1600 bucks was parts and that was 9-11 years ago. Lots of spare time messing with it. The head did have some welding.The mains were strapped.Pistons skirts cut.Moroso had the pistons and valves coated for free 2 4412 holleys that wet flowed around 512-520.Most machine work was at nite on our dime. Like i said we failed at what we wanted to do but it sure did well on the street and is still running. We did do better with a 302 gmc but that was close too 345 .This is a 261 post so i wont bother with that one. I think its pretty easy to get 175-185 with a 261 today pretty cheap.(other than buying the motor) Its a compression motor ,but doable . Hell pixs lie too. i have seen a few 292s up close to 300 of late. Motors are just compressors. If you get them all squared up..they run pretty damn good. Oh well i guess i pissed off enough people today back to lurking
To get around 1 hp/cube on an ole stock head 261 you have to give it a lot of help with breathing....like hang a blower off the side. These worked out OK.
Absolutely,a mild cam of around 210 degrees duration at .050 lift,good valve job with no porting,about 350-400 cfm carb(s) and 9-1 actual compression(848 head on a 261 with flat top stock pistons no more than .020 below the deck.),Fentons dual headers.This will idle with a slight lope,have low speed torque equal to a stocker,pull strong to 4500 rpm.And give good fuel mileage too.
Not at all pissed here. Running a stock-internals 292 (Edelbrock 4bbl, Offy intake, Langdon's cast manifolds, HEI) in my Biscayne and have been thinking about other potential changes. I have a lump port head with 1.94I/1.6E valves...but I know damn well in order to really take advantage of the head, I need a cam, better compression, different pistons, etc. Of course, the moment I get all that done, then the 3 speed is probably gonna need to get chucked, too....
About the only way to get air into one that is breathing impaired is to boost it. Well to get a reasonable amount of air at a reasonable cost. So tell us about the blown motors. How much boost? Stock internals? You are running the blowers full time? Reason I ask is in the '80s there was a company making blower kits they called the road warrior for inline engines. The had a clutch on the blower drive and would run with or without the blower spinning.
Okay, so what kind of torque would I be putting out? That's what these engines are famous for any ways, Right? So If I had enough torque Could I just use higher gears? The stock 4.3L vortec only puts out around 160hp from the factory~ so a streetable 200 horse would be plenty, remember the 216 that was in it was worn out and probably only putting out about 85hp tops, so a stock 261 with 140hp would be a huge improvement anyways~ let alone 200 hp!
What about the 292 rods, caddy pistons, and offset crank set up others are talking about for the 261?
Your compression ratio is determined by a lot of factors not just stroke. Combustion chamber size, deck height, thickness of head gasket are all things that will need to be factored in to figure your compression ratio. I'm not trying to rain on your parade here but someone has got to be honsest with you. It sounds to me like you shot your mouth off to the S-10 guy and didn't have a clue what your were talking about. If you must run the liner then why don't you do this. Tear it down and make sure that the lower end is good. You'll need a snap gauge and a micrometer at the very least so you can measure your cylinder bores and the crank journals. Find a friend who knows how to use them. Make sure that everything is round and within tolerance. If not then you're off to the machine shop. You'll want your compression to be around 9:1. 9.5:1 max if you're planning on driving it with the cast iron head. While the machine shop has the block and is fitting pistons to it, pull your head down. Now blend the bowls and clean up the ports with a dremmel tool and some sand paper drums. Don't gouge too much out of them you're still trying to learn what can be done. Now go pick up your block and drop your head off at the machine shop. Tell them you want a 3 angle valve job and to replace any valves that need replacing. Have the guides knurled or sleeved with bronze if they are loose. Pick yourself up a cam from one of the companies that builds inline 6 parts. Along with a set of lifters and springs. If they have 3 cams to choose from take the one in the middle. Clifford comes to mind. Start assembling your lower end with new pistons and rings and inserts. Probably a good idea to get a new oil pump while you are at it and a timming chain or gears if its a gear drive. Your head should be done. Put it on and finish assembling your engine. If you are after looks find yourself a 3x1 intake and a set of headers. otherwise if you want to be able to tune it and run get a single 4 intake and a little carb somewhere between 350 and 450 cfm. Now you have pretty close to a stock rebuild except you have changed your induction and compression. How much have you picked up, well you should be somewhere close to what the factory over rated the motor at to start with. Now get her lit and broke in. Tune it as well as you can. And go look for the S-10 guy. While you are looking think about this. His truck from the factory weighs about 2800-3000 lbs. Your truck from the factory weighs about 3800-4000 lbs. But his engine isn't fresh and yours is. He has a tranny that can be shifted rapidly and you have one than you can crash through the gears at best. You just spent about 2K and he's been out partying his ass off. You might win or else you won't but that's racin'. Whatever you do have fun with it because you just spent a lot of time and hard earned cash and if you aren't having fun you have just lost everything you have invested. Like I said I'm not trying to be mean to you but someone needs to be honest with you. The 6 is cool if they are what you are into. They are not a race engine unless you are really dedicated to racing and are willing to pay the price. But if you are really into racing you should be using the old truck to haul your race car around.
What he said ^^^^^^ They are old dump truck motors. Dont make them any more complicated than they are or you are asking for trouble
I bought one of these books a while back and it has a lot of good 216 and early Chev/GMC six hop up info in it. http://www.amazon.com/How-Hop-Chevrolet-GMC-Engines/dp/1931128073 the used ones are dirt cheap.
Okay then, what If I went with the 292 and I put a 3 carb manifold on it, a set of headers, polished and lump ported the head, raised the compression ratio to around 9.5 or 10 to 1, installed a mild cam(The Clifford 264) and upgraded the ignition, what kind of performance could I expect from it? here's the specs on the Clifford cam: 264 cam is ground at .206 @ .050 with a big valve lift os .518. This is .112 higher valve lift than stock. Stock being .406 valve lift
The 292 is a better option than the old motor. They breath better and make more zot from the factory then you would have gotton out of the old mill. You don't not want to go any higher than 9.5:1 with the iron head trust me. I can't give you any numbers on the 292 as far as where you will be when you're done. Anyone that does is giving you a nominal number at best, tunning is everything. But when I was young and dumb and full . . . I shoved a 292 in a '41 pickup adapted a 500 cfm holley 2 bbl to the stock manifold and snagged a crane cam (more duration than yours by about 30 degrees). No port work stock compression and I was able to keep up with the rest. Pretty snappy little motor. It didn't make a race truck out of it but it would get right on down the road. If you want to creat a monster you are going to have to do one of two things. Learn how its done (large learning curve here) or shell out. I used to know an older fella named Kilcup that drag raced an Austin Healy 3000 with a 292 in it. Very fast little car. But he was an automotive machinist and it was his speed shops dragster. Usless on the street but it was real quick for 1320 ft. Remember speed costs money. How fast do you want to go?
What he said again ^^^^^^. Another thing to remember with these old inlines is that for the most part, the guys that really really get them to run have them tuned to within an inch of their lives. They get everything right - the trans, the tires, the gears - EVERYTHING. Sooner or later almost everyone gets waxed by a 6 cylinder on the street from stop light to stop light. Most of the 6's doing the waxing arent all that high horsepower motors. But they sure run well because the guy setting them up has everything correct.
What do you guys think about the solid lifter "EP-22/25" from Engle grinds. See page 12: here's the link http://www.englecams.com/downloads/...gle_catalog.pdf <!-- / message --> <!-- controls -->
This thread is getting a little confusing...I assume that you are giving up on the earlier generation 216/235/261 series and now looking at Gen 3? That is the 292 you mention above. Yes, these cams are worth considering, depending on your intent. However, remember that there may be fitment issues with the later engine not to mention that it looks a lot newer. Aesthetics may be important to you if you are running an open hood or if you are trying to represent a 50's era build. If you have a closed hood, run a V-8. More forgiving and certainly cheaper. My 2 cents for it is worth. Tom
The hood will stay down for the most part, and EVERYONE HAS A V8 and i'm sick of seeing them in everything. As for my intent for the engine I will now go with is the 292. I want to make around 300-350 HP out of it, which I know is possible.Could I get what I want if I were to: 1)Install a 3 carb intake, 2)Lump port the head, 3)Put in 1.94 int. and 1.50 exh. valves, 4)Raise compression to 9.5 to 1, 5)Install the solidlifter "EP-22/25"cam from Engle grinds, 6)Used dual long tube headders, 7)And upgraded the ignition system on it.
You know if your going that route and have your mind set on a inline 6. Go find a GMC 302. Other than that i have to agree,dump a v8 in it.Cheaper,quicker,and easer to do. You must have limited access up there to power plants on the cheap? 300-350Hp is a lot of cash and time if you can do your own machine work. Your in the 330 horse complete zz-3 motor price.... Hell i use everything in any chassis...to each his own.i am cheap SOB....
Probably. But start with 2 carbs or use the 4 barrel before attempting 3 carbs...unless you feel really skilled in scratch fabbed linkage and synchronizing multiples. As the numbers grow, the complexity goes up somewhat logrithmically.
I have friends who have put 3 carb set ups on sixes for years, so I figure If I can't do it they can. I'm looking for performance, so whatever setup works best~ wether it's 3 carb or 4bbl does anyone know?
I have looked high and low and have only found one 302 in Alaska and the owner is NOT parting with it...
You want performance??? dont piss around: weber side drafts, kirby 12 oort head, HEI, Arias pistons, get Nicks suggestion or the Kriby boys suggestion on a cam and you are good to go. Oh, yeah. dont forget the checkbook
Years ago, it was discovered that a late Chevy six head actually flows better with a smaller intake port, i.e. one with a raised port floor. The cast-in port divider bosses are milled out and an aftermarket aluminum "lump" is held in place with an allen head cap screw.
Could you guys look on page 12 Here: http://www.englecams.com/downloads/2010_engle_catalog.pdf and make suggestions for a cam that would let me keep my low end torque, but also meet my 300+ HP goal? gas mileage isn't that important, but I'd still like to be getting miles to the gallon, not gallons to the mile
Just got our 1950 Chevy P/U back on the road. Running a 1958 261 out of school bus, with Howard Cam "very mild", duel Weber's from Dan at Stove bolt, Fenton headers, Saginaw four speed transmission and a 1970 Chevy P/U rear end. We only have around 100 miles on the engine so I'm keeping my foot out of it for now. Feels very strong. After around 500 miles strong engine. Resetting valves valve today 7/19/10. Very happy with the 261. Running 3:08's in the rear-end
Gas mileage? Ha, I burn all I can just for the pure fun of it! And,,, to piss algore off. tlowe is in the horsepower business. He can provide the lump kit and very easy to follow instructions for installation, drawing for modifying the head to accomodate the larger valves without hitting water, etc. You can contact him here. http://www.12bolt.com/250_dyno_testing I'm not screwing around with just two carbs, on my limited budget I'm going with three Rochester monojets, so when I get the motor built it has room to breathe........... Right now they're on a bone stock 292, all tuned and running like a bat out of hell........ but as 6inarow said, above;
the only dyno you need is your butt in the drivers seat. tom is a good guy - it will run great. I am headed to the ColoRODans run in Longmont in July - no interior and probably a noisy, hot dusty ride, but I'm gonna take my 56 out there. if its not too far, wheel on into Longmont. Sorry for stealing the thread. Now, back to the regularly scheduled topic.....
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