Boosted Classic 292 Straight-Six

(Austin)>> I've got to say it's been a long time coming on this '65 C-10 but with me and yahoo here, these things take time. The interior came out great. Basically we throw some gauges in it we'll be driving it by this afternoon.

(LT)>> So that's where you get your information on how to build trucks, Yahoo?

(Austin)>> The internet.

(LT)>> Now before we go anywhere obviously we've got to put an engine underneath the hood of our C-10, and this is probably a power plant that's just a little more unique than what you guys are used to seeing.

(Austin)>> Yeah but after today you won't be able to say that no more. [ Music ] [ engine revving ] [ Music ]

(LT)>> Yeah baby! Woo hoo! [ Music ] When it came time to selecting the power plant that's gonna go under the hood of our C-10 we had one requirement. It had to be different and unique.

(Austin)>> That means no LS and no small block Chevy.

(LT)>> Now as much as those motors are great and can make power this is so much cooler. It's a turbocharged Chevy 292 straight six. It was actually a collaboration between us and the guys next door at Engine Power. We handled all the fab work and they handled the machine work.

(Austin)>> Now before we get carried away and drop this thing in there's a few little things we'll take care of, and one of those will be brake lines. Just be a lot easier to get to, and we'll also give you the quick rundown of how this thing was properly put together.

(LT)>> At Powernation we're lucky to work with some first class builders, and when it came to our 292's final assembly we enlisted the services of Pat and Mike from Engine Power. The first step was for them to finalize the bore geometry on the cylinder hone. They first roughed it in with a 220 grit stone and finished things off with the 600. [ Music ] With all the machining processes complete and the block thoroughly cleaned the main bearings and caps were installed and torqued down, and the oil clearance was verified. Once they knew everything was in spec the bearings get a coat of assembly lube for protection on initial startup, and the crankshaft is carefully lowered into place. The main caps are installed... [ Music ] ...and torqued to spec one final time. Next it was time for a custom Comp cam which had been designed to run well in boosted applications. To complete the rotating assembly a trip to the machine shop was necessary to resize the connecting rods. Pat is an old pro, and in no time he had the stock rods ready to go. While they were there this cylinder head got the valve guides finalized and the valve seats were cut for oversized valves. Back at the shop Pat got busy on the milling machine to modify the heads to drastically improve horsepower and air flow. To finish things up the ports were messaged by hand and the head was assembled with new valves, springs, and retainers. [ Music ] With all six hypereutectic pistons installed the timing cover, balancer, and oil pump and oil pan go on, finishing up a custom spec'ed 292 short block. The head was torqued into place and the valvetrain was installed. Over on the engine dyno things were finished up with an intake and exhaust manifold, along with a dyno specific carburetor, and we just had to stop by to see how much power our baby would lay down. Yeah that's where it starts to sound good. [ engine revving ]

(Pat)>> It sounds like an airplane.

(Mike)>> Awesome, oil pressure, everything. Let's see what we got.

(LT)>> Wow 220 horsepower. Finally we installed the turbocharger and intercooler and made a few more hits on the dyno where it laid down an impressive 376 horsepower and 510 pounds of torque at only 10.5 pounds of boost. Well I have got to say that engine sounded pretty awesome on the dyno, and the thing that impressed the most was how quickly a 292 cubic inch engine spooled up that S-366. Massive amounts of torque, and that means this little manual transmission truck is gonna be a blast to drive.

(Austin)>> For sure. It's built solid, we've got good horsepower. That means awesome burnouts to come. Now so we don't kill our brakes too quick we got a little something planned for that. And then while you tackling that cause you are. I don't know if you knew that, I'm gonna handle the rear. We'll use that factory bumper but I've got something in mind that just might clean it up a bit.

(LT)>> Divide and conquer! Well I guess Austin wanted to make sure I handled the brakes just so we don't have any accidents later on. Every braking system starts up here on the firewall. This is a master cylinder that we picked up from Summit Racing, and this one is special because it has an adjustable proportioning valve bolted onto the side. Now this is important for us because we converted to a four wheel disc brake setup, and this way we can adjust the bias between the front and the rear brake. So if we're every in a panic stop situation all four wheels lock up at the same time. Now that little special something Austin was talking about is this guy right here. This is called a line lock. It's also known as a roll control, and basically what it allows us to do is lock up the front brakes and have no braking pressure on the rear, and this is helpful for I don't know, whenever you want to spin the tires or whenever you're staging at the drag strip. Now this is pretty simple to install and it goes in the front brake system. So the only thing I have to do is find a place to mount it, and I'm thinking somewhere right on here in the frame rail. So the first step is to build a bracket. When it comes to building custom trucks there are a lot of times you're gonna have to mock up a bracket because there are so many different aftermarket parts that you're going to install, and as always there's a couple of different ways you could mock things up. Number one you could go super high tech and use a 3-D scanner and some raptor prototyping materials but that's just not practical for most everybody. So you could also go completely stone age and use some corrugated cardboard. Now this is what everyday materials ship in through the mail but the problem is it really only folds in one direction and not very precisely at that. So I don't recommend cardboard. Instead I recommend you go to a craft supply store and pick up some of this fiber or chip board. It's fairly thin and you can easily cut it with a standard pair of scissors, and the best part is you can fold easily in any direction in a very precise manner. So I went ahead and I mocked up the bracket that we're gonna use to mount the roll control to an existing hole in the frame of our C-10. It's gonna have three holes in the front for the roll control, one hole on top for it to mount to an existing hole in the frame, and then all it has is a simple 90 degree bend. So now the only thing I have to do is turn this into metal.

(Austin)>> Into Lo 'n Slo for good, that's next!

[ Music ]

(LT)>> With the roll control securely mounted all of the major components of the braking system are in place. So now it's just a matter of connecting the dots with some brake line. Now I did go to Summit Racing and pick up a pre-bent stainless steel brake line kit that's designed for an early '60's Chevy C-10. The problem is though we've got a lot of different components and the kit was not designed to work with a roll control. So I'll just use these pieces as a starting point and connect the proportioning valve to the inlet of the roll control. Now I do need to trim it and re-flare it a little bit, but from there there are two outlets. One goes to the left front and one goes to the right front. The very last thing I've got to do is go from the rear of the proportioning valve all the way to the rear of the truck and this brake system is done. Cut it right about there. [ Music ] [ engine revving ]

(LT)>> Well I've gotta say probably without exception this is the best sounding engine that we've built on this show, like ever.

(Austin)>> And that's just on the dyno. Wait 'til we have it in the truck with a proper exhaust built, ran to the back. Dude that'll be a one of a kind for sure.

(LT)>> I know I can't wait but the only problem with the dyno is you can't do burnouts on it. So this engine has got to go back in that truck. Now we do have to remove a lot of this turbo componentry because well you can't lower the engine down into the truck. The heater box kinda sits right here on top of the hot side of the turbo and the hot side of the exhaust is very close to the crossmember. So we'll just take it all off for like the 50th time and get it back in there. Between the mock up motor and this one, putting them together, taking them apart. At least we know though it ran on the dyno. We have no leaks. We're not gonna have any problems. Last time we put it in here should actually be the last time.

(LT)>> Well that's building trucks for you, and I've really only got two clamps on this side. So I guess the rest is up to you.

(Austin)>> Yeah I'll see you in like an hour when I'm done. Hey give me that screwdriver. [ Music ] We got it baby.

(LT)>> Can you imagine having to do this like a normal person with a cherry picker?

(Austin)>> I mean we are doing it by hand. All that counts.

(LT)>> Somewhere in there. [ air ratcheted vibrating ] [ mechanical humming ]

(LT)>> We're gonna be running a Tremec five speed manual transmission behind our turbo 292, and this C-10 is gonna be a blast to drive, but first we need to install the clutch assembly and the first part is a flywheel. Now this is a steel disc that gets bolted directly to the back of the crankshaft, and as the engine spins it actually helps conserve energy. So that way when you let the clutch out the inertia that's stored in the flywheel will prevent the engine r-p-m from dropping too low. Now on top of that there's a nice smooth machined surface on the face of the flywheel, and that is what the friction disc of the clutch is gonna grab against. So all we've got to do is get this bolted up to the back of the engine.

(Austin)>> Well I sure am glad we got to endure physics lesson. Super exciting stuff! It's now time to figure out which clutch disc we're actually gonna use for this truck. When it comes to it it's just like selecting brake pads for a rotor. You could start out with your basic organic compound, and that's good for about 475 foot pounds. A little higher performance application you've got your hybrid. This'll be good for about 580 foot pounds. And then for your high performance applications and big foot pound of torque all the way up to about 775 you've got your ceramic. Now you may think bigger is better and just go with the big ole ceramic dude but let me tell you. Drivability will not be pleasant. It's gonna engage pretty hard. It's probably gonna chatter, and you probably won't even be able to leave the driveway. So for this dude we're going with the hybrid. Middle of the road and it'll still be drivable.

(LT)>> You know maybe if you didn't spend so much time in home-ec class learning how to tie quilts you could be up here giving physics lessons with me.

(Austin)>> There's a lot of chicks in home-ec class.

(LT)>> Instead you get to hold that. [ torque wrench clicking ]

(Austin)>> Now it's pretty simple to slap this old clutch disc in there and they usually come with a little dowel installation tool that's splined just right, help everything line up. That way when you put that transmission in it slides right on.

(LT)>> And the very last piece of the puzzle is this guy right here, a pressure plate. You can almost think of this as like a brake caliper. It's what engages and disengages against the friction disc.

(Austin)>> Alright hold right there.

(LT)>> Next we're talking trans.

(Austin)>> Alright so we got the Tremec TKO five speed sitting on the table that American Powertrain sent us, and that means it's time to setup a clutch. Now we're using a hydraulic system. So this slave cylinder throw out bearing assembly is gonna take the place of that old mechanical fork style that presses against this fingers, which pushes in your clutch disc and applies friction to the flywheel. Now to set this up this really just slides on the input shaft and is guided by this dowel pin. The idea here is you want to have about .150 of clearance between the surface of this bearing and your clutch fingers in the pressure plate, and that will allow enough room after it breaks in for those fingers to relax and still have room to wiggle. After all you don't want this pushed in too far applying too much force on that clutch disc. You'll just heat it up and it'll wear out pretty quick, kinda like a brake pad and rotor system. You want some free play but not too much before it engages so it works properly. Now the way I'll take this measurement is we're basically gonna take a measurement from the surface of the bearing to where the bell housing sits on the transmission. In order to do that you find yourself a good little straight edge... [ Music ] ..flat surface where the bell housing mounts up, and some dial calipers, and dial it in right by eye. Now basically repeat the process on the bell housing side. You put your straight edge against the flat surface of the bell housing, push the dial calipers all the way into those fingers on the pressure plate, pull a measurement. Subtract the two and that gives you your distance. Now we already measured this one out and it comes in at .164, which is right in the acceptable range give or take. So that means time to get this dude under the truck. I'd ask LT for help but he'd honestly be none at all. I've got to do it myself.

(LT)>> All I know is if you stay in school you can get paid to sit around and watch other people do the hard work. That's all I'm saying. [ Music ]

(Austin)>> Where you at there Creedus?

(LT)>> Who?

(Austin)>> Just grab it! What this stay in school thing man? I just finished school.

(LT)>> You're a great example to all those kids. You really are.

(Austin)>> What school did you go to?

(LT)>> Show how you can adapt and overcome.

(Austin)>> I hope the splines line up. We've got to go up. Yeah right there. What happened? That input shaft bottoming out? You know we have a trans jack right?

(LT)>> Yeah but it's like a weird awkward shape. Alright I'm trying to do this without actually damaging the seal, but basically what I'm doing is I'm just gonna put these vice grips on here gently. Now the transmission's in gear. That way we can turn the output shaft, which turns the input shaft to hopefully line it up into the clutch disc cause I think that's the problem we're having. It's just not lining up. So let's give it another shot.

(Austin)>> Be sure to put your fingers in that small gap right? Start high! [ Music ]

(LT)>> Okay it's got to come down so it'll actually go in. There you go. There we go.

(Austin)>> Yep there we go. [ drill spinning ]

(Austin)>> Alright we got her.

(LT)>> Looks like it's in. What is it time for a crossmember? [ Music ] [ drill spinning ]

(LT)>> Well there you have it. The Tremec TKO five speed successfully installed by two slightly amateur mechanics. With the drivetrain in its final resting place we can move on to installing the components of the turbo system, and we know everything's gonna fit perfectly because we fabricated it with the engine mocked up in the chassis. Now the one thing we do have to consider this time is heat management because this crossover pipe, even though it does give really great ground clearance, it is actually pretty close to the oil pan and I don't want any extra heat to radiate from the exhaust into the oil. So I wrapped it up with some of this titanium heat wrap. It's basically just a small cloth that you wrap around the exhaust pipe, and I'm gonna have to do the same thing to the down pipe because it does come kinda close to the starter, but we are one step closer to driving this 292. Next some finishing touches.

(LT)>> So we're now at the point of a build where everything basically gets easier, and that's because all the hard work is done. The fab work for the turbo setup is complete and the engine, we know it runs, and we know it doesn't leak, and we know exactly how much horsepower it's gonna make. So the only thing we have to do is bolt all the parts back in place and we're heading down the road.

(Austin)>> That's the best thing about these old trucks. You have all the room in the world in this engine bay to work. You can route your plumbing, run your wires, put my big ole hands in there without busting knuckles, and obviously this straight six helped matters too you know?

(LT)>> And speaking of the straight six a lot of people are gonna look at this and say, why did you go with a throw away engine? For many, many years if you bought a truck that had a straight six underneath the hood the first thing you're gonna do is take that thing out and throw in a big block, a small block, or now days probably an LS, but a small displacement engine with forced induction is actually coming around again and a lot of the manufacturers are using engines just like this today.

(Austin)>> Yeah it's kinda like that old pair of corduroy pants you've got hiding in the closet, trendy, and the six cylinder is no different. It's more popular now than ever, and that's for fuel efficiency. You add turbos, you put power adders, you still get those mid-level ranges of horsepower and they're torquey, and that's the thing that makes them fun to drive.

(LT)>> And if you want just a little bit of extra torque well that's easy. All you've got to do is mess with the waste gate and put a little more spring pressure on top of this thing. Your boost level goes up and so does your horsepower and torque. Now for our particular engine we are kinda near the limit because we have stock connecting rods and a stock crankshaft, but just in general terms that's one reason why turbocharging is so popular.

(Austin)>> And speaking of boost time to cool it down and slap that intercooler up front.

(LT)>> In order to eliminate any possibility of leaking silicone couplers we went ahead and we welded the end charge pipes onto the tank. That ensures a nice leak free connection and just kinda looks cool as well. Now we did mount the intercooler up front because there is no space behind the grille. And when we first put this in we thought, you know what? We could almost run this as the grille of the truck but the problem was the headlights. We didn't really have a nice clean way to mount the buckets and have it look right. So you might ask yourself why is an intercooler important? Well it's simple, it's physics. That turbo up there, as nice as it looks, it's gonna make the intake air charge nice and hot. So just about every vehicle on the road with a turbocharger uses an intercooler to bring down the temperature of the air. It increases the density, increases the oxygen content, and it increases the capacity for horsepower.

(Austin)>> Now we decided to close up the front of this old girl with an original look, and to do that we're using this reproduction grille. Now this chrome work is gonna match the front bumper, some of the chrome trim on the wheels, and some of the other accents we've got on the truck. Best of all in my opinion it'll cover up that intercooler, which'll make it not look so aftermarket. It'll still have that classic truck vibe but sporting turbo. Now I was able to reuse the original headlight buckets. They're in good shape. Just had to tweak them a little to get them to work, but the original headlight retainer rings, well these things have seen better days. So we've got to order some new ones, and that is gonna be to mount these new projector l-e-d headlights. Once they're in they're gonna look pretty cool and we'll definitely be able to see cruising at night. So let's just wrap up this grille and call her a day. Good on that side?

(LT)>> Looking good buddy!

(Austin)>> Two more and they line up. [ metal clanging ]

(LT)>> Now as far as you guys at home are concerned this is the last time you're gonna see project Lo 'n Slo for a little while. It's not 100 percent done yet. There's just a few small details that we need to finish up but it's mostly just boring stuff that you're probably not gonna want to watch anyway.

(Austin)>> And we're at about 99 percent of the way there. Well honestly maybe 95, 96, but the point is we're almost there. All we really have to do is drop a radiator in, run some cooling, run some fuel lines, fab up some exhaust, call this thing done.

(LT)>> And we'll wrap up with a nut and bolt inspection of the entire truck cause remember, this was a frame off restoration. Everything came apart. So we need to double check to make sure we didn't forget to tighten anything back up.

(Austin)>> Then off to some burnouts and I might have just the spot for that.

(LT)>> And if you guys have any questions about any of the parts that we used on this truck check out our build list at Powernation TV dot com. So you want me to handle the exhaust?

(Austin)>> What do you think? [ Music ]