In reality, the Stovebolt-Six first served as the motivator behind early Chevrolet pickups, during which time the engine was often cited as a workhorse of sorts. GM’s upcoming 265 cubic-inch small-block was far from reaching production viability, leaving little option but to adapt Chevrolet’s already popular Stovebolt-Six for use underneath the Corvette’s hood.Īt the time, the Stovebolt-Six had already proven quite reliable and had served as the powerplant of choice for many Chevrolet models, dating back to 1929. The Corvette was greenlighted for fast-tracked production, leaving many design decisions to be made in haste. Always the opportunist, Harley Earl, along with others on the forefront of GM design, set out to capitalize on the wave of popularity that surrounded the EX-122 prototype. Meanwhile, the Corvette-prototype was coming fresh off of a warm reception at the 1953 Motorama. However, by 1953, this pet-project had amounted to little more than speculation, and little true progress had been made. While the 1953-1955 Stovebolt Inline 6-cylinder has been the butt of its fair share of jokes, the engine’s history is more accurately depicted when viewed from the standpoint of top GM brass during the era in which it was unveiled.ĭuring the time, talk had already begun to surface surrounding the potential development of a V8 powerplant that would be viable for production. Nonetheless, the Blue-Flame Stovebolt-Six served as the Genesis of Corvette power, if only for a brief period of time. Quite the contrary, the Corvette, in its earliest form, was often ridiculed for being underpowered, in comparison to many comparable European sports cars of the era. Often referred to as the “The Blue-Flame”, the Stovebolt-Six’s performance characteristics were anything but “fiery”. Prior to the days of GM’s domination of the small-block market, or even the big-block beasts of the 1960s, the Corvette was offered with only one available engine, the Stovebolt inline-six-cylinder. Today, the Corvette is most often categorized as one of America’s most prized performance cars. Stovebolt Inline 6 Cylinder Additional Uses.Stovebolt Inline 6 Cylinder Specs Index.Stovebolt Inline 6 Cylinder Specifications and Technical Configurations.

Chevrolet 6 cylinder