Thread: 66 chevy cranks...

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Hello this is the first but not the last question i have about my 66 Chevy stepside. My and my father were going to drop in a 350 bored out to 355 into my truck along with a TH-700R4 tranny. Well today we talked it over and were going to save that for another show car (hopefully a 23 T-Bucket). I was wondering where i can but a forged crank for it. It is the original inline 6 and from what i hear its a 292 or 3 ci. ANY help or other parts or specs or anything you want to share would be wonderful.

Ray

Ray, although I can't say whether it is or not, I'd be a little surprised if the stock crank in a 292 wasn't forged. Chevy put some pretty tough crankshafts in those old inline sixes.

yes i do not think that is the weak link?

o0o0o0o goodie so would i just send it to have it reground or rebalanced or what. Or just polish it up a little?

well i thought i read somewhere you can turn that engine into a stroker or i could have just misread. so i didnt knwo. sorry for the goof if it is one

you need to check it out but it may need a polish want do you want to do with this 6 ??

ohh lets see. I need a truck with some power. so me and the dad are goign to replace the the whole valve train and drive train. But if the crank is still useful than wonderful. i know for sure im going to do a 3 carburated manifoled with holley single barrels on it. but other than that im really up for ideas. My dad also suggesting either supercharging or turbochargin it. I will have to do most of it with him and a couple of his friends who know what they are doing look over so i dont want to bite off more than i can chew. Any suggestions also on a camshaft? And i know i should probably look more but can anyone suggest a website for cylinder heads. Or do i not need those. Remember until today we were going to drop a 355 in there so sudden change and this truck really needs to start going so i need some help. I just hope i dont bother you guys with all these questions lol.

you can get any thing you want made for this but$$ on the crank some guys can and do weld cranks and off set grind them but you will need new pistons or you may off set grind the crank then new rods and pistons or a new custom crank billet and custom rods and custom pistons $about 4000

Wow not going to spend that much but probably around 2G's towards the engine itself. any suggestions on cam selection? more of a street but would like to show some power every now and then like during spring break. Here in Panama City Beach, it gets quite amuzing with all the lifted trucks from out of town. Maybe a little embarrashment is in need to show them that L6 is still nice.

well start looking crower .comp. isky. howards. for the cam. if any one has the core i am sure they will fix you up

Your truck should have a 250 or a 292. Quickest way to tell which is distributor location and side cover height. The 292 dist. is front of center, 250's and smaller its centered. 292 is a taller engine, so the side cover is visibly wider.
The 292 will respond well to triple carbs and a mild cam and header, and look deadly too,'specially when you show it to some V8 guy that you just blew away at the traffic light! Don't try for the long run, though. They'll get you after a while. Gear her low and stick to the 1/8 mile.

If you're going to spend $2K on the engine, why not just get a basic crate motor and a good tranny? Seen reman sbc's advertised at under $1,000.00 with a 3 year, 30,000 mile warranty... Doubt that six is going to make equal power without spending a whole lot more then $2,000. on it. Or, maybe just buy a donor car with a running engine and tranny, swap it in?????

Well i dont wanna put a crate motor in cause i kinda want to start building my own experiances by building this engine while the people who are going help me are still around. But other than that the hardest thing about this is deciding all the parts to get. i want to for the most part completly overhaul this truck. And although this 6 wont make equal power im sure it can see atleast 300 hp and probably some good torque too. Any suggestions on a actual cam spec setup?

i just looked its the 292. Thanks R Pope!

Ray, here's your chance to be a hero.

There are 2 ways to go with the motor, naturally aspirated or blown.

Naturally aspirated upside: Easier to do, more off the shelf parts available. Reasonable cost and fuel mileage if not overdone.
Naturally aspirated downside: Gets very expensive if you really want power. As you increase power, you move further and further away from streetability such as moving the power up in the rpm range with a wilder cam, thus realizing less manifold vacuum for efficient carb signal and to operate other vacuum-operated accessories like power brakes. Requires stiffer rear gear and/or looser converter. Extensive cylinder head modifications required by high-priced professional head porters. Horrible fuel mileage. Bottom line is: Even after spending beaucoup bucks, you're probably not going to embarrass any V8 owners.
Blown upside: TREMENDOUS POWER at any rpm. Reasonable fuel mileage when using a light touch on the loud pedal. Embarrass most v8's on Saturday night. Use stock-type cam. Excellent vacuum at no boost (off the loud pedal). Maximum power with an intercooler.
Blown downside: Expensive. Good parts required in the short block (forged pistons and good rods). Possibility you could shotpeen the 292 rods and make them work. You already have a crank that will work, just polish it or grind it to the next undersize. Although the Chevy six has been supercharged many times, some parts may have to be fabricated due to scarcity.

Do some reading before you dive in, but I would think that a GMC 4-71 would be the perfect lung to hang on that motor.

I highly recommend Pat Ganahl's book....
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/188...Fencoding=UTF8

Study these recommendations from Blower Drive Service....
http://www.blowerdriveservice.com/recommend.php

Many times you can find stock 4-71 units (unmodified and fresh off a diesel) for a couple hundred bucks or less. These will have to be clearanced and upgraded to use on a gasoline engine. Any of the blower shops can do this for you, so if you could fabricate most of the rest of the package (intake manifold, drive system, etc.), you could probably come out fairly inexpensively. Call the tech guys at Blower Drive Service and talk it over with them. Also, here is a paper I wrote a couple of years ago explaining the different types of blowers...
http://streetmachinesoftablerock.com...topic.php?t=81

And here is an incomplete 4-71 on ebay....
http://cgi.ebay.com/GMC-blower-super...QQcmdZViewItem

Oh, and I forgot about the WOW factor when you raise the hood....

well... i talked to my dad about it and he wont let me do a blower setup. He will let me do a turbo charger which is fine with me since we are going to redo the entire exhaust system anyway. i know ill probably get forged pistons with a low 8-9 CR. A lean street cam and are there after market cylinder heads for this engine because i have been searching and cant find any. Also any recomendations on anything once again.