GM 292 Straight 6 - Yet another conversion

RDavisinVA

Technical Excellence Contributor
Laying out a conversion in a 110 of a "bolt in, bolt out" drop in GM 292 CUIN 4.8 Liter straight 6.

Chevy and General Motors used the Chevy 292 engine in their pickup trucks from 1963 to 1990, with production shifting from the United States to Mexico after 1984.
The 292 was a six-cylinder, inline engine that was not interchangeable with the other smaller displacement straight 6 engines.
The Chevy 292 was known for being powerful, durable and reliable.

The Chevy 292 inline, six-cylinder engine has a bore and stroke of 3.875 inches by 4.125 inches and a compression ratio of 8.0-to-1.
It achieved a maximum 165 gross-horsepower at 3,800 rpm and netted 147 horsepower at 3,600 rpm.
It reached its maximum gross torque of 280 pound-feet at 1,600 rpm and netted 262 pound-feet of torque at 2,000 rpm.

Perfect match up to the stronger Ashcroft R380 stumpy with larger bearings mated to the 1.22 transfer case.
Best of all it fits the Defender style engine bay and has room on the sides of the engine for a PS pump, AC compressor, hydraulic pump for a winch, whatever...

Anyone sick of Land Rover TDI issues who wants a simple dependable engine that you can get parts for anywhere, that any good mechanic can work on, and will start in cold winters, that will tow a trailer up-hill, that doesn't want to drop big money down on a LS conversion, should be interested.

This conversion will bolt in and can be accomplished in a weekend.
More to come...
 
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jafir

Founding Member
That sounds great. How about a leaning tower of power too? :) All of the mopar guys just pull that out of every car they are ever in to drop in a v8.... they are nearly free.
 

RDavisinVA

Technical Excellence Contributor
Yes they are available if you look and very inexpensive.

Am completely sick of the Rover TDI and all the reliability issues, black goo everywhere, and poor performance.
 
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jafir

Founding Member
Maybe it’s different out that way. I know NC has a lot more mopar fans that here, so maybe they keep them original. Where I live most consider a slant six a boat anchor. A very reliable boat anchor. :)
 

Leadvagas

Member
Ahhhh, why not the Ford 300? Stayed in production longer, factory EFI. The 292 isn’t a bad choice, but the 300 is way more common.
 

RDavisinVA

Technical Excellence Contributor
I know the Ford 300 is a good engine, but we already have an adapter for the GM 292 and standardized on the GM engines years ago building the GM 4 cylinder 2.5 and 3.0 liter bolt in conversions for the Series.
 
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RDavisinVA

Technical Excellence Contributor
The sand cast forms to mold the aluminum adapter came down from the attic today.
Unlike the Scotty's adapter this casting has bungs for 1/4" bolts to hold a proper dust shield in place.
After the raw castings are made, they go up on the milling machine to have both sides machined.
The finished product will bolt onto the back of the GM 292 and mate up to the Land Rover R380 Stumpy transmission.

Scheduled to pick up the GM/Chevy 292 engine for building the rest of the kit in a few days.
.
 

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RDavisinVA

Technical Excellence Contributor
This was the only adapter unsold from the last production run years ago that we saved for this project.
We'll use this one for the prototype fit of the GM/Chevy 292 into a Land Rover 110 engine bay.
Note the bungs for 1/4" bolts to hold a proper dust shield in place.
.
 

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rocky

NAS-ROW Addict
I get that Goldilocks and porridge feeling about engine conversions.

One's too expensive (LS)
One's too complicated (Cummins)
and one is just right. (TBA)
 

Factoid

Well-known member
This was the only adapter unsold from the last production run years ago that we saved for this project.
We'll use this one for the prototype fit of the GM/Chevy 292 into a Land Rover 110 engine bay.
Note the bungs for 1/4" bolts to hold a proper dust shield in place.
.

Looking at the engine side of this adapter, what keeps this from fitting early SBC V8?s? They use the same bellhousing bolt pattern as the straight sixes, in fact the starter for my FIL?s 1968 327 Camaro is the same one used on the 292.

Just wondering...
 

RDavisinVA

Technical Excellence Contributor
Looking at the engine side of this adapter, what keeps this from fitting early SBC V8?s? They use the same bellhousing bolt pattern as the straight sixes, in fact the starter for my FIL?s 1968 327 Camaro is the same one used on the 292.

Just wondering...

The fact that the R380 would explode. Completely wrong gearbox choice for an SBC.

The GM/Chevy 292 will mate up and function fine with the stronger R380, but as John explained, the GM/Chevy 350 V8 is probably too much engine for the standard R380.
The heavy duty Ashcroft might take the abuse.

So the real answer is the adapter pictured will mate any 4 bolt GM/Chevy patterned engine (including the 350) to the Land Rover 4 cylinder transmission.
 
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rocky

NAS-ROW Addict
Rocky, when you find the ?TBA? just right, please let me know.

Oh, and go Eagles!

The just right probably has to factor in the truck itself. 90-110-130....

As for the Patriots, they are an adopted team, truth is I follow soccer aka football from my homeland.
 

LR Max

Well-known member
Yeah this would be a good conversion. What is the max RPMs of this engine? From my research, anything below 5,000 rpm, TBI is fine. Multiport is super nice and it'll be super smooth, but adds complexity and cost. It would be more beneficial to go with electronic ignition. So getting an engine with a crank position sensor and knock sensors already installed would solve a lot of problems.

These off the shelf EFI systems are pretty nice. After building my own system, and watching my friend install his on a weekend and drive is truck Sunday afternoon, its totally worth it.
 

RDavisinVA

Technical Excellence Contributor
Nice site.
I went through the first 20 FS pages and found 1 overpriced chrome valve cover, but that doesn't mean that 292 parts won't be there.
Didn't complete any searches, but think the site is a good resource for older domestic parts.
 
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