cummins 6BT. They get excellent fuel economy and have excellent low rpm torque.

[rwhit57]

I'm a fan of inlines. The 292 was built for torque and if I remember right they don't get good gas mileage at all. I prefer the 250, with a couple of mods it can run good and get decent mileage. The 250 is probably easier to get parts for also. JMO

[Inline Fury]

Originally Posted by Edahall

You'll be losing a tremendous amount of power. Here are the specs for a 292
115 hp @ 3400 rpm and 215 lb. ft. @ 1600 rpm

If you really want a good inline 6, I recommend installing a Cummins 6BT. They get excellent fuel economy and have excellent low rpm torque.

But those specs are for a 1988 chevrolet 292. GM changed quite abit on that engine by 1988. Keep in mind that GM changed the pistons in the 292 from 8.2-1 to 7.6-1 for emissions. The old style pistons had a D-shaped dish and the smog pistons had a full dish, because the quench area on the D-shaped pistons created a lot of HC emissions. The "old" 292s had 153hp @ 3600rpm and 255ft-lb @ 2000rpm. That is NET ratings. Gross ratings are 170hp @ 4000rpm and 275ft-lb @ 1700rpm. So, lets compare this to a 350:


Engine Net HP Net TQ
350 165 HP @ 3800 RPM 260 Ft/lb @ 2400 RPM

292 153 HP @ 3600 RPM 255 Ft/lb @ 1700 RPM

Now the 350 being compared is a 8.5 compression 4bbl. BUT we all know the 350 has more potential for cheap.

Couldnt find a factory dyno sheet from idle for a 350 but i did for a 292. The 292 starts off at 250 ft-lb @ 800 rpm Gross and the torque doesnt drop below that until after 3200 rpm. Keep in mind that this is bone stock info. Ive seen a 292 built with a 3000-6000 rpm powerband and ive built a 350 with a 600-3000 rpm powerband. I compleatly agree with you about the cummins!

[dh81k30]

IIRC, the 350 and 292 flywheels are different. Think the one in my C20 mounts with three dowel pins and larger bolts and is heavier as well, I think. Your alternator and pump should work, but you will need the 292 specific mounting brackets to mount them. PS brackets can be a challenge to find and I think the alternator bracket is different with PS because of being relocated.
As to mileage, keep in mind that 292's were used mainly in things like school buses and delivery trucks - mileage was never a priority over reliability in heavy, abusive use. The one in my '72 C20 used to get about 11-12 mpg.

[WarBeard]

Get an inline 6 from a Cherokee and you will have tons of power and fuel injection and lots of aftermarket support.

[kwin]

I love big inline sixes! Keep in mind that it is OLD technology ... not that a 350 is a lot better...
There was one in Hot Rod a few years ago in a 1930's Chevy it was turbocharged and ran very quick, so they can make power if you like spending money.
I like different and a 292 would be different for sure!

[Edahall]

Originally Posted by motomech

Get an inline 6 from a Cherokee and you will have tons of power and fuel injection and lots of aftermarket support.

The 6 cylinder from a Cherokee was an excellent engine. I would take this engine any day over a 292. Another good 6 cylinder engine is the Ford 300 cu in 6 cylinder.

[Edahall]

My dad had a 292 in a 69 Chevy (1/2 ton 3.73 axes 2 wheel drive) that would consistently get 24 mpg on the highway. However, it was extremely underpowered. About 55 mph was as fast as you would want to go with it because it would start burning a lot of oil. He even pulled a 2500 lb trailer with it but would have to crawl up the grades at 10 mph. Anyways, he loved the mileage but hated how underpowered it was.

[sethv]

It seems like the 292 wouldn't be good in the power department, so based off what you guys said about power, I think it would be better if I just got another 350. I do a lot of running around in the woods, and I haul a lot of scrap.

[cjlinkster]

Go for it.

I like the inline 6's too. They may not have as much horsepower, but you really have to compare the torque numbers. I'll take a 292 over a 305 any day of the week.

Some c20's came from the factory with the inline 6, so it should be plenty powerful enough as a truck motor (though not as a drag truck motor).

[D13]

Don't mistake horsepower numbers for power. There are a bunch on 1-ton and 1 1/2 tons running around with 292 power.

They are not particularly fuel efficient. But they will pull like crazy.

You PS and alt will work, but the brackets to mount them are 292 specific. The PS bracketry in particular is not all that common. Be sure the motor you get has all that on it. The flywheeel comments are right on, and motor mounts may be different too. Also V-8 throttle linkages may not work (measure).

The cheapest thing is going to be another 350. The coolest thing is a 292.

[BigBlocksRule]

I hate to commit blaspheme, but here goes...
Run a Ford inline 6. Chevy never built one with a crossflow head (intake on one side, exhaust on the other), all of Chevy's have intake and exhaust on the same side of the head. That'll kill scavenging, makes headers kinda useless.
There are frame and bellhousing adapters available for this swap. Paint it Chevy orange and you'll only have 1 in 100 car guys that'll recognize it as a Ford engine.
As for the 292, it's a bit bigger than the Vortec 4.3, so it's not that much undersized.

[Inline Fury]

Originally Posted by BigBlocksRule

I hate to commit blaspheme, but here goes...
Run a Ford inline 6. Chevy never built one with a crossflow head (intake on one side, exhaust on the other), all of Chevy's have intake and exhaust on the same side of the head. That'll kill scavenging, makes headers kinda useless.
There are frame and bellhousing adapters available for this swap. Paint it Chevy orange and you'll only have 1 in 100 car guys that'll recognize it as a Ford engine.
As for the 292, it's a bit bigger than the Vortec 4.3, so it's not that much undersized.

Ford didnt have a crossflow inline in America. The ford 300 was a 12 port head, but not crossflow. A ford 300 in a Chevrolet would be obvious because the intake/exhaust on a ford is on the passenger side and Chevrolet is on the driver's side. Both are good engines.

[Shaun1162]

Don't forget that a 292 has offset motor mounts... You would have to do something different then the stock ones in your truck.

A 250 on the other hand has the same motor mount locations, just needs an adapter to take up the extra space, we have one in our race car a guy built and did it so he could run a 250 in one race, and then switch to a 350 for a different track. Pretty sure 250's have the same bolt pattern, bellhousing, flywheel, clutch, etc. in common with a 250. Also the same oil filter if that really matters haha

[beamn7]

We factory ordered our 78 C10 with a 250ci and a 3 on the tree with 3:42's and has been getting 16mpg since the day we picked it up in Michigan fresh off the line. It now has 256,000 miles on it and still runs like a top! Pulled plenty of trailers with it too. You wont get there going 100mph but you'll get there. Very reliable engine.
292 is a great motor as well but as mentioned, motor mount is offset and parts are a little harder to find. All the old UPS trucks were 292's for a long time! Most got converted to 4.3L's in the early to mid 90's. Now we build their trucks with 4.8L's, 6.0L's and a small amount got the 8.1L's. Imagine those driver's going from the 6er's to the 8's! No wonder they love their new trucks!
I say go for the inline. I love 'em and yes, different it will be. Plenty of folks have swapped to a V8 but not many have gone the route of an inline....

[johnsrob]

My wife has a 2002 Jeep Grand cherokee. I have done everything to this Jeep you can think of, I have save alot of labor cost because I do everything myself. I do mean everything under the hood.

LISTEN TO ME WHEN I SAY THIS!!! STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM JEEP INLINE SIX. BOTH MY 73 STEPSIDE AND 86 FLLETSIDE ARE DOW, I DRIVE THIS JEEP THING EVERY DAY AND IT SUCKS, GAS MILEAGE ISN'T ALL THAT BETTER.
can't wait to get back in my truck only a few weeks away

[cjlinkster]

My old 1999 Jeep Cherokee was decent on power and mpg. It used to get around 22~23 MPG on the highway. I wished that I still had it.

I also owned a 80's Ford F100 with the inline 300, it seemed to have a lot more grunt than the Jeep engine; whereas the Jeep inline seemed to have a much wider RPM range and could run anywhere from 0 to 100 MPH. The Ford engine was good up to 65 to 70 Mph, but perhaps that was due to the gearing.

[big10ratrod77]

Man I love six cylinder engines that’s the way I would go. I am building a 250 for my 79 c-10 it should have plenty of get up and go. I had .040 shaved off the head with sbc valves and a 3 angle valve grind for the head, then I had the block bored .040 over and got all new internals including a new towing cam. I am also putting an offenhouser 4bbl intake with a rockcester q-jet on top, and pacesetter headers, you can view my build thread herehttp://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=418493

A couple years back I built a 225 Plymouth slant six fir my 73 Plymouth duster and I am sure it pulls harder than any low compression v8 Plymouth had back then. This motor has plenty of power. we spent like 2 weeks porting and polishing the head, we had some huge valves installed it was a big increase over stock(I cant remember the sizes it was a long time ago) had .090 shaved off the head which put my compression at 9.5 to 1 we installed an erson cam with 270 duration and .465 lift and an offy intake with a holley 390 carb and Clifford headers, and this car pulls hard off the line it needs a little more gear ratio to be really strong but i am proud of the way it runs. And heres my extensively modified slant six btw I am kind of addicted to six cylinders

225 slant six running 01 - YouTube

[cjlinkster]

I agree. I really like the inline 6 engines too!

In addition to the Ford 300 and Jeep 4.0, we also had a 1968 mustang with the inline 6. We rebuilt the Mustangs inline 6, and it really transformed it into a nice balanced driver. Plenty of power, felt really nimble to drive. My brother's 69' Mustang with the 302 V8 always felt too heavy on the front end.

[rustyrodknocker]

I have a soft spot for most any inline six. I wish they would have stayed around long enough to get in the 400 cu in. range. A 292 is a low rpm engine in comparison to a smali block v8 this is where they get a poor rep. for fuel mileage. if you keep it in its intended rpm range their is a dramatic difference in fuel mileage. this is where it puts its power on the ground anyway. you can spin it faster to go faster but you will pay dearly. just like over winding anything else.
I just finished six years of daily transpo and many several hundred mile trips with a 292/4:56 it got great mileage for a 3/4ton truck.
at 50m.p.h. so match your gearing to your needs

[Phillip Pennartz]

What RPM range do 292s like?

[rustyrodknocker]

Originally Posted by Phillip Pennartz

What RPM range do 292s like?

see post 14

[kjc292]

Referring back to the specs given in post #2, it depends on what year the 292 is. those specs are after the California emissions which pretty much killed the 292 for americans. I have a 78 and it is perfect if you like to slowly steadily climb to the speed limit. Just purchased a 1967 292. Also needing parts for it....pulleys and pulley brackets. but those older 292's are usually where youll get the better engine overall

[Zach B]

A friend of mine actualy has a lot of power out of his 292. He changed the head on it and got an intake on it that took 3 carbs and he changed the exaughst manifold. That's an interesting engine to hot rod.
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