From Newsgroup: alt.politics.usa

On 6/2/26 22:56, rbowman wrote:

On Tue, 2 Jun 2026 23:20:45 -0000 (UTC), pothead wrote:

After he unloaded the Chevette he bought a late 70's Camaro.
It was a beautiful looking car.
Alas he screwed himself once again.

The engine was a 6 cylinder.

And while at the time the 8 cylinder was no beast due to emission
controls all over the place, the 6 cylinder was a real snail.

There was nothing wrong with the straight 6, but I have a fondness for straight engines. I had a '80 Camaro with a 6 and it was sufficient to
keep me in speeding tickets. I lived in New Hampshire and at the time NH didn't give a damn what you did outside of NH.

I traded it in on a '82 Firebird to get the hatchback, another personal preference. It had the V-6 which was more of a hassle to work on. It also
had a 'feature'. The rear main seal would rotate and if the phase of the
moon was right it would leak oil on the exhaust system. It didn't lose
that much oil but I got tired of people telling me my car was on fire. It
too was enough to introduce me to a cop in Findlay, OH. 'Down By The Old
Mill Stream' was written there and he took exception to me passing through town rapidly.

Straight-6s were Very Good.

However you wanted a journal bearing between
at least every two cylinders. In the S6 heyday
the bearing tech was kinda poor. They didn't
last very long (by modern standards). Total
rebuilds every maybe 50,000 miles (maybe less).
Not COMPLICATED ... but still Worker-Hours.

With MODERN tech/materials we can do MUCH better.

Recently checked, there are a number of modern
S6 engines still out there, good for 150,000+
miles minimum. Oddly, MOST are Euro.

Alas ... today, most S6s will be HORIZONTAL
rather than aligned front/back. This neutralizes
one of the big advantages. WHY super-short
engine compartments, NOT entirely sure ... but
it's an industry obsession.

Note most cars LOOK BETTER with a longer front.

A Camero or Jag or Corvette with a snubby front ?
NO ! Aesthetic heresy !!! Only the mid-engine
super-cars can get away with that, and they're
a very small market segment.

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From Newsgroup: alt.politics.usa

On 6/3/2026 2:32 AM, c186282 wrote:

Straight-6s were Very Good.

-a However you wanted a journal bearing between
-a at least every two cylinders. In the S6 heyday
-a the bearing tech was kinda poor. They didn't
-a last very long (by modern standards). Total
-a rebuilds every maybe 50,000 miles (maybe less).
-a Not COMPLICATED ... but still Worker-Hours.

-a With MODERN tech/materials we can do MUCH better.

IIRC, the 240-Z was one of the best of sports cars using the inline 6,
based upon the 1949 Chevrolet 250 cubic inch 6.

Some interesting specs:

The Nissan S30, sold in Japan as the Nissan Fairlady Z but badged as the Datsun 240Z, 260Z, and 280Z for export, are 2-seat sports cars and 2+2
GT cars produced by Nissan from 1969 until 1978. The S30 was conceived
of by Yutaka Katayama, the President of Nissan Motor Corporation U.S.A.,
and designed by a team led by Yoshihiko Matsuo, the head of Nissan's
Sports Car Styling Studio.[1] It is the first car in Nissan's Z series
of sports cars.

The S30 had four-wheel independent suspension and a powerful
straight-six engine with an overhead camshaft, features identified with
far more expensive premium European sports cars and coup|-s such as the
Jaguar E-Type and BMW 2800 CS, but absent from similarly priced sports
cars such as the Alfa Romeo Spider, MGB and Opel GT, which had smaller four-cylinder engines and rear live axles. The S30's styling,
engineering, relatively low price, and impressive performance resonated
with the public, received a positive response from both buyers and the motoring press, and immediately generated long waiting lists.

A special Japan-only model Fairlady Z called the Z432 was released,
equipped with the twin cam 2.0 L inline six-cylinder "S20" engine used
in the Skyline GT-R.[6] This engine, originally designed by former
engineers of the Prince Motor Company, produced 160 PS JIS (118 kW; 158 hp).[7] The "Z432" name refers to 4 valves per cylinder, 3 Mikuni
carburetors, and 2 camshafts. The model code is PS30. Approximately 420
Z432s were built.[8] Some Z432s were used by the police in Japan.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissan_Fairlady_Z_(S30)
--
"This is the first Quantum War, the observer effect is being expertly
used by both sides. Schr||dingerrCOs Strait is simultaneously open and
closed, it switches states depending on who is observing it and talking
about it. The War is over but it was never a war. The ceasefire holds in
spite of there being no cessation of fire. Freedom of navigation is
sacred and inviolable, thatrCOs why werCOre blockading the Gulf of Oman." posted by 'Chunk' on MoA blog.

"You can't be too paranoid." Jeff Rense https://www.globalgulag.us
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From Newsgroup: alt.politics.usa

On 6/3/26 11:39, A Person Not Authorized to Speak on the Matter wrote:

On 6/3/2026 2:32 AM, c186282 wrote:

Straight-6s were Very Good.

-a-a However you wanted a journal bearing between
-a-a at least every two cylinders. In the S6 heyday
-a-a the bearing tech was kinda poor. They didn't
-a-a last very long (by modern standards). Total
-a-a rebuilds every maybe 50,000 miles (maybe less).
-a-a Not COMPLICATED ... but still Worker-Hours.

-a-a With MODERN tech/materials we can do MUCH better.

IIRC, the 240-Z was one of the best of sports cars using the inline 6,
based upon the 1949 Chevrolet 250 cubic inch 6.

Some interesting specs:

The Nissan S30, sold in Japan as the Nissan Fairlady Z but badged as the Datsun 240Z, 260Z, and 280Z for export, are 2-seat sports cars and 2+2
GT cars produced by Nissan from 1969 until 1978. The S30 was conceived
of by Yutaka Katayama, the President of Nissan Motor Corporation U.S.A.,
and designed by a team led by Yoshihiko Matsuo, the head of Nissan's
Sports Car Styling Studio.[1] It is the first car in Nissan's Z series
of sports cars.

The S30 had four-wheel independent suspension and a powerful straight-
six engine with an overhead camshaft, features identified with far more expensive premium European sports cars and coup|-s such as the Jaguar E- Type and BMW 2800 CS, but absent from similarly priced sports cars such
as the Alfa Romeo Spider, MGB and Opel GT, which had smaller four-
cylinder engines and rear live axles. The S30's styling, engineering, relatively low price, and impressive performance resonated with the
public, received a positive response from both buyers and the motoring press, and immediately generated long waiting lists.

A special Japan-only model Fairlady Z called the Z432 was released,
equipped with the twin cam 2.0 L inline six-cylinder "S20" engine used
in the Skyline GT-R.[6] This engine, originally designed by former
engineers of the Prince Motor Company, produced 160 PS JIS (118 kW; 158 hp).[7] The "Z432" name refers to 4 valves per cylinder, 3 Mikuni carburetors, and 2 camshafts. The model code is PS30. Approximately 420 Z432s were built.[8] Some Z432s were used by the police in Japan.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissan_Fairlady_Z_(S30)

Smallish sports cars can do very well with
a 6cyl - 'V' or 'S'. Hey, you wanted an XKE
with the big 6 rather than the 12 - more
torque, less weight.

Now mundane 'passenger' cars ... with modern
materials/machining/tech the longitudinal
S6 (+rwd) can be made VERY well. All the good
aspects with very little downside.

The growth of all-wheel drive is one reason we
see fewer longitudinal mounted engines. If you
are somewhere that gets snow then AWD is a good
option despite the added complexity. An electric
motor is also easy to link into an AWD system.
ONE electric motor is desired, trying to keep
two or four in perfect power sync is complicated
and maybe prone to disasters. A typical front-back
shaft electric motor is yer best bet for 4WD/AWD.

If you almost never see snow ... the old engine
mount approach, RWD, is perfectly good and simple.

The all-around 'gotcha' in these sorts of discussions
is the definition of 'best'. Well, IT DEPENDS on the
exact application. You don't pull a huge diesel out
of an 18-wheeler and jam it into a Beetle and declare
that 'best'. Might be FUNNY, esp with the front wheels
always off the ground. A Kia with a Ferrari engine is,
well, a total waste of the Ferrari engine. The Ferrari
with a Kia engine, also a total waste.

A lot of the passenger cars of the 50s/60s were a
good balance of performance, expected needs and
budgets. Saw a '64 Comet (S6, prob the 170ci) driving
by the other day - still going, still perfectly useful
for most everything but drag racing. Now a modern 6,
injected, electronic ignition, good bearings, aluminum
block, adapted-in would make it 'better'.

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