Inliners International Forums General Discussion Engines 230 performance enhancement advice needed

Hello fellow inliners,

I’ve been lurking here for a few weeks and have gathered quite a bit of useful information, but this is my first post. I’ve got a few ideas for performance upgrades that I wanted to run by you all as a sanity check for me and to gather any advice that any of you might have to offer. Please comment/question/ridicule as you see fit.

The Car: 1963 Chevy Belair sedan. 230 CID with Powerglide transmission and column shift. All completely stock except for the addition of a Pertronix ignition system. This was my car during high school and college. It’s been garaged for the past 14 years and I’d like to bring it back to life.

The Goal: This car is very big and very heavy which, combined with a not-so-huge 230 and 1.76 first gear of the Powerglide, made it quite tortoise like from 0-60ish. Once it got to speed, it was always a fine cruiser. Any modifications I might make will be with an eye to alleviating this problem. This car won’t ever be a daily driver, but streetability is important to me. Basically, I’d like it to have the pickup required to get along in 21st century Atlanta traffic. Oh yeah – and to look cool.

Possible Mods:

Transmission: Replace the PG with a TH350

Carburetion: Offy 3x1 intake w/Rochester Bs. I’ve considered a small 4 barrel here, but I really like the idea of a carb at each intake port and of course, you can’t beat the ‘tripower’ for coolness.

Exhaust: Clifford headers (shorties if I have to, full size if I can) into a Magnaflow 2 in – 2 out muffler and then 2” or 2.5” pipes to the rear. I’d like to keep the dual exhaust together and run both out the driver’s side.

Cam: I’m really not sure what to choose here. Should I just stick with stock for maximum low end torque or is an upgrade in order? I was thinking of the Crane H-192. (Durations are 192in/204ex and lift is .467in/.498ex). This cam is nearly identical to the one recommended by Tom Langdon for street use in Leo Santucci’s book, albeit for a 250. Also a possibility is the Crane H-260, but at 204/206 duration and 498/530 lift, it seems a bit aggressive for my little 230. One thing that I know I don’t want is a lopey, rough idling car.

Head: Probably just basic porting and polishing, if that.

Thanks for taking a look. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

As far as trannies go,why not think about a 700R4, LOTS of positive feedback!

Welcome to Inliners! Of course any one of your ideas will add performance, but something I'm learning is doing these steps in increments is easier then everything at once unless you've had experience modifying 6's before or have knowledgeable friends at hand. The best advice I've received from Inliners here is to get the 6 to breathe.So maybe a first step should be cleaning up the head and a good header system.
Just my thoughts.

Wide

If it was me....I'd start with the 700R4 and about a 3.73.or 3.9. rear gear. All the engine mods in the world won't help a heavy car with a Power Glide and a 230. Once you get some torque multiplication (transmission and rear end)go for the engine mods.

my $.02
Jim

WideRide,

I feel you on the Atlanta traffic concern. I'm 20 minutes west of Atlanta and had similar issues with my 1966 6 cyl truck. Not any more!

These guys are right regarding the 700R4. Quick easy way to get a good low first gear and 3 additional gears for better acceleration than the PG. First gear is low enough (3.06) to give you good acceleration even with a 3.08 geared rear end. Catdog is on the money about the head. And since this won't be your daily driver you can afford to remove the engine and build it right.

The 230 already has an excellent compression ratio from the factory (about 8.5 to 1). Running the mild cam you first mentioned, along with some detailed head work, plus Clifford shorty or Stovebolt headers, a slight head shave and a moderate sized two barrel would give you a great cruiser with acceleration that you'll be pleasantly surprised at. And you could do all this without breaking the bank.

Another good thing is your 230 can use the 250s A/C components so you'll be able to easily add aftermarket A/C to your car, and the engine will have plenty of power to run it without killing your performance.

I'm probably not that far from you. Maybe we can get together sometime and I can show you what mods I've made to my 1966 truck with a 292 to make it cruise I-285 in the fast lane with ease. Even during afternoon rush hour traffic!!!

-magic mike-

Dear Wild;

Why not look for a 292", 700R4 and the 3.9. Now you the have the 'foundation' to "build the house". The other stuff can come later.

A 63 Bell Air weighs 4000# & will need more than a 230 will do with all the mods etc.

The 292" has more HP & torque than the 283/327 that came in that car from GM.

You could do the 'rear end' first & work forward.

Good luck, John M.......

I had a 62 4 door Impala for many years. 4000#'s is right! Boy what a smooth ride though ;-) Mine had the 235 with a manual 3-speed. I never did mod a thing on it (stock)... but it was the same sluggish response below 60. But hit a hill at 70 and the motor was in the torque curve I guess... up the hill no problem! 13 mpg!
FYI... I hade the same with the 3 speed. Hope that helps you decide.

Clyde

I completey agree with John M.

Hmmm...

I was considering the TH350 instead of the 700R4 because of cost and ease of installation. (I'm not really keen on messing with the cross member or drive shaft.) That choice isn't set in stone though, especially if I'd see a significant gain in acceleration.

Rear end...man...I was afraid somebody would suggest that. I don't remember what the stock rear end is off the top of my head. 3.3 something, I think.

As far as swapping out the 230 for something larger, that would be the sensible thing to do, but I'd like to avoid it. This car has been in my family a long time and I'd like to keep its original power plant. I realize that's completely illogical, though.

Thanks for the feedback so far guys...

Wide,

That 230, with the mods I suggested, would do just fine in your car. Of course a bigger engine would give you more power, acceleration, etc. - that's logical. But in keeping the original engine the few hop up goodies in the post I made earlier would probably give your car more than adequate low to mid-rpm torque. Since the 230 has such a short stroke you could even go one step up on the cam that you suggested.

A healthy, balanced 230 with some mild street performance mods is comfortable turning 3k all day long. Cruising range in the 2300-2800 rpms would be optimal for longevity and fuel mileage.

-magic mike-

The TH200-4R and the TH350 use the same mountig dimensions. You might check and make sure this is true, but thats my understanding. Hopefully we can get confirmation here.

The 700r won't need the much gear a 3:42 will be more then plenty. When look for a cam One other thing to be looking at Is the Lobe seperation stay with a 112-114 lobe seperation It will give you a smoother idle that your after (110 at min.) anything less will start to give you a rougher idle.If you still wanted it to look like the stock 230 Go with the 250 block. Yes the 292 would be more bang for the buck. But you would end up with better MPGs out of the smaller cubes over the 292. With the same Mods. The head is one thing you realy need to look at No matter which motor you use. stay with the stock size valves a good 3-4 angle valve job New springs and have a set of Lump ports added along with Dual exhaust.
If plaining on running a tri carb settup it would look Hot yes. Set that up with a progressive type linkage so the at idle your mainly running off one carb and at cruiseing you can be running with the others. Hope this helps }[oooooo]

(Edited when I realized my first question was way off base)

Twisted,

Is the lobe seperation just the difference between the closing of the intake valve and the opening of the exhaust valve? (e.g. the difference between 55ABDC and 63BBDC for the mild Crane cam described above.)

All,

Are there any vendors for aftermarket 'hot street' heads for this series engine? Clifford sells a couple, but again they are too 'extreme' for me. Or would I just be better off having a stock head machined?

I beleive that is how to look at it.all I really know is that the lower the number the ruffer the cam idle becomes ex. 106-105 and have seen as low as like 98-96?? very Ruff and Yes you maybe better off having the stock head machined.
hope this helps
}[oooooo]

Ps that Question may very be better answers by the people who make the cams.

I think you've gotten good info so far, though I disagree with a couple points.
I used to have a 63 Biscayne 4 door.
It had a 250 swapped into it.
With a PG trans it got 21 mpg on the highway.
As far as them weighing 4000 lbs.
see: http://www.carnut.com/specs/gen/chv63.html
Early 60's Chevys all run to the light side, but only got heavier with each passing year it seems.
If this is the original engine consider pulling it and tranny out to save and swap in the warmed over 250 or 292 and 4 speed auto.
I think that rear should be a 3.08, so maybe the gear swap is a good idea. If I went with a mostly stock 292 I'd leave the 3.08, I think it would pull just fine.
see: http://www.tciauto.com/tech_info/gear_ratios.htm

The TH-350 is tempting as it's not hard to find one cheap,and they almost fall in place. It helps launch the car better than the PG, and you still have a passing gear at 60 which is a novelty if you been driving a car with a Powerglide for a while.
But you still get to watch the rpms go up, up, up while whizzing along with the Atlanta traffic. That's how it worked here in SE Penn.!
If you go the T-350 route, don't use the big stock convertor! Whatever trans you use check that center bearing so you don't have driveshaft problems.

A 200R4 has dual bolt pattern for chevy or B.O.P.
It is the same length as a Turbo300. They put them in full size station wagons and Buick grand nationals.First gear is not as low as 700R4. They make dandy swaps and are not computer controlled(still need lockup switch if using).

So, what should I be looking for as a combined gear ratio in 1st? My Chevy shop manuals indicate that I have a 3.36 rear end. With the 700R4, that puts the total 1st gear ratio at 10.27. It would be 9.2 with the 200R4 and 8.46 with the TH350. These are all compared with 5.19 for the original PG.

(Edit: Sorry portions of this thread are swinging into the 'driveline' forum)

Dear Wild;

What the tach says @ 60 MPH with what you have now, will answer that.

Good luck John M......

you could keep the 230 block and put a 250 crank and 307 pistons in it and get 250" the 20 more inches would help a lot. and you would have the same block as came in the car.