Which Inline 6 is the best to work with

[russellrox]

Considering going against the grain and staying old school with the original 6's, do most stick with the 250 or go straight to the 292. If I don't go this route then I will be going with a 5.3 swap, opinions please.

[TJ's Chevy]

Depending on what you want outta the 6...keeping things stock I'd go with a 292, turning the engine to a street motor the 250 will be cheaper but the 292 will easily make more power....My 292 will be making 290 hp and 340 torque with the mods I'm doing...and a 250 with the same mods would make probably around 260 hp and 290 torque..mind you that is a rough estimate...I've seen mildly hopped up 250's make 310 hp and 280 torque...So I say this...If you want some WAAAAY cooler and much more unique then the v8 than stick with the 6 banger...if your wanting something cheap and less expensive like everyone else is going do a 350 v8 or a small block...Mind you the 6 banger is fairly spendy...My 292 cost me around 4500 in parts and machinist labor...and that's not bad considering I went with All American made parts. And a 5.3 would probably be 1/2 of that, but 1/2 as unique imop.

[paintman]

Originally Posted by TJ's Chevy

My 292 cost me around 4500 in parts and machinist labor...and that's not bad considering I went with All American made parts.

I could only wish my 292 cost me 4500 to build. I had nearly $500 alone machning and reworking all the parts I bought from Tom Lowe and Mrhotrod6 off of eBay. By the time you add all the other bolt on parts like intake, exhaust and ignition, you'll be way over 4500.

[TJ's Chevy]

Originally Posted by paintman

I could only wish my 292 cost me 4500 to build. I had nearly $500 alone machning and reworking all the parts I bought from Tom Lowe and Mrhotrod6 off of eBay. By the time you add all the other bolt on parts like intake, exhaust and ignition, you'll be way over 4500.

Yeah I know what you mean...I meant I had 4500 just into the motor itself...Not including all the other stuff...Once my motor is all said and done I'll be around $6000, but I'm making this engine look really nice as well so....

[pimpston65]

Originally Posted by paintman

I could only wish my 292 cost me 4500 to build. I had nearly $500 alone machning and reworking all the parts I bought from Tom Lowe and Mrhotrod6 off of eBay. By the time you add all the other bolt on parts like intake, exhaust and ignition, you'll be way over 4500.

ahh, the joy of the motor city. paid $100 for engine and $1400 for all machine work,new cam,cam gear,new crank,reman'd head,all the gaskets and around $500 in nos water pump,fuel pump,water neck,rad top and bottom hose,plugs, wires, distributor and cap,points so a "new" 292 can be had for under $2500...

[TJ's Chevy]

Originally Posted by pimpston65

ahh, the joy of the motor city. paid $100 for engine and $1400 for all machine work,new cam,cam gear,new crank,reman'd head,all the gaskets and around $500 in nos water pump,fuel pump,water neck,rad top and bottom hose,plugs, wires, distributor and cap,points so a "new" 292 can be had for under $2500...

Ours are gonna be making alot more power then stock is why they are a tad more expensive.

[paintman]

Originally Posted by pimpston65

ahh, the joy of the motor city. paid $100 for engine and $1400 for all machine work,new cam,cam gear,new crank,reman'd head,all the gaskets and around $500 in nos water pump,fuel pump,water neck,rad top and bottom hose,plugs, wires, distributor and cap,points so a "new" 292 can be had for under $2500...

Not trying to start a pi$$in match or anything but........When your done with that $2500, 292 you wanna race mine? lol

[chevy_mike]

Having a 250 in my '64 Chevy II wagon and having to do a partial rebuild last year, let me say that dollar for dollar, you will never approach the cost/power ratio of a SBC. Most people who keep the inline 6 engines are doing it to be different. I almost made the switch to a SBC but in the end, my engine already had some performance stuff installed (intake, headers, carb) and I get so many positive comments that it is still a 6 in the car. If my only concern was making power, it would have been yanked out in a heartbeat.

[burnin oil]

My question would be fuel milage. I have had a few that were not that great on gas so swapping to a v8 was a simple choice at the time. cheap and easy power. I would love to see some of these hopped up 6s milage numbers. My daily has a hopped sb but the old dump truck is staying a six. I have considered carb and intake swap on that one though. So many directions you can go. A lot of people really like the LS motors but I have never cared for them. Honestly that was do to crappy programming from GM on a 6.0 I owned and have never had the desire to revisit them. Diesels are way more fun to play with. Can get a high HP Cummins that is still a 6 cylinder.

[Deltaskier]

Too bad you're not close to me. I will soon be pulling a 250 and you could have it for scrap prices.

[chevy_mike]

My wagon, with 3.36 gears on 24.5" tall tires nets about 15 mpg at best. That is with a Clifford intake, headers and 390cfm Holley carb. Definitely has more power than a stock 6 but nothing like a stock V8. What hurts this is no overdrive. 70mph on the freeway is about 3200 rpms.

BTW, owning a Cummins diesel, they weigh about 1400 lbs. Cool idea for a truck but way cheaper ways to make power without the weight.

[TJ's Chevy]

Well...anyone can go with the boring 350....sometimes its better to be different then just throw something together because its cheap. My 292 cost a fair amount to make the horse power I'll be making, but it'll kill a 350.....And funny you say your 250 gets 15...My 292 gets 15 with a sm420 and 3.73 gears with a 30 inch tire....and with the mods and 5 speed I'll be putting in it'll acutally bump up to 16-17 mph....and its well worth the smile and knowledge of knowing I have something way cooler and more unique then a sbc. My 2 cents.

[burnin oil]

Originally Posted by chevy_mike

BTW, owning a Cummins diesel, they weigh about 1400 lbs. Cool idea for a truck but way cheaper ways to make power without the weight.

Owned a couple myself. The power is so much nicer than a gasser but you are right about the weight. I missed the high RPMs so I went back to a SB for awhile but will eventually go back to the diesel in my 72. My old dodge was 700rwhp and consistently got over 18MPG. That motor will go into a 2k lb lighter K20 in a couple years.

Good info on the inlines milage. It is about what I figured. One of the websites claimed something like 28MPG using all their parts. I did not believe it but it would be nice.

[whitedog76]

I'm going to throw something else out there.

If youre going inline 6. Look into the Vortec 4200.

In stock form it produces over 100 Hp more than you'll get out of any built up inline 6. They have a flat torque curve that starts at about 1500 RPM and goes up to over 5000 RPM. Not too shabby in my book.

Swapping them out, doesn't require any more than doing a LS 5.3 swap.

There's plenty 2002-2009 Trailblazers, Envoys, Bravadas, and Rainiers in the junk yard with good running engines.

If you rebuild the engine, moneywise, it's equivilent to the early engines.

I have an 09 apart in my garage right now, I'm amazed at how simple it is.

Not to mention it weighs probably 300 lbs less than a 292.

http://www.vortec4200.com/forum1/vie...php?f=10&t=821

[whitedog76]

I'm going to throw something else out there.

If youre going inline 6. Look into the Vortec 4200.

In stock form it produces over 100 Hp more than you'll get out of any built up inline 6. They have a flat torque curve that starts at about 1500 RPM and goes up to over 5000 RPM. Not too shabby in my book.

Swapping them out, doesn't require any more than doing a LS 5.3 swap.

There's plenty 2002-2009 Trailblazers, Envoys, Bravadas, and Rainiers in the junk yard with good running engines.

If you rebuild the engine, moneywise, it's equivilent to the early engines.

I have an 09 apart in my garage right now, I'm amazed at how simple it is.

Not to mention it weighs probably 300 lbs less than a 292.

http://www.vortec4200.com/forum1/vie...php?f=10&t=821

http://www.vortec4200.com/forum1/vie...php?f=10&t=843

http://www.vortec4200.com/forum1/vie...php?f=10&t=824

http://www.vortec4200.com/forum1/vie...php?f=10&t=793