Just acquired a pair of 292 chevy 6's . In need of performance info . In the past I've only built SBC 's . If all works out I will put one in my chopped ,dropped and shortened 48 chev pickup . Any info greatly appreciated .
Santucci's book is pretty good, it will tell you a lot about the engines. The mounts are a bit funky compared to a 250 six, the bellhousing is the same as a Chevy V8, the crank bolt pattern had two variations, one is normal, the other has 3 dowels and larger bolts, but you can find a flexplate or flywheel for it relatively easily. Folks will tell you they are torque monsters...but they really only have as much torque as any other 300ish cubic inch engine, the thing is that they don't have much top end (the intake and head are pretty restrictive) so you notice that it has low end torque, and not much else. Should be a fun project
Lots of knowledgeable folks here: http://www.inliners.org/ A Google search will yield lots of other hits. As squirrel says, Leo Santucci's books are a motherlode of info, required reading IMO.- http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=n:283155,p_27:Leo Santucci Motor mounts are staggered, so a 292 won't bolt in directly in place of a 250. They respond well to the usual compression, cam, intake and exhaust upgrades, but don't plan on revving it over 5000, less is better.
Suggest a search here. The 250"-292" gets covered about once a month. Many builds detailed. jack vines
LOL the last 292 I had in a rod only took a cam headers and a little Holley to make it snappy enough to keep me happy. I wasn't breaking any land speed records but I was keeping up.
Well, that's the first I've heard that bell housing pattern was different. I was considering swapping one to replace a 230. Looks like a trans swap would also be in the deal.
HotSixes.Com, an Australian site. ASEturbo.com for an exhaust manifold to turbocharge a 194-292 six cylinder. T6Racing.org. And the others listed above. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.
I have a warmed over 292 in my '40 Coupe. It's all I need for long distance driving and cruising. It's also a non "V" for the car show circuit. Very reliable if you don't abuse it! Ask me how I know.
I whupped the 292 in my '41 like a pound puppy. I eventually sold it for what I needed to buy the 409 Bisquit that I found and whupped that one too.
Here's a site you can purchase performance parts from: http://www.shop.cliffordperformance.net/Chevy-250-292_c4.htm
Should work great in your truck. They are a powerful motor but not a high revver. The usual hop up tricks apply, cam, carbs, headers, compression, ignition, etc. They are detuned for long service and the head design is on the lousy side so there is no point in trying to make a race horse out of one BUT with a few low cost tricks you can get a 40% increase in HP, have a lot of fun, and not break the bank. O ya don't expect great gas mileage either. Performance and mileage similar to a 305 V8.
The bell housing is the same bolt pattern. It is the crank and flywheel that are different, one has larger bolts than the other.
I had one years ago that cracked a head so I put a 194 head on the 292 and increased the compression ratio in the process. The 194 has smaller combustion chambers.
You can get 300 hp out of one which requires about the same amount of money that you would get 500 hp out of a small block v8. People are right when they say keep it under 5000 rpm. with a 7.25 rod, it doesn`t like high rpm I have that runs low elevens with a 1.82 glide and 350 gears and a rev limiter set at 5500 rpm
Ok Not looking to start a fight, but they can be made to make big power. Start with polishing ports and add lump ports. zero deck the head. 12bolt.com has a lot of good speed parts to wake them up. I am in the process of building what should be around 450-500 horse one right now. because of the flow restrictions in the head they take to a turbo like a baby to a bottle.
You will get no argument from me. "flow restrictions in the head" is another way of saying "lousy" from the standpoint of performance. We agree that they are a powerful motor but not a high revver. For a pickup truck or a heavy car, and for plenty of punch off the line and up to 4000 - 4500 RPM they are awesome. That kind of power with supercharging is quite possible but frankly if you want that much HP a V8 is a lot easier and cheaper.
I've had two 292s. I will mimic what others are saying; wake it up a little, don't race corvettes, and enjoy the comments from spectators. Lol Sent from a Glade Air Freshener
I had one in a 63 C-10. backed up by a 3 speed manual itty bitty tranny. Every year it wanted to be honed and re-ringed. Never bored it out and I'm sure the cylinders were more egg shaped than round. That sucker just wouldn't die. It always started and was as reliable as the sun.
This is quite possibly the sweetest sounding and most powerful naturally aspirated 292 anywhere. Warren
The Jalopy Journal
