Inliners International Forums General Discussion Hi Performance 292 Chevy

Ive got a 67 Chevy school bus that has the 292 I-6, im gonna replace it with a Cummins or Duramax and was tossing around the idea of finding a body for the 6 adding some forced induction (probably a turbo) and having some land speed fun. Anyone have any good info on these engines? Saw a post at some site where they said they thought the stock bottom end was forged? (well forged crank anyway) Im kinda wondering how much boost it could take stock. Stock compression is around 8 to 1?? Found one site where they are doing some cool stuff with a 292, they have some nice straps w/studs that takes minimal machining to work for the main journals and is supposed to really increase the strength and durability.. priced around 280.. not too bad. They have a bunch of other stuff for the 292 but got a feeling its gonna be more than i wanna spend. (there runnin their 292 @ 10's with 8lbs boost in the 1/4 mile and tuning it to eventually hit 8's with 30lbs boost in a studebaker) http://www.customdesignperformance.com/leo/leo.html
Its a cool ride if yall havent seen it. Anyway thanks for approving my membership, look forward to checking the site out and thanks in advance for any info.

Did i say something wrong? Or does no one have info on this?

OK cool.

Awesome a lotta good info!!!! should have thought of that.

Ordered Sissels book, think its gonna give me alotta insight intp these engines.

You may have to find another way to get the bottom end done, as CDP has closed their doors. It was a great shop, both Tim and Ken are top notch folks to work with. They will be working at other shops so the specialized six machining they pioneered may still be available on request. Leo's book is still going strong as he continues to update and refine it. The Studie just gets better as well and yes, it's an awesome car. If you think it looks good, you should hear it when we fire it up for tuning in his driveway! You know, Leo and his wife Teri attended the Texas Goat Ranch Roundup, along with a lot of other folks who know their way around a six real well.

Armond,,,

What does the Studie run in the 1/4 now?

MBHD

We haven't made any serious passes, right now we're working out the Electromotive XDI ignition and a few basic changes to the engine. The overall package just gets cleaner and cleaner.

Anyone make a main girdle for these engines? Where is the Goat roundup held? Where do yall work on that Studie?

i wonder how hard it would be to make a main girdle? outa some billet alluminum.

Closed their doors Now thats a Bummer.

It sure is!!

They did a great job making 'main straps' for my 261s.

Douglas on this forum is having one made in Brazil.
His is made to run a dry sump set up ,so you cannot use the oil pump in the stock location.
Plus,,I believe his connects to the oil pan rails,that will be very sturdy.

I have one ,,but it only ties together four main caps.1" thick

man connecting to the oil pan rails would make it hella strong, is there not room to use the stock oil pump with one? I havent looked under the pan yet. How does a dry sump work... Whats the pump run off?

Dry sump uses an external oil pump driven by a belt off of the crankshaft.

Douglas was saying that he could not tie all the main caps together with the oil pump in the stock location.

http://www.trackpedia.com/blogs/john/archives/31-Installation-of-a-Taggart-Dry-Sump.html

MBHD

Cool thats what I wass thinkin, i guess dry sump is mostly for high rpm?

Not that anyof you need this info but taught me something. http://www.drysump.com/drysump.htm

First off I really don't think you could tie the caps together anyway If you think about it.
SOMETHING would be surly Hitting the Crank.

250 L6 main cap girdle.
.868" thick

Why would something surely hit the Crank??

Mean Buzzen that looks good, did you make it yourself? I guess i could just get some 3/4"-1" billet alluminum and use that. Then a machine shop could mill them perfectly flat after i got all the crank throw openings cut? then use studs... basically set it up like the straps but with a frame for tying them all together.

Not sure if aluminum would be a good choice?
I bought it from Sissells.
I wish it would tie in more main caps instead of just tying 4 together.

Yep same concept as putting straps on the main caps,need to mill main caps flat on top & use longer studs.
You cannot use the windage tray, but you can still use your crankshaft scraper.

MBHD

Only the '63 model year L6 292 had the forged steel crank. After that they were cast. Later models ['67 -'68] had 12 counterweights, thus better balance.

I can see now how it clears.Just at first I couldn't think of how it would clear the cranks counter weights.Like i said before it does look good.

Yea, was lookin at that turbo 292 in the Studebaker. Moded (lightened) the 12 counterweights on crank by machining off the ends of each counter weight, and then i guess used mallory metal too balance it. Advantages would be increased rpm potential and faster reving correct?? Any thing bad about this (other than i hear mallory metal is expensive). Also wonder if most any machine shop could do this?

Nope, no "heavy metal" Just lighter pistons and rods.

All we did to our motor was dowel the caps. It has held up to 700+ hp with more on the way. The weak link for us is the head gasket.

Mighty6
What head gasket are you using,& did you O-ring the block, cylinder head?

Mike Kirbys finding w/a lighter/lightened crank was that it did not improve any ET or HP & the crank did not last as long.
It just made his wallet lighter.

Mighty6

Wow! thats supprising, you would think it would deffinatley improve. Lower reciprocating mass, especially inside the motor always seems to be a big improvement. So i guess just concentrate on light pistons and rods.

A Hussey copper head gasket. The block is oringed and the head has an receiver groove. It works good but it still leaks just a little. No head gasket will hold up with just four studs. The cylinder pressure just pushes the head right off the block. We have it apart right now to put three more head studs in it.

We wanted a torque monster, plus durabilty with all the nitrous were going to put thought it. So, we just cleaned all the flashing and had it heat treated for strength. We did NOT cross drill it.

To All,
It has been some time since I have been able to post or even visit this forum. New business concerns , etc.
I just sent this email to Sissel's Automotive, and thought I'd also post it here to get your
collective input also, Thanks
I have been a member of the Inliner's International for a number of years now, and I want to build a 292 Chevy six for my 1957 Chevy 210 2 Door Sedan.
Currently, the car is equipped with a stock 235 (that recently destroyed a piston when the head of the screws holding the carb butterfly broke!), a Saginaw four speed transmission (3.11 first gear), and a 3.73 positraction rear end. The rear end has Chrysler side gears and 33 spline Moser Alloy axles, along with reinforced spring mounts and driver's side carrier bearing cap.
The car I wish to end up with will duplicate a "Modified Production" NHRA class car from the early '70's, but, with a streetable rear end ratio. I do expect to drag race the car about 5-10 week ends per summer at my local 1/4 mile strip, but also use the car for longer trips. With the highway use in mind, I expect to replace the Saginaw transmission with a Tremec 5 speed overdrive transmission, and the stock drum brakes with an aftermarket power front disc rear stock drum combo. I wish to turn the engine no more than 6,000 rpm's max, and have already purchased the electronic MSD ignition system with the rev limiter for that purpose.
I envision a 9.0:1 compression ratio, and want to use three Holly-Weber staged two barrel carbs on an Offenhauser manifold. I already have three beautifully machined adapters "sparked out" on an Electronic Spark Discharge machine, otherwise, I would consider the three Weber Sidedraft Carb setup. For the exhaust system, I want to use the reproduction cast iron manifolds as produced by Tom Langdon's "Stovebolt Engine Company", and full dual exhaust with low restriction mufflers.
With all this in mind, I would like to get your recommendations as to cylinder head work. I do possess a clean head that I could ship to you as a core, but, I understand that you use only new castings for you "Lump Port" conversions. Also, I am Intrigued by the possibility of an intercooled blow through Vortech Supercharger in the future, so, are your Lump Port heads suitable for extended street use? (I realize that the blower is not compatible with the Modified Production theme, but.... :-)
An additional question concerns the elimination of the intake port head bolt bosses. Are the replacement bolts suitable for long road trips, or will they loosen periodically and require retorquing on a regular basis? Also, Jack Clifford used to recommend a "heat treated" stock rod for street or endurance use. Since his untimely death, I can find no other information on this process. Do you Know any particulars about this process?
One final question (I promise). For this application, I have my choice of two crankshafts. I have a late model cast crank with 12 counterweights, and a 1963 forged steel crank (six counterweights) that needs turned less than .030 to clean up a rod throw. Which would be your recommendation?
I realize that I've asked a lot of questions, but, you are the recognized experts in this field. Please let me know how I may obtain one of your catalogs. I have tried to download it several times without success. Thank you, Bob Brewer II # 1816

People!

I´m finishing my full main cap girdle this week!
It will fit only dry sump set up, but it will tie all the main caps and all around the pan rails!
I think with this and a block filler the problems with the 250 block will be killed...

As soon as I got the part, I´ll take some shots for you guys!

Please, keep us informed about this!!!!

Thanks!

Chiefoldephart, You might want to consider post a "New Topic" on your motor. This "Topic" seems to have gone in several different direction. Your new motor sounds like something considering after I finish the current rebuild.

As to the rods, on this last rebuild I found the stock rods lacking in uniformity on the piston pin end. There was a deviation of as much as 50 thou from side to side. I went through three sets of rods to o find a set I liked.

Tempering, there is a new method of tempering that is big with NASCAR and others, cold tempering, doesn't sound right but evidently it is thee thing now. The big advantage is you can do all your machine work and then cold temper with no lose of dimensions. Check

http://www.300below.com/

I believe Dick Mayberry quoted me $75 for a set of rods. He's very helpful.

Larry