194-216-235-261 sweet spot. 2000 rpm
Late 194-230-250-292 sweet spot 2500 rpm. All these 6 cylinder are low rpm torque engines. Many peaking torque at 2000-2500 rpm...some even as low as 1600...such as the old 194 or 216. HP is not what you want to go by...a 292 peaks horse power at 4000 rpm according to factory..so...lets say that 153( 1966 peak net power)...at 2000 rpm you are at literally half that but peak torque..so...75 hp and 260 torque...makes for a great cruising speed...and 2500 rpm means a little more power and your torque unaffected because the stock 292 cam carries its torque for a very short time. Now I'm no specialist on the older 194-216-235-261 engines, but as far as rpm torque peaks they were all very similar....my bone stock 292 with a 600 cfm edelbrock and headers will easily do 4500 rpm...but put it under load and you'll notice how much of a waste of time it is to rev it that high....out of torque, but full power. So...the sweet spot on a 6 cylinder chevy is 2500 rpm. Not matter what year or what cubic inch...they all served one cause...Low RPM torque. So i'd gear yours with a cruising speed of 2000-2500 rpm...my 292 will cruise all day at 2500 rpm...sm420 3.73 gears with a 30 inch tire is about 55-60 miles and hour. But don't put such a tall gear ratio in that your engine will be suffering to accelerate. A 235 is lucky if its making 120 hp and 190 torque. I saw a 235 in a 54 chevy making 97 hp at the wheels....and it was all stock far as I knew. So you might even consider a 261 for a little more power all around. My .02 cents. TJ
