Are you a V8 or die kind of gearhead? I’ll admit I am. I’ve had great experiences with a supercharged Buick V6 that was a riot to wheel around in, but I still regarded that car as a a fun daily driver and not much more. But dismissing a six-cylinder as a performance mill isn’t doing yourself any favors. You don’t need to be told about Buick V6s…if you do, start your research with “Buddy Ingersoll” and don’t stop until you see the Buick Regal that turned Pro Stock on it’s ear in the 1980s. For the rest of you, you need to go further back into your history books into the beginnings of hot rodding, before the small-block Chevrolet V8 really staked it’s claim. You’ll point out the Ford flathead, and you are right, that was a staple engine. You know what else were staples? GM inline sixes. Ever heard of a Jimmy Six? Stovebolt? No? Have you ever been told about the legendary grunt of a Ford 300, or wonder why Cummins inline-sixes power Dodge work horses instead of some monster V8? If you haven’t experienced it, you need to. I could explain torque curves, gearing and the like all day long, but it doesn’t explain the kick in the ass I got the one time I got to wail the devil out of my mother’s 1975 Omega with it’s 250 Chevrolet singing a high howl.

“This is a 292 Chevy straight 6. It is made from a 250 block with custom pistons and rods. The cam is a Comp Cams 252 hydraulic, compression about 9.0 to 1. The head has oversized valves with bolt in lumps and Crower roller rockers. Intake is a Johnson AGricultural LPG with a Rochester 2 bbl carb. Setup to run on 87 octane. Car is a 70 Nova with Muncie 4 speed and 3.08 12 bolt posi. Headers are custom made by owner. 1.5″ full length stainless. This car RIPS!”