Good morning inliners! I have a '79 Chevy Stepside truck with an integrated head inline 6 and amazingly it is not cracked. It was an old farm truck that apparantly never overheated. The motor runs good but is original miles and a little tired and has the obvious upgrade limitations and concerns thst come with the integrated head. I found a 250 from a Nova with AC and power steering that I had rebuilt as a stock engine last year with the idea to do the easy swap.

Fast forward to last weekend in talking to a friend, he has a built 235 (pretty sure from '58) that he just pulled out of his street rod for sale. It got all the aluminum and chrome goodies, Offenhauser valve cover and intake, Dual carbs, Fentor header and a 3/4 cam and runs great. Its already mated with a 700r4. In addition to the engine and tranny, it also comes with a stock, original 235 so I am strongly tempted to ditch my easy stock swap for a slightly more complicated swap with the 235.

I am well versed in 250s but don't know much about the Stovebolts and specifically the motor mounts beyond that I know they are in a different location. I don't think it is an early 235 but still need to confirm. Its got the oil bath oiling system.

Does this long post have an easy solution with part number XXX from XXX? Hoping that is the case.

To switch from a 250 to a 235 is a step backward. A warmed over 235 is doing good to make 200 hp. The 250 starts with 155 hp and can easily make 250 and be very streetable.
The other part is, the 235 will not easily bolt into your engine bay.

Not to mention you would be adding another 200 Lbs like the same weight as a BBC
Don't do it!
You would need to install BBC cool springs just to try and support that 235 boat anchor LOL

MBHD

I love messing with the 235 and 261 Chevy motors so I will forgive my Inliner brethren for their unkind disparagement of my beloved early Chevy motors, lol.

The thing is, those of us who love the 235/261 style motors love those motors for a lot of reasons. For some, it's the motor they started out on. Others, they love the quaintness of the old technology and the quirks and specialized tools that go along with building and maintaining these motors. Others out of fondness. I love messing with them for all of the above.

But those motors are not everyone's cup of tea. The platform is old technology and in many various ways much much less efficient in both design and power producing ability. It's design goes back to the 1920s and was "the" motor for a Chevy until 1955 when the 265 v8 was introduced. The engineering and design that went into the v8 motors was in part used to upgrade the base 6 cylinder to the 194-292 series motor. So with the later motor you get more main bearings, better crank design, better Rod design, better rockers, valves, intake and exhaust, oiling, filtering, every aspect of the 194/230/250/292 series of motor was an upgrade.

Tom is being really really generous with a 235 making 200 hp. A 55-62 varies in advertised hp from 123-140. That was gross horse power under optomilized conditions and much better building tolerances for the motor used for the tests. The production reality was less, probably 125-130 gross, less at the wheels. 170 hp out of a modified 235 would be considered pretty good but takes a lot of tinkering to get there, (not to mention rpm and gears). If you have never messed with a 235, there is definitely a learning curve to be mastered.

Motor mounts are different, no parts interchange, with the possible exception of the exhaust valves and thermostat, lol.

My recommendation, Stick with what you know and what you have. In the end you will be way happier with the 250 then the 235. If you have concerns with the integral head, get yourself a spare non integral head, install Tom's lump kit, and rebuild the head. Take a pass on the 235. The 250 is a better pick for your situation.

I agree with mdonahue. My fetish is the GMCs, especially 270s and 302s, Chevy II 153s and 28 Chevy 171s. Mostly talking not getting things done. That's what it is, a fetish. Given all the engines out there the difficulty in finding parts and pieces and even added cost for less power, reduced fuel efficiency,and more weight we have to have another reason to chose them. Looks, sound, memories, comfort, stuck in the past,........Not an apology just saying. But if it comes to being modern and practical we'd all be driving Chevy Volts. Get your friends 235 if you can afford it for a future project and build a nice 250 for your present pickup. You can have the best of both fetishes.

In 1994 as a teen I purchased my very first vehicle. It was my 52 chev truck. from that point my interest in the older 235-261 inline grew. Found out when taking it apart it had a 55 235 in it and that was the main driving force to stick with that engine and have it rebuilt. All my interest is with the 235-261 blocks. Was thinking a while back about switching to the 230-250 style because it so easy and cost effect to find parts, but now that i have 4 spare 261 blocks and 4 848 heads im good to go for my lifetime.

It would be interesting to get my block on a dyno one day just to see how the engine mods changed the hp and torque outputs.

Appreciate all the replies, still don’t know how I would bolt the thing in but it sounds like using the rebuilt stock 250 will be better than the hopped up 235 anyway, its just so cool popping the hood and seeing two carbs and all the rare and expensive bolt on stuff

There is no reason that you can't have double or triple carbs or a 4bbl carb on your 250.

Offy Intakes for Chevrolet

The first 2 photos are reversed.

The range of intakes for the later 250 is actually pretty impressive. 2x1 and 3x1 intakes from offy. Triple 2bbls from man-a-fre, Clifford aluminum ram 3x2, Clifford, Sissal, and others triple weber dcoe, dual weber down drafts, Clifford 2x4 early style without water heat, convertible to a 2x2 with adapters (Holley 2300, 2305, weber dgev 38 mm), late style with water heat, Offy four bbl, Clifford four bbl, and more!

Valve covers from offy, Clifford, PES, recently tom Lowe, others.

Timing covers from anson, Clifford, stovebolt, probably some others.

Side plates from PES, stove bolt, others. Bolt in lump kits, roller rockers, lots of stuff over lots of years. You can make that 250 look unbelievable if you want!

The key point was that on one side, the 235 was already built up and already has the $$$ add ons. On the other side, the 250 is also already built up stock and has all the stock stuff. My pockets are not that deep to go buy all the add on stuff on top of already having the 250 built so the appeal was that the 235 already has all the stuff on there and either engine was turn key except for the motor mount question. I've had 250's with Offy intakes and other goodies so I am aware they are out there, just don't have the extra cash laying around. If I bought the 235 I would sell the 250. In any event, I am going to put in the 250 since it is turn key. Horsepower was never a concern with me, I just like cruising. Thanks for the replies.