Golden Jubilee
Posts: 5206
Joined: Thu Nov 29, 2012 9:28 pm
Location: Lyman, IA
Inline 6's
I've always been interested more in inline 6's than any other powerplant. From the Ranger inverted 6 aircraft engine to the CBX Honda motorcycle engine.
There have been some interesting engines made.
How many remember the Pontiac OHC inline? I always wondered why Ford was so quick to change designs in the 40's thru the 70's Their 223 was a good unit and is still found on stationary applications still running long after it disappeared from the line-up. Then they had the 200-250 car engine which was completely different from the 240-300 truck, which was a very good engine.
Chevy/GM's 230 250-292 was another, with 7 mains, it would last and was simple, at least until they cast the manifold and head as one in the later 250's.
Chry stuck with flatheads until the late 60's on the military Powerwagon, while the Slant 6 took over in civilian vehicles. They made some big Inlines back the 50's with the biggest being 426 CID flathead.
GM had there 503 which bested the IHC RD at the time in the displacement category.
Many do not know that Cummins produced a spark ign version of the 855, although it was not built for gasoline, but vapor fuel. It was called the "Rio Grande engine"
Hall Scott produced some really impressive advanced Gasoline 6's with OHC's and large displacements. Many found their way into Crown buses.
IHC had been making inlines for their trucks since the early 30's. Their designs were advanced enough that the basic design was un changed until their demise in the late 60's and early 70's.
WHile GM and Ford adapted the same lay out for the inlines as their other engines short(er) stroke and large (er) bore, Chry and IHC went for longer stroke on a smaller bore. This limited RPM but maximized torque. The 225 slant 6 had over a 4" stroke on a 3.4 bore. The 269 and 308 IHC also had over 4" stroke with a smaller bore.
AMC made a good 6 that outlasted everybody else! Then there was the OHC version (Cyclone??) that made its way into the militay light trucks.
I can't think of one inline 6 that was a total disaster, all were good, some were better than others, but all were reliable.