Projects Best In-Line Motor for modification

Talking to a guy at cruise-nite about Toyota DOHC inline 6's. He says warped heads are big problem with them. He replaced his (1987 Supra) 6 with an early Lexus 4.0 V8 with a blower added.

 

Guess I am getting old...so far in this thread, nobody mentioned the venerable GMC 302. I know they're heavy, but if you can afford a Wayne 12-port and one of those 5-carb intakes along with a good set of headers and some head/port work - they are a screamer. Drawback is that not many are still making hipo parts for these behemoths and the stuff at the swap meet is quite dear in terms of $US.

dj

 

Yeah, I know. Only problem is, one of the O.P.'s needs was inexpensive, and just about any of the "newer" American inline sixes is cheaper to build than a GMC 302.

But, yeah, the GMC 302 is still one of the sturdiest American six ever built, and had more cubes than all but the most radical flathead V8 builds back before Chevy introduced the smallblock V8.

Later, Kinky6

 

heres a vote for the slant 6 mopar. they look cool and i remember readin years ago, steve magnante from HRM built 1, put it in an early 60s 4 door and promptly ran a 14.9! not to mention, they're anvil tough, cheap and were built by the BILLIONS!

 

Another thought might be the inline 5 like in the Chevy/GMC pickups. 3.5 Liter and runs great. It is a twin cam with the exhaust cam run by variable timing. It is a little shorter than the six and makes lots of power from idle to about six grand.

 

Imho, a hopped up B&S'd 304" Hudson Hornet around 350"s engine will be hard to beat and it's "Old-School" HAMB!!

pdq67

 

A picture of the GM Vortec six. Ripped off from another six cylinder thread.

 

Didn't I read somewhere that many (all?) slant 6s have a forged crank?

It has been a while but I remember something like that.

I believe they are all forged up til 1976.

 

Nothing's cheaper than an old Jag ;-) Buy a whole car, part it out and get the engine for less than nothing. You need a pre-injection engine - but this has been discussed at length elsewhere on The HAMB.

 

On the crossflow, I have out in the shop a 292 bored to 4in-310 cu in. Crane roller cam Jhans forged pistons with a crossflow head, fabbed 302 Boss ford head and fabbed Hilborn injection. My brother and I built this engine in 1974 and ran it in the 6 cyl. altered class at 118 mph. and 6.30 ET,s I,m partial to Chevys however a 292 Chevy or 300 Ford will yank a light car around mighty fine. Stick to the larger cu if possible. If you use a 250 chevy there are someV-8 parts that will fit, lifters,pistons, flywheel, bellhousing ect. You can also use chevy pistons in a 240 Ford with a little mods. By all means USE A FLUID BALLANCER on any inline 6 ,TCI Rattler is my favorite. Back to the above engine, The parts were all over the shop and 3 yrs ago I asked my brother if he cared if I restored it and he said go ahead, and I did and got it running about 1 and half yrs ago. He passed away last Oct. and I,m sure glad I got in gear and got through the project. Do it guys and have a blast. Christmas Tree

 

If you're thinking of shipping over an Aussie engine, how about the Aussie hemi headed Valiant Charger six. This made some serious horsepower - see more at:

http://www.aussiecoupes.com/charger.html

There are plenty of Aussie Hambers on the board and I would think that you would be able to find someone to help you locate and ship one. There was a Valiant Charger import with one that I used to see at local cruise nights in So Cal about eight years ago.

 

The bad news about the Aussie "Hemi six" is it's not a Hemi. Other than that they are fine.

 

Didn't I read somewhere that many (all?) slant 6s have a forged crank?

It has been a while but I remember something like that.

I believe they are all forged up til 1976.
I beleive the above statement is true.
Whether it is forged or not it is immaterial. Wont break is what matters. I have done some strange things with cast cranks too. Pre my Old Reliable book we built a 460 from a 400 and used a cast crank simply cause we had it. We still have the crank today . It is not broke but it has a few scars. Too often we apply prostock style choices to bread and butter applications. A cast Mopar v8 crank will stand 600 HP safely and perhaps more. It is not unreasonable to think a slant six cast would then stand at least 400. After all the main bearings are similar of both cranks. So far no one has produced a 400 HP normally aspirated slant six. In fact at 300 I would be holding a party! So the idea that you must have a cast crank doesnt hold water unless you say I "want" a forged crank. Many of the other popular sixes dont have forged cranks either. surpisingly.
Don
Don

 

Correct me if I am wrong, I would think that either forged or cast would work due to the inherent balance of a six and since the power is coming from one directional plane instead of 2 as in a V motor.

When it comes to the Slant Six, I am a big fan, they have legendary durability and they look exceptionally cool. But, the biggest Slant was only 225, for my plans I feel the potential of the 300 at 75 cu.in. bigger would be better. The Jimmy would be cool, but hasn't been made for quite some time.

The Jag, that would be very interesting, especially if I could get an independent rear suspension with it, but they are not very prevalent here in Iowa. We midwesterner's like our Big 3, so that is the majority of my choices.

My initial plan is to build an ultra stout bottom-end that can handle more modification on the top end. From my research it would seem the 300 would fit the bill. My initial goal would be 300hp for the first version, it would seem the 300 would be the easiest candidate for this, without having a lot of exotic parts.

Does this seem correct?

Thanks again for everyone's input, I am learning alot about the Sixes and love the links I am getting from some folks, especially liked the aussie link, who wouldn't want a Mad Max Interceptor.

 

You are correct. Forged or cast will make no difference at your power levels, especially if everything is balanced and machined properly. The biggest issue you will run into in getting the big Ford to put out 300 Hp will be the head. It will need some decent port work to flow properly. The rest should be easy, bolt on intake, header, cam etc. Get the compression up to 9.5 or 10:1 and start embarrassing the hell out of SBC owners.

 

Dennis Varnie just went 307, two run record speed with his new 444 Vesco clone streamliner using the GM Vortec/Atlas engine at 256 cid. Should indicate some potential for this engine

 

I've been laying low kuz Of all the havoc, but I do have my build plan now, I'll be running a 292 with a 6-71 blower, lump ports, 3 1bbl's, 1.94 intake and 1.60 exhaust valves, ross pistons, 8:1 compression, 10 pounds of boost, an MSD6 BTM ignition, water/methanol injection, dual exhaust, and lots of chrome and SS, which will give it 10 more HP, I don't care what porknbeaner says!

PM me if you have Q's or sugguestions, and Pork n' beaner, truce? I know there was alot of BS on some of them, but I'd never worked on a stovebolt, only big detroits, cummins, and a couple of SB/BBC's... STEEP LEARNING CURVE to say the least. so lets call it a truce. mmmk?

 

NO question about it, the 300 ford is best way to go! know this from experiance. They are strong and easy to find lots of aftermarket parts around go with 3, 4, or 5 speed c4 c6 or aod! Thats my opinion for what its worth only 2 years late Good luck...

 

Ive seen some badass Holden powered cars in Comp Eliminator and you have to be impressed with Varni's liner if youve seen it run and the Hot Rod magazine Chevy 2 wagon with the turbo twin cam 5 in it that goes low 9s