I have several old cars I like Plain old every day drivers I hear hot rodders talking About the 302 gmc engines I guess they must be tough ? I have one in an old Duce and 1/2 Have guys wanting to buy it they will pull it Truck hasn’t ran in years don’t Even know if it will turn over Must be popular Engine ??
The inline 6’s have gained a lot of popularity 235-261-302’s I build a stout 261 a few years ago with three carb offey manifold zenith carbs split exhaust duel point distributor cam and some head work, full pressure oil filter and a few other goodies mated to a t5 trans.with all the offey shines buts on the outside as well. Great engine, but expensive to built to that level, could have built a sbc or bbc for probably 1/2 what I had into the six. But, but it was a great engine! I have a soft spot for inliners !
Compared to the Flathead Fords it competed against. The Ford was 239 or 259 cubic inches stock. The GMC 302 or maybe 270. For what was at the time relatively large investment you could get the Ford/Merc up to 304 CID.But you still had a three main bearing flathead engine. Which was built to be pretty much a throw away engine by 80,000 miles Or you could have a GMC with 4 mains that was made for long haul trucking. It seems clear to me why, at the time I would have chosen a GMC. PS if you need a new, in the box oil pressure gauge fro your deuce and a half. I have one for sale here
I remember helping put a 302 in a 53 chevy with a carb upgrade and a split exhaust manifold that cleaned up on a few 220 hp 57 chevys.
Hoy Stevens' GMC powered sprinter won the Little 500 three times that I know of, 1957, '59 and 1960. Johnny White beat the field by 12 laps in it in 1957, but it should noted that it had fuel injection and a 12 port head. Hoy probably ran a little nitromethane also. There was a fellow here in Cheyenne who ran one in a sprint car also, all the way into the mid-'70's. Gene Novotny was his name, and the car was in Speedy Bill's museum as of 2012. Gene had another complete 12 port engine that he sold several years ago, it would be nice to run across one of those heads, especially one of the few that Hoy Stevens produced.
I would like to see one of those heads. The Chrysler Slant Six dominated mostly because of the cylinder head design. They had small cubes topping out at a 225 Cu. In... But having a single port per valve is where they were able to make amazing torque and top end power (Hyperpak set up)... They won a lot of the six cylinder races that were campaigned back in the day. Did this head resemble the slant six head? Sent from my Moto Z (2) using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
The 12 port head was an aftermarket piece made by Wayne Manufacturing Co. It was a flow-through design, with intake on one side and exhaust on the other.
Love those big Jimmy sixes. I rebuilt a 302 many years ago and will always remember scouring every place I could for parts. Rebuild parts used to be very difficult to find for them. I put it in a '49 GMC pickup and remember it would roast the tires with ease. If I had another one of those engines today, I'd build a car around it.
Also made by Howard and others. You may still be able to buy a new one from Arias. My Howard in my 32
Hoy purchased the patterns and rights from Bill Fisher for those heads. There were a few minor changes made to them, and he produced a half dozen or so.
The 270 - 302 GMC's are getting popular. That's what is planned for my 41 Pontiac. My nephew has a NOS 302 short block, still in the GM packing box. Here's a thread on swapping is a 302 in a 48 Pontiac. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/hillbillys-pontiac.1125890/
I didn't know that they ever got unpopular, maybe forgotten about by the regulars, or never even heard of by the up and coming Hot Rodders that don't take the time to look back on the history or some kind of knowledge of what they are wanting to be a part of. But to the true Hot Rodders and followers of the "Six in a Row will Go" crowd the "Jimmie 6's" will forever be popular. I have had a 270 and a 302 w/Howard intake with 5 carbs plus several 235's with all the multiple carbs and Fenton's hardware. Currently putting together a 235 with 53 Corvette triple carb intake and Fenton split manifold ,its the early one with the heat riser box that bolts up to the intake like original. This is a shot of my 50 Chevy pu, 235 with Mcgurk intake , Fenton's, and a C.A.W. valve cover..it was sold a couple years ago. Sent from my SM-T387V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
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