Inliners International Forums General Discussion Engines '59 235

59 belair wantin' to rebuild th inline 6 to about 350 hp any sugestions?

I don't think a 235 will get that high, but a 250 or 292 might. Check Out Leo Santucci's Chevy Inline 6 Power Manual for info on making a high performance 6.

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'50 Chevy Fleetline DeLuxe ('55 235)
'48 Chevy Fleetmaster coupe ('60 235)
Chicago
http://www.geocities.com/hellfish122

Get the latest 12 Port News for the 261 stroker/292 with Cadillac pistons article. And it would be a bolt-in for your 59 vs. the 292 late model motor.

350 hp with a 235 isn't going to happen, at least not for very long. 200hp is about the best you could hope for with a normally aspirated 235 on the street, and that's with ALOT of head work and other things that get real expensive, real quick. Not positive, but even with a 12 port head and a turbo, my guess would be that if you do hit the mark, the head gasket won't last long (even with o-rings) due to the lack of head bolts in key areas. Others may disagree. If you want a reliable 350 hp from a six, a turbocharged 292 would be my suggestion. Of course, that means swapping out everything from the bellhousing forward (if stick) tranny also (if auto). New motor mounts, radiator clearance???, hood clearance???..... $$$$$

Gearhead's right.

A 235 will never get to 350 HP reliably. A 250 probably won't be very driveable if it did get to 350 real HP. A 292 or a GMC 302 would be your best bet.

Even with those engines it will take a LOT of work and money to make 350HP, unless you are drag racing and go with nitrous or turbo or supercharger. Without those mods a 292 will never even come close to 350 HP.

I run a 292 now in a street driven (could be daily driven) 1966 chevy truck. It's bored .060 over and has a 500 cfm 4 barrel carb, long tube headers, HEI ignition, etc., and produces nowhere near 200HP. So you can imagine what magnitude of changes would be required to approach 300HP.

-magic mike-