I 250 ?

[TODDS 72]

JUST WONDERING HOW MANY OF YOU RER RUNNING THESE?
I GOT ONE IN THE 72,AND WAS GONNA PUT 350 TPI IN.
BUT AFTER SEEING PICKMUP PICS,I THINK I'LL RUN THE 6 BANGER.
JUST TO BE A LITTLE DIFERNT. LOL!!

[71402BB]

My 71 came with a Inline 250 origanally but as you can tell I swaped it out for the 402BB. I say keep it! There a great motor that is almost indestructable, and they get great MPG! You could also get proformace parts for them too! Check this site out! http://www.stoveboltengineco.com/index1.htm

[Palf70Step]

That be me...I have a 70 with a 250..three..soon to be of the floor..like you I sort of want to be different. Right now other than doing an HEI swap and an electronic choke for mine. I may do some tweaks later one, but I'm not going real wild yet. if I do, I might build another 6 to pull our when and if this dies. Mkine hasn't even hit 100,000 yet. According to my ffiends dad, it's just now getting brokken in.

6 in a row different...but can go...and lots of low end ummph for the size.

[dubie]

I am still running the original 250 inline in my 72. It has 185,000 miles on it and still runs as strong as ever. However, I am swapping it out for a small block 350, which I am currently building. The inline is incredibly dependable and gives great torque and gas mileage, but I wanted some more power. And for me to build up my 6 banger would be twice the price of building up a performance 350. I'm still undecided on whether I should keep the inline and rebuild it, or just scrap it, or possibly sell it. I guess we'll have to see what the spring brings us. Good luck with your inlines

[Knoxville71shortbed]

I have the original 250 and 3-on-the-tree in my '71 shortbed. It's my daily driver, but I am restoring it over time (3 years and still have lot's to do!). I put 100 miles a day on my truck. It has over 150K on it, and runs great. When I got the truck, I originally thought I'd replace the engine with a 350. I was going to wait until the 250 crapped-out. Well, I don't think that's ever going to happen! The truck goes as fast as I need to drive it (70 mph on the freeway), and gets 18 or 19 mpg. It will haul anything I can get into the bed, and tow a reasonable size trailer. I can't find a reason to take the 6-cylinder out! And I like to be a little different also. I went to Pigeon Forge last weekend, and probably saw 30 or more 67-72s. I only saw one with a 6-cylinder. And I like being able to sit in the engine compartment when I need to work on it! I also like my 3-on-the-tree shifter. I had to replace some bushings, and adjust it properly, to get it to shift correctly, but it works great now. You don't need to power-shift in a classic pickup truck anyway. The 3-speed tranny works well on snowy or slippery roads. I can't see the need for a 4th gear, or a floor shifter. The low-end torque of the 250, coupled with the gearing of the 3-speed, makes for a really fun-to-drive truck. My recommendation to anyone, is to try driving your 6-cylinder for a while, before deciding to make an engine swap.

[Willy Prost]

Yep, I am in the I-6 camp also. My 71 with 250 and hurst floor shifted 3-speed does quite nicely, thank you. Right now the truck took me and the wife down to Topsail Island, NC for a short getaway from DC. Didn't have any trouble going 80mph when traffic would allow.

[tkeduk8r]

ive had two 250-6's in the past 5 years and loved them both, in fact i even looked for my last driver with one in it instead of a v-8... i had a 1980 K-5, and got 20 mpg even with the 4wheel drive and it pulled my firevibird on a double axle from MN to PA with no prollems... and had 150K on to boot... my 74 c-10 has 75K on it and im just int he process of tuning it (see my post fromt he other day) and its amlost dialed in for a good ol MN winter... infact if you wanna run a neat setup a clifford intake (whatever carb you want) and a factory 1980 exhaust manifold has a split at the end so you can run dual exhaust ( i dont think that it had the integral head hard to member)...oh and another thing ive seen stuff go for cheap at swap meets for the sixes too... so good luck...
--mike

[Kas68c10]

Keep the 6 !!! If you need the mileage, remember gas will only go up in price. They are reliable, I haver never had the valve caver off in 7 years of daily driving. Unless you really want speed or have a towing need, keep the 6. Spend your $ on an overdrive instead, get better mileage still. I have a 292 wating in the wings to get rebuilt when the 250 goes. Its been 7 years.... the 250 is close, smoking, compression is a little low. Hopefully I will get it rebuilt this summer.

[jay-dawg]

i have the 250 i6. I am thinking of keeping it with some bolt on goodies from clifford performance to make it look good and go fast.

jay

[tom hand]

I have had several 6's and I agree with everything said except the gas mileage part. 6's usally come with a tall gear to have more takeoff power and the ones I have had in trucks get the same or worse mpg than a v-8. My 2 cents.

[breeh]

I have to agree with tom hand. My 250 in the half ton gets the same milage as the 350 does in the 3/4 ton.

[MOTHERTRUCKERS]

Today I changed out my second 250 in my 3/4 ton that we use for pulling our trailer, the truck had a 402 when new,pulled it and sold it to a board member,put in a 383 then pulled it and sold it on ebay, put a junkyard 67 250 in it 3 years ago,burned the front piston yesterday, a freshly rebuilt completely stock 250 is in it now and purrs like a kitten.

[oldcarbuff]

I just got my truck about a week ago, but it gets around great with the 250 6 cylinder and a three on the tree. However, it is all wound up by about 45 miles per hour. I am afraid to take it on the highway for fear it will have to wind too high.

OCB

[jay-dawg]

you mean I cant go faster than 45 with mine? I guess I should stop doing that.

he he he.

jay

[71402BB]

I would just like to say WELCOME to the board oldcarbuff!

[PanelDeland]

I-6 Me ,too.I really like that it's different.I also bought my truck with a fresh one in it.I plan on keeping it, maybe even doing a little performance work to it later on.
Another good site for info on 6's is www.inlinersinternational.com
There are some real 6 cyl gurus over there. There's even a site on their links list with a built 6 sounding off.
In short keep the 6 and enjoy the ride.

[XXL]

I6 250 with around 160k miles on it. I've done HEI, a rebuilt carb, plugs and wires, and an occasional topping off of the oil. Original tranny was column 3 speed but previous (original) owner did a TH350 swap (he was a mechanic at a Chevy dealer-- no butchering, he did a column shift, pedal bracket swap, and so on). When I bought the truck I went with a '72 rearend, that has "low 3's" gears (3.41 maybe???) that replaced the standard 3.73's. It goes down the highway just fine and starts better than my Sears "2 pulls, guaranteed" mower

Kenneth

[oldcarbuff]

Thanks for the welcome 71402BB! I usually spend my time at chevytalk, as I normally drive a 63 impala wagon, but I recently bought a 67 stepside (longbed) to drive while I do some rebuilding on the wagon. I really like it. It is super plain--no chrome, no options, etc. Just what I want in a truck.

I am serious though--on the highway it is really buzzing to get to 55. What kind of rear end gears did these things come with?

OCB

[primerib]

I have a '72 with a 250. My truck has a 4:11 rearend (or is it 4:10? I can never remember) that has the old girl wound up tighter than bark on a hickory tree when I drive on the highway. I won't push her past 60.

I like being a little different from the masses, too. I plan on keeping the I-6 and the column shift, and one day putting some clifford parts on it.

My mileage sucks, though. I'm lucky to get 13 mpg. Hopefully the overdrive will change that.

Since there is a "drum-brake club", maybe we should band together and form an "I-6 club"!

[Fast68Chevy]

whats funny is that straight 6 cyl engines are actually L- designation, check out original GM literature and GM service manuals and owners manuals, L-6 250, nver change dto I until in the '80;s sometime

ive had several trucks and vans and cars with 2540 in them, and 292 also and a fords truck with a 240 and later trucks with 300 in them.

good luck

[XXL]

Originally posted by XXL
...that has "low 3's" gears (3.41 maybe???) that replaced the standard 3.73's.

Oops... I replaced the stock 4.11's, not 3.73's.

[photoglg]

I got L-6 250 in my 69 GMC hooked up to a TH400 and 3.73 rearend (all factory). When I get out on the highway she really winds up and I keep waiting for just one more shift up. But it never comes.

[cheyenne10]

Can we get away with 3.08 gears behind I-6 and T350 auto? What is highest ratio stock with auto. tranny?

[Brad]

I've got 3.07 behind my I6, but would prefer 3.42 or so. I'll probably go back to the 3.73 soon.

[Kas68c10]

With a 5 speed, and 3.73 gears, I cruise at 70 mph at 2100 rpm.
Dont think I could carry a good load or tow though, that is what 4 is 4 !! Old car buuf, welcome to the board. I believe 3.73 was the most popular gearing for rrucks with the sixes, but someone on this board will know for sure.