250 inline - upgrades

[creed1969]

Spring is in the air up here in SK, almost all the snow is melted and its got me planning my next round of upgrades for Chevy.

The 250 and 3OTT have served me fine, but it's time to upgrade a few things. The truck is gonna be my daily driver again this summer, so in the interest of reliability I want to upgrade a few key areas.

Carburetion: I refreshed the Monojet two seasons ago, but I think I'll upgrade to a Weber 2BBL. However I'm torn between the 32/36 progressive carb and the 38/38 synchronous. If I knew the fuel mileage of the 38/38 would almost match the 32/36, I'd go with the larger carb. Input guys??

I'll also get the coolant heat plate for my intake manifold, I've been running it cold for the last couple years.

Exhaust: I'm currently running Hedman long-tube headers which work fine, but they hang too low for a dropped truck. They're getting fairly beat up from dragging over speedbumps. So I think I'll try the short cast headers from Langdons, and that way I can tuck my exhaust up close to the frame.

Ignition: I've got the Pertronix pointless kit in a stock distributor. Probably will keep it this way unless someone has a better idea.

Does this sound like a solid plan? I guess my biggest area of indecision is the carburetor choice. Right now the engine is stock but someday I wouldn't mind upgrading the cam and doing the lump kit in the head. Maybe bigger valves in a 194 head, etc.... In that case I definitely will need the 38/38 carb, but will that be too much carb for my engine as it is now?

Looking for some good advice guys

[steelhorse]

What about a set of Cliffard headers and a dual carb setup? Maybe a mild cam and bump the compression a bit.

[creed1969]

Steelhorse, yes those would be good performance upgrades. I guess my intentions are to improve reliability by upgrading a bit but keeping everything simple. The Clifford headers are a bit more pricy, and by the time you buy a couple good carbs and a new intake manifold you're into it for quite a bit of $$ (for me anyways). And as for the internal upgrades - I don't think I will crack the motor apart this year. Thanks for your input!

Anyone have direct experience with a 38/38 Weber on a stock 250 with headers?

[88Ironduke]

I'm on board with the Weber carbs, once funds present themselves it will get done. I like the stock manifolds for the heat on the intake manifold. Ponding is not an issue there... From what I have read on the Weber carbs the progressive should respond better on a stock platform so that's my route.

I have two spare cylinder heads that I would love to do a lump port mod to and increase the intake velocity. I'm running a 66' 230 cam (dad swore by it) so I'll stick with for now. I need to review the numbers for the 230 cam I am running and see just what the differences are. Good luck.

Paul

[Wrenchbender Ret]

If you can find a 292 carb, that perks it up quite a bit. It has a larger bore & venturis. They are hard to fund though. Many of them have been replaced with 250 carbs from rebuilders that put a part number on anything & sell it.

[Scottcoda]

To keep the budget down you could consider headman headers.. I got mine from amazon for quite a bit under 200.00.. Also keep an eye on ebay.. Pretty often people sell used Clifford manifolds and can be had for a good deal,,, you mate that with a used/rebuilt Holley 390 and it is a nice upgrade.. And I think it looks bad ass.. But I may be biased
http://youtu.be/f-Kri2Psz4w

['68OrangeSunshine]

I have a 292 L6 on my '68 Stepside. Many years ago I had a Holley/Weber out of a Chevy Vega, I wanted to run in place of the stock Monojet. I was told the Vega carb did not have the CFMs for my 292 [4.8L]. So I went for Clifford headers, a Holley 4Bbl 390 CFM and an aluminum Offy intake. I don't use carb heat in Tucson, AZ -- but I suppose it's a good idea in your climate. I have Pertronix II, Crane 260H cam, 1.84" intake valves, .030 over bore.