Rebuild my 250?

[deelowe]

Hey guys,

My truck came with the original L6 250. Despite what others have said on this board about keeping it all original, my plans are to lower the truck, change the wheels, and recover the bench seat, but other than that, I'm going to keep it stock. I don't plan to a power brakes, power steering, disk brakes or anything like that. (Here's a link to original post when I bought the truck).

The engine is the original motor that came with the truck. It smokes blackish grey smoke and I'm pretty sure it's oil (no water or antifreeze in the oil thankfully), it leaks oil around the oil pan, and the tranny needs a new clutch, but other than that the motor/tranny is pretty strong. I don't really have the money for a 350 right and I'm considering leaving the L6 in the truck since it's the original motor and everything else is staying stock. Given that I'm going to need to replace the clutch, I'm considering just pulling the engine at the same time and doing a rebuild.

What do you guys think? Given that I'm not planning on deviating too far from the stock setup, should I rebuild the engine or just drive it as-is and use the money I'd spend on rebuilding it to invest in a 350? Should a noob like myself even bother with such a project?

Thanks!

[Tx Firefighter]

A clutch is a 2 hour job max. You pull the trans, and leave the bellhousing in place. The clutch will drop through the bottom of the bellhousing. You don't even have to unbolt the trans mounts.

I'd absolutely positively rebuild the six. I've converted a number of trucks from 6 to V8 and I always missed the simplicity and smoothness of the original six.

[68wip]

Rebuild the six! I totally agree with TX Firefighter. The 250 is an excellant engine and will save you money on gas. if you want a little more performance out of it check out Cliffords 6=8 website > http://www.cliffordperformance.net/

[70 shorty]

While I've never torn my 6 apart, I can't argue with how easy it is to work on, and I plan to keep mine a 6 just because everyone else does a V8 swap.

[Palf70Step]

[deelowe]

Originally Posted by 68wip

Rebuild the six! I totally agree with TX Firefighter. The 250 is an excellant engine and will save you money on gas. if you want a little more performance out of it check out Cliffords 6=8 website > http://www.cliffordperformance.net/

Bookmarked. Thanks! It's good to know that people are still making performance parts for the 6's.

To everyone else, thanks for the encouraging remarks. I am definitely going to rebuild it. It'll be my first time rebuilding an engine and I assume these sturdy, simple L6's are probably one of the best motors to start out on. Wish me luck!

[70heavyhalf]

just wondering but how much power can some on these rebulit 250s and 292s have.

Darin

[68wip]

Originally Posted by 70heavyhalf

just wondering but how much power can some on these rebulit 250s and 292s have.

Darin

Check out this link.. http://www.cliffordperformance.net/h...hevyfacts.html


enought that you can get yourself in trouble!

[Brad]

I would recommend that you build it to around 9.5-1 compression or slightly less. I think if you do this you'll be happy with the mileage, however these take alot of work to get really good mileage out of them due to the weight of these trucks and I've seen many V8's get comparable mileage yet have more power.

Be aware that you can build a V8 to get twice the power with half the cost of an L6 so if mileage/originality is your only concern-do it. However, if you ever intend to hop it up eventually, just go the V8 route- L6 power parts are SPENDY for what they are.

Hope this all makes sense.

[70heavyhalf]

Hey Brad, do you know how much power your 6 makes and how much did you cost to tune it up?

Darin

[deelowe]

Originally Posted by Brad

I would recommend that you build it to around 9.5-1 compression or slightly less. I think if you do this you'll be happy with the mileage, however these take alot of work to get really good mileage out of them due to the weight of these trucks and I've seen many V8's get comparable mileage yet have more power.

Be aware that you can build a V8 to get twice the power with half the cost of an L6 so if mileage/originality is your only concern-do it. However, if you ever intend to hop it up eventually, just go the V8 route- L6 power parts are SPENDY for what they are.

Hope this all makes sense.

Makes perfect sense. Thanks! My purpose is durability, staying close to stock, and originality, in that order. I primarily want a show truck that can work. I've got a two wheeler that can do 180+ if I ever want to go fast.

Given that you are suggesting that I change the compression, are there any other items that aren't in the typical rebuild kits that I should consider replacing while I'm in there? This is my first time ever cracking open anything with this kind of mileage on it (or anything American), so I'm not sure what to expect at this point. I hate to get it done only to find out that there were other things I should have considered before putting it all back together.

[Brad]

Originally Posted by 70heavyhalf

Hey Brad, do you know how much power your 6 makes and how much did you cost to tune it up?

Darin

Darin, I have NFC and would really like to find out. I probably won't be driving it for another year due to deployments and maybe then I'll have it dyno'ed. Tune ups are fairly cheap since I only have to buy a cap and rotor and plugs.
As a side note, I've heard that using a properly tuned and setup QJet for a 4.3 does wonders for power and mileage and I may try that once I get back.
I wish I could give more help regarding my L6 but did alot just before leaving it including the T-5 and didn't have time to setup the trans/speedo gears to check mpg's. My goal will be to get around 22+mpg once it's all properly setup. I've gotten as high as 18mpg before with a stock 3 speed.

[67arch]

Here's a few sites to sift through, should help a little.
http://www.inliners.org/
http://www.stovebolt.com/
http://www.stoveboltengineco.com/

[shifty]

I still have mine, even after swapping in my LS1. Two things deterred me from rebuilding my L6: Cost of parts to rebuild was high, and performance aftermarket parts both fit like ass and cost too much.

I would still like to rebuild my L6 just for the experience. I'm just waiting for someone to come out with a reasonably priced, clean looking EFI or TBI style system for the L6 that will push the gas mileage into the 15-20MPG range. I was getting roughly 8 MPG on the original engine with a puny exhaust system.

[NONHOG]

I'v had Big Blocks, Small Blocks Chevy's ,Ford's Mopar's Pontiac's Olds, VW's Toyota's
etc. some of the funnest drivers were the straight or slant sixes even stock
there's something cool about them
the 230 chevy sixes were awesome (from my Chevelle days) my current truck has a 350 which I'll
keep but if it came with a six I'd be happy but I would'nt plan on winning any races
so it all boils down to what YOU want ! HAVE FUN !

[ThatOneBlue67]

Well considering the majority of the people on here are inline six fans, I thought someone with a V8 should add to the fun.

My truck had a 250 inline six. She was a great motor. Absolutely no arguing against the fact, it is the easiest motor EVER to work on. And, deelowe, if cruising is all you plan on doing then I highly suggest you keep that inline 6. BUT, no matter what kind of special intakes, exhaust, camshafts, piston heads, or rockers you put in... the V8 can always do better. Granted, a rebuilt straight six with multiple Rochester carbs and good compression plus whatever other performance parts CAN beat a stock 350. But if you put that much money into a V8 and likewise parts, it will go faster than the rodded out L6. It all comes down to the actual structure and V vs. inline. (That and a good friend of mine believes that there is no replacement for displacement).

SO, that being added, I'm not trying to change your mind. If cruising or going fast a little bit is what you're looking for, then an L6 is perfect. AND YES, they do save gas for sure. BUT, a V8 can always be faster.

As for me, I'm a crazy kid that needs to go fast, which is why I spent a mere 200 bucks and bought a good running 350. And it certainly is faster than the straight 6. But if speed isn't a big deal to you, then to heck with a V8.

I actually have a set of longtube headers for a Chevy 230/250/292 6 that I'm hoping to use one day for when I buy myself a Nova or something and ratrod it with a 6er.

Ok, well either way, show us pics of your progress.

[70heavyhalf]

I have one question, are these 6's good towing engines. cause I would like to tow some stuff around. The biggest would be my dads bass boat.
thanks

Darin

[shifty]

Originally Posted by NONHOG

but if it came with a six I'd be happy but I would'nt plan on winning any races

Really? A lot of people are doing straight-line racing and cleaning up with inline 6's. Torque wins races, not horsepower. L6 is torquey as hell.

[oj70chevy]

Originally Posted by deelowe

Bookmarked. Thanks! It's good to know that people are still making performance parts for the 6's.

To everyone else, thanks for the encouraging remarks. I am definitely going to rebuild it. It'll be my first time rebuilding an engine and I assume these sturdy, simple L6's are probably one of the best motors to start out on. Wish me luck!

Please take plenty of pics and note any information you think may be good information when doing this. I also have a 250 and someday may need to know how to do this to my truck as well.
PS. I will never covert my inline6

Thanks
Ralph

[TP from Cntl PA]

I pulled a 454 out to replace it with a 250, so I must like something about them

Actually, for me, reliablity, easy of repair, and low end torque are selling points of the 6's. We've bought trucks with sixes that ran what seemed like a billion miles, and nobody has ever looked inside. The one in my K-20 was ran from '69 to '01/'02 in a C-10 that got a load of miles on it. When we took the truck apart to restore it, we had a fresh 250 to drop in, so I kept this one..........Bought the K, tossed the 454, popped the six in only after repainting it and putting some external Clifford parts on it. She runs just as good now as it did new and I am going to run it until it pukes

Another thing, they have a sound all their own.............Everyone has the V-8 rumble, I have a six that just cackles going up/down grades............I love it.

[alschevy]

hi i need help finding parts for chevy 292 engine

['68OrangeSunshine]

Originally Posted by alschevy

hi i need help finding parts for chevy 292 engine

Check out the Inliners International board:
www.inliners.org
and Tom Langdon's Stovebolt Engine Co.
www.stoveboltengineco.com
and some other sites mentioned above.

[deelowe]

Thanks again to all for the great replies! It sounds like the 6 is right up my alley. It's simple, powerful (torque wise), and reliable. I plan to use my truck as a truck, not a race car (no offense to those who do race theirs), so I need a good reliable engine that can pull a boat if needed. It sounds like the 6 was made for this stuff. I'll be rebuilding her close to stock and maybe I'll get another 300k miles out of it. :-)

P.S. Don't worry about me taking pics because I have NO CLUE what I'm doing. I'm sure I'll have to take a ton of pictures and post a million posts before it's all done.