a bench racing session with a friend brought up some ideas, then some questions. It all started as a joke, really, nothing dangerous about that, but it soon turned to a heated argument with a third party over the merits of import vs. american engine design...when he got to the part about his 2.somethin liter honda's bottom end being good for 500+ hp, I laughed and exited. friend called later, serious about doing this...sheesh...what have I got myself into? I'd rather go with a 289 V-8 or somethin, but he insists on an inline 6, I guess he thinks twice the cylinders of a honda is unfair, but two extra is acceptable, and the inline thing because of some theory of them being stronger??? I don't really wanna ask, but here goes. What inline 6 of domestic design can handle rpms in excess of 7 grand for any period of time, and will handle 20+ pounds of boost? Yes, it's going to be injected, yes it's going into something old...either a four-door falcon or chevyII... I am prepared to take the ridecule my friend would get if HE had asked this...he owes me big time.
The only USA made inline, 6 cyl that I know of, that will even turn 7000 and that is redline, is the 170 slant six. As far as 20 lbs of boost, I do not think so. I have a blower on a 225 and all it will handle, stock, is 15 lbs. It redlines at 5000. If you can find a Dugan 6 cyl, Made in Austrailia, it will turn around 10,000, but get your wallet out. I have a friend who has one and he has been offered 20,000 for the motor!
You might consider a late production Ford 200" six. The log intake would need to be modified, or you could use a stock Australian or Argentinian head (both a direct bolt-on). The 200" has 7 main bearings and a shorter stroke than a Ford or Chevy 250". Look on Fordsix.com for links to blown or turbo'd examples. You might also check out a racer in Florida who goes by "twisted6" over on Inliners.org, he might already be turning 7K running three 4 barrels on a Chevy 250", another 7 main bearing engine. Later, Kinky6
Why don't you end it and build a Ford 2.3 "Turbo Coupe" engine. These things can be built to rock and will handle tons of boost and high rpm abuse. They can still be had in salvage yards, they are 4 cylinders over 5 main bearings with forged pistons and a good oiling system. I bet'cha you'll get the respect of your pro-import peers with this engine.
there was a trailblazer i6 in hot rod's quickest street car shootout, in a nova wagon, turbo'ed, last septembers issue i think, ran pretty well.
Maybe it's too new, but some of the later (late 80's-'93) Dodge turbo fours are capable of some awesome power. I have a '91 Dodge Spirit R/T (only 1209 made) that has a Lotus designed head, 2.2 liter TIII, turbo, intercooled, 0-60 in 5.8, 224 HP, and is cheaply and easily upgraded 100 or more HP. They have been modded to put out over 500 hp. The engines to look for are TII for easier to find lower HP, and TIII for the TIII Lotus job. They don't sound like Hondas with a fart can muffler, and run like you can't believe. The TIII Spirit R/Ts are a 4 door granny car if ya don't know what they are. The TIII also came in a sportier package called the Daytona R/T. If you search out a donor car, the Spirit is cheaper to buy. These are USA made, not japanese in a domestic car. I smoked a late model BMW M3 with mine, not bad for a $2,000 car! The TII came in Shelby Dodges, I think, plus some others, including mini-vans. One fellow built a 12 sec. Dodge minivan, talk about a sleeper. Anyway, it ain't a six, it's a four, but it will run like a scalded dog and is Detroit made.
To run that kind of RPM reliably, you'll need to start with a 7 main bearing engine. Many of the early inlines only had 4 main bearings, instead of a bearing between every rod, so crank flex becomes a real issue at high RPMs. It's less of an issue with a 7 bearing engine.
the pump gas drags (92 octane) in either Car Craft or Hot Rod from last year...it should put that goober in his place. where as the ricers are running 110+ to get those numbers. also look at some of the trucks running a Pikes Peak, i recall that many of the trucks there are running straight 6's.
Go with a Chevy 250 or 292 or a Ford 300. All sixes, all fairly stout from the factory. Just add mods. I know they all have a sufficient amount of mains. r
Hello guys I have buzzed my 250 as high as 8000 more then once and this is on 17plus yr old motor with a 583 /607 lift cam. The used to be a daily driver up to the Point i started to change the rear gear More suited for racing. and yes that was the same cam on the street with 3:08 gears & a 4speed. A force feed motor doesn't really have a need to see Those type of high rpms Esp with a turbo set-up.
Barney Navarro used a 199 cubic inch Rambler 7 main six for his twin turbo venture because, after studying the manufacturer's blueprints of all of the inline sixes, found that it had the stoutest block and bottom end.
Welcome aboard.Thinking I've heard of your accomplishments with the 250, I hope you'll have a lot more to say on the hamb.Don't want to steal the thread,Later.
Get to twisted 6's web page and you can see it in action. That little mother just flat goes. Then go to www.inliners.org and check out some of those rides.
lol, is it really stealing a thread when it's been sleeping for way over a year? I'd forgot about this post of mine...I'm glad someone brought it up again. I won't say what it's going in, due to uncontrollable laughter at the mere suggestion of it, but I've got a chevy 250 that's about to power one of the rides that has been waiting for far too long...that link to inliners was informative, thanks!
Chrysler Australia built a mind-blowing inline 6 in the 70's, the mighty '265 Hemi' They actually came in 215, 245 & 265 cubes from memory, and they competed directly with GMH (Holden) 350 Chev powered cars and Ford 351 Cleveland and Windsor powered ones on the racetrack, and often won. Here's a link to the awesome 'Valiant Charger E49' with it's 'factory stock' triple Weber 300+hp 265 Hemi engine! (Who needs a blower) http://www.chargerclubofwa.asn.au/MembersCars/rte49.htm Cheers, Glen.
I recommend a 1965 Rambler 199 inline six if you want a good breathing screamer. Use a 199,232,258 cyl head made before 1969 or 70 (bigger ports than the 71 and later smog heads) The 199 has an incredibly short stroke (1.9 inch I believe), and with bigger valves and grinding out the ports, it will REALLY scream. Around 1970 I built one with TRW forged pistons, enlarged ports, shaved flywheel, 3spd OD stickshift of course, and a two barrel carb. In a lightened car (Rambler of course) it had a better power to weight ratio than the popular V8 Chevelles of that time. I really enjoyed hot rodding the hell out of it for several years. I sure wish todays 5-speeds, electronic igns, and FI were available back then. That would have made it a whole lot more fun for me. MAKE SURE you put it in a light weight car, and it will run like a hopped up motorcycle. If you put very much weight on it, it will slow down in a hurry. No heavy cars if you want it to be quick. Keep it very light and it will blow the doors off the traditional muscle cars. About 15 years later (mid 80s) I made a 258 CI version of it (from a 1977 Pacer) to put in my EAGLE. I used a Chevy inline SIX HEI distributor, changed the drive gear to AMC gear, and stuck it right in. I used cut down Manley Chevy valves after sleeving the guides, used an older Rambler 199/232 cyl head for the bigger ports, ran an external oil line for the older rocker shaft, bought a Crane cam, and used a 2bbl carb. That 258 Eagle made a very torquey and very peppy family car for a few years until it twisted the snout off the Chrysler 904 transmission. That's considered a V8 transmission- used behind 318's The torqued 258 didn't rev nearly as well as the old 199 but it was better able to pull a heavier car. They still used that RAMBLER six cyl in the later Jeeps well into the 90's with fuel injection and aftermarket hop up parts that were not available way back when I was hopping them up. I sure would love to drive a modern version of the short stroke 199 with the early big port head, modern FI, electronic ign, oversize valves, 5-speed, in a very light weight roadster. I believe that PROBABLY most of the later Jeep external hop ups like FI should bolt right on the older Rambler engines since the newer Jeeps use the same RAMBLER engines of the old days with different bore and stroke combos. There were different valve and rocker configurations over the years, along with different pushrod lengths, but I never had any trouble putting the desirable early heads on the later engines that I worked with as long as I was willing to run an external oil line to the rocker shaft or some other accomodations. (to me 80's and 90's cars are late model cars) I never had any trouble picking out the right length of pushrod for any strange head/rocker combo from the stock parts lists. There always seemed to be the right pushrod length available for any mix and match that I did. A 199 won't pull a big truck, but in a light car it will be one of the most fun-to-drive engines you will ever build.
Well I thank you all. Nice site you guys have here.It's taking me a little to go through it. and I have seen some Old posts I thought I would just stick my 2cents on. And Hope i can be of some help . You guys can see my Prostreet 64SS 250 block. here at www.T6racing.org I have photos & Video of it.And i hope you injoy it.
I believe the overhead valve Rambler 6 cyl engines that I worked with started in 1965. The 61-64 should have been flatheads. I may have been wrong about the year they started, but I believe it to be correct. The engines I refered to are the OHV inline 6 engines with the seven main bearings. They breathed a whole lot better than the flatheads or BrandX ohvs. I have never worked on the Rambler flatheads.
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