The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The HiPo Shop Any hotrod 292's out there???

I'm sick of trying to fix my boat anchor 235. It's getting water in the oil somehow. Pulled the head and shaved it perfectly flat, and still gets water in. There's got to be a crack somewhere.

Anyway, I like the cool vintage looks of the stovebolt engine, and many people have gotten respectable power out of them, especially the bigger cube stovebolts.

Anybody here have any 292's that are "souped up"? Can you comment on them, how they perform and how much they cost you to build up? And if you don't mind giving up a few secrets, what have you modified that made the biggest difference (i.e., where did you get the modern camshaft?)

It's got to be either a 292 or a 302 for me, if it's going to be a Stovebolt. And if I can't get one of those, I'll be making the jump over to a V8.

Thanks.

Try getting some silicon silicate it is a liquid with the consistency of molassas, that should fix the leak. Pour about a half pint in the warm motor. If that don't work then inliners.org will answer your 292 questions.

Larry

The 302s are expensive! I know, I'm almost done putting mine together. The 250 and 292s are good engines. I have never owned one, but I am impressed with the 7 main bearings. You could spin those well over 8000 rpms. For some reason the 250 seems to be the choice for all out racing.

My vote is for the 302 if available, or the 250- 292. Bummer about your 235.

John

although my 292 is far from souped up (it's still totally stock aside from headers, and a soon to be aplied new intake), i would say that a 292 is plenty of engine.

ChevyAsylum has a '64 292 with a Offy, 4bbl, and headers, and seems to do ok. i'm sure other guys have some 6's with a few bolt on power adders.

if you're going all out, you can put lump ports in the heads after removing the bolt bosses, or find a 194 head to bump compression up.

add a lumpy cam (almost every company seems to make a cam for the 250/292),

and if that doesn't suit your fancy for performance..theres always ultra lightweight and expensive pistons, or use LPG pistons for around 9.5 compression ratio.

you might want to check out www.inliners.org

totally devoted to all straight 6 engines, in case you haven't gotten over there.

there was a 230 that made 460 horse, naturally aspirated..back in the 70's, i think? pretty impressive...lol

anyway.

thats what i think.

.later days.
.sam.

There are lots of people working with the 250's and 292's... of course not as much as those that work with small block chevy's.

Inliners is the place to get all the low down on the tech.

If you want a low rpm torque monster, the 292 is a good choice. Plenty can be done to it to increase the low end torque as well. 300 ft lbs is a reasonable expectation. How much torque do you want to buy?

If you want a high rpm HP screamer, many people rebuild the 250. How much HP do you want to buy?

Jhaa-lives is right on the money, how much do you want to spend??? You can build a or buy a good small block for what you about to spend on the inline. A 302 would be a easyer bolt in then the 292 will be. The later 250 292 is a total different engine and will require different crossmembers and engine supports. The shorter stroke 250 will rev higher and quicker then the 292, but the bigger cubic engine will all ways make more power. Read the book Leo wrote and study it close, pay real close attention to the rpm range and peak hp rpm, they are extremely high for everyday driving, 6000 plus rpm!

With all that said, you probably new it any way, the inline is a cool way to go fast! A turbo 292 will make killer torque. Joe

in the old n.h.r.a. gas class there was an opel g.t. that ran a 292 with amazing success.

spears & hamilton campaigned the I gas opel many years and beat up many a v-8 in those times.

in racing for many years the choice was the v-8 for raw power, but too many have forgotten the weight savings, reliability ,and outright brute torque of the inline.

yeah inliners for sure, but also see if clifford research is still around their motto was 6=8, and they made a variety of intake/carb/header combinations.

a 292 in a boat is a great idea.

hello HRD, i just finished putting a little 230 in my 55 first series.it was bored .040" and has a better performance cam. others have said the 230,250 292s are going to be longer than the 235, but i found the 230 to fit real good lengthwise. i fabbed up some side mout brackets and a later model truck bell housing, t5 tranny, stock carb and exhaust for now.love those hydraulic lifters and quiet engine.i used the v8 throttle linkage that classic parts sells.i know that this doesn't have the same power that a 292 would have, but it goes pretty good and is an improvement all around.pictuers are coming soon. good luck.

I don't think the straight six will have any weight savings over a bent 8 engine, but in general you'll have more torque... all things being equal. Horsepower is another issue though.

The 292 has a LONG stroke (I think 4.125") which really helps the torque, but not as good an engine to try to rev at high rpm as the 230 or 250 which have shorter strokes. Anybody ever work on a 2 cylinder Deere? These things have 7"+ stroke! The tractor pullers do crazy things to get even more stroke. They only run about 800 rpm max though... but they keep pulling hard right down to 0 rpm.

ALL 216,225,235,230,248,250,261,292 motors are the same length. The 292 is 1.75'' taller, thus providing more torque.
The 302 is longer. What makes everyone think the larger displacement motors are longer is
the pulley/ harmonic damper. Some larger motors have 2 or even 3 groove pulleys.
ALL these motors will fit into any 3100, 3600 or equivlant size truck.
You may need to use a pusher or puller electric cooling fan w/ two relays to power it.
Be realistic about what you will do with this truck. Finding parts for a broken 302 is not only expensive but very difficult at best. Best to stick w/ a smaller 250, 261, 292 for bits.
Do a search on just using >> 250 or 292.
there are several of us larger liners motor users on the site. Fitting some of these motors will require different motor mounts.
you can buy dozens of sbc from ebay fit into these 3100 & 3600 trucks.
That's what makes them unique when a large liner motor is seen installed.
They are just cool
Them you have to consider a new tranny and rear end.
good luck HRD

just open your wallet and pour. :rolleyes:


Ps I have an H.R.D
http://www.motorcycledaily.com/15october02vincentmotors.html

weightwise, the 194,230,250, is 440lbs., the average sbc/iron heads and manifolds is 575lbs.,the 216 and 235 are 630 lbs. i don't have the gmc 302 weight, but i bet it is maybe a little heavier than the 235.

And then there's the GM Performance Parts 350 crate motor that starts at $1711 and makes 330 lb-ft of torque and 290 horsepower.

For that amount of money you get a 4-bolt block, powdered metal rods, and best of all, a 60 month, 100,000 mile warrantee that is recognized at any GM dealership, regardless of what it's installed in.

So open up my wallet and pour?

Well, if the 292 I intended to buy was still for sale for $200 bucks, I definitely would have rebuilt that. But since it's gone, snatched up last weekend, I'm once again searching for an engine.

I'd love a turbocharged and fuel-injected 292 engine...but in a jam, the 350 is still stronger, a hundred pounds or so lighter, and much more common, thus much cheaper.

Beware of the cheap crate motors. Even though they say GM, they are built in mexico, many with cheaper parts. It is not the same quality as the older production engines... or so I have been told. Maybe incorrect. 60 month 100K waranty is pretty impressive.

you could probably find a rebuilt 292 w/ a 1 yr and ?? warranty. about $1100.00
just google up 292 rebuilt motor.

or contact the advertisers in inliners mag and ask them what a rebuilt 292 to your specs would cost. ya gets what ya pays for and to have one to your specs would be done.

also check the rebuild shops junk yards around your area. i bought my rebuilt 292 from a j-yard w/ about 400 miles on it for $620.00 out of a rebuilt 67 chev that got rear ended.
dumb luck

my .02

inliners are cool :p

I understand that there are 292 crate motors out there $1100-1300, if I remember right.

To answer the original question here is a Hot Rod 292.

http://texastruetens.com/STAFF/ASTAFF.wmv


Larry

The down side of buying a rebuilt or "crate" 292 is that is has the standard deep-dish pistons with only about 8to1 compression. If you could find an engine to rebuild you could use the propane pistons for about the same price as originals and have at least 9to1. It would also give you the oportunity to pick your own camshaft. I just finished doing just that and and installing it in my '64 C20. We are very happy with the results but only have a few hundred miles on it. They can be made to run well. We have another 292 in our '56 2 door sedan with flat top pistons, a fair amount of cam, four barrel and headers. It is still street driven but we open the headers and drag race it a bit - mostly 1/8 mile stuff at our local track. It has run high 13 second 1/4's at just under 100mph.

I have two of the 292 engines, the "hot" one has 3 Weber sidedraft carburetors with K & N Filters, roller cam and rocker arms, ported and polished head with big valves, etc. It is really strong, the guy that had this setup on a 292 before me had almost 400 H.P. in fully streetable trim. It is not cheap, but it is rewarding to have a six that will outperform most every V-thing you will run across on the street, beside that they sound great.

Go with the inline engine. V8s are like belly buttons everyone has one. Dare to be the odd ball.

And there's good reason for that.

More bang for the buck, extremely reliable, can be very powerful for the same economy as an inline, and can be a really nice looking belly button.

I'd go with a big inch inline if I could find one.