Technical Chevy 250 needs a rebuild. What else should I do while I'm in there?

Here comes another "what should I do" thread... (I've used Search and read what I've found thus far.)

It's time to rebuild my Chevy 250, and while it's out, I'd like to add a little pep without breaking the bank. 135hp has been fine for many years, but who doesn't want a little more power on tap?

Engine internals are 45+ years old bone stock. I've got modified (properly, for ground clearance) Clifford headers, a Clifford intake with working water heat, and a Rochester 2GC. Trans is a TH350 (somewhere in the back of my mind I have thoughts of going to TH2004R, but...). Rear gears are 3.42. Tires are 27" tall. Truck weighs 3860# wet, no driver. I won't be changing the carburetion because I've got 'stuff sticking through the hood' that I'm not interested in changing. The only thing I tow is the line. The only creature comforts are power steering, power assist brakes, and HEI. It's a semi-daily driver, and I don't plan to drag race from street light to street light for gas money.

What ought I do while it's torn apart to give it some more go?

 

Little more compression, little more cam and a good valve job for some flow...might look into port work on the head a bit, minimum cleaning and blending and matching...work on getting the quench to .040-.045.

 

Clean out the little curved tube on the intake manifold where the PVC hose hooks to, cleaning out real good will eliminate oil leaks in the future.

 

Adding a couple or 3 more cylinders will get you some more umph!

 

Nine might be difficult to balance.

 

PCV is in the top of the valve cover. It will be moving to inside the valve cover on the side nearest the carburetor.

 

paint it pink

 

I dunno, GM had an inline 5cyl a few years back...was it the "Trailblazer" it came in?

 

The Hummer H3 is a sport utility vehicle (SUV) from Hummer that was produced from ... The H3 was launched with a 3.5 liter straight-5 cylinder L52 engine

 

All great info for the thread entitled "CHEVY 250 NEEDS A REBUILD. WHAT ELSE SHOULD I DO WHILE I'M IN THERE?"

Thanks for the insights.

 

Remove the bolt boss in the intake ports or even better install lump ports. 1.86 or 1.92 intake valves and 1.6 exhausts. Head work really wakes up these engines. Check here. http://www.inliners.org

 

Have heard that back in the 30s Studebaker built an experimental inline 9 cylinder. A straight six has the smallest number of cylinders giving perfect primary and secondary balance. If you grouped the cylinders in 3s with crank throws 120 degrees apart you would have a very smooth 9 cylinder engine.

 

I was talking more if you welded three on an existing setup.

 

Well who the hell would do it that way?

 

Me.

 

bore it out a far as possible. port and polish and CC the cyl head. Recurve the distrubeter. Balaned the rotating assembly. Make every piston come up the same distance from the deck.

 

9 cylinder engine
http://www.atomracing.se/6M.html

 

You have Clifford products so you probably know about their website,but just in case here it is. http://www.cliffordperformance.net/engine-blueprint.html Pete

 

Tom has pistons, cams, & lots of other pieces you might want: http://www.12bolt.com

He has built & dyno'd several versions of 250's and can give you good suggestions as to what to use.

And, as noted above, check out the Inliners Club: http://www.inliners.org

 

think radial engine ...

 

Thanks @prpmmp and @Casual 6 for the resource reminders. I kind of gave up on inliners.org after participating there for years... the lack of ownership from the keepers-o-the-board is sad. I'll check with Tom Lowe and see what he suggests and offers.

 

Those engines are TOUGH AS NAILS! I tried to blow one up when I was a kid and could not get it done. She just would not quit!

 

I spoke with Tom a week or so ago. He gave me a pretty clear game plan... biggest issue now is the wait time for him to do some head work for me, as he's pretty backlogged. Thanks, all.