Hello, I just picked up a truck that is a conglomeration of 4 different trucks. It has Chevrolet, Dodger Brothers, Erskine, and Kelly parts. Plus a rear engine the old owner did not remember what it went to. My question is this, the engine is a Chevrolet straight 6. The old owner said it was a 1928. I thought Chevrolet did not make them until 1929. Which is true? How to identify the early models? It is not a 216 right? What is cool is that it is not frozen.

Hey rambling man . . . Sounds like a fun project.

I am with you. First year for a Chevy 6 was '29. It displaced just shy of 194 cu in.

Post some casting numbers. We should be able to ID.


Regards,
stock49

it could still be a 28. Because mid year changes/production come in for the following year.

AFAIK there was no shipment of the next model year until the new year actually arrived on the Calendar back in those days . . . moreover, the Chevy 6 was a major engineering change for the company.

And a contemporary writer's take - from page 11 of the Doug Bell book "Cast Iron Wonder" he states:
"On the last Saturday in December of 1928, Chevrolet had it's first public showing of the Chevrolet 6.

The engine was a three main bearing type, with gravity feed to the mains and cam bearings. It used splash to the rods, and metered pressure of the valves. Both intake and exhaust valves where the same size, and in fact were the same part number. The early cars did not have bushings in the pistons, and all the early engines had their pistons replaced with the late type, which had bronze bushings for the pins."

The hope was to have the six ready for '28. Though the engine wasn't the body and frame were ready for it. They used the 4 cylinder for the production of '28s but they had to have been casting six cylinder parts with '28 dates using the standard casting codes. By early '29 there must have been many six cylinders ready to go that had been built in '28.