Chevrolet is in the midst of a 100-day celebration of all things Chevy Truck, and there is nothing that quite says truck like torque. Trucks and torque go together like torque and trucks go together, and it’s been that way from the beginning, when the original 1918 One-Ton offered an impressive (at the time) 46 lb-ft of torque.
Chevrolet likens that One-Ton to today’s 2.5-liter Colorado, which only ups torque output by a mere 480%, or 138 lb-ft per liter, at 191 lb-ft of torque. Then there are burlier options like the Chevy Silverado 3500HD, offered with an available Duramax 6.6-liter turbo-diesel V8 that delivers torque of 910 lb-ft. Trucks and torque. Torque and trucks. Got it?
Perhaps you need a bit more. In that case, let’s take a walk through four milestone moments in Chevrolet Truck torque.
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[wptab name=”1929 and the Stovebolt Six”]
The Stovebolt Six
Introduced in 1929, Chevrolet’s 194-cubic-inch (3.2-liter) overhead-valve inline six-cylinder engine was nicknamed the Stovebolt Six
Chevy’s first overhead-valve inline six-cylinder engine was introduced in 1929 and changed the game by delivering 120 lb-ft of torque at just 800 rpm. Why was it called a Stovebolt? According to Chevrolet, “the Stovebolt nickname was based on external fasteners that resembled the bolts on wood-burning stoves, but it quickly became synonymous with the engine’s durability.” And now you know.
1929 Chevrolet 1.5-ton Utility Truck 
1929 Chevrolet half-ton Light Delivery Pickup 
1929 Chevrolet 194-cubic-inch (3.2-liter) overhead-valve inline six-cylinder 
1929 Chevrolet 194-cubic-inch (3.2-liter) overhead-valve inline six-cylinder engine
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[wptab name=”1955 and the First Small Block”]
The Birth of the Small Block V8
1955 Chevrolet 265-cubic-inch (4.3-liter) V8 engine with two-barrel carburetor, rated at 162 horsepower and 257 lb-ft of torque
Chevrolet has become synonymous with the Small Block V8, and the first—a 265-cubic-inch (4.3-liter) V8—bowed in 1955 as part of the “second series” truck lineup. The result: 238 lb-ft of torque at 2,000 rpm and the framework for five generations of Small Block and Big Block power.
1955 Chevrolet 3200 Series half-ton pickup 
1955 Chevrolet 3200 Series half-ton long-wheelbase pickup 
1955 Chevrolet 3100 Series Cameo Carrier half-ton pickup
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[wptab name=”1987 and the Torque Keeps Growing”]
The Small Block Gets Bigger Torque
Fuel-injected 350-cubic-inch (5.7-liter) Small Block V8 engine, rated at 210 horsepower and 300 lb-ft of torque
Perhaps the only thing bigger in 1987 than your dad’s hair in that photo he keeps in a shoebox at the bottom of his closet was the torque output from Chevy’s Small Block engines. New technology, including electronic fuel injection, grew torque to 300 lb-ft in 1987 after it had been hampered by regulations; the 5.7-liter Vortec Small Block, arriving just a few years later when people began trading glitter for grunge, upped that by another 10%.
1987 Chevrolet K20 Scottsdale ¾-ton pickup 
1987 Chevrolet C30 Silverado one-ton pickup 
1987 Chevrolet C10 Silverado half-ton pickup 
Fuel-injected 305-cubic-inch (5.0-liter) Small Block V8 engine
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[wptab name=”2001 and Taking Things to the Duramax”]
Duramax-imum Torque
Duramax 6.6L turbo-diesel V8
The turn of the 21st century marked the debut of the Duramax 6.6-liter turbo-diesel, which delivered 520 lb-ft of torque and, over the course of 16 years, has grown to deliver a 75% increase in torque with today’s 910 lb-ft output. At the rate things are going, just wait until 2033, when the 2034 Chevrolet Silverado will deliver something like 1593 lb-ft of torque.
2001 Chevrolet Silverado HD one-ton pickup 
2001 Chevrolet Silverado HD one-ton pickup
Photo: Chevrolet 
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