(first posted 2/8/2013) The legendary Turbo-Thrift Chevy inline six first appeared in 1962, on the new 1962 Chevy II. Actually, that first version, a 120 hp 194 CID was called “Hi-Thrift”. But the 230 inch version that appeared in the full-size 1963 Chevys, finally replacing the venerable 235 incher “Blue Flame” was called Turbo-Thrift, and the family is typically known by that name. These rather dull but durable engines were generally more Thrift than Turbo, as Chevy never saw fit to offer anything but one-barrel carbs and mild states of tune. But there’s always a caveat to any engine: it all depends on how much weight it was asked to pull.
So in order to find the briskest, we need the most favorable power-to-weight ratio. And that would be a combination of the 1964 Chevy II 100 two-door sedan (2540 lbs) when teamed up with the optional 155hp 230 Turbo Thrift (and three-speed stick, naturally).
This engine was the closest Chevy got to building a performance version of the Turbo-Thrift, and was only offered in 1964 on the Chevy II and Chevelle. Rather oddly, it came standard with chromed air cleaner and valve cover, something even the hot Chevy V8s didn’t come standard with. Its camshaft was slightly more adventuresome than the 140 hp version, but it was still was restricted by the little one-pot carb.
Still, this combination meant that the six had to pull only 16.38 lbs per hp, which is less than a ’64 Impala SS with the 283 V8. Of course, if one was looking for more serious performance, the 220 hp 283 V8 was also available in the Chevy II that year, which really sparkled in the light Chevy II.
On the other end of the spectrum, if you were one of the 289 buyers (actual production number) who demanded a 1972 Impala Sport Coupe with the Turbo Thrift six, there wasn’t much sports on tap; more like gliding, if the conditions were favorable (downhill). By 1972, the 250 six was rated at 110 hp, but that was net; so let’s give it the benefit of the doubt and say it still made 145 hp gross, as it had been rated in 1971. With a listed weight of 3864 lbs, that comes out to 26.6 lbs per hp. Strictly speaking, the ’72 Impala four-door sedan weighed seventy lbs more, but the idea of a six-cylinder ’72 Impala Sports Coupe is just more…sick. In a good way, of course.
That’s just passenger cars. The 292 CID version of the six was available in quite large medium-duty trucks, and surprisingly common, too.
And on the other end of the spectrum, no could make the Tutbo-Thrift scream like Kay Sissell, who started shutting down plenty of V8s on the drag strips back in the mid sixties. That included his single engine Altered Roadster as well as this twin-engined rail, Sixsession. Sissell’s sizzling sixes were legendary, and his shop will be happy to make your wildest (or mild) Turbo-Thrift dreams come true.
So were there any aftermarket go fast parts for these 6s?
I just added an addendum to this post that refers to Kay Sissell’s shop that specializes in making these engines scream. Their cylinder head work is the best in the business. But there are numerous other parts available, including four-barrel intake manifolds, cams, headers: the sky’s the limit.
Fortunately, there’s been a small but growing interest in inline sixes, as many folks have long tired of the predictable Chevy V8s. Kay Sissell was a pioneer, but there are others too.
I noticed on Kay Sissell’s site that they can upgrade a Ford 300 six. These engines made Ford pickups veritable freight trains with their torque. I can only imagine what Sissell can do with this engine!
Maybe bring it into the Hudson performance range!
Seems the link goes to “Go Daddy” domain website that may you allow to buy it. Is the shop still open? I had a 91 F-150 with the 300 six and sequential multiport injectors and looking for another one and wanted the engine massaged.
That means his site is closed, and probably his shop too.
These little I-6s can be made to run pretty hard. Supremely easy to work on, as well.
One of the better known I-6 hop-up purveyors:
http://www.cliffordperformance.net/
There are plenty of ways to get some really good power out of these. The Clifford stuff is just the beginning. Lots of people running turbos and superchargers on these. Folks in Brazil are running some super-hot Chev straight sixes (up to 600hp). And they have some mean aluminum heads down there, I’ve been told. One of the big limitations on these sixes are the siamesed heads.
Problem is money. It’s a LOT more expensive to make them go vs. a small-block V8.
I’m resto-modding a ’68 Camaro, and I intend to keep the “250” badges, and the column shift. But swapping out a modern Vortec 4200 straight six will actually be cheaper than getting that old 250 into the 300hp range.
I don’t mind someone doing a “modern interpetation” of a classic. Atlas 6 is as close as you’re gonna come to a “brand new” Turbo Thrift.
In my eyes its the same as guys who repower 289V8 Fords with the 4.6 Modular motor. Its a modern version of the 289.
“One of the big limitations on these sixes are the siamesed heads.”
The heads do have siamesed intake ports, but the big problem is the head bolt bosses that go through the ports. Sissell’s (and possibly others) correct this problem by removing the boss and substituting a short, allen-head bolt that secures the head to the block at the bottom of the port. The bolt also secures a metal “ramp” that provides smooth intake flow over the top of the bolt. A pipe plug seals the port from the top. It’s called the “lump port” modification.
unlike the Jeep 4.0L which has a cult following (still based on the AMC six but continued production with the Pentastar logo replacing the AMC symbol) the Chevrolet six (third gen) was marketed as an entry level motor but in the USA and Canada the SBC has a cult following and the six was not developed much into a performance build – by 1975 the bolt on intake was eliminated where GM claimed that its integrated intake manifold resulted in increased fuel economy but still using the archaic THM250 and 200 trans which at this point in time was not overdrives like the 4L60E (some trucks had the 700R4 behind the six but GM chose not 2 invest and/or upgrade the motor when it was finally used with the truck/van to 1984 (1990 with the medium duty incl the box van/UPS chassis) – keep in mind that 2 deck heights were produced – the low deck (194-215-230-250 (215 produced by Pontiac but has a Pontiac V8 flywheel bolt pattern) and the tall deck 292 with a relocated RH engine mount while retaining external dimensions of the previous gen Stovebolt)
These sixes came with a 1 barrel carburetor and if seen with a bolt on intake the exhaust manifold is bolted together (its known 4 the aftermarket intake which can take a 4 bbl carb 2 be used but must be used in conjunction with tubular headers (which AMC/Jeep did when the 4.0L came out after their six was first fitted with Renix and later Mopar MPI); unlike the USA where the six was not developed in Latin America and South Africa (Brasil, Argentina, ZA) the six (produced in Brasil and Argentina) later gained EFI until the 2001 model yr when it was optioned with the Brasil market GMT400 truck; the six was also produced as a 194 alongside a debored 153 (yes there was a 4 cylinder variant based on the third gen six which is still in production as the Vortec 3000) in South Africa 4 their respective GM products sold in ZA (this also included the South African market AMC Hornet where local content production resulted in the AMC six substituted 4 the Chevrolet six)
a company called clifford, i think clifford engineering made performance parts for inline 6’s, even a.m.c. engines
Looks a lot like the engine in my !970 Vauxhall Cresta PC.3.3 litre straight 6 that had been round the clock,great reliability and seriously undererated.
I seem to recall several late-70s Novae in my autoshop classes with straight-six power.. Was it the same engine at this point? Or am I simply remembering things through my admittedly stony high school haze?
Same engine; it was last used in the late seventies.
Update: in the passenger cars. Much longer in the trucks.
Until the mid-eighties in light trucks. I had an’82 K-10. By then it was known as the 4.1 liter. Horsepower numbers were not mentioned, but I can assure you there weren’t very many horses in there.
Auto OD transmission lugged itself above about 32 mph. I used to lock out OD until over 40. Any slight upgrade on the interstate caused it to downshift in order to hold a 65mph limit. And that was unloaded.
EDIT: I guess Junqueboi posted while I was writing!
Even longer in boats, in the cut off 4-cylinder form. Into the 2000s.
My father had a 1965 Chevrolet Impala coupe with a 230 and a powerglide. Talk about a slow old car, but at least it looked nice. Later on he has a 1967 Chevy II coupe with the 155hp 250 six. It was actually pretty peppy, and could out accelerate most fullsize cars with the small V8’s.
The 250 cu.in. version was standard in the light trucks and vans through 1984. My first L6 vehicle is this ’82 LWB High Sierra that had been sitting in the weeds for maybe five years or so. It immediately fired up with fresh gas and a battery without ticking, smoke, vibrations, etc.
I only drove it a few times before a rusty casting plug behind the flywheel let go though. Serviceability is amazing although I’m a little leary of the one-piece exhaust/intake manifold.
I also wonder how robust the timing gears are. If they’re anything like the Iron Duke setup, my future “freeze plug job” will probably end up being a camshaft R&R….
MAW.
The timing gears will never wear out.
These engines are bulletproof as long as you can keep the oil in them.
I maintained my now-wife’s 1974 Nova for about ten years and it had this engine.
Her family gave the car away to a guy who won 2nd place in a demo derby with it (I was there to see it, and it was bittersweet to see the car I had spent 100s of hours working on get destroyed), and the engine was still running at the end. He planned on pulling the motor and giving it to another friend!
The engine had 250K original miles on it when my wife got rid of it, still running fine, but the head gasket had developed a very small leak by then.
That is good to know. I’ve never heard of one of these jumping time but most of the people junked them or did a V8 swap when things didn’t go their way. I really want to get this thing back on the road and experience some L6 goodness.
My Dad’s 64 Biscayne 2dr had the 230 with 3 speed manual. I don’t recall it being overly slow, but at the time, I had nothing to compare it to. There was a long winding hill I’d take a ride near a neighboring town. On the rare occasions Dad gave me the car, I’d get a good running start, and shift into high about one half up. I’d get to about 50 mph before I hit the top. Great fun for a 16 year old. (I never was hard to please.)
Dad’s Biscayne was bare bones, but it would be a neat car today.
In all my years of writing service orders, I never once did a major repair on a Turbo-Thrift. Nada, nothing, zilch. These were, in my opinion, representative of GM at its peak and, again in my opinion, GM was indeed at its peak in 1962.
It was also very easy to hop a Turbo-Thrift up, although most Chevy II’s saw their sixes ditched and had Small Block power installed. That’s a real shame since the Six was a marvelous motor: smooth (thanks to those seven main bearings), torquey and as reliable as a rock. There are also tons of aftermarket performance parts available and anybody with two brains to rub together and Crappy Tire socket set.
Have a look here:
http://www.speedwaymotors.com/search-chevy-six-cylinder-performance-parts.html
A Chevy II with Powerglide, two barrel carb and dual exhaust would make a nice and easy 150 bhp. That would be a nice ride in such a light car.
I’ve mentioned before that my uncle factory ordered a 66 Impala four-door sedan (bright red, very attractive black vinyl/nylon interior) with only radio/heater options. The six, three-on-the-tree, dog dish caps and blackwalls. He kept that car for ten years and drove it between Indiana and Florida many, many times. Finally traded it for a new, well equipped Monte Carlo in the 70’s, his last car. That had to be one of Chevy’s best engines because it performed beautifully for him all those many years with no major repairs outside of regular maintenance and as I recall produced quite decent mileage.
I remember how the dealership did not want to order the car and required a substantial deposit because they felt it was unsellable if he failed to take delivery. But it served his purposes perfectly. My recollection is that this engine was incredibly smooth and quiet for a six.
My 68 Nova had the 230. I tried hard to break it but it defied me.
This would be a good engine to put in a lot of older cars.
I had the 194 with 3 spd manual in a 64 LeMans. It was rediculously slow to me. But it got great mileage. Like I cared in 69. My previous car that I had sold a few years before was a 270 HP 283 in a 57 Chev. HUGE difference.
If only the Vega motor was this tough.
Family had a 1967 Chevy p/u as a ‘3rd car’ in early 80’s and had I6 with 3 on the tree. I assume it had a high axle ratio, since it was peppy compared to relative’s 78 Nova with automatic.
Holdens famous Red motor is based on this smaller capacity but it stayed in production from 63- 86.
I wondered about that – the Holden Red Six in 149 and 179 ci capacities looked very similar to the Chevy 6.They were bullet proof and there are 1000’s still going strong in Oz and NZ. The engine with the chrome rocker cover looks like the one in the Torana XU-1 (although that had triple carbies.)
Yes, these engines look identical to the Holden red motors. They could be made to go like stink, as attested by the XU1 Toranas. Peter Brock, a legend of motorsport in Australia, famously piloted one of these in probably the toughest production car race ever devised, the Bathurst 1000. These engines were taken to their absolute mechanical limits, and the cars had the wheels driven off them. Great days.
Not identical. The Holden has an external oil pump, the starter is on the other side, and the the distributor is further back on the block, compared to the Chevrolet.
I will share a picture of the pair of 292’s in my boat a few months ago before they were pulled out to be rebuilt. They are almost done.
Nice; like the purple valve covers. And with four barrel carbs; what are they rated at?
The are late 1990’s GM Goodwrench blocks with brass freeze plugs and parts from the MerCruiser 165 (250) to make them “Marinized”. MerCruiser sold the 292 for one year – 1969 – and rated them at 200. Thats the number that I usually quote, but they are not genuine MerCruiser 200’s.
That is too cool.
That purple does look good. I’d bet those carbs are 390 cfm, a rarely seen version of the Holley 4160.
Thanks – It actually a terrible picture of them. Dirty and broken. The whole engines are purple, but when I replaced the manifolds I painted them blue, because I could not match the purple. Soon, they will be back in their glory though.
Not glamorous, but a damn good engine. I abused the hell out of the 292 in my 6000 lb service truck, and aside from a blown head gasket caused by my mishandling of a coolant exchange system one very cold morning while trying to get a 966 loader started, it never let me down. It certainly wasn’t fast, but 4.56 gears and a 4 speed made the best use of what was there.
Who needs speed on a work vehicle, it’s all about reliability for me!
Amen.
I drove half a dozen different 1967 to 1969 Chevy pickups with this motor and 3-speeds. They were very smooth, very easy to drive. They got typical government maintenance and I noticed that they seemed to have a tendency to diesel on shutoff. One truck we had dieseled so bad that we’d have to put the transmission in high gear and pop the clutch to kill it. Once I tried driving it while it was dieseling and it got clear across the pier before I took pity on it and killed it.
Your dieseling story reminded me of when I was 11 in 1978, my dad drove a ’69 Buick with (I think) a 400. Anyway, it dieseled so badly on shutoff that one evening we were eating in a local restaurant and the waitress came over and told us that the car was still “running” in the parking lot, almost 15 minutes after we arrived. Another time when it was dieseling, he put the automatic transmission in gear and drove it around for a couple of minutes before he could kill the engine, all the while spewing massive clouds of fumes from the exhaust.
My Uncle traded in his 63 Belair powerglide 6 for a 72 Belair powerglide 6. The 63 had been a good car,going well over 100,000 miles so I assume he felt the same set up would work for the 72. Do not remember seeing that one but once when he and his family drove down to Mobile, Al from Harrisburg, PA. At the time did not even realize they offered that set up. Anyway he swapped the 72 for a 73 Impala with Turbohydramatic 350 the next time I saw him. Keeping a new car only one year is something no one in the family has done before or since. Speaks volumes about how bad that 72 must have been.
My dad had a 1963 Belair with the 230 six and three on the tree. One night I determined that I would find out how much rubber I could lay with the Atlas Bucrons. I paced it off-102 feet. Never been prouder in my life.
My buddy’s terribly rusted out 78 nova with the six dieseled in much the way you describe! Gosh, I’d completely forgotten about that.
Atlas Bucrons…..haven’t heard of those in many, many moons!
My Dad used to claim he could get a straight six off the line (drag racing) faster than a V8, manual tranny of course. Better torque he said.
Your Dad was absolutely correct, as those of us with straight sixes in our trucks will attest.
Particularly for a truck engine, larger displacement in the least number of cylinders seems to be my favorite combination.
A buddy of mine and I used to race in the local dirt track’s street/stock division and our tow vehicle was a 1973 C-10 Chevy PU with 250 I-6 and three on the tree manual trans. We towed a variety of cars behind it, mostly mid-sized Mopars of various vintages, along with that we had a reinforced bed cap where we kept our spare tires and the bed fully loaded with tools and other spares.
This was in the mid-80s, and the truck had a ton of miles on it (I don’t remember exactly, well over 100K!) and pretty rusty. When fully loaded, it was far from sprightly, but it WOULD eventually get down the road. I kept waiting for the thing to die on us, but it never did. In fact, after we all got married, had kids, etc., he STILL had the truck, although it was truly on it’s last legs. The engine still ran, burned no oil, but the truck definitely showed signs of it’s hard life.
For some reason, the combination of a straight six and big car appeals to me. I’ve always had a soft spot for stuff like this and would not mind a full size Mopar with a Leaning Tower of Power or a Chevrolet with a six and PG; does that make me a masochist?
Last fall at a small show and shine at a church near my folks’ house there was a 250-powered ’65 Impala convertible that was pretty nicely tricked out. Here’s the car; I have a pair of the photos of the engine if anyone’s interested.
Sorry, that just wants to make me vomit. Poor old Impala not only has to the suffer the indignity of a six, but those hideous aftermarket skirts as well.
I remember walking home from school one day and a really nice ’66 Parisienne Custom Sport (buckets & console)had it’s hood up. There was that six! Even as an 8 year old I knew that was wrong.
Hi,
My 1965 Impala convertible has the Turbo Thrift 230 Six.
A rare setup in the world of 283, 327, 396 and 409 1965 Impalas.
Gary
Around 1971 I knew an older guy that had a red ’65 Impala SS convertible with the inline six and a powerglide. That had to be one rare SS.
I freely admit that *any* Chevy 6 with a 3-on-the-tree is just plain fun to drive. As I recall, they’re geared shorter for decent go off-the-line…test drove a ’66 Impala with a 250 and a 3-on-the-tree a couple years ago and absolutely *loved* it. My Dad would concur…his Dad had a ’63 Impala with a 230 and a 3-on-the-tree, which, naturally, he had to put through its paces. His conclusion: “Those things could go to beat hell!”
Granted, if you went with actual 0-60 and quarter-mile times, they probably weren’t that impressive (at least in comparison to big-block “performance” motors), but the fun-to-drive factor was undeniable. I can say the same also for the ’65 C20 pickup I used to drive on the boss’s farm…230 with a granny-gear 4-speed and a 4.57:1 rear end. Just damn fun to make the ol’ beater scream…and ask for more!
For reference, don’t forget the Langdon’s Stovebolt website. Owner is retired, does this as a hobby, but is a good source for what fits/doesn’t, what works/doesn’t (at least in his well-versed opinion). Plus sells the basics in terms of bolt-ons-intake manifolds and carbs, two-piece exhaust manifolds, automatic flexplates, etc. The kind of mods I might actually be able to do. Would love to get a mid-60’s half-ton Chevy and lightly mod the engine, maybe add disc brakes and overdrive, do a real “tribute” to the truck I learned how to shift in, “Old Blue.”
Hey, Paul and everyone-how come Chevy kept making that three-on-the-tree with the column shift linkage that would lock up every now and then? Some vehicles did it (Uncle Mello’s green truck) and some didn’t (Dad’s blue truck). If it did, you got real good at jumping out of the vehicle, opening the hood, popping the appropriate lever, and off you went till the next time.
I don’t think it was just Chevy. One friend’s family had an early 1970 Falcon with a very touchy linkage that needed periodic underhood work to free it up, and another friend had a 71 Duster with the same problem. The Falcon finally got a floor shifter put in (with a weird backwards pattern) and the Duster was just to old and miserable for anyone to care. It was finally given away to someone for parts.
I put a floor shifter in my 68 Nova and my 69C10 because they hung up. You are right and curiously enough I had a 72 Ford F100 that I did the same thing and it also shifted backwards. With your falcon that makes two fords with the backwards shift. Anyone else see this?
Worked good for anti theft although with the old ford it wasn’t needed. People didn’t ask to borrow my truck.
Perhaps unrelated, but my ’80 F-150 gave me a trouble with the clutch linkage. The original owner had replaced the original 3-spd overdrive (floor shift w/internal shifter) with a regular 3-spd with an external after-market shifter. Total POS. When clutch was out, there was a rattle, when depressed, no rattle. Because of the rattle and sloppy shifter, I was advised it needed a throw-out bearing and the tranny was trashed. Let’s just say another 3-spd (I was told the 3-overdrive was junk), another clutch and pressure plate, a COUPLE throw-out bearings, and numerous (lost count) adjustments of the pedal (a double-nutted ‘bullet’ at the shifting fork), the whole clutch-linkage mechanism finally failed. Problem all along? Where each rod in the mechanism connected, it was wallowed-out from wear and no bushings. Thus the ‘rattle’ when clutch was released. Live and learn. Ford replaced that convoluted mechanical engineer’s nightmare with a hydraulic clutch system a few years later.
And I forgot! I replaced that sloppy, cheap shifter with a good Hurst shifter; but it really didn’t fit. We made it fit. Reverse and 1st were correct, but 2nd was a short throw into where 3rd should’ve been, and 3rd was a long throw into 2nd’s place. How? We turned one of the shifting ears (on the side of the tranny) upside down to make the connecting rods reach between the ears and shifter, and not interfere with each other. I learned so many things from that truck…. I think.
Ah, yes, like we try to teach the medical students: common disorders tend to occur commonly, rare things tend to occur rarely. Before you try to diagnose something rare, make sure you have ruled out the common. I try to remind myself of this every time I pick up a tool and try to fix a rattle, or an electrical short, but I get carried away too. I know my collection of used Toyota car radios would be much smaller if I remembered to look for all the possible fuses first. I hope my students learn this lesson better than I seem to have.
My ’62 Ford Fairlane Station Wagon had the same backward shift pattern when I converted it to floor shift. I recently read here that the cure is to reverse the arms on the linkage shafts. I guess if pointing up you reinstall them pointing down or visa versa. Don’t have a car to test this out on so I don’t know if is the solution. I got used to it and as other posters said it was a good theft deterrent. Today it seems like any manual transmission car would be would be a challenge to the average car thief today, given how most of the have the IQ of a rock and totally unfamiliar with a manual transmission especially one on the column.
My brother’s ’77 stripo van would get stuck in first if you didn’t downshift through 2nd. Took him a while to figure that out, though, and it was easy to forget. Someone stole it, then brought it back, stuck in first.
My father had a 64 Chevy 1/2 ton PU with the 230 and three on the tree. No heater or defroster. The only option he sprang for was a HD rear bumper. Rear bumpers were not standard at that time. It rode like a Cadillac with the full coil suspension, and the little six could smoke the tires from a standing start. Great truck far ahead of the competition at that time.
If I’m not mistaken, the distinctive sound of a UPS
truck“package car”, as they insist on calling them, was for many years generated by a Chev big six.I worked at a UPS depot for a time about 1990. We had a fleet of various manufacturers, mostly Chevrolet and Ford. All I-6 at that time. Some were very old – more than 20 years. Unique specs – they all got washed every day inside and out. Remember being able to tell the Fords we had by the floor mounted round pedals that looked like the ones Ford used pre-war. Chevrolets had suspended pedals. Would like to see articles on these. Also, remember getting a ride to school one day on a Divco truck. Drivers used to drive these standing up as I recall.
Interesting! It would be nifty to see a deep dive on UPS’ “package cars”.
They were an equal-opportunity six cylinder user/abuser: they used both Chevy 292s and Ford 300s. I’d love to know which one gave better service. I’m sure they kept meticulous records.
Kind of a shame Chrysler didn’t bother putting out a big inline-6.
Kind of a shame Chrysler didn’t bother putting out a big inline-6.
The 245/265 Australian “hemi” six was designed in the US to be a new larger six, especially for trucks, as the slant six could not be enlarged any more. But the changed their mind and sent it to Australia.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/cohort-classic-1971-australian-valiant-charger-rt-hemi-six-pack-that-thing-got-a-hemi-um-not-quite/
True, and the D-engine (a “Hemi” in marketeering-tactics name only) crossed my mind as I posted that comment, but even its biggest 265-cube version would’ve been severely outclassed by the Chev 292 and the Ford 300; that’s the kind of bruiser I was lamenting Chrysler having not built.
The CC Clue for a UPS van would look like this. (It’s called Pullman Brown.)
PS: It looks black here but click on it and it looks brown. Strange.
Nice article. Always liked the Chevrolet inline 6 engines.
My dad’s last vehicle and the first one to enter my life was a 1968 GMC CS1500 longbed pickup with the 292 and granny gear four-speed manual transmission. It was a base model with the only options being the big six, transmission, longbed with wood floor, rear stepbumper and gauges. No radio, a/c, power steering/brakes or fancy trim. It was pale yellow with argent silver painted grille, bumper and hubcaps.
After my dad died, we kept the truck and I learned to drive it, even teaching myself how to double-clutch when downshifting into the nonsynchro 1st gear while moving. Kept the truck until 2007 when I was forced to get rid of it.
Having a truck didn’t exactly make me popular with my high school friends, but I managed to “impressed” them for being able to “walk the truck on a leash” while idling in 1st gear and smoke the rear tires in 1st gear and topping out at about 10mph with engine racing wide open.
The 292 was a smooth running engine when everything was tuned correctly.
Thought the engine was bulletproof until that fateful day I was driving on the street and heard a loud bang under the hood and saw white smoke from the tailpipe. Turned out a screw from the carburator became loose and fell through the intake, lodged itself between one of the piston and valve and cracked the cylinder. Was repaired but noticed the engine never ran quite the same and would hear a piston knock when under load. Took it back to the mechanic but he claimed couldn’t hear the knock. Oh well; lived with it until the end.
Among my dad’s books and magazines found in some long forgotten boxes was a 1954 Chevrolet Speed Manual that detailed how to soup up the Chevy/GMC inline 6s. As I recall, the GMC 270 and 302 engines were favored for being more robust than Chevy engines at that time. Among the popular speed equipment was the Fisher 12-port head enabling various carburator setup configurations, Mallory dual point distributors, 3/4 racing cams, etc. Quite the bomb!
Wish I found the book while I still had the truck. Wish I still had the truck.
I loved the 250 cu. in. six. Dad’s 1966 Impala sports sedan had one and I thought it was great. I have always been a cruiser, so hp didn’t matter to me.
My 1972 Nova also had the 250. 3 on the tree, too. Great car, great engine.
Yes – as I have said in the past, I would LOVE to have an original 1967-69 Camaro with a 250/Powerglide setup! Look at all the gas I would save!
I also had the 292 version in my 1975 C-20 pickup.
You wouldn’t save that much. My 250/three tree ’68 elCamino got 18 on the highway. My ’69 Camaro with the 2bbl 327/PG got 17.
I agree with the other posters. The 3 speed and 250 was fun to drive.
For us in Brazil, the Chevy 250 is as iconic as the 350 SBC is in North America. I think I could write a book (probably more than one) telling all the recipes on squeezing HP and all the stories of the Opalas on race tracks, dragstrips and of course, on the streets. From 300 hp street fighters to 9 secs turbo drag cars I’ve seen it all.
The problem is we are running out of them; after decades of destroying those engines in all sorts of competition it is really hard to find a decent one now a days and obviously if you find one, the price will be ridiculously expensive. So expensive that it is cheaper to import a crate 350 from the States.
But some people won’t give up their passion so easily , a famous drag race driver is actually building from the scratch an all aluminum, 24 valves in line six for his Opala.
https://youtu.be/qMnGhx6QuIo
Or has time rewritten every line?
I don’t recall the sixes quite so fondly…
The sixes had a fiber timing gear that’d fail often enough. When they did it was a major pain in neck. The gear was difficult to remove from camshaft and often it became necessary for the camshaft to be removed from the block to get the job done. When in the vehicle getting a yard long bumpstick out through the front could be a challenge. A broken thrust plate could be added to the parts shopping list. Oh, and if a greenhorn was on the job there was a good chance that the camshaft welch plug could be bumped out of the back of the block. Fun. Now take the transmission out too.
Manifolds were difficult to keep secure and crack-free.
The one-bbl carburetor was prone to rattle loose from its base and a tighten-up involved removing the carb.
The two-bbl carbs didn’t vibrate apart but they had their own host of performance issues.
The cluster of direction changes in TV choke and throttle linkage quickly wore into a symphony of loose wobbly slop.
Rocker studs would randomly eject.
Pressed-on boltless balancer would loosen up and often destroy the crankshaft stub before it was noticed.
A hit to the front would often punch the waterpump shaft neatly into #1 cylinder; granted the engine can’t be faulted for that but other sixes weren’t prone to such catastrophe from relatively light hits.
The sixes were sparse on accessory anchor points, so if a vehicle was “loaded” it took a Rube Goldberg of bracketry to mount the belt-driven accessories. Things tended to loosen up and crack and break bolts off flush. There were such a bunch of design revisions trying to improve the bracketry that it was tough to find two matching arrangements.
There was some pain in the neck about the water outlets, but this second I don’t recall exactly what it was.
All in all they were a pretty good engine, but without naming names it’s my opinion that there were better sixes in the era. Sorry.
Well, from all the issues you mentioned just one strikes me, the fiber timing gear. That gear would give up easily but only on “performance ” engines.
I believe Iskenderian still sells cams for this engines with aluminum timing gear, as a combo.
Other than that our 250 never had those problems… lucky us I guess.
Sorry, JD, but as I wrote above in my comment, I never had any issues with these engines, so who did?
You claim a lot of things about the Chevy sixes, but I have no knowledge of anything like you described, and have never read anything negative, unless they were written in trade journals, so I don’t know if I can give your comments any credence.
Please provide info.
Hey Zachman,
I replied with a bit of detail but it didn’t post.
Maybe it went into oversize reply hold?
Hopefully the longish reply didn’t go to vapor.
Or maybe it was because my reply included off-site links? Anyway, Google up any of the issues I mentioned and get an eyeful of independent corroboration from complete strangers who are now relearning history.
We’ll wait and see
The two-bbl carbs didn’t vibrate apart but they had their own host of performance issues.
Given that fact that there was never a two-barrel version of the Turbo-Thrift built for the NA market, your comment’s overall veracity is in question.
These were used widely in fleets for decades, including UPS delivery trucks, and although not perfect, have developed a good reputation.
FWIW, the Ford 240/300 six has the same issue with its fiber timing gear. Ask me how I know. 🙁
“Given that fact that there was never a two-barrel version of the Turbo-Thrift built for the NA market, your comment’s overall veracity is in question. ”
Again, everything I’ve mentioned is from my own extensive hands-on experience with the engines. Just because that even with your own extensive engine knowledge you are not aware that a particular configuration of some engine was produced doesn’t make a good excuse to call fib. Believe it, there are a lot more peculiar things in enginedom than the factory built 2-bbl Chevy six.
I know that I’m not alone in my experiences because today the commonality of the issues can be easily confirmed with a quick internet search. A search will brings up scores of today’s enthusiasts of the engine sharing ample detail as they relearn the old lessons. Are there some particular points that you’d like to see independently more substantiated?
As to two-barrel engines… With all due respect, the last generation of the engine family commonly refered to as “Turbo-Thrift” and marketed under several other handles, most definitely was available in USA market with factory 2-bbl carb and “twin pipe” exhaust manifold. It won’t be too tough to confirm what I have seen plenty of in-the-flesh. Just check with your favorite on-line auto parts supplier for a carburetor or its base gasket. Hint – RockAuto has ’em “on-the-shelf” and some nice images even.
Just because that even with your own extensive engine knowledge you are not aware that a particular configuration of some engine was produced doesn’t make a good excuse to call fib. Believe it, there are a lot more peculiar things in enginedom than the factory built 2-bbl Chevy six.
Wrong is wrong. Black is black, and white is white. I didn’t call it a “fib”; I’m just stating the fact that there were no two-barrel versions of this engine sold in the NA market. Period.
As to two-barrel engines… With all due respect, the last generation of the engine family commonly refered to as “Turbo-Thrift” and marketed under several other handles, most definitely was available in USA market with factory 2-bbl carb and “twin pipe” exhaust manifold.
As I said, you’re wrong. If you think you’re right, show me some evidence to the contrary. I’m always glad to change my mind in the face of actual facts/evidence. But you haven’t, yet. It’s just been a stream of opinions.
BTW, any information to support your claim should be readily available in vintage brochures, etc.. A picture of a Chevy six with an aftermarket 2 barrel carb and exhaust headers at an automotive parts site hardly constitutes evidence of a factory engine with such equipment. You’ll have to do better than that.
~”As I said, you’re wrong. If you think you’re right, show me some evidence to the contrary. I’m always glad to change my mind in the face of actual facts/evidence. But you haven’t, yet. It’s just been a stream of opinions.
BTW, any information to support your claim should be readily available in vintage brochures, etc.. A picture of a Chevy six with an aftermarket 2 barrel carb and exhaust headers at an automotive parts site hardly constitutes evidence of a factory engine with such equipment. You’ll have to do better than that.”~
Paul, be nice! Because as long as you keep an open mind you’re never going to quit discovering truths that you never dreamed possible. Try a softer answer… “Wow, I never heard of such a thing, can you post any details?”
No, not aftermarket, I’m speaking of OE Flint Michigan USA built and sold 250 six, with 2bbl carburetor. Rather common actually.
I will quote from on-line complete strangers chronicling struggles with several of the same issues that I mentioned. No, not a red herring, hundreds more to be found.
I will leave the links in a reply to this post, so that this posting doesn’t get “wiped” due to containing a link. Images one each post, per CC rules.
“Here is the INTEGRATED INTAKE 250 pulled from the 82 C10. The easiest ways to ID these are the valve cover that varies in height along with the four pollution control vents into the high sides of the cover, and dual outlet exhaust pipes. These come with a “staggered” 2 barrell carb as well. Notice the bolts that thread parallel to the pushrods clamping the exhaust manifold to the intake. The power steering set up came on this particular engine OEM (1982 for this one). This particular truck was also optioned with AC but the compressor and upper brackets were removed before I got the truck… “
And another swiped image.
And another image and random snippet of frustration quoted:
“That’s the later model 4 Liter one with integral cylinder head , those cracked like the devil when new , our Fleet has 10 ~ 15 trucks sitting idle for about one year when GM ran out of the original crappy castings and decided to re engineer it , none of the replacement heads ever cracked .
If you have one that runs well , fine and dandy , surely the head has been changed by now.
However , I’d not drop one thin dime on hot rodding these , just take care of it and run it until it needs rebuilding then scrap it . “
I’ll try attaching the image again:
And now I’ll try to post a couple of links:
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/showthread.php?t=282381
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/showthread.php?t=471078&page=3
If you think you’re right, show me some evidence to the contrary. I’m always glad to change my mind in the face of actual facts/evidence. But you haven’t,
And you have now. I was not aware that these late versions came with the 2 barrel carb. Thanks for the continuing education.
The only one, ok two of those problems I didn’t have to deal with at least once are the balancer and the water pump taking out the #1 cyl.
The 250 was still listed as available (with 3 speed manual or Powerglide) in the ’72 Canadian Pontiac Laurentian. By this time the Canadian Pontiacs were on the full 124″ wheelbase same as the U.S. cars. The curb weight is shown as 3925 lbs. in the brochure, which I find suspiciously low since the shorter ’72 Chevy Biscayne is listed as 4171.
Imagine a GM world where Chev has come up with a perfectly workable 6, and in Aus, at the same time, in a division that sells in such numbers as would be considered a failure in US terms, they design a very similar looking thing – hell, they even put in the same frangible fibre timing gear – but it is not the same. The only notable difference I can detect is that it ranged in size from 138 c.i. to 202c.i. maximum. Sure, the tough bastard powered the vast majority of Holdens for 23 years, and ended up a sweet thing with MPI fuel injection and 150bhp, but in the current world where entire platforms are shared between manufacturers, let alone divisions, it sounds crazy.
Did the Turbo-thrift leak oil, rear-main in particular, (because there was never a Holden six that didn’t)?
justy baum, that is something strange to ponder. My vaporized reply gave a quick nod to your engine.
As to oil leaks… Turbo Thrift wasn’t particularly a “leaker” for the day’s standards.
Before the revamp to integral head TurboThrift was well sealed at the head too. Not much trouble with either gasket or head. That all changed with the new head; they were notorious for failure. The most common practical remedy was a changeover back to an early style head.
Hello! Holden didn’t design the original FX; it was developed as a smaller Chevy, including its scaled down engine. GM decided the time was not right for a smaller Chevy, so it was sent to Australia.
Have you forgotten that? And as I said, the engine was physically smaller than the Chevy engine.
What you should have asked is why Holden designed its own V8 engine. That’s a real question.
Sorry Paul, that’s not right. I’m not referring to the FX or the “grey” motor. I’m talking of the “red” (and later blue and then black) motor released in the EH of 1963, a totally new design. And, effectively, released at the same time as the Turbo-thrift.
The V8 question is indeed weird. They had it close (but not close enough) to production for the ’68 HK, and having agreed to enter cars in the London to Sydney Marathon, the engineers were instructed to get the Chev 307/327 into the car pronto, proving it wasn’t an issue of making it fit. I think the Holden V8 is lighter and more economical than the Chev, more suitable for the size of car here, but I’m no expert on this.
The only other thing I can think of is tooling and costs. Australia had very high tariffs and strict local-content rules; someone here may know, if, by the time you have had to set up virtually smelter-to-finished engine production, does it greatly matter if your design is unique or not?
Got it. I’m not an expert on these, but the point is that the Holden sixes were both smaller than the Chevy sixes.
And I bet if you look it up, you’ll find that the bore centers for both are the same. That’s critical, as the most expensive part of engine manufacturing are the line tools, and the same ones can be used as long as the bore centers are the same. Once that investment is in place, it’s not all that expensive to design and cast a new engine.
> Chevy never saw fit to offer anything but one-barrel carbs
Except in Brazil, where late-model Chevrolet Opalas and trucks finally got multiport fuel injection using an evolved version of the Turbo Thrift I6 IIRC.
Again, I’m surprised and disappointed that the mighty 2bbl 250 gets no recognition.
Is there a sinister plot at play to erase it from history? LoL
Opala never got fuel injection, not even in the 1992 last year model… Only the 1995-98 Chevrolet Omega (Opel Omega A), since Opel stopped supplying the 3.0L CIH engine and GM Brazil adapted the 250 on it with help of Lotus which tuned the fuel injection.
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I was working in a small local independent repair garage when the integrated head 250’s began to filter down to our (predominantly used-vehicle-owning) customers. One in particular had a 1500 series Chevy truck that he’d already had someone else fight with to try to make it run satisfactorily (they didn’t succeded.) We proposed a head/carburetor swap for older components including a conventional head and manifold set up and a single barrel Rochester instead of the 2SE. He OK’d the plan; we did it with salvage yard parts, and it was a total success. The owner said it ran stronger that it did on its best day with the original set-up. Close to thirty-five years later, when I run into him he reminds me of what an improvement we made in his truck! Truly a satisfied customer. Incredibly, we also worked on his Morgan +4 with an OEM Ford Escort engine which he had imported himself.
Did you know your 250 cubic inch inline six cylinder was the main design influence for the General Motors Holden red motor look it if you want Holden red motor this comment was provided by Douglas at dugsscrap@gmail.com from Burnie Tasmania Australia.
My mother had a 1967 Biscayne (a former NY taxi) with a 250 TurboThrift and a PowerGlide transmission. It was really hard to hurt but the power was underwhelming. Once my brother took my buddy and me to Ebbetts Pass in the Sierras, around 9,000 feet, to bicycle back down. There was still snow on the ground beside the road so I was concerned about getting stuck when my brother pulled off the side. Sure enough, when it was time to roll the car wouldn’t go. The tires were not slipping in the snow. Instead the engine hummed like a wandering minstrel at full throttle. My buddy and I had to push it back on the road.
I was looking at the Clifford performance page at the mopar 225 section. I always thought the slant six was a bit unsung. The selection of performance parts for those would make a hell of a sleeper! I never understood how a Japanese 168ci engine could churn out 170 hp, while the us 225 does something like 110. Now I get it.
I have a 1931 Chevy Cabroliet with a 194 6 cyl. 3 speed. The engine is in bad shape but the car is beautiful.
My question is, will a later model 194 fit without changing the bell, trans, mounts, etc.
If your car really has a 194, and not the original engine family, then any 230 or 250 bolts right in with no change.
I had a Turbo-Thrift engine in my 1978 Chevy Nova. I had a 250. It was a very snappy engine and I drove it on a road trip and got 30 mpg with it. I was impressed with the fuel economy.
Another thread on the Turbo-Thrift – irresistible. As I pointed out in another, older, thread, I used to own a 1966 Chevelle 300 Deluxe four-door from 1983-90 and bought a 1964 Chevy Bel Air four-door in February of 2021. Both were assembled in Antwerp, Belgium, at GM’s big Continental plant that closed in 2013, I believe.
Both cars were equipped with the 230 and Powerglide. The Chevelle had no power steering, no power brakes, no power windows, no power door locks, nothing. Ditto the Bel Air. That’s fine with me – fewer items that can break down. Oh yes, the Chevelle came with a heavy-duty suspension because it started its service life as a taxicab in Belgium. Nevertheless, it still drove very comfortably.
I’m not sure about the Bel Air having stiffer springs and shocks or not; export models usually had them as standard equipment. The car doesn’t feel that way, but heavy-duty back then was generally a lot softer than heavy-duty today.
What’s missing in the Bel Air – as was the case in the Chevelle – is a front stabilizer bar because Sixes didn’t need them.
One interesting difference is that the Bel Air’s Powerglide is air-cooled whereas the Chevelle’s was water-cooled. I wonder why GM changed that. Did air-cooled units tend to overheat? I sure hope not.
The 230 in both cars was/is rated at 140 gross horsepower (120 net according to Chevy’s AMA specifications). Obviously, the Chevelle with its 2,945-pound curb weight made better use of those horses than the Bel Air at 3,305 pounds. My Chevelle would do 0-60 in 15 seconds and top out at 153 km/h (95 mph) on the autobahn between Cologne and Bonn, Germany. It’s my preferred testing ground, a level 15-mile stretch starting out with a 100 km/h (63 mph) speed limit upon leaving Cologne, then 75 mph (120 km/h) for a little while, followed by eight miles without any speed limit before being braked down to 75 and 63 again approaching Bonn.
I haven’t tried out the Bel Air yet because it’s still getting rehabilitated after years of negligence by its former owner(s). It did drive fine from Rotterdam, Holland, where I picked it up, to my residence near Cologne, a distance of approx. 190 miles. At the time, the 230 still used a retrofitted Holley 4160 carb, though, which leaked and had to be replaced anyway because this setup isn’t street-legal in Germany. When hitting the gas at 65 mph, the little Six picked up speed surprisingly well thanks to the Holley, I’m sure. It won’t be quite so responsive with the remanufactured standard Rochester BV 1-barrel that now feeds it, I reckon, but that’s okay.
According to a vintage road test from “Car Life”, an identically equipped ’63 Bel Air managed 0-60 in 17 seconds flat. The editors estimated its top speed of 85 mph, but the car probably had a few more mph in it. Anyway, if my Bel Air performs like that I’ll be perfectly satisfied. I have no need for speed. I cruise at 75 with my daily driver, a ’95 Buick Park Avenue that topped out at 127 mph on said autobahn, the one and only time I ever drove it flat out.
The Chevy will be my pleasure cruiser, smooth and easy. It’ll never win any trophies at car shows because it will be a driver, as it should be. Can’t wait.
By the way, the accompanying picture is a few months old and shows the car in the shop; things have progressed considerably in the meantime.
In terms of weight and dimensions how does the Chevrolet Turbo Thrift compared to the Opel CIH Six and Holden Red Straight-Six engines?
Because it would help explain the strange situation where Holden were able to fit the Red Six into their Toranas and special versions of the Opel Manta were able to receive the CIH Six, yet the similarly sized GM H-Body was rather surprisingly not designed to accept an inline-six.
Opel never put the CIH six in the Manta; that was strictly done by an outside firm (Transeurope Engineering). They had to drastically cut and modify the Manta to do that. With enough work, you can stuff almost any engine into any car.
The Torana? The six cylinder versions had a 4″ longer wheelbase, at the front end, to fit the six.
If GM had really wanted to put the Turbothrift 6 in the H-Body, of course it could have been done, with enough modifications, like lengthening the front end wheelbase and such. But why? The Buick V6 and the Chevy V8 fit like a glove.
Irmscher would twice attempt the idea of fitting the CIH Six into the Manta B with the Irmscher Opel Manta i2800 Prototype Paradiesvogel 1976 and Opel Manta Irmscher i300.
Of course the Buick V6 and Chevy V8 were lot more straightforward installation wise for the H-Body compared to an inline Six.
Only it seems GM could have adopted a similar World Car approach above the T-Car to underpin the H-Body, 2nd/3rd gen Torana, Ascona A/B, Manta A/B and Viva HC/Firenza capable of receiving a variety of engines against the more compromised 2/3-door only H-Body.
I’ve always considered these sixes to be excellent engines. They were developed years after the original small block, so Chevrolet had some experience to build in improvements with this design. Then of course being a 7 main bearing engine, the bottom end is more robust than the small block. Straight six’s are also inherently balanced as compared to the small block or any V-8, so the smoother running would contribute to longevity of the engine.
My experience with this engine was in a 1968 Checker Marathon 3 on the tree. That car was slow but based on its 25.5 lbs/hp ratio not quite as slow as the 1972 Impala. Got 20 mpg city, so good fuel economy for the time and vehicle size. Our example suffered a cracked block and needed a total rebuild around 100k miles. We also had the sticking shift linkage issue mentioned in the previous comments.
People here in Brazil are pushing 2000-2500hp in these engines using the stock block and head: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWIIMSLDMZE
Author mentioned the 230 was rated at 155 HP.
Actually, it was rated at 140 hp.
The 250 was rated at 155 hp.
Of course, all this changed with the 1972 model year when all engine ratings changed from gross ratings to net ratings.
The 250 dropped to 105 hp in cars and 110 HP in trucks and vans.
The 292 was indeed offered in full-sized cars. Not often seen, but I still remember working on a remarkably well kept 1972 Chevy station wagon (I forget the specific model. Kingwood, maybe?) in the late 1980’s and it had a 292 in it (tall pushrod covers and the sticker listed that the car as equipped with a 292).
Since then, I’ve heard from others who either also worked on a 292 powered car or owned one.
There were two versions of the 230 six: 140 and 155 hp. The 155 hp version had a slightly more aggressive camshaft. It was only available as an option on the Chevy II and Chevelle for a couple of years.