striaght 6 DD reliablity

[79bonanza]

so any of you guys running 250's or 292's in your truck and daily drive it. or have any of you guys built up your inline 6 for a street or strip truck. pics would be cool to

[jchav62]

I don't own one personally, but them straight sixes have a reputation of being one of most reliable engines out there. Bullet proof...

[Edgel82c10]

My brother-n-law which is a mechanic had one in his shop truck, built up a 350 to go in the shop truck when the 6cylinder went out( leaking oil 1 1/2 to 2 quarts between changes) but he was gonna drive the 6cylinder till she pooped. Well long story short after 1 year had passed he quit changing the oil and after 2 years he just went ahead and swapped out motors, he was tired of waiting for it to die. And he drove it like it was stollen.

[benoit454]

same here had a straight six in a 76 that would disel and crap and didn't have a ton of power, bought a 350 and rebuilt it, started beating the straight 6 to death, had it to the floor all the way to third gear(standard shift 3 spd. on the floor) didn't change oil for like 2 years or so, never flushed the rad or checked anything. Finally we tried to kill it, back up and hold it to the floor and dump the clutch, it smoked some but never died, never even started to knock. It was tough, hauled alot of crap with it too.

I knew a guy ran one in a ford with like onyl a quart of oil and ran it hard, it never gave up either.

[79bonanza]

any pics of built/ cleaned up ones on here

[bigblock73]

have had several DD's with inlines (all 250's). Nearly impossoble to blow up, reliable as heck, and get decent mileage.

If you loved closer, I have a 292 for sale, complete with factory PS.

[D13]

425, 000 miles on my 67 Biscayne, never had pan down or head off. Started a lifter tick at 125,000, decided to drive without fixing, Dad gave it to me at 275,000, beat it, at 385,000 it had 5:1 in #2 and 8:1 in #5 with all the rest around 7:1, burned/leaked a quart of oil every 50 miles, always started and ran.
81 1/2 ton, 56,000 miles, all but probably 10,00 in first gear on the farm, cracked the integral head finally, vacuum leaked and burned pistons. Body rusted of theframe at about the same time (1995).
My current project is a 79 1/2 ton integral head, 1bbl carb is a mess, but once it starts it idles smooth and you can't hear it running at 10 feet, pulls hard, etc. Gonna rebuild the carb and then drive it next summer.

I have a 5.3, 283, 305, 6.2 diesel laying in my shed. But the next engine build (destined for my 82) is a 250.

Costs a lot more to build than a SBC. But boy are they nice.

[78cheyenne292]

Im running a 292 in my 78 3/4 ton and all i can say is she always gets me home i dont even worry anymore.. i have a snapped bolt on my valve cover so its not even holding it down at the back cornor leaks oil like crazy and no matter what it will not die.. i rebuilt the carb and done no engine work since i bought the truck just new wires and plugs and the thing runs AMAZING i want to kill the motor drop an 8 in then rebuild and modify the 292 but i dont see that happening for a while cause i dont feel like pulling a running motor out of the truck. starts great idles great not the fastest thing but pulls along wonderfully.. in my opinion from what iv heard and what iv put mine through.. just an amazing motor.. this thing will out live the energizer bunny

[WILLD420]

You absolutely cannot kill one by using it. You can run them out of oil, or overheat them and burn them up, but wearing one out takes a lot of time.

They aren't race engines, too restrictive of breathing and lack of parts, but an old 292 will run forever, get decent mileage and still be puttering around when your grandkids sell the truck.

[mannyb.]

i have a 230 and it runs like a champ. starts up first try every time. leaks some oil. when i got it the coolant looked like rusty soup. its been a year and i drive it like i stole it. not the best gas mileage with 3spd. 10mpgs about. t5 trans and/or new rear end would make worlds of difference i hear.

awesome.

[big10ratrod77]

dude i want to know the same thing my 79 has a stright six with a 3 on the tree and ive only drove it like 70 miles since ive had it(carb problems). the only thing i advise is to stay away from the integral head if you can couse they can crack and make you have to replace the whole head assembly. my 250 runs good it has a little bit of a lifter tick, and some carb trouble. but thats about the only problems ive had with it.

[rd81Step]

Google "6=8"....if you are interested in inline 6 performance .....got a 250 and would not have it any other way.....

[bigblock73]

Originally Posted by big10ratrod77

...the only thing i advise is to stay away from the integral head if you can couse they can crack and make you have to replace the whole head assembly...

Unless you are after performance, the integral head is no more troublesome than any other engine out there and is just fine for DD or work purposes. All my inlines had integral heads, all ran like a champ and never gave me any issues. I see what you are saying about them and replacing the unit as a whole, but I wouldn't shy away from an integral head inline six just because it has in integral head.

[79bonanza]

ok im new to the inline six world and i got a question for you, does a intergral head have the intake and exhaust cast into the head or what, if someone could explain or put up a pic it would be very helpful. thanks for all the good info guys

[SeanPaintsFlames]

Here's the 250 in my 65 GMC. It just has clean paint, headers, and an HEI distibutor. Its great for the junk truck it sits in.



An integral head has the intake built as part of it, whereas the non-integral has a normal bolt-on intake

Integral:


If you want to hotrod the 6, you have to install "lump ports" in the head. Spending money on a 4 barrel and aluminum intake and cam is kinda worthless without them.

http://www.t6racing.org/id2.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KoVCRHaJPM

I dig the sixes just because they're different. Good luck!

[Big Port Jimmy 6]

Inliners.org, and read the Leo Santucci books. Google up Kay Sissel.
I have an older six that is fairly wild and people just go nuts when they see it.
Its a 320 ci Jimmy with 3 two barrels and cast headers. Jay

[79bonanza]

well it looks like ill be picking up this truck this weekend. the specs are 1978 chevy k10. inline six 250. sm465,np203 10bolt front axle and 12bolt rear. my plans are to just tune it up and drive it during the winter. i also have some 3leaf front springs im goin to put in the front to get alittle lift out of it and maybe do a schackle flip in the rear. im just goin to run 33x12.50's on 15x8's. in it so it has alittle higher stance. hopefully it will make a good daily driver for a little while. thanks for all the good info guys.

hey SeanPaintsFlames that engine looks pretty good man. i like the red and black paint scheme you went with.

[87 V20 Scottsdale]

I just remembered, there is a guy in Georgetown running around in a 81-82 K10 swb with a six-banger. I pass him every now and then near the Toyota plant, sounds like it runs okay but it looks pretty beat.

[79bonanza]

yea i think i know which one your talking about but then again there is quite a few randown old trucks rolling around here. i have a friend that has a 83-84ish custom deluxe k20 350 sm465. the truck is a navy blue kinda dark blue really clean. has cab lights on it. its one of the cleanest square bodies iv seen back home. drives it everyday and has no trouble out of it. maybe youve seen it he works at toyota. his name is carter hall maybe you know him.

[87 V20 Scottsdale]

I've heard of him he's a few years younger than me, but I've seen his truck around quite a bit.

[Hubscrub]

i have owned a couple 250s i beat the crap-o out of them and still ran like a sewing machine when i pulled them sometimes i wish i would have left it in

[79bonanza]

yea he is in his early 20's or so. i hangout with him quiet a bit. pretty good guy. which one of your trucks do you drive the most the 6.2 or the 383.

[87 V20 Scottsdale]

Originally Posted by 79bonanza

yea he is in his early 20's or so. i hangout with him quiet a bit. pretty good guy. which one of your trucks do you drive the most the 6.2 or the 383.

I've been driving the 6.2 everyday for the past week or so, ever since they started salting the roads. The body on that truck is pretty rotten so I don't worry about it much; if you see it around it is gray with a red hood and the front bumper is all mangled up and has an 83-84 grille. The blue truck in my profile pic has the 383, it's my good truck.

[79bonanza]

yea that blue truck looks pretty sharp. im goin to be driving this truck during the winter now i think. i just would rather rust out this truck than my 95 silverado. its just easier to put patch panels in the old one than the newer ones i think.

[Mr79C10]

Not bad, Kit is less then a benny.