Quote:
Originally Posted by factorystock
Correct. The thing about the 300, it was a much more popular engine than the 292. The smaller Ford 240 was discontinued in '74, making the 300 the only straight 6 in the line up. Chevy kept both the 250 and 292, not many 292 are out there, most 1/2 tons had the 250's and 3/4 tons usually came with V8's.
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I have three 292s. One came with my '68 C/10 Stepside -- ordered by the original buyer. [Probably CalTrans or the SP -- Orange fleet truck]. I rebuilt another junkyard block at MCAS Yuma in 1977. [Building an engine was away of relieving boredom in a small hot town in the summer.] That L6 block ran til 2002. 250,000 miles. I rebuilt the OE block in 2005. That's on duty now.
Along the way I picked up another MY '63 292 core from Warrens69GMC who was working at a Checker Auto in Tucson.
When these trucks were the current product, GM dealers pushed V8s and Automatic transmissions hard. I have never seen a Blazer or Jimmy with a Factory L25 292.
I think the fact that the L25 requires a special diagonal crossmember in the 4X4s was one stumbling block. One parts counter guy at the Chevy dealer's said ''the 292 was Chevy's best kept secret.''
It's a very strong engine, with surplus torque that weighs 100 lbs less than an SBC. My 292 with modifications and aftermarket equipment outperforms the 350 crate motor in my '71 Jimmy.