The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop V8 or stick with V6

I just bought a 46 chevy truck and it has a 235 V6 and it came with a 4 speed saginaw transmission, 355:1 ring and pinion,torque tube conversion kit, 11" front disc brakes, and all installation kits that need to be installed. My original idea was to put a V8, auto transmission and m2 ifs. My question is? If I installed these parts and rebuilt the front end. Other than having to shift and not as much power would there be a big difference in the the ride and do you think that I would have enough power to drive 70 mph on highway and drive in mountain areas and keep up with other cars. Thanks

235 V6?? wassat? the 3.55 rear should get you to 70 and keep up with traffic with any engine .... if you have everything to build a complete useable truck, why start over?

Bill

235 V6? Hmmm, the 235 inline is a great engine and actually has more torque (power) than a comparable V8. If your trucks drivable, drive it for a while before doing any major surgery. In short the straight-six/4-spd/3.55 combo should be fine on the interstate and really come alive in the mountains where the V8/auto would just dog.

235 is a straight 6, no american car or truck manufacture made a V6 in the 40's 50's or 60's that I know of. All 6 cylinder engine were inline cylinder designs. Smooth running and good balance are one of the reasons for using that design.
Didn't they use a 216 in the 40's? I don't know.

Didn't GMC truck, and either Buick or Oldsmobile have a V6 engine in the 60's?

yes, GMC had a V6 in the 60's, but they were 305, 351 and larger, not a 235

Bill

Yes the GMC had a V6 305, 351 and a couple bigger.

http://www.6066gmcguy.org/

Some neat info there.

My mistake. The engine is a inline 6

I'm sure he has a 235 and with 3.55 gears he should do just fine unless he gets into some real mountains, but then the 4 cylinders will be right along with him. If it is indeed a Saginaw, its probably a pretty close ratio between 3 and 4 which is good in mountains. Going to a V8 with an automatic would be a major undertaking that I wouldn't recommend.

Yeah, I remember seeing those old V-6,s in the GMC trucks. The ones with the scalloped valve covers, like a car 348 or 409 V-8.
I thought the V-6 was a real neat engine, would like to have one of those.
I was looking at the pics. posted by Red58. Where are the spark plugs?

I didn't post the pics, Jolly did

the plugs are inside the V instead of above the hot exhaust manifolds

Bill

I had a GMC 478 V6 Magnum in a 1970 Tilt Cab and it was a monster...pass anything but the gas station...lol. If I remember right it was 235 HP, not bad for a 6-cylinder! They take up as much room as a big block Chevy. Would be something different if it was installed in a small truck!

Mike B

The engine in my 551/2 Panel is a rebuilt 1960 235. Changed the gear ratio in the original rear end (56) with the gear kit. The truck runs fine - cruises along comfortably at 60 (I think, my speedo and odo don't work).

Sorry guys forgot about GMC.