194 chevy straight six

how could i get more horsies out of a 194 chebby straight six out of a 29 1 ton?

 

it would be cheaper to replace it with a 250 or 292 than to spend money on hop up parts.

 

1. Remove engine.

2. Sell to restorer.

3. Replace with any 1955 or newer motor.

Results: More horspower, and with any luck, you're even money-wise.

I don't know if the 194 was what became the 216 used through '52-'53 in cars, but if it is, performance parts for one of those may work. If it's an earlier motor or greatly changed to become the 216, then parts for it will be as scarce as hen's teeth. Even if you can find parts, odds are by the time you spend money to hop up this motor, you could just as easily put a 216, 235 or 261 six in there that most people wouldn't even know wasn't stock, have much more power, and have done a lot less work.

 

The early six has only 3 mains. Don't do it.

 

RichFox is correct. There's a reason that you almost never saw a hopped up '29-'36 engine. The lower end wouldn't stand it.

 

well i dindnt really want to hop it up. i wanted to get a little more horse power out of it.

will a 250 fit a 1929? or a closed shaft 235? i know the 250 is on the same block as the 194 but the bell housing is different on some years. which years!

 

Aren't they both the same thing? Anyway, don't confuse the '62-'67 194 with your engine. The only similarity is that they're both made of cast iron. The 194-230-250-292 type engine won't bolt into your '29 without the same amount of fabrication that would be necessary to put a V8 in it. The transmission patterns aren't even close.

 

There aren't any speed parts available for the original 194/207 3 main bearing engines. Very low compression and oiling is worse than the 216/235 that replaced it. If you plan on restoring the truck to original, then just leave it alone. Otherwise, replace it with something newer. The 194/207 is actually longer than the later engines, so space shouldn't be an issue.

Now for the guessing...
I'm also pretty sure the '29 bellhousing won't work with the later engines, which then makes me wonder about the tranny bolt pattern. If the '29 tranny bolts up differently, then you may be looking at either modifying the later bellhousing, or swapping out the entire driveline. This is all in reference to using the '37-62 engines, etc..


If you want to use the later 194/230/250/292 engines, then you need to replace everything anyway.
If you are intending to use this vehicle regularly, especially at highway speeds, you really need to consider ditching the original engine and driveline and those mechanical brakes. Its just not up to the task.