So I've just acquired a 63 chevy 230, runs well no blue but I'm thinking a rebuild anyways, can't hurt right? So why rebuild when you can upgrade is what I'm thinking. So if I purchase a 250 rebuild kit with pistons and a 250 crank am I there, something I'm missing or am I way off base here?
You are probably right. It's been a real long time since I've played with any inline sixes. I do remember changing rods to go with the increased crank throw. It may not have been the 230 to 250 conversion. CRS is kicking in.
The rods are the same, longer stroke & shorter piston pin height make it all work. If you have a triple beam scale & want to save money on the balance get the rods & piston/ring assembly the same weight and just send the crank/damper & flywheel or flex plate to be balanced. You can do that with an inline engine.
So recap, Pistons from 250 kit will work, connecting rods are same length so that doesn't matter?yes/no Crank from a 250 is right too, ballance required possibly? Maybe this isn't such a good idea, sounded on other posts like an easy swap but...
It's still a good idea, that little six can use every extra quarter inch of stroke it can muster. The 230-250 rods are the same length, and you've got a set that have been swinging together for the last 40 years. Not hard to balance.
So I found this kit and a used crank from a 250. I'm surprised that a block from 63 can interchange parts designed for a 71, no changes at all made in a decade?
It's a chevy, not a ford. The same manual transmission pilot bushing for Chevys fits from 1937 into the 1980s. 350 crank is the same from 1967 to 1986
You asked, "no changes at all made in a decade?" My answer was "NO", although I forgot to say that....and I provided some examples of long production runs of parts in Chevys, and also mentioned that it's not a Ford, as Ford had a habit of coming out with a new engine design every few years, making it hell to swap parts.
If it runs good, why would you want to spend the money to rebuild it? If it was me, and I wanted to build a hotter inline 6, I'd find a good running 292 and start from there. You should be able to find a good one that doesn't need a rebuild for $200 or less. Just seems like a huge waste to me to spend all that time and money and effort to build up a 230.
I've got a 64' Belair,I talked to Tom Langdon about the 292 swap in mine too.According to Tom the 292 is a taller block height & won't fit under a 63/64 hood without dropping the motor down lower in the frame(lots of work).He suggested a 250. Giz'
Ah, I get it now. Just lost me there for a minute, makes sense now. I do plan on running a dual carb on it for I'm guessing it will get me 15 HP? Figured if I opened it up for a rebuild $50 for a used crank on top of the $$ for the rebuild kit I was already doing would get me another 15hp so why not.
The carbs are half the size if thats what you are thinking the net result is aprox the same cfm serviced but in a more uniform fashion...and the cool factor is ten fold IMO. Tom at Langdon's is the brains behind that situation though, I'm going with whatever he suggests.
Properly set up, adjusted, and jetted right, any motor runs just as well with 'lots of carbs' as with one stock carb. Sometimes, BETTER. And that's what hot roddin' is all about.
i put 3 carbs on my 200, and it beats the shit out of a stock one! of course, it required a lot of fine tuning and rejetting but, WELL worth the time!
quoted 3 times in a row i feel honored. i was just saying a lot of people like to throw on a bigger carb or more carbs and the results are not what they wanted. if you are getting advice from the stovebolt engine co you are getting the best around so, yea, go for it. it certainly means much more than what i could give. and yes if your engine has a high lift can, lump port head, and larger valves installed you def need more carb! sometimes the cool factor can be more of a hassle like tuning multi carbs on a stock engine. but that's not saying you shouldn't do it. it's just the simpltons like myself are happy when something just works right. good luck on your six!
If I had a 230 the only things I'd do to it would help it breathe better with carburetor-thrice and split exhaust. Use the same setup as on my 292 except replace the Monojets with Pot bellies.
So with the hood closed those bad boys stick right thru the top? I like that look a lot, but not much in the way of a air cleaner is there?
Air cleaner; Two pieces of screen with filter sandwiched in between in each tube. Mesh small enough to keep out big rocks, birds, and such.
Well go out to the truck today and did a compression test, runs fine no blue and all that but, 120,110,110,110,120,120. So I guess that would confirm the rebuild, you all had me thinking I was throwing cash away but turns out it in the end its time for the old girl.