Chevy 250 help !

I have a chance to get a Chev 250 that is suppose to be complete . That's all I know BUT it's FREE !
Are these engines any good for hopping up for a hot rod pick up ? Do these engines make any power or am I wasting my time ?

I need to know the pros & cons of the Chevy 250 before I go and get it .
Thanks for all the information from the Chevy guys !

RetroJim

 

it's a small displacement engine, the intake ports are not very good. Kind of depends what you want to get out of it and how much time/money you have.

Sometimes free costs more in the long run....

 

they can be made to make power for a price, look up clifford performance. there are books out there for hoping them up and the best parts to use. in the late 70's they came with a integrated head (intake and head was 1 piece) but the older head will fit i'm told. do a search on here as i remember a thread about 6 cyl hot rods.

 

It's a 81 out of a C10 .
Then I take it that I am wasting my time ? I am just looking outside the box for something different for a 37 Plymouth p/u ! I have a 292 Y block that I was going to use but nothing set in stone yet .
Thanks for the information so far !

RetroJim

 

I agree with Squirrel about "it dpends on what you want to get out of it". That said, for a nice street driven vehicle it would seem to be a very practical choice. The inline configuration being the same as the Plym original engine simplifies installation and the (likely) lower weight than the car/pickup from which it came adds to the performance potential in this application. There are at least three locals, that I know of, with Chev sixes and automatics in '38/'39 Dodges and Plymouths who are quite satisfied. Obviously what satisfied them may not satisfy someone else, but that's just for reference in arriving at a decision on your part. Best wishes with your project.
Ray

 

I liked mine.

 

the chevy straight six either a 230 250 or 292 are GREAT engine's I've owned them for 30 year's , I have the original one in my 1967 C10 , they need to be rebuilt about every 25 to 30 year's or so AT LEAST CHECKED , but now for horsepower ? fraid not ,
as far as it working out in your old pickup to make you a jim dandy daily driver that will be free of problem's it WILL , so I guess it's what you want , the small block chevy has been the cheapest and easiest motor to hotrod for a long time AND THEY WILL MAKE POWER !

 

If you'll be happy with 140 HP stock or getting maybe 200 after throwing some pretty good money at it, otherwise I'd say pass.

Great engines and stone-reliable but making a powerhouse out of one costs some bucks.

 

the 250 is a great motor,,I have a 68 250 in my 64 pickup with a s10 5 speed,,,not a power house but its a blast to drive,,,lots of aftermarket parts for these motors if you look around,,,

 

They actually called those the 4.1. It has the intake manifold and head all cast as one piece. They are very bad about cracking the cylinder head. Like was said above, you can install an earlier head and manifolds to the shortblock if you care to.

I'm basically a 60-72 Chevy pickup guy and in that spectrum, the 250 is almost a give away engine to most guys. I buy them periodically pretty cheap. Everyone seems to want to yank them out and go V8 swap. Two weeks ago, I gave 100 for this one:



What I'm saying is, the later sixes are poor in stock form and require swapping heads and manifolds to get good reliability and looks. Just wait and find an earlier one if you want an inline. They are definitely out there.

 

or look around for a chevy 292 six

 

Thanks for all the help .
I am just going to pass it on to someone else .

RetroJim

 

Here is a Chevy or GMC 6 cly.

 

I've got one in the 48 that is way beyond worn out with over 200K hard miles on it. It had 90+K on it when I stuck it in the truck in Aug 1989 to take the truck to the Mountain High Ledsled run in Centrailia Wa that year and I ended up driving it for the next 15 years.
Not fast but it pulled down a constant 20 mpg and could run at legal freeway speeds all day long with the full syncro three speed and Nova rear end.

Guys do build them and get them to rips but it isn't going to be cheap to get the same performance as a mildly hopped small block anything.

Dead nuts reliable, inexpensive to maintain and great for a fun rig if you good with a nice cruising rig that won't set too many speed records out on the road.
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Totally the wrong engine and that has nothing to do with the question. Cool car and nice record but he's asking about using a mid 70's 250.
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...if it were close to me I'd get it for free!...dang good little motors.

 

I had a 250 built to around 350HP. Cam, Compression, posted head, 3-1 intake and clifford headers. The engine builder use to build thoose for a stock car class and were winners. please not not in the set up he built for me.
If you need his name pm me.

jim h

 

I'm runnin one in my 50. It was a free one a dude pulled outa a chevelle. Runs like a top. Shocked the crap outa me she kinda rips.