This was an interesting discussion. The KZfaq channel "Cold War Motors" has been featuring 1 of these engines for the past few weeks. He picked up a stunningly original survivor 1937 Chevrolet, with a 216 c.i. Stovebolt 6. The engine was seized, and he has unstuck it now, and has been digging deep into it. He has a spare running 235 sitting in a lawn ornament 1950 Chevy, that could have been swapped in, but instead he is tearing into the original engine. You can get a great look at the internals of this engine in his recent videos, for those who are interested.

In-line six-cylinder is one of the best designs there is. It is in primary and secondary balance. It is smooth. It is, generally, easier to work on then a v configuration. Also generally cheaper to manufacture.

The rambler straight 6 was another very smooth and quiet engine as I recall in one of our neighbors cars.

I am 70 years old and when I was a child growing up my parents owned a 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air that was equipped with the 235 cubic inch in line 6 cylinder engine and 3 speed column shift manual transmission. I remember this car as having an oil bath air cleaner filter. Also this engine was not equipped with an oil filter. My father installed an add on bypass oil filter. Also I remember my father telling me that this engine had problems with insufficient oil flow to the rocker arm assembly and hydraulic valve lifters. Adding a bypass oil filter with the oil return going to the rocker arm assembly did solve some of this trouble.

I had two 1963 Chevy 2s with the 194 CI straight six. They were as you described, reliable and quiet but no speed demons. These both had three speed column shifts that most younger people today have never heard of. They were considered compact cars at the time.

Dad had a 50 chev pickup. It ran perfectly. We hauled cords and cords of wood with that old pickup. My sister had it restored a year ago buy didn't need to dig into the engine. Loved the roar it made in 1st gear coming out of the woods.

"Aural quantities" is the poshest substitute for loudness I have ever heard. Well done sir!

Enjoyed your comments. I love the 235 in my ‘49 3100 pickup. Very smooth, however, I put on Fenton header, Offenhouser dual intake. Little more power, but very sweet eye candy. And sound? Nothing sounds better than a Stovebolt in heat!

My stove bolt is still hauling loads after 72 years and running fine. Dip and splash connecting rod system with oil tray transfer. 1951 Chevrolet 1/2 ton pick up.

I love your best/worst engines and transmission chats. I have learned so much from your videos. Keep up the great work my friend.

The old Stovebolt. My father's 1967 Chevrolet Bel Air station wagon. Let me give you a not so quick synopsis. It had tires. Retreaded again, and again and again. It had seats. More springs than stuffing, and upholstery brought to you by the makers of cheap packing tape. It had a gas tank. It was strapped (I kid you not), through the rear quarter with those aluminum tension straps you had to screw in to tighten. It had paint. Marina Blue paint. It looked great, oxidized (long before clear coat was a thing). It was complimentary two tone for this prosperous family. Rust and Marina Blue. Not paint, but it blended in just as nicely as it sounds. It had door handles. Actually, it had vise grip. One, to be exact. To get out, you either (if you were one of the kids...yours truly was one of) escaped through the tailgate, or you exited through the driver's door. It had window cranks. Well, it had two. One was stripped, the other kept falling off. It was passed around quite a bit. It had a radiator. That radiator loved eggs apparently; as dad often threw one down it's gullet quite often. It had headlights. Well, if headlights could suffer from cataracts, this beast's surely did. It had rubber belts. Well...some of them might have once been rubber, but that's a question for the ages. It had a muffler. Yes, one that was taped up with some sort of early furnace pipe tape. It often needed re-taping. And it had a Stovebolt 6. Now, this car had itself some fine luxuries. Like the floor mats that came out of people's entry ways; the kind you put your boots on. That was to keep the gravel from shooting up into the passenger compartment via the big hole in the floor. But that Stovebolt was this car's greatest luxury. You see, it never, ever faltered. I live in Ontario, Canada, and it gets cold here. Like, minus 40c cold (no idea what that is in Fahrenheit, sorry). When every other car in the parking lot was frozen solid, and refused to start; dad's Stovebolt always...ALWAYS cranked over with one turn of the key. Granted, dad's car batteries were as opulent as the rest of this heap, and often required an electric blanket wrapped around them while they charged, but that engine never ever failed to crank. Dad never tuned up a car. He never maintained them. If they got an oil change, it was party city for that poor old clunk. Yet, that engine kept on chugging. It chugged on until 1981, when the cops finally pulled my dad over and ordered that car off the road for good. By then, the lower rear quarters flapped, literally, in the wind; the tailgate window fell down if you hit too hard a bump, the floors were virtually nonexistent, and one of the frame rails had started to give. Yet, even as dad drove Bessie (that's what ma named her) to her final reward, that Stovebolt still chugged on as if it was just built the day before. My father traded "up" (figuratively, the car was junked, not traded in) to a Chevette, a year old car. Ma called it a Shoveitte, with good reason. He was ashamed to be driving that old heap, but that heap got us across Canada on a number of occasions, summer and winter. Bessie often boosted frozen cars on the worst days. That heap was literally falling to bits, but that motor, for all of it's lack of care and maintenance, never failed us on any occasion. While dad spoke of that car with a bit of contempt in his older years, he always spoke with reverence for the engine that powered her. It's an engine that was brilliantly designed because it was simple, straightforward and built like a Sherman Tank. It may never have won any NASCAR events, nor would any teenager be down on the strip bragging up it's horsepower or torque, but it got a lot of farmers to market in their Chevy trucks, government agency and fleet cars around town with little complaint and one family of five who didn't have the means, and really depended upon its dependability. I still fondly remember, and cherish those memories of that old girl, and the heartbeat that never ebbed, every time she turned into the driveway. Just my spin on a great power plant.

No need to apologise to anyone who gets upset about you saying 'motor' instead of 'Engine'. Say what you feel comfortable with. If people cant understand 'Motor' then they are not automotive enthusiasts. I prefer Engine myself but thats not any reason to expect you to use the same term. As always a great chat and you are by far one of the better content producers on here in automotive subject. Thankyou again.

My stovebolt Chevy story involves a 1962 Four Door Chevrolet Biscayne with a 235 CI straight six and a Three-on-the-Tree manual trans. What a durable, dependable, and reliable old Beast. After a very abusive ( I was a teenager for crying out loud) and long ten year break in period we decided it would be a good idea to drive this old beauty with almost 200K miles on a road trip through the blazing hot desert of Baja California, Mexico in the middle of summer, No Problem I Said ! It turned out after 14 days and 1,200 miles (we almost made it to Cabo) my brother's car (a 1966 VW bus) sucked a valve and broke down. Well with a tow rope and a little bit of luck, the six of us and the two vehicles made it back to the border where the Cal Highway Patrol told us to get a tow hitch because they wouldn't allow us to tow my brother's VW bus back into the US with a ROPE !

Nice detail to mention the compression ratio, many people fail to take that into account when analyzing older engine tech. I recall reading that in WWII trucks and other land vehicles were designed to use gasoline in the 60 - 70 octane range.

Adam, love this series! I also like your comment about reserving the right to become a smarter person! 😉😊

I bought a used 1970 Nova in 1979 for $600 with three options. It had the larger 6 (250 vs. 230), a floor shift ( 3 speed Saginaw) and an AM radio. When I showed my father he said it was the same engine that was in his old 1940 Chevy. The motor was a tractor engine but was very smooth and had good torque. Everything in that car was made for durability, from the rubber floor mat to the heavy vinyl seats. My Uncle had a '65 Chevy Impala with the 6 that he drove from NJ to FL annually and said that he trusted that engine over any other vehicle. The 1bbl. carb was basically a pipe with a butterfly valve at the top and a gas inlet line halfway down.

In 1975 my best friend and I drove a 53 Chevy 2.5 ton grain truck from Lake Norden South Dakota to Palo Alto Ca. This truck had the 235 with a 4 sp. and 2 sp. rear end and we had loaded in the back of it a 75 Toyota S R 5 and in the back of it an extra cab for the Chevy. It was slow up the hills but usually could maintain 60 to 65 mph on the level. A couple of years later I replaced the engine with a Chevy 292 I-6 - what an awesome engine that was!!

Great video, again! These are really interesting. You are clearing up a lot of questions I have had over the years.

Informative. I did not know any of this information. I hope you will continue to share. The topics have been interesting and the inside GM stuff is always great.

You are correct, the 235cid was smooth and powered many Chevys and other GM products. All American manufacturers made stellar in line sixes and the all had there little quarks. The Chevy smoked, the Ford liked to eat starters & Chrysler slant six valve train was loud. Loved them all.

Ford Flatheads were the quietest, vibration free engines I've encountered. They would idle down to about 300RPM and you'd have to look at the 3 blade fan to see it running. Thanks, great videos.

Thanks for sharing another fun porch chat!!! 👍👍

Nicely done video. Rebuilt a stove bolt motor in shop class (circa 1965). Not terribly difficult to rebuild and learned a great deal. Remember my shop teacher telling us that the 265 V8 was lighter and more powerful than the inline 6.

Once again Adam, another great video. Keep `em coming please.

Not a Mopar guy, but my vote for 6 cylinders is the Dodge 225 Slant Six.

"I reserve the right to get smarter." A wise gentleman, you are.

When I was growing up in Georgia, there was one local character who could get rubber going into high gear in his 51 Chevy with this engine. Those were great cars, smooth and durable as you've described.

My first car was a 1970 Nova with a 250 inline 6. In 1978 when I had it people would think the car had shut off when I pulled up to stop lights. The engine was just that smooth.

My parents inherited my Great Grandmothers 1955 Chev Bel-Air post coupe when I was a kid in the '80's. I learned to drive on that car. It had a Blue Flame 136 and a 2-speed powerglide auto transmission. It was extremely smooth and quiet. At full throttle it demonstrated surprising torque. Big steering wheel and good brake feel too. I drove that car to high school and loved it so much. I got it painted in its original blue, put the original custom heater and defrost controls in it I pulled from a junkyard car. I also rebuilt the carb as a teen with my dad and got the interior completely re-upholstered Those were great times. My dad promised me the car but my mom sold it to my uncle when I was away in college. Came back home crushed that the car was gone. To this day I never forgot that. Years later I drove my sisters straight 6 BMW 5 whatever. Hot car. It had more power but not the smoothness of the Blue Flame. That's how balanced the Blue Flame engine is. Everything I drive today the baseline for smoothness is that engine.

Yep, this is absolutely one of my favorite motors. You listen to them run, even a very early one from the early 30s, and they're so smooth and quiet and honestly just excellent motors. The 49-54 Chevrolet's with this motor are some of my absolute favorites out there- amazing looking cars and a great power plant for around town or backroad driving. It's hard to argue with a small block, but the stovebolt was honestly just s fantastic every day motor. Also, just want to say I like all your glasses, Adam. You seem to have an interesting collection. Same goes for your watch.

Thank you, Adam. Even though I grew up in the 60’s, I honestly cannot remember driving any 6-cylinder full size GM vehicles. I did drive a ‘65 Rambler American with the AMC 232” 6-cylinder. It was fairly peppy for a 6. Cheers. 👍👍👍

I liked the Chevy 292 6 cylinder engine. Great torque and hot roddable.

“I always reserve the right to get smarter”. If only we could get politicians to commit to that before they take office.

I loved the Chevy 250 straight six. I did an engine swap in my truck and should have used that motor instead I used a Buick 3.8 V6 big mistake nothing but headaches from that motor. The old 283 and 327 were also great motors

Excellent chat Adam!

Between my junior and senior year of high school I bought a 46 GMC heavy half with a Gopher rebuilt 292 in it. I still have the truck and the engine runs great. More than enough power for the old Jimmy. Truck hasn't been on the road in a while because of life/drivetrain issues. But it is stored safe and dry and waiting for the day.

I put a lot of miles on the 235 we had in trucks that we used to haul to market with. I think they were around the early 50 model year. They have a 4 speed with a vacuum operated two speed rear. They got the job done!!

Good info about the stovebolt engine, it was so good Toyota produced their own copy with improvements in oiling and used it in their land cruisers well into the 70's. As for what you said about Jaguar though, their V8 was their own design, the earlier ones suffered from top cylinder erosion from ethanol in fuel due to their Nikasil cylinder treatment, that was remedied with changing to iron cylinder liners. Was actually a good engine that only had problems with the timing chain tensioners and guides, Ford's infusion of cash allowed them to develop the engine further into a 4.2 liter with improved timing components that were reverse compatible with the earlier engine to fix it's problems. Now Jaguar did use the lower end of ford's duratec V6, but designed their own heads and intake system for that, and it was a pretty reliable engine in the X-type based on the Ford Mondeo. It's major issue from the bunch of them I worked on was intake manifold leaks more than anything. The X-type was a pretty poor car for jaguar really, but their S-type which they shared with Lincoln was pretty good and their XJ8, especially the 04 and later were actually great cars overall, I was impressed enough to buy one, only to be driven crazy by the stupid placement of the gigantic ignition key, bur other than that it was a pretty trouble free car, as were the several I took care of at the shop I was working at. Be nice to Jaguar, they have an interesting history and still make nice cars.

I like these porch chats. I’m drooling for the “Best GM Sun Visors of all Time” episode!

I have an 1974 GM 250 inline six here in Brazil, it's awesome, sounds awesome!

This channel is growing. Thanks for the video. 🏆

Love your philosophy..."the party can wait."

I had 2 or 3 59 chevys with straight 6 around 1970.They could be had around that time for $50.00 or so. Easy for a kid to work on.Usually burned a little oil. Viewing from Westcoast Canada

My dad and I had a 1954 Chevrolet 210, 2door post, with a 235, 3 on the tree. That was the only engine I have ever seen that we could idle it down so slow you could literally follow/count the engine as each cylinder fired.

I had the 235 in my first car, a '60 Chevy wagon. It was a smooth engine, and could roll the wagon along at 93 mph with the peddle to the metal. When it hit 60,000, my dad (who was a mechanic and loved Chevy) and I did a rebuild. This was what was the common mileage to get from them. We had it bored out 40 thousandths over so I wound up with a 246. I ran it for another four years before selling it. This was in Wisconsin, so the car rusted away from the still good drive train. You should also include the GM 270 straight six as a great engine. I had that in a 58' GMC flat bed. The 270 is loved by land speeder and racers.

Adam, really enjoy these videos! Even more than the road tests! Only comment I can add is maybe a bit more technical info on something like this “stove bolt” engine, like where it got that nickname, maybe a cutaway shot from a manual to see the arrangement of internals and externals, or things like that for those of us pretty ignorant of this generation of American products. Thanks again for a fine video discussion!

I have the 261 in a 1954 medium duty truck. Plenty of power and very smooth running. A family truck, been driving it for over 50 years.

I remember growing up with a 54 Chevy 210 and later a 59 Chevy BelAir, both with the stovebolt 6 and three on the column. As I remember the transmission had a wide range. If barely rolling you could be in 2nd and it could hold to 55 mph, if need be. I always thought these were a pleasure to drive.

Excellent video!

Another interesting GM engine was the Pontiac overhead cam 6. My brother had a 69 Tempest with that OHC 6 in it.

Another gem! I'm a sucker for an inline six. The 261 in your Parisienne is delightful, as is your taste in eye glasses frames.

One of my granddads had a handful of cars & pickups with the ole 235. He really liked the 235s until he bought a 67 Impala with a 250. From then on it was 230-250s in everything he bought.

In High School I had a 1957 Chevrolet 1/2 ton pickup that had the 261 stove bolt. It was a kickass engine. I used to drag race it constantly after school. I beat every 289 Mustang in school. My buddy in Auto Mechanics had a 1959 Chevy 2dr hardtop with a 283 4bbl. I beat him on a $20 bet which was a lot in 1970. My aunt slipped her 4whl drive Jeep 1/2 ton in a ditch and I hooked it up with a chain and told her to put it in 4wd. I was on asphalt and pulled her out of the ditch backwards with her tires spinning and found out she was in drive the whole time. That engine had lots of torque.

I'm a Ford/Mopar guy, but recently learned the GMC division ran their own family of V-6 engines from 1959 to 1974. The biggest was a 478 cubic inch V-6 that developed over 400 ft-lb of torque at 1400 rpm......so basically the motor was absolutely perfect for trucks. They put these in good old regular GMC pickups. Those V-6s were apparently nicknamed the 'Hercules' engines because they were so reliable and tough. Might be worth a post?

"The party can wait for you"😂 I like that! A bit off topic but, we had a 1966 GMC pickup with a V-6. Not a bunch of HP but it made up for it with huge torque numbers! Stump pulling type #'s! Love your story telling. Thank you Adam.

Reading the comments, and looking back. GM made a lot of different engines, and components. I think a bunch of inline sixes powered folks through times of need.

The original 216 CI in my '53 Chevy pickup ran great but developed a knock, so I ordered a rebuilt 235 CI with dual carbs, a mild cam and dual exhaust to replace it and it took about 6 months to get. It's not quite done yet and I can't wait to hear it run and drive it drive it. The truck already has the S-10 T 5 overdrive trans, it's a fairly easy swap and it makes it so much more driveable.

Adam, thank you for explaining the engine versus motor controversy! Our high school auto shop teacher in 1976-1977, would never allow us to call an engine a motor and that's what I still adhere to. I don't think that I ever wrote any KZfaq comments about that, because I am not an expert because of what one teacher in high School taught me. I really love watching every one of your videos and I am thrilled that you've taken an interest in so many of the cars that seemed so horrible at the time, especially when smog devices first appeared, way before today's computer controls.

Fascinating knowledge.... 😊

The first car I can remember was our 1952 Chevrolet Deluxe two-door StyleLine sedan, the "Gray Chevrolet." It ran faultlessly for 156,000 miles, until it threw a rod. Three days of mourning followed. The Stove bolt 6 couldn't be beaten!

I love the stovebolt engines. We have a 261 in our 1956 Chevrolet 6400 2 ton truck. Great motor, and very heavy crank and rods vs. the 235.

The in-line 6 is a brilliant design and not surprising to find in Jags, BMWs, Supras.

Nice discussion! Can't hear the Stovebolt 6? Wait until you're going 60 with that 4:11 axle! I don't understand why GM never used overdrive until '55 in Chevy.

Yep, they are a great engine. I have a 235 in my restored 1960 Chevy Apache pickup. It runs like a well oiled sewing machine. It keeps up with highway traffic just fine too. Don't forget about the GM 250 and especially the 292. The 292 IL 6 is one torquay engine!! Thanks for featuring the GM line of Stovebolt engines, my favorite!!

Thank you for your discussion on the Stove Bolt Six! I have always preferred 6-cyl engines and they don’t always get the respect they should. I’ve owned many, many 6-cyl vehicles with both straight sixes and V-6’s. Even my newer, daily driver Ram 1500 I purchased has the V-6 and love it.

Back in the 70's I had a 1955 Chevy with the 235 six. A friend had a Toyota Land Cruiser. The engines looked identical. I'd swear that if it wasn't for the fact that the Toyota was metric, you could interchange parts.

Motors/ engines... it's fine by me! Thanks for giving some information on classic 6 cylinder engines.

As ever, your videos are absolutely superb. The level of detail is first class. Regarding the engine/motor thing. I’m guessing that was a fellow Brit who didn’t like the term ‘motor’ being used. While it does sound strange using ‘motor’ to describe a car engine to British ears, why someone would even point that out is beyond me. So if they were from the same small piece of rock as me, I apologise!!! Keep doing what you’re doing, we love it! 🇬🇧🇺🇸🇬🇧

I've had 4 Mavericks, a Falcon, and a Fairmont. One was a 250-6, the rest were all 200's. All were durable, dependable, economical, smooth running cars. Just slow as hell, except for the 250. And the integral head/manifold casting made them difficult to modify. The big 240 and 300 truck and industrial engines were gems, especially the '90s EFI versions. I've also had a D100 truck and 64 Dodge 330 sedan, with 225 Slant 6s, and a wonderful 63 Valiant with a silky smooth 170. All were as quiet and smooth as an electric fan. Peppy too.

The AMC 258 ci engine was one of the best 6 cylinders. Have one in a 1974 Jeep J10 and is was still running fine 48 years and 135,000 miles later.

I luv it when at a car show, someone will have say a beautiful Chevrolet Fleetline….maybe a ‘48, and it is not about power but how silent it can be. They start the car, and the starter is engaged for just a millisecond I mean the instant it hits the flywheel, it throws the engine into a running condition, and then it is just dead silent….not a hint of movement under the hood, and a just sweet almost imperceptible exhaust note. 😍

An older gentleman in my neighborhood has a Sky Blue and White '54 Bel-Air 4 door Sedan that looks showroom new. It sits next to a newer Impala. He's gotta be in his 70's or 80's. Starched shirts, dress pants and polished shoes topped with a fedora. On clear days I see him driving around to our sandwich shop etc. I've seen it parked at our local bingo hall on Saturdays. Bet it has a Stovebolt Six. I have a soft spot for C1 Vette's, especially in Pennant Blue. Although 55's had a V8 and option, the Stovebolt would suit me just fine. Great review.

I love the might slant six... super rugged!

I have owned MANY Stovebolt Chevy sixes in my 67 years. The babbit bearing ones, that would be pre 1954 are really not that good. I would say the oil pumped pressure post 1954 sixes are good. Too many inherent problems with bad oiling with the early pre 1954 engines. I would agree that they are very smooth and run like a sewing machine when properly maintained and tuned.

Excellent video on the straight 6. I always knew they were great engines. ……. Adam……..were the 70’s -80’s 250 CU straight 6 part of the Stovebolt engines. I know some of my friends got well over 300k on the 250. They were in Chevy trucks as well. Being for NJ and having boats at the Jersey shore these Chevy straight 6’s are desired for restoring classic boats as well.

I agree,I am still running/driving a 59 Apache 1/2 ton with the 235 6 in it.....smooth as silk,here in East Tn.alot of older cars/trucks are still on the road here and you see what really last.

To back-up your comment about your beautiful1959 Canadian Pontiac, ....I once read an automotive magazine's test drive of a new 1961 Plymouth full-size sedan with the then relatively-new 'Slant-Six'. A 225 cubic inch engine powering a big Plymouth, possibly even the heavier Fury, with no complaints. The passengers all commented that they didn't realize the car was a six-cylinder. So many full-size American sedans were perfectly well-balanced in power & economy by a good six cylinder.

The 261 version used in trucks in the USA was a bit different than the 235. Chevy engines were siamesed, cylinders were in groups of two sharing a common wall, in the 261 this was drilled to provide a cooling passage between them, it had a full flow oil filter vs a by-pass filter, and an oil cooler, I believe it was cammed for more torque as well. I would bet this could give a smallblock v8 a run on torque and probably with a bigger carb probably equal the HP. Corvettes were fiberglass body on chassis, this is not particularly light for a small vehicle. I learned to drive on a '50 chevy with three on the tree, it was an ex taxi and had a lot of miles, this wasn't a blue flame engine but a blue smoke engine! Filler her up! Ten gallons of gas and a quart of oil. I think the 'normal' oil pressure was like 15 psi, no oil filter.

Being a Corvette guy I do like the early Corvettes with the blue flame six. So very cool and automotive history. There was a case of a 53 , 54, or 55 that was missing its original 6. Then many years later the original 6 was re installed back into the Corvette. You generally don't see that happen with the V8 Corvettes especially the higher horsepower versions. Those 6's are very durable .

Cool stuff 😎. 👍

The simple format works. Your knowledge is interesting, just share it.

My uncle has a 1958 Pontiac strati chief with a 261. It is mint condition and it runs so smooth and quite at car shows that we always tease him and ask him to rev it up so we can hear it. PS I am a new sub. Live in Canada and own a 78 firebird and a 69 Pontiac custom S convertible

I own a 1953 Chevrolet Bel-Air. The 235 Blue flame is exactly what you said. This car has 70,000 and I have Camaro's and a Street rod, but this 53 Bel-Air is like driving your couch. It's comfortable, it's roomy, and it's an amazing driving experience. Hands down my most favorite driver. Thanks Adam for the video!!

Had a 53 coupe in college and it was reliable. The Chevy engine was used in trucks by all sides in WWII. Chevrolet in USA, Bedford in UK, Opel in Germany and I think Toyota in Japan. Parts were the same in the Chevy, Bedford and Opel engines and transmissions. General Motors owned Opel and Bedford and Japan bought a license to make the engine before 1939 and changed dimensions to enable metric tooling so those were odd for parts. Good series of videos.

Had a 216 in my 48 Chevy Fleetline when I was 16. Worked with a friend of my dad’s to overhaul it, new babbitt bearings and all. Great fun and a good engine.

My first car was a '62 Chevy station wagon with the 235 stove bolt six and three on the tree. It was a fraud sold to me by my scandalous brother in law for $50-- a fraud because while it ran and ran very smoothly, the rings were gone and it belched sky blue smoke like a coal ship, and he knew it to be the case. But-- but-- I'll never forget how incredibly smooth the engine was. Like an electric motor. That was a fun thing, my first car. It had no paint left on the roof. It had been sky blue, but went to light rust. I'd wash it and use Comet on the roof.

At around 5:18 that is my 1957 261 in line six cylinder motor from my Canadian built 1957 Pontiac that is flashed on there. I have always loved in line six GM motors and have owned many over the years since 1977. Thank you for considering my 261 six good enough for your ditty. Cheers.

Great vid! Very nice presentation. I'm a new subscriber! Matt. ('49 Chev 216)

I still have my first car that I bought in 1978, and that is a "CHEVY BELL AIR" with a 230 cid inline 6 (" HI THRIFT"), and 2 speed "POWERGLIDE" transmission ( matching numbers). that has been the most reliable car that I ever owned. this engine would be the 3rd generation inline 6( not considered a STOVEBOLT ENGINE) the other nice thing about this engine is you can get to everything on it, it is a mechanics dream to work on!!!!!

I got the 235 in my 55 210 with a 3 seed over drive. It is not silent running due to solid lifter cam shaft. The engine runs well and has adequate power.

In South Africa the GM products were powered by the 3800cc and 4100cc engines. They were very reliable and a joy to drive. Some people at the time transplanted them into Land Rover jeeps. We also had a 2500cc engine, which was a chopped version of the six, with 4 cylinders.

Interesting discussion! Straight sixes have a legacy in the American automotive story. 300 Ford, 258 AMC, 225 Chrysler to name few - and of course the ones mentioned here.

Great video dude new subscriber love the channel I know exactly what you are talking about mechanic 25 yrs

All engines are motors not all motors are engines! You were correct in your terminology.

Interesting, the first car I remember as a child was a 56 Belair, it had an automatic so I assume the 235 engine. Then dad bought a new Belair in 64, also automatic and I remember telling him it sounded louder, louder valve taps and a kind of whine when it revved, my imagination? so he said. The ALT light came on on the drive home from the dealer so they came out and slapped on a new one. The first year for alternators? It lasted and ran strong until 72 when it was traded for a new Delta 88...eat your heart out buddy.

My early years were spent riding in a 53 Chevy Belair with a 235 and a 62 Chevy C10 with a 235 before we graduated to a 67 Chevy C10 with a 283 V8 2 barrel. Great easy to maintain engines. The 2 things I didn’t like about them was the oil bath air cleaner and the canister oil filter that had to be drained using a suction pump. Kept the 53 for 14 years and the 62 for 12 years. They never broke down once!

Though this is a car guy channel, In the 60’s GMC made some interesting V6’s for light and medium duty trucks. Not exceptional horsepower but good torque. They were relatively robust and durable.

I enjoyed most the 250 short block with the OHC setup and the 4V carb, AKA The Sprint

The first car I drove at around 11 or 12 was a '61 four door Biscayne with a 235 and three on the tree. Been hooked on cars both slow and fast ever since, but very few have had the liquid smoothness of that straight six.

Please do a series on the Mighty Leaning Tower of Power....the Slant Six Dodge. One of, if not THE, most reliable engine ever built in the USA..The 216 powered my first car a 1950 Chevy. Great engine.