Inline 6

[valnzula]

Hello All
Who is running a inline 6? I have a 292, what can I do to it besides put in a V8?

Thanks

[mmiddle]

Those old 6 bangers will run for ever! and ever!
Some parts are still availible to dress them up. Most every part should still be widely availible for them.
Some members here might have some old parts laying around they would like to git rid of.
The first think I would do is get an HEI from a mid 70s truck.

[Daubs]

Had a 250 six cylinder and three-on-the-tree in my first truck, a 71 C-20 (had in high school). Valve broke off in cylinder #2 and bombed the engine. Piston blew up, crank punched hole through wall...total disaster. Dad found an identical engine out of 71 Nova for $50...we dropped in that truck and my brother drove for another three years before i slapped on some paint and sold it.

Was a good truck, but always vastly underpowered. Now that I'm driving the K-20 with 350 V8 there is no way I'd ever go back to the 6 cyl.

Take care, D.

[Daner]

Oh, depends.

On how good your manners are and how big your, uh... pocketbook is.

Ok star wars quotes aside it helps to know what your goals are.

I've heard it's cheaper to go the 350 route.

The big thing is get the head gone over basically eliminating restrictions. Make it breath then feed it. HEI is a good start.

[Stocker]

Maybe start here: http://www.cliffordperformance.net/

They've been around a long time, wringing performance out of inline sixes.

[GRX]

Running a 250 here. All original drive train - carb to rear. Nearly a ton of rocks = no problem

The straight 6 is a very good design. Sadly their length meant they fell out of favor in the early 80's when auto makers started making cars short up front for sideways engines and FWD.

Clifford Performance is a good place to start with the 292. Look up Leo Santucci too.

>> http://www.customdesignperformance.com/leo/leo.html

Note the aluminum SBC heads welded together.

[chvtrkman]

Okay,I'm a little late but I'll throw in my 2 cents...eventually I would like to have a truck with a 350 built up,but not too radical..just a nice healthy street engine..Something that would make a good weekend cruiser.
However,the '69 C-20 I have owned for 16 yrs has a 292,and I like it. It's basically stock internally,added a 4 bbl and long tube headers a few years back.
It's a good motor as a base for building something with some decent power, but yeah, you will have to make a serious investment to get the head flowing good.
I know some guys hate 'em,the proverbial "boat anchor"...the first thing that has "got to go" when doing a custom build,but I plan on keeping mine for a while. There are enough high performance goodies available if that's the route you want to go,do some research and find what fits your budget.Check out inliners.org,and read Santucci's inline six power manual for starters.

[Superdrag67]

Not to thread hijack but i'm a newb and still learning. Can someone tell me what years came with the 250 and what came with the 292?
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[chvtrkman]

Superdrag67, I'm not sure,but I seem to recall that the 292 was available as far back as '63 or '65??..and could be ordered up til the early to mid 80s. As far as what trucks had the 250 with the 292 as an option, I don't know. Some others on here will know for certain,maybe one of them will chime in with a definite answer.

[Superdrag67]

Ah, I see. I thought they just switched to the 292 at some specific year. So you could order the 292 instead of the 250? Any way to visually tell them apart?

[Codez67Chevy]

I'm running a 292 and I love it!! 292s and the 250s are the HD-TD Heavy Duty Tall Decks. Very similar engines, the small things set them apart. 194s and the 230s are the STD-LD Standard Low Decks. All very good motors but the 292 is a very popular motor in the I6 world. It can make some good power.

[67_C-30]

Originally Posted by Superdrag67

Ah, I see. I thought they just switched to the 292 at some specific year. So you could order the 292 instead of the 250? Any way to visually tell them apart?

The quickest and easiest way to tell the difference between a 230/250 and a 292 is the height of the lifter covers on the side of the engine and the location of the fuel pump. The 292 has much taller covers and has the feul pump mounted further to rear of the block.

250


292

[franken]

I think 292 was an order.

You can stand next to a car/truck with a 6 running and if everything is right, you almost won't hear it running

I think the thing is the power and mileage of a 292 vs a 350 isn't much different.

The SBC is a great engine. That's why it's (I'd guess) the most common one in the world. Thus, parts are plentiful and cheap.

The sixes are great engines too, but less common than an SBC as time went on since we the public think WTF, a V8 isn't much more and more is better... Sixes were the engine from something like the mid twenties to the mid fifties. But car makers like to change things to make things seem new so people by new cars.

Anyway, Chevy came out w/ it's V8 in late (I think) 55 and it slowly over 25-30 years replaced the 6.

The 215/235 was in small cars, the 250 in bigger cars, and the 292 was a truck engine, not to put too fine a point on things.

So if you want, keep the 6 to be unique, or go with an SBC for more power.

People talk about 283/327/350 but (sacrilege) why not go to a 400 (or more) crank and the smallest overbore (saving metal on the block and maxing out the small bore long stroke thinking) to make X cubic inches as desired.

Or, biggest crank and an aftermarket block gets you to big block CUs...

[In The Ten Ring]

According to my dad, in 1972, they lowered the compression of the 250, made the pistons bigger, and so you have less power.

My 250 is pretty lame, but the 4:11 rather makes up for it.

Eventually, if I drive this enough (once I do get it back on the road) I'll probably have to go to a higher geared rear end and maybe a 4 speed instead of the 3 on the tree it has now.

[Warrens69GMC]

Originally Posted by GRX

Running a 250 here. All original drive train - carb to rear. Nearly a ton of rocks = no problem

The straight 6 is a very good design. Sadly their length meant they fell out of favor in the early 80's when auto makers started making cars short up front for sideways engines and FWD.

Brazil ran the chevy inline six (4.1, 250ci) in the Silverado until 2001. So a FI 4.1L could be a reality to import if you so desired.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrol...aight-6_engine

[mknittle]

lots of cool stuff here.
http://12bolt.com/

[mknittle]

and

[gale]

Originally Posted by franken

I think 292 was an order.

You can stand next to a car/truck with a 6 running and if everything is right, you almost won't hear it running

I think the thing is the power and mileage of a 292 vs a 350 isn't much different.

The SBC is a great engine. That's why it's (I'd guess) the most common one in the world. Thus, parts are plentiful and cheap.

The sixes are great engines too, but less common than an SBC as time went on since we the public think WTF, a V8 isn't much more and more is better... Sixes were the engine from something like the mid twenties to the mid fifties. But car makers like to change things to make things seem new so people by new cars.

Anyway, Chevy came out w/ it's V8 in late (I think) 55 and it slowly over 25-30 years replaced the 6.

The 215/235 was in small cars, the 250 in bigger cars, and the 292 was a truck engine, not to put too fine a point on things.

So if you want, keep the 6 to be unique, or go with an SBC for more power.

People talk about 283/327/350 but (sacrilege) why not go to a 400 (or more) crank and the smallest overbore (saving metal on the block and maxing out the small bore long stroke thinking) to make X cubic inches as desired.

Or, biggest crank and an aftermarket block gets you to big block CUs...

The first Chevrolet V8 was a 265 in 1955. Even a Corvette in '53 and '54 had an inline 6.

I like my 292. At some point I may spring for HEI, dual carbs, and headers but maybe not.

[PanelDeland]

The inline is a great engine.They are not a cheap engine.To rebuild and hop one up will cost more than to rebuild and install a 350.That said,I'm keeping mine,I've seen a bellybutton(350 are like belly buttons,everyone has one).The power is down low so an OD transmission is very helpful.The 6 cyl. doesn't rev like a Small block and so needs better gearing to perform as well,over the range of conditions we expect a newer vehicle to.

[GRX]

Over the years I have worked with everything from tiny 2-strokes to industrial v16's. Always had a certain admiration for the inline 6 design. You hear so many stories of them lasting forever because they have a few distinct advantages over the v8. Not the least of which is their smooth operation & superior mechanical balance. Torsional and rotational forces cancel each other out better in an i6. No need for a counter-balance shaft as with the inline 4. With our typical cross-plane v8 the power strokes are indexed 180 degrees apart on the crank. As opposed to the i6 where the power strokes overlap better at 120 degrees. Not only that, these so called "third generation" Chevy i6 have 7 main saddles so each piston/rod assembly has it's own dedicated rod journal. Whereas the v8 crank journals share two causing more contradicting forces and harmonics within the assembly. Yet the i6 have the length disadvantage so they fell out of favor in cars, sadly.

[Stocker]

Originally Posted by GRX

Always had a certain admiration for the inline 6 design........ they have a few distinct advantages over the v8. Not the least of which is their smooth operation & superior mechanical balance. Torsional and rotational forces cancel each other out better in an i6.

When I was a kid (in the Sixties) I saw a service station owner do a tuneup on a Rambler with a straight six. When he was done, with the engine idling, he balanced a nickel on edge on top of the valve cover. I never cared much for Ramblers but I still remember that nickel.

[mknittle]

I agree about the bellybutton motors. I like the small blocks but go to a car show and that is all you see. with good reason but they start to look the same after a while.

[trac209]

My truck came with a 292 I yanked because it was tired out after 40 plus years. I'll redo it and reinstall one day when I'm done making power and noise and I just wanna cruise around in peace lol
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[Hubscrub]

inlines 6 will always have a place in me, they are great engines run like sewing machines. I agree that I get tired of looking at small blocks at shows etc. even an LS I won't even stop for I think there so ugly, but a 6 I will stop and linger awhile. Everyone seem to want to junk them I pulled mine and what a mistake, I told my wife just tonight that if I had to do over I would have left my 71 a 6cyl, 3on tree long bed instead of now a 350 700r4 swb

[Red Tractors]

I'm saving the I-6 out of my old nova for a future truck. I'm thinking a LWB '68 in flat black primer. And real low..