1963 on to late 80's?
63-67/8 made in usa
67/8 on to? made in mexico
found in 2ton ++
i've seen then turning cement mixer drums too along w/ dodge L6 spitfire motors
Offering more ride comfort and better control was a coil spring front suspension that debuted for 1963. Chevrolet introduced two new inline six-cylinder engines: a 230 c.i. base engine rated at 140 horsepower and an optional 292 c.i. version with 165 ponies. And once again the grille insert was changed on the Chevy version.
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http://www.isnare.com/?aid=365324&ca=AutomotiveStraight-six engines in the United States
Engines of this type were popular before World War II in mid-range cars. Most manufacturers started building straight-six engines when cars grew too large for the inline-four engine.
After World War II, larger cars required larger engines, and buyers of larger cars tended to prefer V8s; performance sixes such as the Hudson Hornet 308 cu in (5 L) engine were exceptions to the rule, and were not often top sellers although it became one of the hottest cars on the road and dominated stock car racing (NASCAR) in the early Fifties.[13].
After Chevrolet introduced its V8 in 1955, the straight-six became almost exclusively a base engine model pitched to economy-minded customers. Trucks (both light and heavy duty) also incorporated the straight-six until the mid-1950s, and they are still used in light trucks available today. The new wave of compact cars that started in the late 1950s provided a suitable home for straight-six designs.
Ford and General Motors straight-sixes of the 1960s and 1970s were generally nondescript, except for the unusual (for the United States) OHC Pontiac six of the late-1960s. Although the Pontiac Straight-6 engine was one of the few American straight-sixs of its era to be advertised as exceeding 100 horsepower (75 kW), it wooed few performance buyers away from V8s during the muscle car era, and was eventually discontinued in favor of a less costly but less powerful pushrod design.
American automakers found it more profitable to sell slow-speed straight-sixes as "economy" engines, and V8s as "performance" engines regardless of their horsepower potential, since big, unsophisticated, overhead valve engines were relatively cheap to manufacture, and fuel economy was not a concern prior to the 1973 oil crisis.
The trend after the fuel crises in the 1970s was towards smaller cars with better fuel economy. Despite this, straight-six engines became rare in American cars, although they continued to be used in trucks and vans. The decline of the straight-six was in response to the more compact size of the V6 layout. The straight-six required a longer engine compartment that was more appropriate to a larger car. The shorter V6 could be used in a shorter engine compartment and therefore fit better in a more compact car. It was also relatively easy to cut two cylinders off a V8 design to produce a V6 that could be manufactured on the same assembly line as the V8, which was convenient for American manufacturers.
Jeeps were an exception to the trend to V6s, and began offering AMC's 258 cu in (4.2 L), known as "High Torque," straight-sixes as a common engine option in 1972. These engines continued to receive upgrades which were advanced for their time, high-performance 4.0 L (240 cu in) option in 1987. Usage of the AMC 4.0 declined in Jeep vehicles after the Jeep Cherokee (in North America) was replaced by the Liberty in 2002, which featured Chrysler's 3.7 L (230 cu in) V6 instead. It declined further after the 2005 introduction of the third generation Jeep Grand Cherokee, which also used the 3.7 L (230 cu in) V6. The last application of the 4.0 was in the 2006 Jeep Wrangler; for 2007 the engine has been replaced with a 3.8 L (230 cu in) V6.
Ford used a straight-six in baseline Mustangs and in its other models for many decades. They were also found in F-series pickups, E-series vans, and Broncos (most notably the venerable Ford 300 inline six) until 1997 when they were replaced with a V6.
In 2001, General Motors introduced a new family of straight engines, the Atlas, for use in the Chevrolet TrailBlazer/GMC Envoy. The straight-six was chosen for development because of the desirable operating characteristics of its self-balanced design.[20]
