The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The HiPo Shop 292 or???

hey fellas, today i found a running 292 with a 4spd tranny out of a 68'pick up for $200, the guy did a v8 swap and is selling his 292.he told me it has a new gasket set,fresh paint and a new clutch.he also said it runs GREAT and only has 84k mi.i also looked at some sbc on a local ad page,283,350 etc.now i would like to keep my truck(its a 50'ad) stock appearing, well at least I6,but(here comes the regurgitated I6/v8 discussion)in your opinions do you guys think a built 292(possible turbo) would serve as well as a sbc for cruising and possible small camper towing?lets hear your opinions.

A 292 is a torque monster. About as much torque as a 350 V8 but with less HP. It would pull a small camper without a problem. My only problem with the 292 is that they suck fuel.

well i suppose fuel mileage would be nice,but it is going to be a hotrod.i know that a v8 is the easiest way to get the desired hp,my problem is i like to be different and that is why the I6(plus lots of money)for a tire burnin'cruiser.the question is how much do i spend for a cool looking 292 vs the very common sbc?

I'm not sure about cost. I'm sure somebody here could answer that question.

I would build the 292 if it were me. It sounds like a good deal for the 292 offered you.

There is a lot of after market parts for the 292 as well. And, you could rebuild the 292 to add a lot of HP + torque. I believe the 350 swap has been over done. I get tired of going to shows and almost all of the classic vehicles have 350's stuffed into them. No imagination any more. But when I see a built six, it's cool. I saw one last year with a blower. I know that's nothing new, but it was the first one I have seen in person.

I belong to the Inliners International organization which is a club dedicated to all inline engines, especially GM engines. They specialize in hot rod six building also. Between them and the people on the stovebolt you can get all the info. you need.

Yep, sixes are cool. SBCs are like belly buttons.

sixes are cool. they are not just cool but actually more servicable, in my opinion- which doesn't count for much. i bet you can build a mildly built 292 for around $2500 fron top to bottom, if you do most work yourself and look for deals on parts. i did and the parts are out there.
just figure out what you want to use it for, towing or hotrod, and what rpm range you want your peak power. no need to do it right away, if it's low milage put it in and drive it for a while.

I'm not sure why those would be the only options.

I'm tired of seeing the same motor under the hood of nearly every hot rod I see too. I tend to get more interested when I see a GMC inline than any Chevy inline or small block.

But it you're building a hot rod you have lots of choices that are not already over done.

If your truck happens to be a GMC I like a 455 Pontiac because Pontiac motors were used in GMC trucks for a while.

If your truck is a Chevy consider a big Buick, Olds or Pontiac. Or Cadillac.

Those motors are not real common, produce more torque than the 292, easily produce horsepower and are interesting.

Shoot even a big block Chevy is more interesting than a small block and will smoke tires and pull a trailer with ease. And talk about fuel consumption they can put it down faster than most anything else!

torque monster?
215 ft/lbs. about 50 less than the V8.

Net torque 255 @ 2000 rpm for 1966. Gross 275 @ 1700 rpm.

Thanks Steve, that's the info I got too. And 255 @2000 is not to bad for a straight 6! And of course, as with any engine, this can be increased.

If you REALLY want something different and super cool use the 292 and put fuel injection on it. That might even solve it's well known thirst issue. Maybe a Jeep or F^*d I-6 injection setup. OR>>>>>> get a new GM OHC straight six from a Blazer or whatever they call them now. Thats the engine I want. 290 hosses right out of the box. Now THATS COOL!

The newer 6 they use in the Blazers are a great engine. 275 ft.lbs torque stock, and around 290 HP.

I bought one for my wife a couple of years after they came out. That was a quick SUV!

The 1966 test, like everything done prior to early 1970s, was, shall we say, done under ideal conditions - not too close to what's happening under the hood.
The later figures are far more realistic.

whatever the stock #'s, it wont be stock anyway,IF i build a 292 or 261 etc,it would be a mild to moderate build with efi and some other cool stuff, i would build my tire/rear diff ratio to also maximize hp/tq. my goal would be about 250-270hp at the wheels for fun cruising and a bit of towing capabilities.maybe thats unrealistic for an I6????i know with an endless pit of money anything is possible,but i will do all work myself within my capabilities(i'm pretty handy and eager to learn)to save some jack.

yes, those sae papers did negate all of chevrolet's data prior to 1975. what you really need is a wheelborrow.
although the sae papers don't agree with me, the inline six has more low end torque per cubic inch. if that's what you want the 292 will be best choice. if you want absolute torque, well, go with a larger engine. maybe we shouldn't say the words "torque monster" in a post, so we can fly under the radar.

build the 6, lower the compression with new pistons, then turbo if that is what you want.

You shouldn't have any problems meeting your goals with a 292 and a "moderate" build. Depending on what you consider "moderate". Here's a link to inliners.org and a thread (it's long) on 292 dyno runs;

http://www.inliners.org/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showthreaded&Number=52294

The results will be available in a few months in a magazine. I don't know what magazine, but will post when I do know.

Larry

when i say moderate i mean $2500-3000.i love turbos and would love to build one again,say on a 292,but there goes the $3k budget.i'm not against a sbc or even bbc i just think i would smile and giggle more with a hot 6 that looked somewhat period correct(minus the turbo).although very cool as well, i'm not sure i would be totally happy with a 235/261.

Tyler,
see photo link below name, our 292 in a 3104 http://s67.photobucket.com/albums/h298/1951otter/?action=view&current=0035585-R1-045-21.jpg
most folks don't even know what L6 I have and do a double take for a second look. need I say more.

Okay.....Maybe instead of "torque monster" I should have said....The 292 has good torque for a straight 6.....Jeeze!!! LOL!!

Tyler, I don't think 250 to 270 HP is unrealisitic, depends on the money spent.

Check this out, a person in my Inliners club chapter set a club record in the 1/4 mile: 8.93 at 147.1 MPH with an inline. Not bad! ( I'm not sure if it was a 292 though.) Point is, if you want to cruz and pull a small trailer with an inline, not unrealisitic. Heck, people were pulling trailers and boats in the '60's with 292's every day. That's what they were made for.

i have several inliners members who have and still hold records w/ 292's
local goodguys track runnin' and bonneville

go to http://www.inliners.org/
find racing and look

Alright! A fellow Inliner!!

I went on a fall cruz with my club last September, I was driving my '60 (stock engine). I could hardly keep up with the other members, who most if not all had modified inlines.

I'm thinking of buying another truck, somewhere between a '36 to '41 1/2 ton in which I plan to build an engine. Perhaps a 292. I want to keep up!!

Just wanted to say that we used 292s on irrigation wells in the Texas Panhandle. Ran on natural gas, pumping about 500 gpm from about 280 feet 24/7 for 2-3 months straight during growing season. darn good little engines.

Speaking as someone who has pulled a small trailer + boat with a six cylinder, I spent the entire trip, every time, wishing a for a bigger engine.

more low end torque per cubic inch
So does my Lawn-Boy.

Tyler, if you do decide on the 292 this will help.

I would buy the book "Chevrolet Inline Six-Cylinder Power Manual" by Leo Santucci. From mild to wild "everything you need to know to build the Chevy six for power on the street, strip or other racing applications."

You can buy this book thru Motorbooks by calling 1-800-826-6600.

if you don't believe chevrolet's stats, why do you trust lawn-boy's? speaking from someone who used a 66 c20 with 6000lbs of gravel on it to pull out 2 other vehicles stuck in the mud that were chained together, i've never had a complaint about any of the 292's i've had on their torque.

I have a 76' chevy c10 with standard tranny and 292 cu.in. under the hood and have pulled a trailer and a full load of cargo across wyoming/continental divide several times and have never been so happy with the power and torque that was available and the gas mileage was great. I plan to put this very motor in my 60' stepside apache using the original small six/v8 mounts on the drivers side and a 292 mount on the passenger side this will all bolt up after I secure the tranny mounts first to the cross member then drill/bolt the newer frame mounts in place.

My '59 Viking 40 has a 292 as well. I have hauled gravel with it many times. Several times they overloaded me, and I crossed the scale just under 15,000 lbs. Mine seems to have plenty of torque, but it does like fuel. I just figured that was part of owning a "Big Bolt".

John

Mr. tyler h you hit on much of the fuel mileage issue on your own. These old trucks have low rear gears. Taller gears and/or OD transmissions help a great deal.
That '68 that had the 292 and SM465 probably had 4.56 gears. Your '50 has that or lower.
I changed the 4.56 to 3.54 gears in my 4700# 3/4 ton and measured by the seat of my pants, it has more pulling power.
Mileage is about 16 with a 80% / 20% city / freeway. I'm not very diligent about keeping track of it.

as i said before, fuel miledge isn't my biggest concern because it wont be a daily driver, more like a daily cruiser.milege is just icing on the cake,hp and trq is my goal, something that i can get the butterflies with but not a racer,and really what would be cooler than burnin'up tires with an L6???...well i guess drifting corners with a 383 stroker would be cool too!!!

trucks weigh too much in the front to drift, they just spin about the mass of the engine enabling you to do donuts really well.

well maybe drifting wasnt the right term,cuz i know they dont make good "drifting cars",but i do have a turbo'd tacoma with a lsd that i can "slide" nicely in and out of corners, of course not as gracefully as a corvette or camaro, but still fun none the less.

I did the mild 292 in my '64 (Otis) and am very happy with it. We used the "propane" pistons that give it about 9:1 compression, mild cam, cleaned up the head, 4 bbl carb and headers. We also put a 5 speed behind it since Otis is a C20 and came with 4.56 gears. We tow a flat bed trailer with out '56 2 door sedan on it. I does work a little hard on the long hills but does pretty well. It is fun having something different.
We also took a 292 "all out" in our '50 3100 (Kirby) and use him to go racing. He makes 468 hp with no power adders. He has surprised lots of V8's - but he's not streetable, of course. We like our Chevy 6's!

thats the stuff i want to hear!i am goin to check out "chevy inline 6 power manual"for some ideas.

He makes 468 hp with no power adders

Details?

Panic,
If you click on "Kirby" below it will take you to the Gallery with details and pictures of both the race truck and our '64. We do have a fair amount of money invested in Kirby but the results have been outstanding.
Specs on the engine
292 cu in Chevy 6 bored .060
aprox 12:1 comp ratio
Kirby/Sissell aluminum 12 port head
Hilborn mechanical fuel injection
Crower flat tappet cam (changing to a roller cam this year)
Jerico 4 speed trans
Ford 9" rear end, Moser aluminum center section, 4.86 gears
Laddar bar/coil over rear susp
Heidts front end kit with 11" disc brakes
Stock chassis - boxed and reinforced
If you go to this site http://s937.photobucket.com/home/rplender
there are more pix of Kirby as well as a '56 2 door sedan we run sometimes, as well. It is more of a street car but has a 292, 4 speed, looks like grandma's car and runs 13.50's at 100 mph.
Hope that helps!
Ron

Arpee, great video on YouTube!!! Great truck. Love the sound too.

Built a Inline 250 for my truck because of the 235 I had in my 62 4WD that was so reliable. How many times do you hear that someone tried to blow up a 6 and it never let go! I was talking to a guy I know that was running a 230 in his truck at the track, he has video after he took a drill and pierced through the base plate of the 1 barrel carburetor, tapped it and connected a NOS system. Left the fillings in the intake and raced again and again,it never let go. After he blew up his 3 in the tree, he installed a four speed using the stock colum shifter. At the end of the season he installed a built 454, spent about $30,000 on it and dosen't drive it anymore.
He misses the little 6, says he had more fun with it than the big block.
I pulled into a local meet a few years ago and this guy comes walking up to the truck, asks if I have a big block? No I say. Then a small block? No! He starts to laugh, if it isn't a small block or a big block then what is it? Should have seen his face when I popped the hood to expose the six.

Holy crap aero, that's a nice truck you have. I Like the color too, it's the same color I want to paint my truck. You did a good job!

brought home my new(1968)292 and sm 465 last night,200 bux and it come with a new clutch,so i guess that is what i will be building!! i tipped it over off my three wheel stand and almost killed myself,smashed in the oil filter nicely, hope i didnt wreck anything!