The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk What do you prefer a V8 or a Str8 6 ??

Jerry -- Yessir, That's what I'm talking about! I only get a measly 850 ft-lbs out of my antique 2-cycle. I think our starters have more torque than their gasser V8's...



I'm glad we all like different things or it could get ugly at swap meets ...

JM

John, I saw the remains of a 4" diameter driveshaft out of a Pete with a Cat 3406 engine. (425 HP) It had three full turns spun into it, and looked like an hourglass. The driver was stuck in the mud in a rice field in Central California, and revved it up and dropped the clutch.
Jerry

What I don't get is these guys badmouthing old iron sixes at a place named Stovebolt. Idiots!

Love the last post 53moneypit. One reason I like the six over the eight is every car show I go to the story to most cars is...... This my 50 chevrolet..... I put in a corvette motor. This is my.... I have a 350. This is my ..... with a LS1....2.....3. Granted they are cool and those motors have their place for sure in the hot rod world. But after a while I get the feeling. I have seen one I have seen them all.

I had the pleasure of working with a couple of friends on the restoration of a running example of a 1938 Model 177 6 cylinder Hall-Scott from a logging truck. It has been set up as a running display engine. It has 855.3 cubic inches. 5 1/2 " bore x 6" stroke. It runs at max 1800 rpm. This runs approx. 245 H.P. The pix on flickr

<http://www.flickr.com/photos/speed-graphic/sets/72157626044050676/>

are from when we gave it a cosmetic uplift and I spent about 6 hours polishing the aluminum valve cover. There is a web site that shows more info.

<https://hallscottengines.com/Page.html>

Thanks Ron -- THAT is cool!

What I don't get is the need to call people idiots for disagreeing.

I feel the same here vette, but it's easier to call someone stupid who disagrees. I happen to like both.

I thought this forum was including the early 70's truck too. No "Stovebolts" there!!!
Scott

alright, alright. We can agree that we're all happy that everyone has passion for one or the other (or both).

And I won't admit to owning a V-8 (and a blue oval one at that...)



J

Dang, at least Ford circled their mistakes.

At least it's American ...

uuhh you mean assembled in america right?

Oh i like all engines...

I've owned several Fords and really can’t say much bad about them. Last new one I had was a 1 ton, 7.2 diesel, 4 x 4. Back then I had horses and pulled an 8' wide, 7-1/2' tall 4 horse with a 13' short wall LQ. I pulled the dividers several times and hauled 5 horses. You couldn’t hurt that truck and it always pulled whatever I put behind it in good fashion.

Thanks for the reminder, I had a lot of good family times in those days.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v228/Avette4me/Camping/girlsandtrailer.jpg

I like my PSD also, but we are getting way off topic here.

Let's go back to what do you prefer in an old Chevy or GMC truck. Please.

Thanks

No modern v-8 ever sounded as cool as a split six through glasspacks and full tailpipes, cruising along, cackling going downhill, and barking all the way up again !
Next coolest sound is a flathead with cast headers, and glasspacks.
They maybe a bit more costly to build, but they do draw a crowd.
Especially with multiple carbs and lots of chrome and polished aluminum.
I'll keep the modern engines in my daily driver though, convenience is convenience.

For interesting sounds nothing beats a Detroit two cycle!
http://www.youtube.com/user/Grigg3?feature=mhum#p/u/14/_UaJEPs0DJk
http://www.youtube.com/user/Grigg3?feature=mhum#p/u/11/tGzUb2Rpges

Grigg

I can't wait to fire up up my 261 that is in my panel, hopefully within the next several weeks. BBCs are for muscle cars.

Grigg, I've probably watched those two video clips a hundred times, I especially love the one coming out of the trees, sounds like a hill monster coming, hide the kids!!!

And yes, thats definitely on the list of the coolest sounding engines!

a agree Flatheads have a cool sound and has all the looks.....

I drove my 1954 with a stock 235 engine on a 7,500 mile round trip to New York from Los Angeles. I only had one car pass me, I drove literally all day at 80 to 90 m.p.h. averaged 16.5 m.p.g. I am completely sold on the reliability and performance of a "boat anchor" I-6.

I have this disease that over rides my brain, the bigger the motor the heavier my foot, kind of like every time my elbow bends with an eating utensil my mouth opens. I learned way back it is best to avoid the bigger motors and carrying eating utensils when I don't need to. So I am sticking with the 6 so parts of this 70 year old plus truck does not have parts blowing off from the wind sheer at high speeds. LOL.
I had a friend a few years back with a late 70s early 80s C30 with a 292 straight 6, four speed tow a full size school bus from Fayetteville NC area to Lynchburg SC with a Holmes 440 boom and it did not miss a lick. Don't know how he got away with it on I-95 without getting a ticket. But I bet there were lots of folk that got to see something they had to look twice at and shake their heads.

Well,sounds like we got a bunch of guys here who like the old boat anchors.Nothing the matter with that,but the bad mouthing should stop.I will take a HP V/8 any day over a straight six for performance and sound.As was posted by someone else the straight sixes have disappeared from trucks and cars now.Wonder why?Seems the V/6 es have taken over and perform a heck of a lot better.My late model GMC,2009 has a V/6 and performs quite well,better than the old boat anchors,and is reasonably economical to run.23 to 25 MPG.Not too bad for a full size pickup.The old boat anchors were OK back in the day,but that day is over and gone now.

My 37 was born with a 6 and will stay that way,with the 5 speed and 3.55 gears it will keep up with anything on the highway. Now if something would happen to the 235 I would be tempeted to install a 59 or 60 Olds 371,had a 59 371 in a 53 Olds 88 and it would walk away from anything with a stock or slightly hotter 350 sbc and that motor would be fun in a much lighter vehicle like my 37.

I have old articles from when there were lots of (relatively) wayne/fisher heads available for 302 GMC's They were getting up to 900 horsepower out of them, of course this is the point where they were breaking main caps, but a nice set of billet steel caps took care of that. The only reason the V-6 is around is the size of the package, and if you had the money to throw at engine design these car companies have (had, now its YOUR money) you could get a dandy engine too. That being said a V-6 is inherently a foul design, and there a few companies going back to the straight six, as it is inherently a good design although it is a bit hard to package in a front wheel drive set up due to its length. Now don't get me wrong, I love the hot screaming wail of a V-8 maybe even more than the next guy,(anyone have a 427 SOHC ford they want to give me?) but the 6 has its place and can be an extreme performer.

Hey Dale, they`re not boat anchors, they`re cast iron wonders.

I was down the track today and i seen a Honda civic smoke a blown SBC.. now that made me scratch my head a few times, thats just not right!! a rice burner? the funny part was it was not a young punk driver this guy looked around in his 50's (my age)..whats happening to this world?

alittle off topic,but i just had to...

Not true about inline sixes disappearing from cars and trucks.The 2002-2009 trailblazer has a 4.2 straight six.

I like both v8 and inline sixes.

Tim

even jeeps...

Well lets see here 2002 to 2009 Trailblazers with straight sixes.This happens to be 2011.Where are they now.And as for forked 8s Old Henry saw the light in 1931 and started building V/8s for the 1932 Fords.True there were several Ford straight sixes,but they have also disappeared.They are evidently not what the buying public wants.So now we are left with the V/6es and V/8s Which perform so much better than the old straight sixes.I can remember whe the Sportsman class at the local dirt track,was all straight 6 engined cars.But after a while they opened it up to 310 cu.in V/8s and guess what. The V/8s ran away with everything.

I'm not a lead foot. I drive the speed limit, and don't understand why others think they should be able to run faster than the law allows.

My 261 six will run down the road with the best of them at the speed limit. Even with a trailer with a car on it attached.

Any one can have a V-8. Takes a special someone to take care of and run these old sixes.

well everything is about money money money! the straight 6's are made so good and they will out last any V8 V6 & 4bangers ,that there is no money to make on the old 6's that why they stop maken them..

the only Smart Company that has made the straight 6 a long time is JEEP and that will disappear also as "i think" Dodge(Chrysler Corporation) owns them.

I think this thread has about run it's course. And then some.

This forum is about old Chevy trucks. Some people can't seem to keep this thread related to them.