292 in a 1ton?

[manimal]

Is/was it common for a cab and chassis dually to get a 292/4spd? I bought one today and that is what is in it. Its a 1982 Cab/Chassis with a 292,SM465 w/PTO and a utility bed(coming off asap).....gonna revisit my flatbed BBQ truck plans.
This thing has PS and Hydroboost!

[Robert1970C20rstbukt]

I've never seen one in person, kind of rare around this area. Every early to mid '80's cab and chassis I came across when looking for a truck either had a 350 or a 454. It seemed like I found more 454 powered trucks, my '84 was in the best condition of all the trucks I looked at (and the cheapest!) and even had working A/C still charged with R12.

[MTCK]

That's how my 84 k30 plow truck was born. 292, turbo 400 and 4.56 in the axles. Pushes great. No land speed records. It also has hydroboost and ps.

[andrewmp6]

Back in the old days when a truck was a truck even a 1 ton had the base model engine of a inline 6.Is it rare to us yeah was it when it was new i have no idea,But when a company bought fleet trucks they bought the cheapest truck they could.

[Oberon67]

It was made to haul heavy stuff, not go fast. Makes perfect sense in that context.

[MikeB]

Even a 292 six can work well with the torque multiplication of a 4.56 axle, and the SM465's insanely low first gear.

[MikeB]

Originally Posted by andrewmp6

Back in the old days when a truck was a truck even a 1 ton had the base model engine of a inline 6.Is it rare to us yeah was it when it was new i have no idea,But when a company bought fleet trucks they bought the cheapest truck they could.

Yeah, I remember when fleet and military trucks were BASE trucks: 3-speed column shift for the 1/2-tons, and 4-speeds for the 3/4 and 1-tons trucks.

Tinted windows? Carpet? Radio? No way!

A/C? It's got windows doesn't it?

I even remember some with spare wheels, but no spare tire.

And if there was a "delete" option for anything, the trucks were ordered that way.

[mike in mo]

i have a 1980 c30 cab chassis dually the glove box tag list the 292 sm465 with 4:10 gears its hydro boost power steering. its 427 tall deck NP541 5 speed now. funny i had a 79 c30 single wheel with the same spec 292 4 speed.

[Tom]

1:1 final gear and 4.56's might work for a farm but not for road travels. Can't imagine it can tow very much with only 160hp.

[GM72K10]

Lot of mid 60s C50s and C60s had the big 292 in them also. We used a 61 Viking 60 with the big six and a straight 4 speed. Geared, low, could pull anything but slow.

[ElGracho]

Originally Posted by Tom

1:1 final gear and 4.56's might work for a farm but not for road travels. Can't imagine it can tow very much with only 160hp.

These are almost the exact specs for every CUCV pickup ever made. The M1008, M1028 and M1031s I mean. 6.2 Diesel with 165 Hp, TH400 with 1:1 3rd gear (they weren't lock up converters, so not even 1:1 really...) and 4.56 gears...

[100%Chevy]

My 78,P-30 has the same drivetrain.
At 60 mph,it's really screaming!
But,we once loaded the van body with old Chevy engines and parts and a trailer behind it with my tractor.Quite a load.
Pulled it all just fine!
Mike.

[MTCK]

Originally Posted by Tom

1:1 final gear and 4.56's might work for a farm but not for road travels. Can't imagine it can tow very much with only 160hp.

This is why the school district I got my plow truck from finally sold it. Worked for the first 31 years but they needed to pull a trailer and it wasn't up to the task. I love how flat the torque curve is with this motor. I plowed for a long time with a K5 305 700r4 and love how this 292 pulls great right off of idle. Makes it really easy to be smooth and still get a lot done.

[Oberon67]

Originally Posted by Tom

1:1 final gear and 4.56's might work for a farm but not for road travels. Can't imagine it can tow very much with only 160hp.

There was a time when dump trucks and road tractors were routinely built with no more HP than that. They got around on torque, and weren't expected to be fast.

Times change.